By Gillian Fyfe

ALEX Kapranos is trying to explain to me what fame feels like. He has chosen to do so through an analogy that involves a popular children’s confectionary brand.

THE Prime Minister is scheduled to come to Scotland next week amid news that the Greens and SNP will soon be putting together a joint prospectus for Scottish independence ahead of a 2023 referendum.

A hospital patient in Bedfordshire has died from a confirmed case of Lassa fever – the third case to be identified in the UK in the last few days.

One patient in the UK has died from a confirmed case of the Ebola-like virus Lassa fever. Three cases have been recorded in recent days, sparking fears of a new outbreak.

Scotland has the opportunity to achieve “significant” reform of education but lacks vital information about how its teaching and learning system is progressing, according to Glasgow’s new schools boss.

Boris Johnson has received a legal questionnaire from police investigating allegations of lockdown-breaching parties in Downing Street.

NICOLA Sturgeon is hopelessly “ill-prepared” for an independence referendum and shouldn’t even try to have one next year, a former deputy leader of the SNP has said.

CALMAC has said unforeseen ferry faults have been partly to blame for disruption to lifeline services which has resulted in islanders raising concerns about empty food shelves.

The coffins, we now know, filled the church next to the main cemetery in Bergamo.

THE SNP and the Scottish Greens will draw up and publish a joint government prospectus on independence which will be put to voters under plans to hold a new referendum next year, The Herald can reveal.

SCOTLAND should lead the world by transitioning away from oil and gas now despite fears that energy bills will continue to soar by relying on imported gas, according to Scottish Greens' co leader Lorna Slater.

SENIOR figures in the SNP are discussing whether to include a commitment to hold a EU referendum in its second independence referendum prospectus.

Some quotations can be tricky to source. John Maynard Keynes is frequently cited as saying: “When the facts change, I change my mind, what do you do?”

THE whirring of the washing machine in the background tells the story of an athlete back out on the circuit and Guy Learmonth couldn’t be happier.

Omega Diagnostics has sold the Clackmannanshire facility that has been its headquarters for the past 19 years as the company prepares to vacate Scotland and distance itself from what has been a volatile foray into manufacturing Covid testing kits.

SMALLER businesses have borne the brunt of the Brexit fiasco that was found officially this week to have done no more than increase costs and create problems where they did not exist before.

IT’S quite an accolade to be compared to Torvill and Dean.

There have been so many outstanding dramas on terrestrial television of late that I cannot be alone in wondering if it is still worth paying for a streaming service. To paraphrase a certain blue-eyed actor, when the likes of The Responder and Anne ar...

Investors have been venting their spleen at Omega Diagnostics, with the level of vitriol unleashed against some representatives of the company such that there are suggestions the police may need to be involved.

I have travelled by train between Edinburgh and London more or less monthly for the past two years.

Major questions remain over the number of secure teaching positions that have been created with Covid recovery money, according to MSPs.

YOU never wait long before one of Scotland’s professional political savants mounts a pulpit to tell us where we’re all going wrong. In recent years this narrow public space has often been visited by Jack McConnell.

Hints and answer for today's Wordle.

By Ian McConnell

By Jason Hollands

THE very first book I bought for myself was one of Enid Blyton’s lesser-known works. The Adventures of Binkle and Flip, a couple of “bad bunnies” according to the author “the biggest rascals ever met, since Brer Rabbit Died!” My edition dat...

IS Scotland finally moving into a "calmer phase of the pandemic"?

The debate about Brexit has shown the importance of maintaining trading relationships for future economic prospects – and the consequences of any disruption to these trade flows.

AS Fridays go, this is one of those days that anyone living with a tumour will relate to.

Delusion rules Holyrood, where an absence of intellectual rigour applied to crucial issues, leaves the independence movement lacking the material needed for a Yes victory.

By Scott Wright

THE rise of golf’s Højgaard twins has been so rapid, they should be sponsored by Elon Musk’s space exploration company.

The Herald’s Scotland’s Future series is looking at the issues affecting the nation as part of the constitutional debate.

Scotland is the only part of the UK whose population is expected to fall over the next 20 years. According to the latest projection from the National Records of Scotland, the Scottish population will reach an historic maximum of 5.48 million in

From The Terminator to Annie Hall, our pick of the week's TV films

Tattie growing is a must for most veg growers and the quality of seed potatoes is pivotal. It’s long been recognised that Scottish seed potatoes produce more vigorous crops with higher yields than those produced almost anywhere else in the world.

THERE are certain “givens” that should not be taken. Here is one. It is not only routine, but apparently mandatory, to describe footballers as role models.

MY wife and I, both pensioners, live in a council tax band E house. We receive no other government subsidies other than winter fuel payments.

It's a bit of a step up from the wooden pencil cases or spice racks of secondary school.

Our cartoonist Steven Camley’s take on the latest developments in the Downing Street Christmas party saga

IT seems Wordle is now so woven into the fabric of society, it is saving lives, helping to rescue a hostage in the United States as Wordle mania continues to sweep the world.

Footering about

LOOK, as a PR person with many years’ experience – and the wife of the Prime Minister – I realise that talking to a journalist is almost as dangerous as being a kitten in a West Ham player’s kitchen.

THERE are certain roles in public life where the departure of the person at the top is the only appropriate response to failure or public dissatisfaction. And, though it may seem unfair, there are high-profile positions where serious problems are mor...

Mamasan

Kate expectations ABERDEENSHIRE Tory MP Andrew Bowie has featured regularly in Unspun for various gaffes, but had better press on Tuesday. In the morning he posted a picture of an ultrasound to announce he and partner Maddie were “ecstatic” at a ...

For decades, some of our industries, including farming, waste management and forestry, have been allowed to use rebated or “red” diesel at a saving of nearly 47p a litre. The “red” component is an added colourant that lets HMRC officers ident...

Here is everything you need to know about the UK clock changes in 2022.

DON'T **** With Cats. You may have seen the disturbing Netflix true-crime docuseries. After a series of videos posted from 2010 on the internet showed cats being tormented and killed, a group of online animal activists mobilised to find perpetrator L...