Scotland trending: Today’s most talked-about stories

Forth Road Bridge: More delays expected. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Poll: Seven in ten Scots oppose Syria bombing

The hashtags #DontBombSyria and #SyriaVote have been prevalent on social media today, as MPs debate whether or not to go ahead with further air strikes in Syria.

According to polling websites VoteScotland and VoteEngland, 72 per cent of Scottish voters oppose the air strikes while only 46 per cent in England voted against the proposed military action.

Forth Road Bridge: More delays expected. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Prime Minister David Cameron is the driving force behind the suggested military escalation in order to target and crush the source of IS terrorist operations. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn strongly opposes the air strikes.

Forth Road Bridge delays to last until tomorrow

Traffic on the Forth Bridge will continue to be delayed until well after tomorrow’s rush hour, as specialist engineers carry out an inspection of a default on the bridge.

Bridge officials said: “Traffic will continue to be restricted to a single lane in each direction until at least the middle of the day on Thursday.”

The southbound carriageway of the bridge was closed on Tuesday evening as a safety precaution, causing tailbacks of more than five miles during this morning’s rush hour. The restriction was imposed to prevent further damage to the structure. The defect, which is thought to have been recent will, be subject to a temporary solution in the meantime, and a permanent repair at a later date.

Mark Zuckerberg to give away 99% of his Facebook shares

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have said that they will donate 99 per cemt of their shares in the company to good causes.

Zuckerberg announced the news via the social networking site in an open letter to the couple’s newly born daughter, Max. He stated that he wished to make the world a better place for his daughter to live in.

Zuckerber and Chan have set up the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative “to advance human potential and promote equality for all children in the next generation.”

At Facebook’s current value the donation amounts to £30 billion and will be distributed over the course of the couple’s lifetimes.

Scotland’s North Sea industry is not yet “at the bottom”

Scotland’s beleaguered oil and gas industry is not yet “at the bottom” with another grim year ahead and more job losses expected as firms continue to cut costs, MSPs have been warned.

And the impact of the downturn is beginning to “ripple out” into the wider North-east economy, industry chiefs have said.

However, the coming year is likely to at least see a “slowing” in the rate of lay-offs.

‘Miserable service’ on new Borders Railway

Passengers have been faced with an “unacceptable” service on the new Borders Railway, which connects Edinburgh to Tweedbank.

More than two in three trains arrived to Tweedbank late between 18 October and 14 of November, according to the latest ScotRail figures. Only 32.7 per cent of trains arrived within one minute of time.

Cancellations have played a part in the disruptions, and supporters of the route have blamed ScotRail for using their least reliable trains, as well as the length of the double track which makes it difficult for trains to pass by one another.