The Sheep’s Tale

Live blog of The Herald's local election coverage

SHELL has almost tripled first quarter profits as the company feels the benefit of the surge in oil and gas prices that has left consumers facing huge increases in their energy bills.

Last year, according to data released by the National Water Safety Forum, deaths in the water in Scotland rose from 99 to 105.

THE number of flying insects in Scotland has dropped by nearly 30% in 20 years - leading to new concerns that "nature is in trouble".

NEW £30m project has been launched in Scotland to find out if hydrogen can be a clean alternative to natural gas, for homes and businesses.

THE UK's most northerly castle is back up for sale - with a starting bid guide price of less than a typical Scottish house.

SPRING is a time when the spotlight traditionally shines on the amount leading executives at our biggest listed companies are paid, with shareholders given the opportunity to vote on remuneration reports and policies at annual general meetings.

Schools in some of Scotland’s most deprived areas face severe funding cuts that will impair their ability to tackle the poverty-related attainment gap and effectively mean they are paying for new services elsewhere, ministers have been warned.

THE UK Government is to provide a further £45m to aid organisations working in Ukraine and has issued a tranche of new sanctions against Russia.

By Ian McConnell

Exclusive

Amphista Therapeutics, a spin-out company from the University of Dundee, has signed collaboration agreements with two major global pharmaceutical companies that together could be worth more than $2 billion (£1.6bn).

AN app-based broadband provider that believes its service is a “world first” is set to launch in Scotland after a £660,000 fundraising round backed by key investors.

One of the frustrations many of us have about today’s elections is that we’re essentially taking part in a system that hasn’t changed in decades even though it needs to. We might be able to influence who our councillors are – maybe – but ev...

By Scott Wright

INVESTORS have underlined their interest in the West of Shetland area as the surge in oil and gas prices and the drive to reduce the UK’s reliance on imports puts a premium on domestic resources.

Investment in smaller Scottish technology businesses surged last year according to new research which shows that the amount of equity raised in the first nine months of 2021 surpassed that for the whole of 2020.

By Scott Wright

PRIME Minister Boris Johnson in his recent speech echoed Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in rejecting conceding any Ukrainian territory, including Crimea ("Johnson likens Putin’s invasion of Ukraine to Hitler’s Germany", The Herald, May 3). Ms Truss ...

THE first time I ever voted I made a holiday out of it. This was in June 1983. I was a student at Stirling University at the time, but term had finished, and I was back in Northern Ireland working.

An oil derived from tiny crustaceans could boost muscle strength in later life and prevent elderly falls, a new study suggests.

FARMING

THE best things in life are free, according to Luther Vandross. Instinctively that feels true. Everyone loves the free stuff. From the miniature pencils you can pick up in Ikea (very useful for the golf course) to the extra croissant from the hotel b...

THE RETURN of The Herald & GenAnalytics Diversity Conference yesterday brought together the country’s senior professionals in HR, business development and recruitment to share ideas and explore this year’s theme of ‘Reset: Re-engage: Re-focus�...

Hints and answer to today's Wordle.

Our cartoonist Steven Camley’s take on George Eustice: May 5

CULTURALLY, Scotland is becoming a very thin-skinned and nervous country. The mere act, these days, of academics asking questions – which is, after all, what we pay them to do – is increasingly taken as signs and omens of hyper-politicisation und...

WHEN woke mobs started ripping statues from their plinths, the Diary wondered what could replace them, and truly there was only one possible answer.

WE are now one year into Nicola Sturgeon’s third SNP Scottish Government and 15 years since the SNP won office at Holyrood. But now, the combined CalMac crisis and Ferguson Marine fiasco have pushed Sturgeon and the SNP Government further towards t...

Ukraine has urged the West to ramp up the supply of weapons

Scots will be asked to vote for their local councillors in an election dominated by national issues

ANAS Sarwar has urged voters to remove the SNP's "puppets” from councils to allow the reversal of budget cuts and rebuilding of communities.

The SNP looks set for a convincing electoral win in this week’s council elections. Soon debate about when an IndyRef 2 might take place will quicken. 

The SNP looks set for a convincing electoral win in today’s council elections. Soon debate about when an IndyRef 2 might take place will quicken.

Chairman Tim Martin shared the warning to customers of the popular pub chain known for it’s cheap prices for beer and food.

NICOLA Sturgeon has denied being out-of-touch when it comes to the cost of living crisis despite having a pre-tax household income of more than £200,000 a year.

THE FIRST Minister has been urged to “think again” over a decision not to agree further funding to the beleaguered Cairngorm mountain resort.

The First Minister has said she will not say sorry for decisions made around the ferry fiasco contract and denied allegations by tycoon Jim McColl that she had lied over jobs saved by it.

A TRIAL is under way to bring the prospect of building a UK-wide delivery network for hydrogen a step closer to reality in a partnership between SGN and INEOS.

The two-week hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh ended with a jury unanimously finding Czapla guilty of murder.

First Minister's Questions was delayed this afternoon after the speakers in Holyrood's chamber started making weird electrical sounds.

UNION leaders have warned strikes that could bring Scotland's fisheries protection to a halt are "inevitable after lack of progress in talks with Scottish Government over a row over a pay award that could constitute an "illegal inducement.

Loganair's chief executive has issued an apology to customers in Orkney and Shetland after a "difficult" month in April.

SCOTLAND'S top police officer has ruled himself from succeeding Dame Cressida Dick as the Metropolitan Police Commissioner.

Russian businesses will be banned from using UK-based accountancy firms, the Foreign Secretary has announced.

FORMER Labour leader Richard Leonard has repeated his demand for miners arrested during the strike to be compensated ”as soon as reasonably practicable”.

A TORY MP who was watching porn in the Commons has formally quit as a parliamentarian.

MOST Scots don’t believe Nicola Sturgeon’s plan for a second referendum will happen.

Elon Musk has been invited to give evidence to MPs expected about his expected takeover of social media giant Twitter.