News.Scotland.Org

If you are close enough to a walk, you may find a dog on the roadside but have you ever thought it might harm you or even disfigure your face, not to be recognised anymore? It is seen that Scotland has reported cases where fighter dogs or even other breeds harming children and hurting them while playing or taking the roads.

Not even a week, two cases have been reported in which one girl named Rhianna Kidd,10, was maimed by two rottweilers while she was cycling to her grandmothers home in Dundee. And another case where a vicious Akita fighting dog attacked a girl named Toni, when she was playing with the dog owner’s son, Gabriel.

In both the cases, the children suffered serious injury and lot of pain. In one case the owner of the dog was charged under the Dangerous Dogs Act in failing to keep the dogs under control. And in another case, the decision is yet to be taken because it was in the private property but what has been done to the children cannot be forgiven.

The Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010, extends the criminal liability to not just public places but also private places and it has not come into practice until February. It is also seen that the children could suffer mental scars and maybe frightened of the dogs the whole life.

To set up a new multiple sclerosis research clinic in Edinburgh, Harry Potter author JK Rowling has contributed £10million in honor of her mother, Anne who died in 1990. The money will go to a purpose built unit in the University of Edinburgh which will be renamed as The Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic.

With an estimated fortune of £519, it is said that this donation was her largest single pledge and the largest single donation received by the University. It is said that the writer believes that this university would become a world center for excellence in its field.

Affecting around 85,000 people, multiple sclerosis or MS is one of the most common neurological condition that effects young adults in UK and that which has no cure. Mostly it is seen that it is caused due to the combination of genetics, environmental and infectious factors.

Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea, principal of the University of Edinburgh said:

‘This exceptionally generous donation will provide great help in the effort to improve treatments for multiple sclerosis’.

Expected to be completed within a year, this new facility will help the researchers to know more about the other incurable neurological disorders and would also help the patients to be placed at the heart of the research and training process.

The new tracks on the £330m Airdrie to Bathgate rail linking Edinburgh and Glasgow will create almost 130 new jobs. The track which is due to open in December will offer jobs like drivers, ticket examiners and station staff for Scots and is the same as the one which had operated in Scotland for 25 years

Though there was a dispute between the RMT rail union and the First ScotRail in the recent months on the fact that it may jeopardize the safety of the passengers, it is all settled now. The union had also said that it will urge the minister to ensure a guard on every service of the new link.

Designed in order to complete the ‘missing link’ between the communities in Glasgow and Edinburgh, the company declares that it is safe and is same as that which has operated in Scotland for 25 years.

The use of public transport will be beneficial with the new rail Airdrie-Bathgate. It also seems that this new form of employment will profit the economy as a whole.



The Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) wants the people of Scotland to provide them with valid information on any houses or flats that cultivates cannabis. The new campaign has been put forth in order to uproot the many cannabis factories after new figures showed that police officers have seized almost £40m worth of the plants since 2006.

Set up by organised crime gangs, the public are asked to use their ‘natural senses’ in order to find out the presence of the cannabis factories. It is seen that workers in the factories which is set up in the residential areas are locked up like slaves.

Though the UK government has graded Cannabis as Class C drug from Class B in 2004, it is seen that they need to reverse the decision. It is also seen that there was virtually no production over the year but as of nine months Scotland topped the list with almost 60 productions of the drug.

Launching the campaign, Justice Kenny MacAskill said:

“Even the smallest piece of information about an individual or group’s activity can be the key that unlocks the door to disrupting an entire criminal empire”

Crime gangs are focusing on the industrial production of the drug by putting more emphasis on the potency of the product and therefore have a more marketable product.

Posing serious safety risks and even fire and electrocution risks, these highly dangerous cultivations are reaching up-to the doorsteps of the people and nobody wants or needs it. It is also seen that those individuals who are in for the cannabis cultivation are from the South-east Asian origin.

Dunfermline city is in the mood of festival and celebrates the life, myth and legend of King Robert the Bruce in the ancient Capital of Scotland as the BRUCE FESTIVAL returns to Dunfermline between 19th – 29th August 2010. This is the best chance for every visitor to learn about Dunfermline’s rich history from the figures that fought for Scotland’s independence and get closer to the Bruce than ever before.

Along with the historical legend character, listen to one of three acclaimed Scottish musicians at the festival on 19th, 20th and 21st August as Dougie MacLean, Karen Matheson and Dick Gaughan perform an intimate concert inside the beautiful Dunfermline Abbey Nave. Then, you can take for a tour(Son et Lumiere guided tours) with Bruce through the magical grounds of the Abbey as Scotland’s hero brings history to life through drama, sound and light.

The festival brings in special events which will take you back to the time when Robert the Bruce lived. It happens on 28th and 29th in Pittencrieff Park. This time the Kings of Celtic rock, Soar Patrol will provide the soundtrack as medieval camp life is demonstrated with exciting hand to hand fighting from movie stunt performers, Combat International, fresh from the set of Ridley Scott’s latest Robin Hood movie. There will also be battle re-enactments, an international street market, kid’s battles and much more surprises await every visitor.

If you want to watch the musical concerts, need to book well in advance. Concerts will be immediately followed by a guided tour at 8.30pm included in the price of the concert ticket. It is informed that tickets are time specific and cannot be exchanged or transferred to any other scheduled tours. It is recommended that you dress up with sturdy footwear and suitable clothing. The show does not admit late comers until a suitable break and the disabled visitors are very well provided all the help.

Sea fareres can adventure on Oban waters by taking a boat trip. Oban a town in Scotland, has beautiful scenery that can be enjoyed on a trip in boat. You can spot all sorts of birds, sea mammals and wildlife which is otherwise not possible from the land.  

If you take the boat tour in any particular season, you will come across rare species of birds and mammals. There are various tours from Oban, taking visitors on a journey round the Argyll waters, where they have the chance to spot all sorts of wildlife. If you are happen to be around in a place called Easdale, a point 13 miles south of Oban, here the main thrust of the business is to take wildlife tours down to the gulf of Corry reckan, which is home to the world’s third largest whirlpool.

And as most tours are taken place from spring to early winter, visitors get the chance to spot all sorts of different animals through the seasons – as well as the spectacular whirlpools which are created by the tides in the early part of the year.

The whole area of Argyll waters comes under European special area of conservation and this is one of the main reason that the visitors enjoy fresh and good seafood.

The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust(WWT) found in a recent research that there are growing fears of Polar Bears  preying on the eggs of barnacle geese who migrate to the Solway Firth in Scotland each winter.

The bears have turned to the eggs after being stranded on land in the summer months as a result of diminishing ice. And, the centre have recorded an increase in the polar bear activity while monitoring a barnacle goose colony on the Arctic island of Svalbard. If the situation continues bird numbers could be devastated, the researchers worried.

Barnacle goose Barnacle goose numbers have risen dramatically over the past 60 years. But the polar bears are now capable of diminishing there numbers by eating more than 1,000 eggs at one sitting.

Of more than 500 nests on the island, fewer than 40 were successful and most of them had very small clutch sizes of only one or two gosling. The geese are very long-lived birds and their survival rate is increased if they don’t actually breed, especially the females.

Zoologists says that if their breeding continues to be affected in this way the population will quickly age, which threatens its stability and the future conservation of this bird which is very special to WWT.

The entire population of Svalbard barnacle geese winter on the Solway Firth and return to breed in the Arctic each summer.

A new research finding on Scotland says that Dundee is the most cost-effective city for students who are pursuing higher education.

The study report was made after comparing the cities in Scotland. The research analysis came to a conclusion once they measured the cities on the basis of expenditure and what can be earned.

According to the research, Edinburgh is the least cost-effective city. Students in Dundee spend the least in the UK at £175.24 per week, but students in Edinburgh spend nearly £25 more per week – or £743.70 more during a year. The research also revealed students in Scotland spend £186.04 a week, more than £15 less than the UK average of £201.77.

The RBS student banking said that the savvy Scottish students are keeping a check on their finances and working hard to progress in academics.

Students in Dundee are found to be the hardest working in the UK, bringing in £125.84 per week and working around 19.3 hours per week. In Edinburgh students make £94.33 per week but top the Scottish rankings for the amount of time spent studying at 27.4 hours per week.

A third or 34% of Scotland students receive less parental contributions than last year, with 10% stating it is more than £500 less.

News Source: The Scotsman

Have you fancied yourself having your breakfast, lunch or supper, uplifted in the sky? If you want this dream come true, rush to Edinburgh this summer, where the festival city will offer you a festival in the sky.

Dada Ventures is hosting this sky dining experience this summer during the entire August in Edinburgh in the backdrop of Edinburgh Castle. The diners will experience dining at more than 100 feet high in the sky, where they’re treated to a whole range of tasty treats including smoked salmon, a selection of Arran cheeses and smoked venison.

Staged the entire month of August, adventurous diners are being offered the chance to be served breakfast, lunch and dinner at over 100 feet in the air, on a 22-seater table which is suspended over Edinburgh’s West Princes Street Gardens.

Well-known chefs from the Cook School at Braehead Food, as well as celebrity guests such as Hardeep Singh Kohli and other performers, will entertain the guests during their slots. They prepare a dish with fresh Scottish produce, including chicken and haggis salad, complete with Ayrshire potatoes and leafy summer salad. Diners can also enjoy a bit of opera or be treated to a special cooking demonstration while taking in the breathtaking views of stunning attractions around capital city, including Edinburgh Castle.

They have staged this sky festival already in 35 countries in the world. The Dada Ventures is excited to have brought this experience into Edinburgh, especially when it is the high time for festivals in the city. The Dada directors says that it’s the most unique dining experience in the world and in Edinburgh, it is for the first time.

This is called complete democracy. The government is asking the opinion of people before building a bridge in the city. It is something new and haven’t heard before.

The people in Perth are being asked to vote for their favourite design of a new bridge to be built across the River Tay. So, the public will have a three weeks time from Friday to comment and vote on the plans. This bridge, which will span the river from the North Inch to Isla Road at Upper Springlands,is for pedestrians and cycle riders.

The bridge project which will cost about a multi-million pound was announced in December 2007. The project is expected complete by 2011. The bridge have received £1.25m from the Big Lottery Fund. This money also will be used to make improvements to local walking and cycling routes in Perth.

Once the public opinions are drawn, the next stage in the process will involve more detailed plans being drawn up and an investigation of the proposed site will take place. It is expected that the building work will take about six and eight months to complete.

Council leader Ian Miller said that it was important for the people of Perth to get involved in the decision making process of the bridge design.

People can vote for their favourite plans on the Perth and Kinross website, or request paper copies from the council. The consultation is open until midnight on 3 September.

The Connect2 project is a partnership between the transport partnership Tactran and the transport charity Sustrans.

News Courtesy: BBC