Leith Community portal, edinburgh, eh16, Leith, Persevere

The radical Iraqi Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr, has announced the “rebuilding” of his Mehdi Army militia over a maximum period of six months. for more click here

A SPECIAL team of care staff recruited to look after elderly patients at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary (ERI) is set to be axed.

The team of “housekeepers” was introduced in the wake of a series of scandals surrounding the alleged neglect of the elderly at the hospital. for more click here

Everyone has their favorite memory of departing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales: his endless “do not recalls”; his quibbling definitions of torture; his dismissive attitude toward the “quaint” and “obsolete” Geneva Conventions. for more click here

 An approach which encourages pupils to face up to the consequences of bad behaviour is helping to improve discipline in Scottish classrooms, according to an evaluation report on restorative practices.

Pilots were held in three parts of Scotland - Highland, North Lanarkshire and Fife - and the approach was found to have the potential to make a real difference in promoting positive behaviour and dealing with serious indiscipline.
(more…)

THE families of workers killed in the Stockline explosion expressed outrage last night after the plant’s operators were fined the equivalent of £44,000 per victim.

They told how life would never be the same for children who lost their parents and branded the overall £400,000 penalty an “insult”. for more click here

For 10 years I visited Edinburgh every August, stayed at the Balmoral Hotel at the north end of Princes Street, took Buster for his early morning walk up Calton Hill and ended our excursion in the Old Calton Burial Ground. We spent a few minutes among the graves of Scottish enlightenment, paid our respects to the statue of Abraham Lincoln, which celebrates the Scots who died fighting for the Union in the American civil war, and returned for breakfast, physically tired but spiritually refreshed. Not any more. A notice has appeared by the cemetery gate. It announces that acting under the powers conferred on it by the Scottish Civic Government Act of 1982, the Edinburgh Corporation has made it an indictable offence to bring a dog into a cemetery or churchyard. for more click here

When the Scottish National party scraped into office in May with just one more seat than Labour, it was assumed that its period running Scotland’s devolved government would be short and inglorious. But under Alex Salmond, in the space of 100 days it has established its mastery over all its rivals, who now fear voting it out of office in case fresh elections confirm the huge lead the SNP has built up in the polls. for more click here

The US will continue to refuse requests for its personnel to appear at inquests into the “friendly fire” deaths of British troops, a report says. The MoD has sent written guidance to coroners across England and Wales over the holding of military inquests. for more click here

Up to 7,000 council workers in Edinburgh struck for 24 hours on Thursday of last week against the Lib Dem/SNP coalition council’s plans to make up to £10 million of cuts to jobs and vital services.  for more click here

Thousands of prison officers in England and Wales are striking in a protest over pay, the association representing them has said. The Prison Officers’ Association says the strike, which started at 0700 BST, will go on for a minimum of 24 hours. for more click here