The Herald - Latest Scottish News, Business, Politics, Sport from Glasgow, Edinburgh

Exclusive: Scotland's councils are �hurtling towards an unprecedented financial crisis, with severe cutbacks forecast next year being revised upwards again � by as much as 50%.

Nissan axes 1200 jobs at flagship Sunderland car plant

Nissan is to axe 1,200 jobs at its flagship Sunderland plant in the wake of the economic slowdown which has hit the motor industry hard and led to sales slumping.

Nurse found in her car boot leaves hospital

A nurse found in the boot of her car has been discharged from hospital, police said today.

Scottish Government offers Gaza help to aid agencies

The Scottish Government today offered aid agencies help in providing humanitarian assistance in Gaza.

Watchdog finds wide discontent with factors

Exclusive: Almost one-half of flat owners believe their factors are not effective in getting things done, while one-third rate their service as poor value, the Office of Fair Trading has found.

Advertising watchdog probes atheist 'no God' campaign

An atheist advertising campaign planned for Scotland claiming "There's probably no God" has been reported to the industry regulator.

Stars line up to pay TV tribute to Burns

Some of Scotland's best-known actors are to celebrate the work of Robert Burns in a TV special.

Fire crews forced to flee NE Scotland gas blast hotel

Firefighters were today forced to flee a hotel in the north east of Scotland which was hit by a suspected gas blast over fears the building was about to collapse.

New problems hit Scotland-England West Coast Main Line

Train travellers on the Scotland-England West Coast Main Line are facing delays for the seventh day.

Salmond promises new Forth bridge on time and on budget

Alex Salmond today promised the new Forth Road Bridge will be built on time and within budget.

Burns' wife's wedding dress returns to Scotland

A fragment of wedding dress worn by the wife of Robert Burns has been returned to Scotland for display in a new museum dedicated to the national Bard, it was announced today.

Homecoming Scotland 'world's biggest family reunion'

This year's Homecoming celebrations will be one of the "biggest family reunions" ever staged in the world, enterprise minister Jim Mather said today.

VIDEO: Three injured after blast at refurbished hotel building

Three people were injured last night when a blast devastated a newly refurbished hotel. The explosion at the Drumtochty Arms hotel in Auchenblae, Aberdeenshire, came just weeks after it opened following several months of work.

Arts merger: Scottish Government accused of incompetence

The Scottish Government has been accused of incompetence over its handling of the merger of Scotland's main arts bodies.

Scottish Government urged to drop six month prison plans

The SNP Scottish Government today faced calls to abandon plans to phase out prison sentences of less than six months as MSPs prepare to debate the management of offenders.

Teachers attack primary testing plan

Teachers yesterday criticised new national tests for primary school pupils in Scotland as "testing for testing's sake". The attack follows a Scottish Government plan which renews the focus on improving standards of literacy and numeracy.

MAIN BUSINESS

Royal Bank of Scotland may sell Bank of China stake

Royal Bank of Scotland today said it may sell its �2bn stake in Bank of China.

M&S shares rally despite sales fall

Marks & Spencer's shares soared yesterday in a relief rally after Christmas performance exceeded at least the direst expectations and the company announced further cost cutting.

Serious Fraud Office launch Madoff investigation

An investigation was launched today into the British activities of alleged multi-billion-pound fraudster Bernard Madoff.

MAIN SPORT

Rangers: Alex McLeish says Kris Boyd deal is 'dead'

The transfer of Rangers star Kris Boyd to Birmingham City deal has collapsed, Birmingham manager Alex McLeish said this afternoon.

Murray insists it was his decision to sell Boyd as transfer hits snag

Exclusive: Sir David Murray last night accepted full responsibility for sanctioning the �3.75m sale of Kris Boyd to Birmingham City but vehemently rejected claims of increasing pressure, or even direct intervention, from the bank.

Rangers forced to steer new course

What now for Rangers? A period of prolonged suffering and second prizes, if they are not careful. Sir David Murray is now enduring the bitter taste of his own medicine.

Knee injury is further setback for Lafferty

Rangers were dealt a fresh striking problem yesterday when Kyle Lafferty, earmarked as the replacement for the departing Kris Boyd, suffered possible knee ligament damage in a bounce game against Morton at Murray Park, writes Darryl Broadfoot.

Caddis right back in Celtic contention

Part of any Old Firm apprenticeship is the ability to detect the merest whiff of a first-team opportunity. With the club shorn of cover in the right-back slot, Paul Caddis has the scent of a starting slot in his nostrils.

Longmuir hails insurance policy as vehicle for change

The Scottish Football League have defied the chill economic wind with the announcement of a two-year extension to their agreement with Co-operative Insurance for sponsorship of the league cup.(With video)

Porter the difference as Hearts fail to score again

Motherwell 1 - 0 Hearts: Csaba Laszlo clearly does not subscribe to the old cliche about taking things one game at a time. The Hearts manager had described the timing of this re-arranged SPL match away to Motherwell as �not the best�.

Ayrshire tie the only show in town for supporters

With the Scottish Cup rebranded to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, it seems fitting that the draw should pair together Ayrshire�s two senior clubs for their first competitive meeting in more than seven years.

Out of volcano . . . and into the fire

When all else fails, when the news is crammed with credit crunches and casualties of war, there is always English cricket to bring a smile to the face of the dourest of Cassandras.

Imperious Murray still in cruise control

Andy Murray continued his build-up to this month's Australian Open with a comfortable 6-2, 6-4 victory over Philipp Petzschner.

Mustchin injury could be blow for Scotland

Matt Mustchin may be the latest Scotland contender to be ruled out of the RBS 6 Nations if he has to undergo surgery on the ankle he damaged last weekend.

Rugby is trailing behind other sports in attracting youngsters

Kevin Ferrie on Thursday: No-one likes to be a party pooper but the Scottish Rugby Union�s celebrations this week at having raised the number of youngsters playing the game by 10% somehow seemed a tad premature.

Revenge is in the air as Smith sets Kauto Star another target

He tried hard to hide it at the time, but when Kauto Star, Clive Smith�s pride and joy, was defeated by stable-mate Denman in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March, the owner was deeply disappointed.

Laing and Feggans up with the early pace

Vikki Laing and Pamela Feggans made comfortable starts to the Ladies European Tour pre-qualifying and stood in the top 10 after the first round at La Manga in Spain yesterday.

Rangers fans slate looming sale of Kris Boyd

Rangers fans have accused the Ibrox club of settling for second best by sanctioning the sale of Kris Boyd.

Healy move to Rangers dismissed as Boyd deal looms

Sunderland striker David Healy's agent has dismissed reports the Northern Ireland striker is set to leave the club for Rangers.

McGeady decides not to appeal Celtic fine

Aiden McGeady's Celtic future is now in Gordon Strachan's hands after the midfielder decided not to appeal the fine imposed on him for verbally abusing the manager.

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