SCOTLAND’S only tank regiment is to be sent to Iraq to fight as light infantry because the army is running out of foot soldiers.
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (RSDG), which helped spearhead the armoured assault on Basra in 2003, is to swop most of its 68-tonne Challenger 2 tanks for rifles when it deploys back [...]

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The man who murdered a two-year-old boy with an airgun in Glasgow has been jailed for life and ordered to serve at least 13 years in prison.
Mark Bonini was found guilty three weeks ago of murdering Andrew Morton, who died after being hit on the head by an airgun pellet in Easterhouse.
Bonini, [...]

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A man has been convicted of showing video footage of a hostage beheading in Iraq to a woman on his mobile phone.
The District Court in Glasgow heard Subhaan Younis, 23, showed hotel worker Charlotte McClay graphic images of a man having his head sawn off.
Younis, of Baliol Street in the city, was found [...]

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A SCOTS-BASED Muslim leader caused outrage yesterday by saying he would be “very happy” if bombers blew up Downing Street with Tony Blair inside. Dr Yaqub Zaki, deputy leader of the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain, insisted he would not condemn such an attack.
He said: “I say go ahead, I would be very happy. The [...]

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People of Indian and Pakistani origin living in Scotland are 60% to 70% more likely to have a heart attack but less likely to die, according to a study.
Edinburgh University researchers used ethnicity data from the 2001 population census to find out more about the links between ethnicity and certain diseases.
They found that 30% [...]

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The Liberal Democrat leader in Europe has reignited the party’s debate on drug policy, with a call for the regulated legalisation of all hard drugs.
Chris Davies, MEP for the North West region and leader of the party in Brussels, put himself at odds with the party leadership by calling for a rethink of prohibition in [...]

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TV comedy Little Britain has led to teachers suffering homophobic abuse in the classroom, it was claimed yesterday.
The lycra-clad character Daffyd was blamed for a surge in calls to a charity helpline from victims who fear they are becoming figures of fun.
A quarter of those calling the Educational Action Challenging Homophobia line [...]

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[I thought cultural differences were suppose to be celebrated-ed]
A SCOTS oil worker has caused an international stink - simply by breaking wind.
His flatuence upset colleagues in an African office so much they made an official complaint.
The unnamed employee was branded a ‘biohazard’ by angry co-workers who filed a ‘hazardous situation report’ about his behaviour.
And the [...]

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THREE suspects wanted over teenager Kriss Donald’s murder are returning to face trial in Scotland, it was revealed yesterday.
The three are being held in a foreign country where they were arrested last month.
And yesterday there was a major breakthrough in the 17-month murder inquiry when they appeared before a magistrate.
Scottish police had planned to [...]

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British Airways flights are starting to get back to normal after an unofficial 24-hour strike by baggage handlers at London’s Heathrow Airport.
BA managers in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen have advised passengers to turn up for travel as usual.
They said they would book passengers on alternative flights if necessary to clear the backlog.
Talks to [...]

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A SCOTS teenager was raped and thrown down a lift shaft in a tourist town in Turkey.
The girl was attacked by a maintenance worker and left for dead yards from her hotel room in the Mediterranean resort of Marmaris.
The 17-year-old - on holiday with her parents and brother - was rushed to hospital after she [...]

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INVERNESS community councillors last night rallied behind their vice-chairman after he admitted being a senior official in the far right British National Party.
Kenny Smith, the secretary of the BNP for Scotland, is vice-chairman of Smithton and Culloden Community Council and the man behind a planned family event at Fort George to mark the bi-centenary [...]

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An Algerian-born Briton has been arrested in Thailand with hundreds of forged European passports intended for sale in London, Thai officials say.
Mahieddine Daikh, 35, was stopped at Bangkok airport early on Wednesday in possession of 452 fake passports from Spain, Belgium, Portugal and France.
Local police said Mr Daikh confessed to buying the [...]

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A Polish shipyard has beaten a Scottish rival in the contest for two public sector orders, it has been confirmed.
The Remontowa yard has been named as the preferred bidder for a fisheries protection vessel ahead of Port Glasgow’s Ferguson yard.
The Gdansk yard has also won a contract to build a new ferry for [...]

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The budget for compensating prisoners forced to slop out in Scottish jails has increased by 70%, it has emerged.
The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) now expects to pay out up to £44m and has set aside a contingency liability fund.
Several hundred inmates still have to use chamber pots instead of toilets in Scottish jails. [...]

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