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source-The Gathering Storm

One of the biggest threats to US security may now come from within Europe, US Homeland Security head Michael Chertoff has told the BBC.
He said militant attacks and plots in Europe over recent years had made the US aware of the “real risk that Europe will become a platform for terrorists”. for more click here

EDINBURGH blasted itself back to the heart of worldwide New Year celebrations last night as up to 100,000 revellers toasted the arrival of 2008.

The year was only one second old but a £1.3 million pyrotechnic glare left no doubt that the capital had rekindled its world-famous Hogmanay spark. Despite damp weather, the joyous atmosphere in Princes Street was a sharp contrast to 12 months earlier, when gale-force winds saw the street party scrapped at the last minute. for more click here

Budget airline Ryanair has announced that it is to launch new flights to mainland Europe from Scotland. for more click here

Scotland could provide the setting for the early stages of a future Tour de France.

National events agency EventScotland are looking to bring ‘Le Tour’ to Scotland in the near future following the success of its launch in England earlier this year. for more click here

US: Give Guantanamo Detainees Fair Process
Reinstate Habeas Corpus and Try Detainees in Federal Courts

(Washington, DC, December 4, 2007) – The US Supreme Court should uphold the right of non-citizen detainees to challenge the lawfulness of their detention through habeas corpus, and military commission prosecutions should be transferred to federal court, Human Rights Watch said today.
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Scotland has been given approval for the first time to access a £200m budget to boost cross-border links with Ireland and Northern Ireland. for more click here

SCOTLAND’S tourism industry leaders will fly to Russia today in an attempt to cash in on what is becoming one of the most lucrative markets in the world.

Russian tourists spend more per day than any other nationality, but the number of Russians who actually make it over to Scotland is well behind the numbers coming from much smaller European nations. for more click here

THE NUMBER of tourists staying in Edinburgh every year is expected to rise by almost one million over the next decade under plans to expand the industry.

More hotels, improved visitor attractions, a focus on green tourism and a drive to get more international conferences to the capital are all expected to boost the city’s worldwide reputation.  for more click here

Britain is risking a new foreign policy rift with the US after bluntly telling the Bush Administration that it is “winning the battles but losing the war” in Afghanistan.

Gordon Brown and David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, fear that the US remains “fixated” by Iraq and is failing to address what they regard as the real front line in the war on terrorism. for more click here