A SCOTTISH Government music education programme which aims to put "music at the heart of children and young people's lives and learning" has been plunged into crisis after having all its funding put on hold.

LIKE, I imagine, a great many others, when the Palace announced the Queen was being kept comfortable at Balmoral and that her children were heading north to gather at her bedside, my thoughts turned to my own grandmother.

By Ian McConnell

THE events of the past week have made the people of Scotland proud to be Scottish.

A SCOTTISH shipyard is "to deliver first-class frigates" to Poland after securing two new warship contracts.

Scottish energy group Parkmead is pressing ahead with drilling at its Skerryvore field in the UK North Sea some seven years after first announcing its intention to do so.

JOHN Lewis has revealed it slumped to a £99 million half-year loss as it said it opted to “forgo” profit to help staff, customers and suppliers through the cost of living crisis.

Elderly Scots who fund their own residential care have seen an astonishing 100% rise in costs in one Scottish city, new data shows.

EXCESS deaths from non-Covid illnesses have overtaken those caused by the infection for the first time since the pandemic began, amid spiralling pressures on the NHS.

SHARES in The Hut Group, in which Sir Tom Hunter has a stake, plunged as the e-commerce retailer reported record revenue of £1.1 billion while it continues to be loss-making.

We've said goodbye to a number of people in the public eye in 2022, including Meat Loaf, Ronnie Spector and Barry Cryer.

In an inflationary spiral where the Governor of the Bank of England has asked ordinary workers to “think and reflect” before asking for pay rises, the optics on removing the cap on bonuses for highly remunerated bankers couldn’t be worse.

WHEN the nation falls silent on Sunday evening for a minute’s silence it will be a poignant end to a service dedicated to the Queen’s memory at Glasgow Cathedral.

WHEN Covid first swept through Scotland in 2020, the total number of excess deaths recorded - 6,324 - was the highest in peacetime since the Russian flu outbreak of 1891.

THIS week Scotland bade a fond farewell to its revered Queen of Scots, Queen Elizabeth, the longest reigning monarch in UK history. And without wanting to sound too much like Brucie, didn’t we do well?

Our cartoonist Steven Camley’s take on Covid rates September 16 2022

IT was the frostiest of stares that Liz Truss gave Nicola Sturgeon as the First Minister spoke during the Queen's service of prayer and reflection at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh.

YOU can’t be a democrat, and at the same time believe in a hereditary head of state. I’ve said and written that many times before. I have always been reluctant to call myself a republican (maybe that’s because the term is somewhat loaded in the...

IT is a piece of music nearly 300 years old, traditionally played during moments of national pride, but there are calls at this momentous marker in history for "Rule, Britannia!" to be played no more.

THE BISHOP of Paisley has criticised the SNP after the party disciplined John Mason over controversial comments around the large-scale anti-abortion protests outside hospitals and clinics across Scotland.

The blazing object was spotted by hundreds on Wednesday night

The Fife-based university also landed second place UK-wide.

On yer bike

If you're not a fan of the hit games Wordle or Heardle then maybe try the movie spin-off Framed.

Hints and answers for today's Wordle.

ALBUMS by Mercury Prize nominated C Duncan and Scots jazz pianist Fergus McCreadie are among those that have been picked as among the nation's 20 best for 2022.

A PAEDOPHILE has been given an extended sentence for the abuse of boys over 13 years in both Scotland and England.

INVITING members of the Chinese government to the Queen’s funeral is an “extraordinary” error given the country’s human rights record, a group of MPs and Lords has said.

AN Outer Hebrides island hit by a series of disruptions because of ferry failures is to lose a services for 15 days due to a critical safety concern with a port.

DEFENCE giant Babcock has hailed a double-contract win that will boost Poland’s frigate programme.

SUPPORT workers for two women rescued from the clutches of human traffickers in Glasgow have told of the "horrendous ordeals" suffered by the victims.

THE UK has refused refuse to implement the Northern Ireland Protocol in full despite a legal deadline expiring today, heightening the prospect of a trade war with Brussels

A ROW has blown up as it emerged that Prince Andrew is able to step in for the King and perform royal duties after being automatically bestowed the role of Counsellor of State.

Spencer Smith tried to portray the assault as consensual.

NICOLA Sturgeon has reportedly cancelled a planned climate trip to New York due to take place next week.

LIZ Truss and her chancellor are facing a growing backlash to a “politically toxic” plan to remove the cap on bankers’ bonuses while the country endures a cost-of-living crisis.

PLANS have been lodged for the major refurbishment of the former Scottish Amicable headquarters in Glasgow.

SHELL has announced the departure of long-standing chief executive Ben van Beurden, following weeks of speculation that a change at the top was looming.

I HAVE written previously that the evidence is that the NHS in Scotland no longer provides an elective service “free at the point of need”, and now is indeed dead. The recent evidence from the Scottish Arthroplasty Project lends further support t...

IT is the biggest hit the BBC has had in decades, a ratings juggernaut, a global success, but there was never any doubt that this was one contest Strictly Come Dancing was destined to lose.

TIM Martin, the chairman of JD Wetherspoon, has a history of ruffling feathers. There are many people in his own industry who hold hugely different political views to the pub trade veteran.

CONFIDENCE among UK shoppers fell into negative territory for the first time since June 2020, according to new analysis.

Tullow Oil has declared it remains “fully committed” to its merger with Edinburgh-headquartered Capricorn Energy despite resistance to the deal from some key Capricorn shareholders.

SALES at Zara soared in the first half of the year but the fashion giant’s owner Inditex has warned of “supply chain tensions” for the second half.

A Glasgow councillor has declared he doesn’t have a King as Charles III is proclaimed the new monarch.

By Ian McConnell

FRONTLINE healthcare workers will no longer be routinely tested for Covid unless they have symptoms, the Scottish Government has confirmed.

THE new Prime Minister’s plan to address the energy crisis by ramping up North Sea oil and gas production and lifting the ban on fracking is absurd.

The Princess Royal is to return north of the border today to visit Glasgow to meet representatives of organisations of which the Queen was Patron.

THEY were brought together in grief and as the parents of two Scots killed abroad met for the first time they shared a joint hope that one day they would have justice.