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Scottish Greens aim for all MSP regions for 2016

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THE Scottish Greens could return MSPs in each of Holyrood’s eight parliamentary regions, a leading member of the party has said.

Maggie Chapman made the comments as she announced she was stepping down as a councillor in Edinburgh to concentrate on becoming an MSP in next May’s Scottish elections.

Ms Chapman, who is rector of Aberdeen University, has already been chosen as the party’s lead candidate in the North-east area.

She said: “While I am taking nothing for granted and will work hard for every single vote, I also firmly believe that we can and will win MSPs in every region in Scotland.”

Ms Chapman said it had been a “huge honour and privilege” to represent the Leith Walk ward on Edinburgh City Council for the last eight years.

The Green Party in Edinburgh is in the process of selecting a candidate to stand for the area.

Steve Burgess, convenor of the Green group on the council, said: “We will campaign hard to ensure a new Green councillor is elected at the by-election, on a promise that only the Greens can offer a progressive and constructive opposition to the current Labour-SNP administration at the City Chambers.

“We’ll battle for communities to have a greater say in what goes on in their area, we’ll campaign for local services against funding cuts; and we’ll fight to make sure promises made to Leith, on new jobs and transport, are promises delivered.

“People in Leith Walk have shown consistent and rising support for the Greens over the last 10 years and I’m sure they will want to ensure that they still have a Green councillor as one of the four councillors representing them.”

It is expected the council by-election will take place on September 10 this year, the same day as voters will choose a successor to Deirdre Brock, the SNP member for Leith Walk.

This could be the first time there has been a by-election for two places in the same multi-member ward held together.


TUESDAY MARKET CLOSE: Grocers fall as Greek crisis continues

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WITH the prospect of a Greek debt default weighing heavily on European markets, the UK’s big grocers were under pressure following the latest snapshot of the health of the sector.

Data from Kantar Worldpanel showed discount rivals Aldi and Lidl continued to win customers away from the established chains, with Morrisons the only one of the “big four” to grow sales in the past three months. But shares in the Bradford-based retailer still ended the day 1.8p lower at 180.8p.

Market leader Tesco, which endured a 1.3 per cent fall in takings for the 12 weeks to 21 June, dropped 6.2p or 2.8 per cent to 212.55p, while rival Sainsbury’s closed down 8.9p at 265.3p – a decline of 3.3 per cent – as Kantar said its sales had dropped by the same margin.

Elsewhere in the sector, there was better news for online grocer Ocado, which gained 15.9p or 3.7 per cent to 445.9p after telling investors it was confident of securing an international partner for its technology by the end of the year.

The FTSE 100 Index finished the day 99.5 points lower at 6,520.98, having tumbled more than 133 points in yesterday’s session, as Athens looked set to miss a €1.6 billion (£1.1bn) payment to the International Monetary Fund.

Tony Cross, market analyst at Trustnet Direct, said: “While we can expect some turbulent times should Greece default and exit the eurozone, it shouldn’t be quite as cataclysmic as it might have been just a couple of years ago. The problem is not knowing what the knock-on effect might be: will it tempt other struggling peripheral countries to try the same thing?”

The biggest FTSE 100 riser was drug company Hikma Pharmaceuticals, up 47p or 2.5 per cent at 1,933p, followed by engineer Meggitt, which edged up 3.4p to 466.4p. The heaviest faller was miner BHP Billiton, down 52.5p or 4 per cent at 1,249p.

Benefit top-ups for Scotland rejected by Tories

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A BID to allow Holyrood to design a new welfare system for Scotland has been rejected by the UK government.

The rejection of a Labour amendment backed by the SNP is a setback for those who hoped that the Scotland Bill pushing through the Smith Commission recommendations on devolution would allow Holyrood to create new benefits and top up existing ones.

Conservative ministers warned that the amendment would prevent the UK Parliament from changing the welfare system itself and questioned whether it would give Holyrood any further freedom to act.

However, the row highlighted the different interpretations of the five-party Smith Commission agreement, laid bare in the former Tory /Lib Dem coalition government.

Before Christmas, the then Lib Dem chief Treasury secretary Danny Alexander said the agreement would allow for top ups of all benefits including pensions.

But a few weeks later, Chancellor George Osborne, who has played a significant role in shaping the current Scotland Bill, said that creating a second “top-up pension” in Scotland would “go against the spirit of the Smith Commission”.

The exchanges on the third day of the committee stage of the bill came amid a row over the refusal by Tory ministers to accept any amendments in the committee stage and a warning from SNP Scottish affairs select committee chairman Pete Wishart that changes should not be carried out in the “unelected” House of Lords.

SNP Deputy First Minister John Swinney has written to Conservative Scottish Secretary David Mundell repeating concerns raised by Edinburgh East MP Tommy Sheppard about the refusal to accept changes to the bill.

He asked for “reassurance” that the purpose of his continued talks with Mr Mundell is “to consider seriously and act on these views”.

North Ayrshire and Arran MP Patrica Gibson claimed that the effect of the bill would be to turn Mr Mundell into a “colossal governor general” for Scotland.

Pushing his amendment to allow Holyrood freedom to create new benefits and top up existing ones, Labour shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray said: “New clause 31 is a provision that allows the Scottish Parliament to top up any reserved benefit in the United Kingdom and create any benefit in devolved areas.

“So there would be an ability to create a system that allowed you to mitigate the reduction in tax credits.”

Mr Murray said that Labour’s amendments would implement the recommendations of the cross-party Smith Commission in spirit and in substance.

He said: “This wide-ranging power effectively gives the Scottish Parliament the power to design their own welfare system.

“However unlike others, we are determined to ensure the welfare state remains an integrated UK-wide system of social security to allow for the continued pooling and sharing of risks and pooling and sharing of resources.”

Backing Mr Murray’s amendment, SNP work and pensions spokeswoman Eilidh Whiteford said that the UK government needed to “live up to the spirit and letter of the Smith Commission”.

She said: “We’ve seen repeatedly how people, the most vulnerable people in our communities, are falling foul of that sanctions regime.”

But employment minister Priti Patel insisted that the government agreed with the principle of the Smith Commission on welfare but claimed the bill combined with previous Scotland Acts delivers it. She said: “Undermining the social security reservation in this way would limit the freedom of the UK Parliament in relation to introduction of new benefits and making changes to existing benefits.”

Later Mr Mundell tried to reassure the House that he intended to make changes to the bill in conjunction with talks with Mr Swinney.

However, he said: “It speaks volumes that no SNP MP has brought an amendment to devolve pensions.”

He said that this meant there was “a clear consensus” that pensions are best pooled and shared across the UK.

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Leaders: Welfare dispute could cloud bigger picture

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FOR all the positive, collaborative discussions and negotiations that took place at the cross-party Smith Commission on further devolution of powers to Scotland, there was always one weakness in the process which threatened to return the debate to adversarial political wrangling.

The commission could produce a report and recommendations, but these would be at the mercy of interpretation.

After three days of debate on the Scotland Bill at Westminster, frustration is building among the opposition parties. All amendments have been rejected, and there is little evidence so far that the government has any appetite to take on board additional proposals. The government insist that the bill goes far enough, with employment minister Priti Patel stating that it meets both the substance and the spirit of the Smith Commission. It’s a moot point.

Yesterday, the battle ground was welfare, where the SNP backed a Labour amendment that would have seen Holyrood given the power to create new benefits and top up existing payments as a means of countering welfare cuts imposed by the UK government in other areas. Effectively, this would mean giving the Scottish Parliament the ability to design its own welfare system. The amendment was defeated, with Scottish Secretary David Mundell pointing to last year’s referendum result and stating that Scots opted to stay within the UK to continue benefiting from sharing risks and resources with other parts of the UK. If this turns out to be the hard, bottom line that will be applied to all debate over the Scotland Bill, this jars with Mr Mundell’s earlier calls for cross-party conciliation over devolved powers.

However, there are difficulties over devolving extensive welfare powers, not least over what this would mean for the rest of the UK and how changes to the welfare system – by then out-of-kilter north and south of the Border – could be successfully adopted in the future. A refusal to accept the amendment does not necessarily mean we are witnessing a blanket rejection of proposals.

The SNP’s MPs will regularly push for devolution of full powers and this should not be a criticism of them, even if it leads to disagreement and conflict. Transfer of powers is, after all, the party’s raison d’etre. Privately, some will acknowledge that further welfare powers were always going to be difficult to secure, or indeed implement.

It should not be forgotten that the Smith Commission stopped a long way short of transferring full welfare powers. Whether amendments are accepted or rejected, the bigger picture is that the bill is a significant step forward in tailoring the welfare system into a more relevant and appropriate means of meeting the specific needs of the country.

Calais strike is now a security hazard

As industrial disputes go, the impact of direct action doesn’t get much more effective than we have witnessed at Calais in recent days. Yesterday, striking ferry workers once again brought the port to a standstill – and created a serious security risk – causing Eurotunnel rail services to be suspended after setting fire to tyres on the train tracks at the tunnel entrance.

From lorry drivers to families heading off for a summer holiday, there was no option but to wait, or abandon plans. There is no end date for the industrial action, to give light at the end of the tunnel.

A meeting of the UK government’s emergency committee Cobra was held this week, but neither the British nor the French authorities appear able – or willing – to take control of this situation. No-one wants to take responsibility, although there is plenty of blame flying around.

And we should be in no doubt, this is now a matter of responsibility. We have seen already the dangers posed by desperate migrants who last week took advantage of slow-moving traffic to seek illicit passage to the UK as stowaways. Since then, international security concerns have heightened dramatically following events in Tunisia, Kuwait, and France itself.

An out-of-control situation at an international border over-run with thousands of migrants is a security risk that Europe could do without right now.

The striking Calais ferry workers – who are upset over the sale of vessels to a rival firm – made their point last week, gaining maximum publicity. Right now is not the time to pull this trick again.

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Chris Marshall: Inconsistency don’t help victims

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AS ANYONE who has followed the debate over stop and search will know, the issue of drawing firm conclusions from police statistics can be fraught.

Figures released by Police Scotland last week showed recorded crime has fallen by almost 5 per cent across the country year-on-year.

But that will provide little consolation for victims of rape (up 5.3 per cent), domestic abuse (up 1.8 per cent) or stalking, an offence which has seen a massive 42 per cent rise in the number of incidents being recorded.

While much of the rises in these crimes may be down to more people willing to come forward to report them, the same probably cannot be said for housebreaking, up 11.6 per cent in Edinburgh during the past 12 months.

The blame has been laid squarely at the door of Police Scotland, which disbanded dedicated housebreaking teams that existed under Lothian and Borders Police.

That the issue has now become political, feeding into the narrative that a monolithic national force cannot respond to local priorities, means the issue will have probably disappeared by next year as senior officers throw more and more resources at the problem to bring it under control.

But Edinburgh’s crimewave raises a further question about the criminal justice system and our approach to youth offending.

Appearing before the Scottish Police Authority last week, Chief Constable Sir Stephen House said much of the crime was being perpetrated by groups of young people intent of carrying out final “fill your boots” crime sprees before being locked up.

Sir Stephen said there was a “criminal sub culture” in the city which believed housebreaking was “do-able and possible”.

Despite arresting 161 people in recent months, the chief constable said the crime would continue to happen while young offenders were out on the streets.

His frustration at the law’s inability to deal with these young criminals is at odds with the Scottish Government aspiration to reduce the number of those being sent to Polmont Young Offenders Institution.

Since 2006-7, the number of inmates on remand or on sentence at Polmont has fallen from around 1,000 to fewer than 400 currently.

While all the evidence shows that locking up fewer young people helps reduce the number of those becoming career criminals, questions have to be asked about a policy which allows those who are eventually destined for a custodial sentence to roam the streets carrying out further crimes until their day in court.

The impact of that policy is something these latest statistics fail to shed any light on.

Allan Massie: State of mind behind terror threat

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CONFUSION over the name of the group behind recent atrocities mirrors our difficulty in agreeing on how to respond, writes Allan Massie.

The Prime Minister says we shouldn’t speak of “Islamic State” because “it is not a state but a barbaric regime of terrorism and oppression”; it would be better to use the terms Isil or Isis. Alex Salmond agrees with him: “Any description of terrorists which confers on them the image that they are representing either a religion or a state must surely be wrong and an own-goal of massive proportions.” Meanwhile the SNP’s Westminster leader Angus Robertson would have us speak of them as “Daesh – the commonly used phrase across the Middle East”. Names are of course important, and how you speak of these terrorists does matter. Nevertheless, in the wake of last weekend’s triple atrocity, arguing about what we should call the responsible organisation may seem to many about as important as the medieval scholastic debate about the number of angels who could dance on the head of a pin.

Isil, Daesh or whatever calls itself a State. It claims to have revived or restored the caliphate. It holds territory in Syria and Iraq. It has an army which fights battles. In the territory it controls it reportedly carries out the normal tasks of an administration. It finds a way of selling oil. It executes its own horrible version of justice. So it behaves like a state, and no matter how vile and repulsive its activities are, there is no reason to believe that it doesn’t have the support of at least some of the Sunni Muslim population in the territories it controls. We may not recognise it as a state and have good reasons for not doing so. Nevertheless, in reality, it is at least a state in the making, and a state will be made unless it is destroyed.

This is the first problem Isil or Daesh or whatever poses. Now there are two ways in which you can respond to an enemy. You can fight them or you can talk with them. Fighting can itself take two forms: military and economic. If we can prevent this enemy from selling the oil from the fields it controls, this might put some pressure on them. So far it seems we haven’t managed to do this. As for military action, we – the United States, West, Nato – have restricted our intervention to air strikes and the provision of assistance to the Kurds and the Iraqi army, from our special forces and by supplying training. The Kurds have had some success in stemming the enemy’s advance. Much of Iraq is still occupied by Isil (Daesh). Effective military intervention would surely require the use of western ground forces, and for several reasons, some of them good, we are not willing to offer this. So, even if Isil (Daesh) finds its advance checked, as seems for the moment to be the case, there is little reason to hope that it will be dislodged from the territory it now holds; and the longer it holds that territory the more it will seem like a state.

So, for the time being anyway, we have rejected the military option, or at least rejected intervention on a scale sufficient to destroy the enemy. The other option – talks, negotiations – is scarcely on the table. Isil (Daesh) has no interest in talking; in its view there is nothing to talk about. Jaw-jaw may, as Churchill said, be preferable to war-war, but it takes two to talk and any negotiation requires some common ground to have any chance of success. Since there is no common ground between us and this “barbaric regime of terrorism and oppression”, talking would be futile – as well as repulsive. So in the House of Commons politicians are reduced to arguing about the best word to use to describe the enemy.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, a tough-minded American who fought in the Union army in the Civil War and later became a justice of the Supreme Court, declared that he loathed war, but nevertheless wrote that “between two groups that want to make inconsistent kinds of world, I see no remedy except force… Every society rests on the death of men.” This is a grim sentiment which makes most of us, I would guess, uncomfortable today. Yet it is one supported by the evidence of history.

It is hard to conceive of two groups of people with views of a desirable world which are more inconsistent with each other than ourselves and the Islamists, a realisation which logically leads one to making the case for military intervention – that is to say, war, even with all its terrible risks and our knowledge that even a successful war may have deplorable and unwelcome consequences, as we have been reminded by what followed the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the Baath regime in Iraq. No wonder our politicians hesitate and spout pious banalities.

For there is another thought which must give them pause. It is the knowledge that even the destruction of Isil-Daesh’s pretensions to be a state would not end Islamist terrorism, might even recruit more terrorists, provoke more acts of terrorism. For, if we are honest, we must admit that it is terrorism in the UK, in Europe and the US, acts of terror directed against Europeans or Americans that most concern us, and that we fear most. Moreover we also know that committing acts of terror is not very difficult, is indeed easy, especially if the terrorist is prepared, even willing, to die. You walk up a beach or into a newspaper office or a supermarket with a Kalashnikov, or leave a bomb on a bus or train. The physical act is easy; it’s the moral one that may deter, but does not do so if you are inspired with a zealot’s faith.

No wonder our politicians are at a loss, reduced to declaring that the terrorist will not be allowed to win and that our values – our liberal and democratic values – must prevail. We may all agree about that. But how? The politicians have no answer, and, for once, only a fool would blame them. Reason is asleep in much of the world, and the sleep of reason brings forth Islamist monsters. Our only defence is prevention, which requires measures and acts which risk corrupting our own liberal and humane values.

We live in dark days and there is no sign of light returning.

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Health boards get £4m to ease cancer waiting times

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Health boards are to share more than £4 million to help tackle cancer waiting times after a drop in performance against a key target.

In the first three months of 2015, 91.8 per cent of patients urgently referred with suspicion of cancer began treatment within 62 days, official figures show.

That compares to 94.2 per cent in the previous three months and is below the Scottish Government goal of having 95 per cent of patients start treatment within two months.

Only four NHS boards – Dumfries and Galloway, Highland, Lanarkshire and Orkney – met the standard, three less than in the previous quarter.

NHS Western Isles had the lowest performance against the treatment goal, with 80 per cent, followed by NHS Grampian with 84.9 per cent.

Every board achieved the target of having 95 per cent of cancer patients start treatment within 31 days of a decision to treat them being taken.

Announcing the funding, health secretary Shona Robison said: “Our cancer targets are rightly rigorous as patients deserve the best cancer care possible but there is no doubt that we must do more – especially on our 62-day target. While this has increased from 84.5 per cent in 2007, we remain fully committed to once again reaching our standard of 95 per cent.

“This is why today’s £4.05m funding, which comes on top of the £8.5m invested over the past three years to improve cancer services, is extremely important.

“This will help improve on diagnostic waits across the country as well as provide local support through the recruitment of a new consultant in the west of Scotland and additional resource for endoscopy services.”

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Jim Hume called on SNP ministers to explain the drop in performance.

He said: “The figures are headed in all the wrong direction for cancer treatment times.

“Sixty-two days will feel like decades to cancer patients and their families as they wait to receive their first treatment. I applaud the hard work of all NHS staff who work tirelessly to provide excellent care.

“With only four out of 14 health boards meeting the treatment-time standard for urgent referral with suspicion of cancer, [we] remain concerned that the SNP government has taken its eye off the ball.”

Janice Preston, head of Macmillan in Scotland, said: “We welcome the investment in cancer care as long as it is targeted in areas that need to demonstrate improvement.

“We have to ensure there is planning across the networks and that good practice is being shared.

“Going through cancer is very stressful and it’s important everyone receives treatment as quickly as possible.”

Morrisons leads rivals as discounters dent big four

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Supermarket chain Morrisons has continued to outperform its rivals, emerging as the only “big four” grocer to enjoy a rise in sales for the past three months.

Figures from market researcher Kantar Worldpanel showed the overall market has slipped back into decline, with spending down 0.1 per cent during the 12 weeks to 21 June compared with a year earlier.

Groceries are now 1.7 per cent cheaper than a year ago, and have been falling since September, but Kantar said the rate of decline is slowing and prices are projected to rise again before the end of the year.

Takings at Morrisons grew by 0.6 per cent, marking an acceleration on the modest 0.1 per cent increase seen in the previous 12-week period, when all of the UK’s other major chains headed in the opposite direction.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, said the Bradford-based retailer increased its market share to 11 per cent – up 0.1 percentage points on last year.

He said: “While only a small increase against a weak 2014, this does represent the first market share gains made by Morrisons since December 2011.”

In comparison, market leader Tesco saw its sales fall 1.3 per cent during the past three months, as did rival Sainsbury’s, which is battling with US-owned Asda for second place. At Asda, sales slid by 3.5 per cent, leaving it with a market share of 16.5 per cent, in line with Sainsbury’s and down from 17.1 per cent a year ago.

All of the UK’s big four supermarkets are under pressure from discount grocers Aldi and Lidl, which are continuing to win cost-conscious shoppers away from their established rivals.

Aldi now commands a record 5.5 per cent slice of the market, having seen its sales soar 15.4 per cent in the 12 weeks to 21 June, while fellow German firm Lidl grew takings by 9.1 per cent, lifting its share to 3.9 per cent.

At the other end of the market, employee-owned Waitrose also grew ahead of the wider grocery sector, with sales up by 1.2 per cent, while takings at the Co-operative were unchanged compared with last year.

McKevitt said: “Last seen in November, the return to marginal decline across the grocery market reflects both falling prices and only steady volume growth. Sales volumes are up 2 per cent compared to a year ago but are not anticipated to accelerate, even with an improving economy, as demand for groceries has remained broadly steady since before the recession.”

Falling prices reflect the sector’s response to the rise of Aldi and Lidl, as well as deflation in key categories such as eggs, butter and bread, Kantar said.


Rail work turns focus on ways to be sustainable

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A JOURNEY shared is pollution halved as we look forward to greener train connections, says Russell Imrie.

SEStran is committed to the development of a sustainable transportation system for south-east Scotland. Effective public transport is core to such a development, as well as the sensible use of cars and encouraging alternatives like cycling and walking for shorter journeys.

The current rail improvement works at the Winchburgh tunnel will introduce cleaner, more reliable trains as part of the £742 mollion Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) which will electrify the Edinburgh-Glasgow Queen Street line by 2016. It will mean 20 per cent faster journeys on longer, faster, greener and quieter electric trains between Scotland’s two main cities.

The new electrical service will mark a step change in the quality of service on the line and make a significant contribution towards reducing carbon emissions on Scotland’s busiest rail route.

Inevitably however, while the works take place, there will be service alterations and delays will occur.

As always, necessity is the mother of invention – so why not consider some of the sustainable alternatives?

Bus services in south-east Scotland are generally excellent and SEStran has recently extended real time bus passengers information to key services run by Stagecoach and Firstbus throughout the region, through bustrackerSEStran – our free Smartphone app, also available online. Over 350 vehicles are already on the system with more to follow soon. We are also extending the system through a new initiative that will see TV screens introduced in major public buildings, hospitals, shopping centres and other public places.

For shorter journeys some travellers may like to consider cycling – or even walking. Both can often be quicker, a lot more fun – and healthier – than the alternatives, as was recently shown by the SEStran Edinburgh Commuter challenge. The fastest time was by cycle from Fife to St Andrew’s Square in Edinburgh – six minutes faster than by car and three minutes faster than the express bus.

But for many people the natural option will be to go by car. This will cause a number of problems, as the number of commuters going by road increases – greater congestion, longer delays and increased pollution, not to mention the problems of frayed tempers and finding parking. It will, for many people be a frustrating and expensive inconvenience.

But it doesn’t have to be.

Car sharing is increasingly the norm throughout Europe and it can play a major role in keeping our cities moving and tackling the increasing problems of traffic congestion and pollution. SEStran is already working with European partners on two major car and journey sharing initiatives.

The first, “NweRIDE”, aims to reduce the number of cars on the road through using flexible ridesharing systems to encourage car sharing and connect with public transport.

Meanwhile the “Chums” project addresses the problem of low car occupancy and the 50 per cent of journeys in cities that cannot be accommodated by public transport. Chums aims to encourage people to consider car sharing through trials in five “champion” cities across Europe: Edinburgh, Craivo in Romania, Leuven in Belgium, Toulouse in France and Perugia in Italy.

SEStran supports car sharing in south-east Scotland through TripshareSEStran; a free car sharing service which already has over 8,000 members sharing regular journeys. It is funded by SEStran and supported by our constituent local authorities.

TripshareSEStran is a website that helps people link up with others who want to travel in a more environmentally-friendly manner through sharing journeys. The online database allows members to find travel companions and arrange shared journeys with other members. Membership is free and TripshareSEStran offers many advantages; reduced journey costs – up to £1,000 pa on average – – and you are helping cut traffic congestion and pollution into the bargain. If everyone shared a car journey just once a week, congestion would be reduced on average by 20 per cent.

During the current rail works, a move towards car sharing will make a significant contribution towards cutting traffic congestion and keeping Scotland moving. It’s free and confidential and there are options such as gender specific sharing and non-smoking.

For once all of us can be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem.

• Councillor Russell Imrie is chair of SEStran www.sestran.gov.uk

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Legal group Stronachs makes string of appointments

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Legal practice Stronachs has taken its partner count to 16 after taking on a lateral hire and promoting one of its senior ­associates.

The full-service firm, which is headquartered in Aberdeen, said David Chalmers was joining its employment law team from North-east rival Raeburn Christie Clark & Wallace.

Meanwhile, James Muir has been promoted from senior associate after ten years in the firm’s specialist energy department.

The brace of partner appointments comes as corporate and commercial lawyer Ross Linn, who is based at Stronachs’ Inverness office, and dispute resolution solicitor Bob McDiarmid are promoted to senior associate status.

Making the step up to associate from senior solicitor are corporate team lawyer Jamie Hunter and private client solicitor Karen Oliver.

Stronachs’ managing partner, David Rennie, said: “The drop in oil price and the challenges in the North Sea sector are having repercussions across the region from which we are not immune.

“But these appointments demonstrate our commitment to broadening and deepening the expertise we offer to support our clients, particularly in turbulent times.

“Demand for employment law services has risen and we are seeing growth in sectors such as property and construction.”

The firm, which has 115 lawyers and legal support staff, has a string of legal and estate agency operations.

Glasgow Caledonian University graduates

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Glasgow Caledonian University

Glasgow School for Business and Society

Doctor of Philosophy - Nahla Ibrahim Betelmal; Masood Khodadadihosseinabadi; Mina Kobilarev; Pantelis Thalassinos

Doctor Of Philosophy by Previous Publication - Jim Campbell

Master of Science in International Business Management - Xinbo Huang; Oluwafemi James Ibigbemi; Ai Li; Yehao Li; Jian Ma; Ofure Jennifer Ojemolon; Lingyue Qu; Gaurav Kumarsinh Khumansinh Vansia; Yanzhi Wang; Lihua Zhou

Master of Science in International Development - Ayodeji Oluwaseye Ogunleye; Stephanie Marie Sherwood

Master of Science in International Banking, Finance and Risk Management - Ahmed Khaled A Aldhwailea; Oleksandra Kovalchuk; Kassim Mohamed; Xiaoqing Zeng

Master of Science in Risk Management - Abdullah Ali A Alajlan; Waleed Ibrahim S Alzahrani - With Merit; Abdullatif Ali A Binmahfouz; Aldo Antonio Campo; Sharon Evelyn Eihoda; Chinedu Ernest Eze; Ishmael Gaeemelwe - With Merit; Hani Faisal H Naghi; Susan Nugent; Rebecca Jayne O’sullivan; Famous Orogun; Mohammed Abdullahi Osman; Maledbogo Doreen Setshedi – With Merit; Abhijit Subudhi

Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting and Finance - Oyinkile Ndidi Asomo

Postgraduate Diploma in Citizenship and Human Rights - Zandra Yeaman

Postgraduate Diploma in International Business Management - Mei Liu

Postgraduate Diploma in Risk Management - Robert Julien Chanson; Paul Tacey - With Distinction

University Postgraduate Diploma - Zitei Sabanah Agama; Tupsin Vongpisal; Qiantong Xia

University Postgraduate Certificate - Tuohua Ying

Bachelor of Arts in Accountancy with Honours - First Class - Scott John Archer; Laura Dunbar; Daria Katarzyna Gallie; Ewelina Kubat; Stuart Bruce MacAulay; Simone Reilly; Amanda Jane Spicer; Amir Taghados; Jordan Andrew Taylor

Second Class - (Upper Division) - Mark Airlie; Saarah Kausar Bhatti; Roisin Carey; Jason Cheung; Daniel Clafferty; Simon John Clark; Emma Louise Cole; Andrew Evan Collins; Leanne Couper; Greg David Crookston; Claire Devenny; Melissa Freeman; Anthony Fullerton; Nicholas Gardiner; James Gilmour; Max Gilmour; Lauren Hanlon; Aisha Haq; Gerald Heeps; Jordan Henderson; Mae Nneka Odije Igoli; Emily Louise Jackson; Morgan William Jordan; Andrena Kerr; Ashley Kerr; Muhammad Fahad Khan; Samantha Lauder; Emma Leitch; Corey O’brien Little; Konstantin Loban; Jennifer Lynn; Carlyn Harris MacMillan; Colette Maguire; Brian McCallum; Stephanie Rose McDaid; Dean McLay; Jennifer McNaught; Peace Amarachi Ozurumba; Craig Peck; Mary Theresa Rocks; Deborah Ryan; Lauren Stewart; Haaris Waheed; Ewan Wallace; Ewa Zdzislawa Wierzgacz; Stanley Wilson; Jennifer Anne Wiseman; Liu Yang

Second Class - (Lower Division) - Jacqueline Brown; Glen Courtney; Bradley Jimi Duke; Emma Kate Hamilton; Stuart Hutcheson; Kimberley MacIsaac; Mark McNairn; Jayne Sutherland

Bachelor of Arts in Business with Honours - First Class - Muhammad Asif Bashir; Fiona Rodger; Alastair Sheridan

Second Class - (Upper Division) - Sumayya Sabir M Almdni; Daisy Belcher; Lavinia Bernabo; Rachel Ann Black; Nicole Cain; Kirsty Cherry; Alan Clark; Jill Cochrane; Emma Louise Connelly; Kieran Dick; Lauren Donnelly; Danielle Downie; Jessica Dradge; Yasmin Dunscombe; Emma Louise Fagan; Erin Foley; Blair Adam Forsyth; Sarah Jane Forsyth; Olivia Geraghty; Rory Francis Gilbride; Stacey Gray; Jordan Grierson; Suzanna Hansen; Anders Jon Hanson; Nicola Karen Hay; Holly-anne Hendry; Charlotte Hebe Hogarth; Ellen Hood; Gavin Houston; Lauren Howat; Louisa Hoy; Laura Ireland; Leigh Ann Irvine; Laura Kane; Lauren Kane; Daniel Kinghorn; Hayley Kirkpatrick; Angelika Anna Kmiec; Matthew Lee; Gary MacDonald; Danny MacLeod; David John MacLeod; Jack Masson; Kathryn McAuley; Iain McBain; Dylan McCall; Rachel Flora Lorna McCrorie; Jamie McGee; Mark McGhee; Eleanor McGowan; Nicola McGowan; Emily Marie McGrane; Marianne McIntosh; Katie McKitting; Rachel Meachem; Michael David Millar; Christopher Robert Milne; Bushra Mohammed; Zainab Sanaa Mohammed; Charles Moriceau; Charlotte Emily Morris; Gillian Murray; Claire Noon; Deinabo Kuzi Obiechina; John Park; Jack Probka; Gillian Margaret Rae; Andrew Rainey; Asad Adam Raja; Hayley Louise Ross; Lorne Sandler; Andreea Scotland; Hira Sikander; Lynsey Sneddon; Karina Spukaite; Claire Kirsten Stewart; Gillian Catriona Tannahill; Graeme Ewan Taylor; Hayley Jayne Thompson; Bríd Turner; Jodie Helena Waite; Gregg Walker; Hayley Teresa Walker; Heather Stewart Welsh; Caitlin Whelan; Andrew Thomas Wilson; Angela Wilson; Claire Wilson; Jenna Wilson; David Sinclair Wood; Tatiana Zakharova

Second Class - (Lower Division) - Sean Adair; Craig Anderson; Scott Bannerman; Nicola Bell; Nicola Burgar; Gregor Campbell; Antonia Capaldi; Ashleigh Carlin; Venessa Cowan; Lauren Craig; Gerald David Dewar; Bo Ding; Karen Downie; Eilidh Sarah Dunn; Rachel Ann Easson; Fraser Fernie; Caroline Alice Fraser; Sean Gaffney; Monica Geraghty; Niall Gillick; Michael Gray; Sophie Hodge; Zoe Jeanette Lucy Hughes; Glen Hunter; Zain Khan; Craig Kilpatrick; Gillian Ann Lamont; Rebecca Love; Bethany McHard; Dean McKirdy; Leanna Teresa Melly; Rachel Miller; Megan Murray; Emma Cheralin Norton; Rheann Oakley; Cameron Alexander Park; Grigory Pechurin; Darren Robertson; Alberty Rodriguez Zorrilla; Kieran Rooney; Natalie Lynette Ross; Jonathan Scullion; Gary Sewell; Adeel Tariq; Lauren Usher; David Joseph Watson; Lynsey Whyte; Haikuo Zhu

Third Class - Julie McCrindle; Libo Xu

Bachelor of Arts in Business Studies with Honours - First Class - Bunty Aranja; Kerri Lianne Crawford; Emma Anne Hutchison; James Stanley Reid

Second Class - (Upper Division) - Amy Zara Aitken; Neil Alexander Beaton; Amy Bell; Emma Black; Charlotte Brogan; Lorna Ann Brown; Diane Carmichael; Milo Chiocca; Ryan Thomas Connell; Olivia Maria Costa; Jonathan Gallacher; Rebecca Griffin; Andrew Harley; Lindsey Johnston; Murray Leitch; Jennifer Lynn; Shaun Marshall; Eilidh McCadden; Shannon McGuire; April Paterson; Natalie Whiteford; Keir Williams

Second Class - (Lower Division) - Lewis Blaney; Amy Dowling; Alan Foreman; Andrew Ronald Graham; Stacey-anne Lockhart; Rachel Cunningham MacLeod; Laura Piggott; Andrew Scott; Louise Thomson

Bachelor of Arts in General Business with Honours - Second Class - (Lower Division) - MacOula Dembele

Bachelor of Arts in International Business with Honours - First Class - Ryan Michael Mulraney

Second Class - (Upper Division) - Jeff Alexander; Laura Stewart Allardice; Jack Benton; Kaitlin MacKay Birrell; Fiona Bordat; Claire Bradley; Ross Brown; Kenneth Cameron-mowat; Adeel Chaudry; Rajiv Anand Dabeea; Emily Anne Kent Dunlop; Lewis Dyer; Anna Nadia Franciosa; Mark Lee Gibson; Christopher Glenn; Laura Hillhouse; Hannah Rose Johnstone; Charlie Kennedy; Heather Lang; Natalia Leitnerova; Fiona Lewis; Sarah Margaret MacGregor; Robert Ian MacKenzie; Abby McGuire; Aisling McLoughlin; Adeem Mirza; Megan Mitchell; Paul Martin Nealon; Carl Christer Alfons Olsson; Karolina Anna Pielacha; Kristina Puustinen; Katie Ramsay; Katrine Ramsay; Caroline Rindemar; Kelsey Robb; Johannes Schubert; Graeme MacKenzie Sharp; Eilidh Steel; Catriona Stewart; Graeme Stewart; Nicola Watt; Rachel Sarah Wilson

Second Class - (Lower Division) - Rosinah Akhtar; Alexander Armstrong; Cameron Blair; Dylan William Brown; Ross Carnegie; Michael Tyrone Charles Hamilton; Matthew Imrie; Liam Quigley; Karolina Kamila Thiel; Fraser Trotter; Kelly Walker

Bachelor of Arts in Finance, Investment and Risk with Honours - First Class - Harmanpreet Kaur .; Lynn Kristina Hunter; Christopher Alexander MacKay; Alexander Moorhouse; Nicola Treanor

Second Class - (Upper Division) - Bing Ai; Alasdair Birrell; Nadav Brown; Aidan Crossan; Andrew Cunningham; Roslynn Davidson; Peter Gibson; Murray Gillan; Billy Guvenenler; Tsz Ki Ho; Ross Marshall; Ewan McMillan; Ross Alexander Morrison; Matthew Mulholland; Callum Preston; Saqib Sadiq; Joseph Shahnavaz; Alina Tokareva; Lewis Walker; Waqar Ali Younas

Second Class - (Lower Division) - Fares Abdulaziz Kadhem Ahmed Ahmadi; Loucas Charalambous; Gordon Paul Henney; Muyang Liu; Amie Miller; Ruth Tatenda Mutasa; Rongzi Shi; Chen Yang; Su Yin

Bachelor of Arts in Risk Management with Honours - First Class - Emma Louise Cairney; Gary Joseph Margey; Adeel Raza; Ben Thomson

Second Class - (Upper Division) - Usman Arshad; Grant Boyle; Jon Boyle; John Carrick; Jason Couzens; Paul Ferguson; Connor Edward Gallagher; Stephanie Higgins; Michael Ieronymidis; Ryan McGovern; Mark McGrath; David O’brien; Vytautas Ramsas; Robert Wainwright

Second Class - (Lower Division) - Yerik Narymbayev; Aimee Elizabeth Priestley

Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences with Honours - First Class - Amy Boyle; Katie Bristow; Joseph Docherty; Lucy Georgina Duff; Neil McNulty; Anna-sofia Myszka-gustafsson; Robyn Emma Skelton; Catriona Stickland; David Daniel Waddell; Emma Williamson

Second Class - (Upper Division) - Alana Adair; Sarah Aitchison; Caitlin Baillie; Petra Baillie; Miriam Bell; Kelsey Binnie; Michael Boyle; Natalie Jane Boyle; Luke Brown; James Bryson; Jay Buckley; Joanne Burke; Emily Burns; Calum Campbell; Steven Chawk; Paul Cloherty; Amy Cowan; Meghan Coyle; Jodie Cromar; Aimee Cuthbert; Samantha Davis; Karen Dempsie; Jaime Donald; Kathryn Amy Dool; Ryan Doyle; Ryan James Duffy; Emma Franki Edwards; Gillian Foster; Stacyleigh Geddes; Rachel Gentleman; Martin Gibney; James Gillies; Carrie Gordon; Kirsty Elizabeth Gourlay; Jed Graham; Hollie Greig; Rachel Anne Grieve; Reuben Hampton; Grant Alan Harrison; Michelle Hislop; Alexander Hunter; Emma Irvine; Pawel Jaros; Stephanie Kelly; Heather Keltie; Freya Iona Kennedy; Paul Michael Kerr; Nicola Margaret Lawson; Iain Calum MacLellan; Emma Elizabeth Manley; Charlene McAlinn; David McArdle; William John McCabe; Kiera McCambridge; Sean Patrick McDonagh; Katlin McDonald; Heather Anne Elizabeth McFadyen; Emma McGeough; Kayleigh McGinley; David McHale; Euan McIntyre; Nicole McKenna; Rachel Elizabeth McKenzie; Lee McKeown; Michael McLafferty; Christopher McLean; Rebecca Elizabeth McMaster; Julie McMillan; Chanelle McNicol; Paul McTaggart; Callum Millar; Gael Mitchell; Craig Alexander Moody; Emily Maria O’Callaghan; Elizabeth O’Hare; Alexandria Oneill; Rebecca Quinn; Amanda Jean Ramage; Karly Rankin; Emma Jane Reid; Morven Rennie; Hayley Ross; Alasdair Spike; Heather Stark; Laura Strathdee; Laura Thomson; Leigh-ann Todd; Eilidh Torrie; Rebecca Jane Trail; Laura Trainor; Daniel Walker; Gordon Weir; Victoria Whiteford; Lauren Tracey Wilson; Sarah Wood

Second Class - (Lower Division) - Caroline Beattie; Seona Elisabeth Byrne Burge; Mark Busby; Felicity Anissa Campbell; Conor Coulter; Ashleigh Dawson; Paulina Ebertowska; Chloe Farmer; Andrew Farrell; Rebecca McMahon Ferns; Amy Rose Gardner; Demelza Gow; Victoria Mary Greavey; Chloe Harper; Anthony Howie; Matthew James Kennedy; Nicole Kennedy; Kenneth Leckie; Alisha MacKenzie; Julie Maria Isabella Mauchin; Suzanne McGuinness; Robyn McKay; David Meegan; Julieann Mooney; Abigail Catherine Morrison; Cheryl Caroline Murray; Ross Campbell Nicoll; Kerry O’neill; Zoe Park; Christina Robb; Julie Ann Smith; Eleanor Grace Tetlow; Andrew Webster; Heather Mary Wilson; Lynzi Young

Bachelor of Arts in Accountancy - Carly Bidwell; Ilona Blonka; Lyndsey Hume; Lori McIntosh; Andrew James Mitchell

Bachelor of Arts in Business - Jennifer Adamson; Irfan Ameen; Donna Beagan; Zuzana Drlickova; Laura Gardner; Zonghao Huang; Lara Eloise Lowe – With Distinction; David MacBain; John Martin; Niall McKeever; Karolina Pollock; Leah Alexandra Swinyard; Emma Thomson - With Merit

Bachelor of Arts in Business and Management - Caroline Burns; Josephine Cope - With Distinction; Gareth Anthony Deeney - With Merit; Lynn A S Esson - With Distinction; Laura Gilchrist - With Merit; Michelle Hall – With Merit; Louise Jordan; Lisa-marie Ellen McCarron - With Merit; Alan Scott - With Distinction; Kim Stewart - With Distinction; Stephen Walton - With Merit; Cher Wilkie - With Distinction

Bachelor of Arts in International Business - Thomas Archibald Johnston; Natalie McLeish; Shannon Meechan; Declan Molinari; Gregor John Preston-jones; Stephanie Gillies Walls; Craig Colin Wright

Bachelor of Arts in Finance, Investment and Risk - Nicholas Aitchison; Israa Saeed Mohamed Abdali Bader; Sarah Elizabeth Clark; Noor Ahmed Qasim Safar Haji

Bachelor of Arts in Risk Management - Brian Cunningham; Rebecca MacLean; Pamela Alice May Wright - With Distinction

Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences - Heather Louise Aitken; Justin Allan; Carrieann Boslem; Amanda Donald; Laura Louise Harding; Lyden Matthew Marshall; Ruth McAllister; Arron McCaffery; Claire Owens; Stephanie Elizabeth Thomson

Diploma of Higher Education in Finance, Investment and Risk - Ruaiardh Dunlop; Diploma of Higher Education; Rayan Abdulfattah A Bakhit; Tracey Hutson; Maria Plamenova Miteva

Glasgow Caledonian University

Glasgow School for Business and Society

Doctor of Philosophy - Akbar Muqarrab; Mohammed Qasim Al Janabi; Ali Pezeshki; Thomas Rachfall; Sofia Yfanti

Master of Laws in European and International Trade Law - Grace Oladejo

Master of Business Administration - Lorraine Rosemary Gunn; James Kerr; John Paterson; Kirsty Roden - With Distinction; James McLaughlan Scott - With Distinction

Master of Arts in Multimedia Journalism - Lucy Shardalow

Master of Science in Human Resource Management - Athryn Ann Boyle – With Distinction; Clare Anne Craig; Stephanie Craig; Folasade Mercy Elegbede; Jillian Fraser; Steven Andrew Grant; Carol Hampson; Laura Haughey - With Merit

Master of Science in International Events Management - Warangkana Masanga; Fiona Reid

Master of Science in International Fashion Marketing - Liunan Cao; Wendy Bogwu Ejihkeme; Ruoxin Geng; Bradley McAdam; Jaishree Prasad – With Distinction

Master of Science in International Human Resource Management - Felix Obi Amadi; Johanna Catrin Haas – With Distinction; Promise Chima Ogude; Hatice Paldimoglu – With Distinction; Adaobi Mary Uzoma; Muhammad Zeeshan - With Merit; Yan Zhang; Haoyu Zhou

Master of Science in International Marketing - Yuxing Long; Hasan Mahmud Niaz; Derek Ling Lu Yung

Master of Science in International Operations and Supply Chain Management - Jacqueline Barker; Avril Watson Currans; Ross James; Pikai Masiyazi; Azat Sadvakassov; Xujia Xie; Robin Zirwes

Master of Science in Management - Andrew Carmichael

Master of Science in Marketing - Ufoma Omovigho Efeurhobo

Master of Science in Social Enterprise - Paul James Bristow – With Distinction; Rachel Amanda Cox; Garry Donegan; Julie Fox - With Merit; Maura Frances McSorley; Marc O’hagan – With Merit

Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration - John Baggley

Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resource Management - Russell Bishop; Natalie Dougan; Maria Christina MacKinnon; Susannah McKain - With Merit; Stephanie Tannahill - With Merit

Postgraduate Diploma in International Events Management - Jennifer Baird; Pinqi Li; Philip Turner

Postgraduate Diploma in International Fashion Marketing - Waroonjit Phetwong

Postgraduate Diploma in International Human Resource Management - Tolani Damilola Olatayo

Postgraduate Diploma in Management of Information Technology Innovation - Craig McCallum

Postgraduate Diploma in Operations and Business Management - Nouf Aymn M Alghanmi

University Postgraduate Diploma - Helen Catherine McKenna

Postgraduate Certificate in Research Methods - Joman Saeed S Alzahrani; Uchenna Echezona Ilo - With Distinction; Choo Pei Ling - With Merit; Maureen Patricia Taylor - With Merit

Postgraduate Certificate in International Fashion Marketing - Fang Liu

Postgraduate Certificate in International Operations and Supply Chain Management - Emma McGraw

Postgraduate Certificate in Leadership and Management of Public Services - Jim Aitchison; Maria Bowcott; Kate Bryson; Elaine Crossan; Adele Yvonne Duff; Gerrard Farrell; Jacqueline Fernie; Nicola Fleming; Alan Henry; Lesley Inglis; Lorraine Irvine; Janice Kelly; David John Laing; Caroline McCabe; Karen McInally; Ross McKie - With Merit; Michelle McKillop; Eileen Mary McPake; Elaine O’neill; Shirley Anne Penman; Jamie Pettigrew; Kim Potter; Veronica Louise Roberts; Susan Wight; Nairn Robert Young

Postgraduate Certificate in Social Enterprise - Daniel James Rous

Bachelor of Laws with Honours - First Class - Aimee Mariella Currie; Jamie Turley

Second Class - (Upper Division) - Christopher John Allan; Andrew Amos; Alesha Anam Ashraf; William Kevin Beatts; Mark Bowman; Vhairi Claire Campbell; Daniel Canning; Emma Louise Craig; Evan Crainie; Lauren Megan Davidson; Mohammed Ebrahim Desai; Sara Douglas-smith; Tahreem Hamid; Katie Higgins; Komal Hussain; Matthew Kane; Qasim Ali Kayani; Hazel Rebecca Kerr; Claire Bernadette Kierney; Stephen McAvoy; Christina Cooper McFadzean; Tammy Alexandra McLaughlin; Graeme James McMillan; Ross McPake; Martin Melvin; Nadene Miller; Rachel Anne O’neill; Hannah Nicola Pearson; Victoria Ann Rae; Craig Martin Rankin; Lisa-kelly Robertson; Danielle Collette Trapp; Ameli Rumenova Yordanova

Second Class - (Lower Division) - Jasmine Ferguson; Colleen Elizabeth Lundie; Gary Reid; Rachel Thomson

Bachelor of Arts in Business Law with Honours - Second Class - (Upper Division) - Sidrah Ahmed; Shannen Black; Hilary Cluney; Christina Hammond; Amy Rose Kidd; Emma Wou Yeen Leung; Rhona MacPherson; Libby Anne Roberts Rennie; Fariha Saeed; Sarah Anne Smith; Stephanie Ann Wheeler

Second Class - (Lower Division) - Kellie Graham; Christopher Paul; Calvin Watson

Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Business with Honours - First Class - Kate Elizabeth Anderson; Katie Nicola Armstrong; Jemma Butler; Chou I Joey Cheng; Yvonne Joan Duncan; Erin Fitzsimmons; Nadja Margarete Gegner; Rhiannon Celyn Gibbons; Caroline Gilday; Ciara Gracie; Anya Kinnear; Vanessa Sarah Lang; Liisa Alfredovna Lehtinen; Megan Marion Bowes Rice; Shanice Shek; Laura Anne Smail; Caroline Smyth; Kirsten Taylor; Maxine Todd

Second Class - (Upper Division) - Amy Bryson; Augusta Thea Carman; Kimberley Elizabeth Cleland; Christina Gallagher; Anna Glover; Rachel Goodacre; Amy Louise Hayward; Kimberley Hendry; Andrew Norman MacKinnon; Ciara Maguire; Mari-clare Martin; Eilish McDermott; Katie McGuire; Rachael Jane McIlhagga; Haylie Michael; Zoe Louise Mitchell; Naomi Pimley; Amy Christina Stevenson; Jennifer Stewart

Second Class - (Lower Division) - Emma Skye Danet; Laura Murphy

Bachelor of Arts in International Fashion Branding with Honours - First Class - Alice Rosie Allsop; Rachel Bell; Kumba Dauda; Robyn Venetia Forsythe Deeley; Lesley Gillon; Cara Hosie; Tayla Erinne Hunter; Amy Louise Knox; Caitlyn Lesko; Sophie May Leyland; Mairi Anne Livesley; Lisa Mackie; Karen Anne Martin; Heather McRae McDowall; Caitlin Mary McFarlane; Siobhan McHugh; Sophie Renaud Meijer; Emma Morrison; Holly O’dowd; Nadia Assunta Onofrio; Rachel Paxton; Bethany Charlotte Rivett; Bethany Shelley; Leila Singh; Amy Witherspoon

Second Class - (Upper Division) - Bonnie Abernethy; Chloe Aitchison; Emma Lauren Aitkenhead; Kayleigh Anderson; Lauren Aston; Demi Agnes Barrie; Adriana Ioana Bucur; Clementine Cattanach; Emma Cudahy; Anna-louise Elizabeth Cumming; Fiona Allison Dewar; India Kim Dhami; Marisa Docherty; Laura Ann Donnelly; Sophie Ellis; Gillian Fitzpatrick; Katie Louise Fletcher; Karen Fraser; Amy Elizabeth Garrett; Nicola Rebecca Gibson; Amy Green; Gillian Hamilton; Kirsty Young Hepburn; Amy Hodgson; Hazel Imrie; Rachel Margaret Innes; Hayley Jackson; Louise Kean; Katie Elizabeth Spiers MacKenzie; Danielle Margaret Anderson McCormack; Caroline McCourt; Lauren McDonald; Rachael Louise McGregor; Rhiah McLean; Carole McPhillips; Kate Marie Mehigan; Rhia Jane Miller; Roisin Miller; Melisa Okan; Lucia Pessina; Megan Patricia Pickett; Graeme Alexander Poole; Andrea Nikolaeva Popova; Rebecca Redmond; Avneet Rehsi; Rebecca Riley; Ellen Mary Ross; Stacey-jane Ross; Jenny Shek; Gemma Diane Slawson; Sze Hwa Tan; Lucia Maria Turriani; Paige Walker; Lauren Watson; Lucy Wilson; Katie Wu; Ta Wei Yen

Second Class - (Lower Division) - Lauren Elizabeth Crombie; Rachel Ferguson; Zoe Graham; Alessia Elvira Marini; Jennifer McMillan; Domenika Miteva; Amy Charlotte Molloy

Bachelor of Arts in International Hospitality Management with Honours - Second Class - (Upper Division) - Mehreen Iqbal; Magdalena Kucharczyk

Second Class - (Lower Division) - Lila Gurung; Laxmi Khadgi

Bachelor of Arts in International Retail Marketing with Honours - First Class - Stephanie Morrison; Chiara Lia Santi; Colette Sullivan; Fiona Wood

Second Class - (Upper Division) - Bethany Alexandra Brain; Kirsty Louise Cochrane; Amy Doyle; Sarah Duff; Rebecca Louise Farmer; Nicola Ferguson; Andrej Fidersek; Jacqueline Gibson; Michaela Graham; Emily Eve Grant; Rachael Grant; Danielle Greene; Josh Hollywood; Victoria Emma Iannotti; Robyn Jane Irvine; Sarah King; Jennifer Leslie; Ruth Logan; Kirsty Elizabeth MacKay; Marina MacLeod; Karina Martin; Sophia Isabella Masterton- Morrow; Victoria McCorrisken; Lewis McDowall; Lynsey Hazel McNeely; Lindsay Ann Miller; Vari O’Neill; Alana Rippey; Natalie Stewart; Adam Taylor; Lucinda May Tippen; Nicola Young

Second Class - (Lower Division) - Rebecca Jayne Fowler; Rachael Johnstone; Leilah Susan Keogh; Emma MacFarlane; Lisa Marra; Marc Toal

Bachelor of Arts in International Tourism Management with Honours - First Class - Iain Crawford; Tahir Naseem; Jelena Stankovic

Second Class - (Upper Division) - Dorothy Balderston; Sarah Charlesworth; Chloe Coventry; Christiane Celine Ebessa Bengono; Hayleigh Louise Furlong; Christina Gall; Marta Golonka; Malgorzata Gryka; Eilidh Gibb Jordan; Laura MacDonald; Aneta Jolanta Majbrodzka; Jade Ann McGhee; Erin McLean; Nicole McMullin; Cristiano Oliveira; Carly Paterson; Linzi Paterson; Morven Catherine Paterson; Paulina Wnuk

Second Class - (Lower Division) - Sujatarani Loi; Timothy Robert McKeown

Bachelor of Arts in Management with Honours - First Class - Gillian Louise Anderson

Second Class - (Upper Division) - Laura Rhona Bannerman; Thomas Caulfield; Hazel Diamond; Sam Elliott; Jamie Robert Gallacher; Victoria Harrison Kennedy; Ashleigh Mairi MacMillan; Lauren Meek; Holly Jane Spence

Second Class - (Lower Division) - Alexandra Megan Rose Craig; Lesley Morrison; Andrew William James Simpson; Edyta Zadencka

Bachelor of Arts in Management, Technology and Enterprise with Honours - First Class - Jana Rae

Second Class - (Upper Division) - Aishah Akrami; Juman Almusawi; Seaneen Callaghan; Ryan Thomas Cochrane; Fiona Elizabeth Dade; Lynne Ross Douglas; Briony Downs; Louise Eboya; Adele Falconer; Jodie Gardiner; Rebekah Hayes; Thomas David Henderson; Shaun Hopkins; Agata Horab; Rebecca Jackson; Andrew Paterson Kerr; Amina Kauser Khan; Fraser MacLeod; Kirsty McHale; Peter Miller; Ashley Murray; Fiona Murray; Gary Patrick; Allan James Purves; Ahsan Safdar; Natalie Smith; Asia Tufail

Second Class - (Lower Division) - Hina Ali; Claire Kenny; Mavis Mavhu Mapuranga; Christopher Pearson; Lyndsay Rae; Patrycja Wroblewska

Bachelor of Arts in Marketing with Honours - Second Class - (Upper Division) - Jade Marie Doherty; Heather Hastie; Michael Kennedy; Stella Linnen; Bernard Patrick Munogee; Nan Zhang

Second Class - (Lower Division) - Rebecca Boyd; Marc Logan; Sophia Moghul; Michael Robertson; Gary White

Bachelor of Arts in Media and Communication with Honours - First Class - Colette Baptie; Sophie Bartholomew; Corinna Bietzker; Jessica Mary Blackett; Hayley Blackwood; Vlad Butucea; Laura Connell; Karen Devine; Philip Dunsmore; Natalie Fleming; Morgan Fraser; Iain Gardner; Olivia Gibbons; Grant Halliday; Katerina Zhivkova Ilcheva; Lucy Matheson; Jennifer McFadyen; David McSheffrey; Damian Mullen; Rhiannon Murphy; Grant Reid; Giedre Remezaite; Samantha Sacco; Hannah Wallis Stewart; Beatrice Umbrasaite; Kristen Wood; Calum Woodger; Patricia-ann Young

Second Class - (Upper Division) - Robert Anderson; Robyn Black; Scott Blackley; Sean Bookless; Christopher Costello; Mairi Therese Doherty; Megija Duma; Fiona Dykes; Caitlin Genoe; Riona Gray; Rebecca Halligan; Kirsty Irving; Kirsty Jayne Johnstone; Joshua Kane; David Kerr; Ciara MacPherson; Anum Mahmood; Gail Malcolm; Amy Marshall; Rhona Grace McIntyre; Victoria McLean; Rebecca Modlin; Alisdair Morrison; Calum Morton; Nicola Murray; Emma O’neill; Zoe Rae; Joe Scott; Cameron Sinclair; Christopher Tolmie; Rebekah Sarah Wilson

Second Class - (Lower Division) - Alisa Cox; Georgia Dagdeleni; Rachil Koumparou; Sean Smith

Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Journalism with Honours - First Class - Ross Crae; Phoebe Inglis-holmes; Gillian Lambie; Holly Mary Lennon; Jill Elizabeth Stevens; Rebecca Jane Tracy

Second Class - (Upper Division) - Andrew Bargh; Morven Helen Binning; Ryan Bounagui; Peter Campbell; Laura Donaldson; Lauren Gaston; Ellis Clare Hawthorne; Helen Howie; Catherine Sarah Hunter; Lewis Irons; Alasdair King; Colan Lamont; Chloe MacLeod Matson; Ryan McDonald; Sean McGee; Shannon McGurin; Jonathon James Moar; Jonathon Reilly; Andrew Hunter Watson

Second Class - (Lower Division) - Jessica Grace Brown; Ciaran Paul Cameron; Gavin Campbell; Edward Charles James Davies; Amie Grimason; Toni Grace Lennox; Fraser Wright

Bachelor of Laws - Susanna Anderson; Fiona Crawford; Paul James Donaldson; Marshall Gemmell; Daniel Kinloch; Neil Ronald McKay; Stephen John Meighan; Michelle Mooney; Andrew Nixon; Catherine Potts; Robert Weir

Bachelor of Arts in Business Law - Thomas McGhee

Bachelor of Arts in Business and Management Studies (by Learning Contract) - William Gibbs

Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Business - Laura Martin - With Merit; Emma McKee; Elizabeth Orr; Kirsty Weddle

Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality Management - Barbara Anne Hyslop

Bachelor of Arts in International Fashion Branding - Victoria Charlotte Cone; Rebecca Jane Irvine; Justine Kinnell; Stephanie Munro; Caitlin O’keane

Bachelor of Arts in International Hospitality Management - Lisa Blyth; Deborah Bowie; Purna Bahadur Gaire; Sean Harris; Jayanne MacKenzie; Aoiffe Munro - With Merit; Andrew John Paton; Jastinder Singh; Rufus Thomas Philip; Graeme Thomson; Lauren Amy Wilson

Bachelor of Arts in International Retail Marketing - Rebecca Clare Carslaw; Amanda Hamilton; Sophie Holtz - With Merit; Nicholas Kelly; Brid Mannion; Beata Starostenko – With Distinction; Sophie Stewart; Gabriele Verikaite - With Merit; Kay Rachel Wilson; Tamzin Young

Bachelor of Arts in International Tourism Management - Brooke June Pagan; Hugh Sheridan

Bachelor of Arts in Management - Heather Beta Anne Brown; Teresia Wairimu Challo; Jennifer Docherty; Andrew Elborn; Lauren McTaggart

Bachelor of Arts in Management, Technology and Enterprise - Eilidh Bradley; Sharlene Buchan; Misbahullah Fazal Mohammad

Bachelor of Arts in Marketing - Sumayah Ahmed M Alghamedi; Gemma Auld; Sean Docherty; Rebecca MacEwan; Lars Erik Stefan Melen - With Distinction; Andrew Peden

Bachelor of Arts in Media and Communication - Louise Ria Donegan; Angel Angelov Georgiev - With Merit; Kamila Hanna Jelonkiewicz; Shannan Manley; Daniel McPherson; Samantha Rogers; Ashlie Smart; Lisa West; Roger John Whyte

Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Journalism - Natasha Reid

Bachelor of Arts in Sports Management - David Skillen

Bachelor of Science in Railway Operations Management - Damian Agnew; Andrew Peter Bolton; Sandra Bregger; Helen Jane Bullock - With Distinction; Kathleen Carroll; Richard David Clevett; Helen Louise Hutton; Elizabeth Lumber; Mary McCrum; Joel Roger Mitchell; Paul Neve; Tony Karl Prankett; Stewart Prentice; Babita Nikki Sohal

Diploma of Higher Education in Railway Operations Management - Pamela Florence Kiyaga Nakazzi; Diploma of Higher Education; James Robertson

Certificate of Higher Education in Railway Operations Management - Martin Edwards - With Merit; Robert Leslie Kitley; Jane MacLennan; Jordan Christopher Edward Morris; Stephen Trevor Parker; Ellie Powers; Matthew Ryder; Alexander Wall; Zac Weallans; Niall Athol Louis Wiggins

1 in 5 missing in trainee GP recruitment crisis

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ONE in five training slots for GPs in Scotland has been left empty this summer as the number of junior doctors choosing to work in that part of the NHS has declined, new figures showed.

With surgeries already struggling to fill vacancies for qualified GPs, it emerged 21 per cent of training jobs in general practice were unfilled this summer.

As 65 training positions were lying vacant for that period, health experts warned the situation was “critical” and “poses a significant threat to general practice” in Scotland.

Medical bodies have already expressed concern that Scotland is facing a GP workforce crisis, with some practices collapsing because they could not replace doctors who left or retired.

Surgeries in a number of health board areas such as Lothian, Dundee and Fife have also had to restrict the patients they take on to their lists because they are reaching capacity.

Dr Elaine McNaughton, deputy chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners in Scotland, blamed the recruitment problem on what she said were continued cuts to GP services. She said: “These figures confirm the critical nature of the recruitment situation which poses a significant threat to general practice.

“RCGP Scotland believes that repeated yearly cuts in funding to general practice send out a very negative signal.”

The latest figures come after years of decline in the GP sector as the area of choice for qualified health professionals in Scotland in which to work.

In 2012, 96 per cent of the training positions were taken, dropping to 92 per cent in 2013, 89 per cent last year and 78 per cent this year. UK-wide, slightly more GP training vacancies have been filled this summer at 80 per cent.

The Scottish Government has announced investment of £50 million over three years to address immediate workforce issues in general practice, funding welcomed by the RCGP. But the body said it felt the shortage required a “much larger response”.

However, the Scottish General Practitioners Committee (SGPC) of the British Medical Association has also issued a series of warnings about staff shortages and the pressure on GPs.

Dr John Kyle, who represents training issues on the SGPC, said: “It is very disappointing that increasing numbers of trainees are no longer seeing general practice as an attractive specialty.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie called on the SNP government to act to maintain the current levels of access to community doctors.

Mr Rennie said: “My fear is that unless action is taken now, the crisis will become inevitable and local communities will 
suffer.”

Health secretary Shona Robison said: “We currently have the highest staffing levels ever across our NHS. However, we absolutely recognise there are ongoing recruitment and retention 
challenges.

“We are working with the profession to make general practice as attractive a career choice as possible.”

Wind helps power our communities

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MILLIONS goes back to fund local amenities argues Joss Blamire.

New figures released this month show the amount of money flowing into Scotland’s communities from onshore wind farm developments has risen by almost 75 per cent in two years.

More than £8.8 million is now provided every 12 months from wind farms as far apart as Orkney and Dumfriesshire, the Isle of Lewis and the Scottish Borders.

That money – which would otherwise never have been available – is being spent in a huge number of remarkably diverse ways.

Recent grants have been used to build a new community hall in Daviot, Aberdeenshire, send a dance school from West Lothian to the European Street Dance Championships in Germany and to buy a thermal imaging camera so residents in Sutherland can see where their homes need extra insulation.

The details come from the constantly-updated Local Energy Scotland Community Renewables Register, which is available online.

Payments are made voluntarily by developers from projects of all scales, from just 500kW to the largest entry at 539MW, ScottishPower Renewables’ Whitelee wind farm near Glasgow.

Guidelines produced by Scottish Renewables and the Scottish Government suggest £5,000 per MW as a guideline figure, meaning an average onshore wind turbine is worth around £11,000 a year to those living nearby.

Chris Morris, of Local Energy Scotland, said: “The register shows not just the financial value of community benefit funds, providing sustainable income to Scottish communities every year, but also shows what can be achieved with the revenue. We strongly encourage developers and communities alike to visit the register and browse the information available.”

The new £8.8 million-a-year figure shows quite clearly the huge contribution green energy projects are making to communities across the length and breadth of Scotland.

A perfect example, in South Ayrshire, has helped dozens of youngsters get outdoors, as well as laying the foundations for a tourist boom.

The not-for-profit Adventure Centre for Education, based in Girvan, has spent more than £15,000 of funds from two local renewables projects on ten new paddleboards and 20 new mountain bikes for adults and children, as well investing towards their “Girls ’R’ Ace” scheme, set up in 2011 to encourage more young women to participate in adventure sports and harness the benefits of the outdoors.

Project manager Chris Saunders said: “We have fantastic local resources in Carrick, but very few people taking advantage of them. This money has enabled us to grow our business and help local people enjoy the area they live in, and also start to cater for tourists.

“The value of community benefit money shouldn’t be underestimated – this is money which has been generated locally and is being spent locally, to help local people.”

The community benefit fund money provided to Adventure Centre for Education comes from ScottishPower Renewables’ Mark Hill and Arecleoch wind farms, just a dozen miles from Girvan.

The village of Carsphairn, in Dumfries and Galloway, has benefitted from community benefit funds too, and it’s easy for locals to spot where the cash has been spent. The village hall has been largely upgraded, including new floors and a new heating system and insulation to improve energy efficiency. Carsphairn Parish Church has welcomed repair and redecoration and funding for social events. And the lifeblood of any small village – the local shop – was saved from potential closure by the intervention of local people, who used community benefit money to cover the legal fees for a contract to take on the business, install a new boiler and re-slate the roof.

It’s worth remembering, however, that community benefit payments are just a part of the overall picture. Onshore wind in Scotland is delivering clean energy and jobs and investment, as well as helping meet our 2020 climate change targets. The sector employs almost 3,400 people in Scotland, and latest figures show that it invested more than £700m in the country in 2014.

Community benefit payments, which can last for up to 20 years, are just part of that picture – but they’re a part which is increasingly important to some of Scotland’s most remote areas.

• Joss Blamire is senior policy manager at Scottish Renewables www.scottishrenewables.com

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Greece in late bid for £29.1bn EU bail out

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GREECE made a desperate ­attempt to secure a new €29.1 billion bail out deal last night as the clock ticked down to the deadline to repay €1.6bn to the International Monetary Fund.

The Greek government made its request for a new deal from the eurozone as the financial crisis gripping the country increased the risk of it quitting the single currency.

As last night’s deadline crept closer, the Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras asked for a deal under the European stability mechanism (ESM), a rescue fund for eurozone countries with the aim of maintaining the euro’s stability.

A document produced by the Greek government at the 11th hour suggested the ESM loan would cover Greece’s ­external and internal financing for the next two years.

Eurozone ministers held a teleconference to discuss the new deal and a Greek government official later confirmed that another meeting between the ministers would be held this morning to give them more time to examine the Greek ­proposals.

The official did not give details of last night’s discussions.

Mr Tsipras’ office said the deal would “fully cover its [Greece’s] fiscal needs with the simultaneous restructuring of debt” and the government “until the end will seek a viable solution within the euro”.

Last night the chances of the new deal succeeding looked slim when it was ­reported that the German chancellor Angela Merkel told members of her party that “we will not negotiate over anything new” before Sunday’s referendum in Greece over whether the country should accept the conditions placed on the country by its creditors.

Thousands of people gathered in Athens’ main Syntagma Square to demonstrate in favour of a Yes vote. Mr Tsipras called the vote on the grounds that the demands from the EU, European Central Bank and the IMF for painful economic reforms would damage Greece further. The prime minister argues voting No – ie, against austerity – will strengthen his arm to negotiate a more beneficial settlement.

However, others say a No vote would not provide him with any more bargaining power, while European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has raised the stakes by suggesting a No vote would be seen by the rest of the world as Greece distancing itself from the eurozone.

Although Mr Tsipras has emphasised his country remains committed to the euro, David Cameron made a similar point, saying the referendum amounts to an in/out vote on Greece leaving the euro.

While European finance ministers were locked in conference-call negotiations to plot the way forward for dealing with Athens’ €340bn debt mountain, people in Greece were feeling the impact of the crisis.

They have been rushing to withdraw cash from ATMs.

The government declared all banks will remain shut for at least a week. Greeks have been limited to cash withdrawals of €60 (about £42) per day.

Pensioners have been hit particularly hard, as many do not have bank cards and so found themselves completely cut off from their money.

A day after worried elderly Greeks mobbed banks in the hope they would open, the finance ministry said yesterday morning it would open about 1,000 bank branches across the country for three days this week to allow pensioners without bank cards to make withdrawals.

But the limit for them would be set at €120 for the whole week, rather than the €60 a day for those with bank cards.

Meanwhile, irate depositors called in to television stations to report that some ATMs had run out of €20 notes, leaving them dispensing €50 only.

Capital controls began on Monday and will last at least a week, an attempt to keep the banks from collapsing in the face of a nationwide bank run.

The expiry of the last night’s deadline would mean Greece becoming the first developed country to miss such an IMF commitment. While credit ratings agencies said that it would not immediately trigger a default rating, it will mean Athens cannot get any further funding from the world financial body until it has cleared the arrears.

Yesterday also saw reports that Mr Tsipras, whose radical left-wing party Syriza was swept to power on a vociferous anti-austerity agenda, might undertake an initiative based on a last-minute offer by Mr Juncker.

Markets in Europe rose on the hopes for a resolution of some kind.

In Brussels, European officials said the commission chief was willing to help give Mr Tsipras a belated way out of his crisis if he accepts creditors’ conditions on the bailout standoff and campaigns for staying in the euro.

An EU official called it “a sort of last-minute offer” before the deadline.

Under the offer, Mr Tsipras would need to write to Mr Juncker and other leaders saying he accepts the deal. He would also have to change his position on Sunday’s referendum.

The financial turmoil did not appear to be having much affect on British holidaymakers heading to the popular destination.

The Association of British Travel Agents said it had not had inquiries from people wanting to cancel their holidays to Greece.

“We have not had calls from people wanting to cancel,” said an Abta spokeswoman.

“There is no Foreign Office advice saying not to travel, so travellers are still subject to the terms and conditions of their holiday [booking] when it comes to cancellations, so they would not get their money back.”

Official advice is to take enough cash in euros to cover expenses. Credit and debit cards will still be accepted, but ATMs are not necessarily being 
replenished.

Earlier this week, Mr Tsipras remained defiant as he looked ahead to the referendum. In a television interview, he urged voters to reject creditors’ demands. On Monday, more than 13,000 people gathered in Athens to support him and denounce Greece’s creditors, as they chanted: “Take the bailout and go!”

“We ask you to reject it with all the might of your soul, with the greatest margin possible,” Mr Tsipras said on state television. “The greater the participation and the rejection of this deal, the greater the possibility will be to restart the negotiations to set a course of logic and sustainability.”

A protest by supporters of a Yes vote took place yesterday.

The government insists that a No vote on Sunday will not mean an exit from the euro, with Mr Tsipras saying in his Monday night interview that Europe would not dare kick Greece out of the joint currency.

Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis went further, threatening court action if attempts were made to remove the country from the joint currency.

SL Capital Partners buy Norwegian hydro plants

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The private equity arm of Standard Life Investments (SLI) is eyeing more deals in the renewable power arena after buying a portfolio of hydro plants in Norway.

Edinburgh-based SL Capital Partners, which manages about £6.6 billion in private equity assets across Europe and North America, is to buy Nordic Power through its infrastructure fund.

The deal marks the second in little more than a week for the fund, following its purchase of a gas network operation in Finland.

Under the agreement with Norwegian utility Nordkraft, 
SL Capital will buy Nordic Power, operator of 13 small-scale hydro energy plants that generate a total of 58 megawatts. In return, Nordkraft will manage, operate and maintain the plants and will seek to sell further ­assets that are close to being commissioned.

Nordkraft chief Eirik Frantzen said the tie-up was “rather new” in the hydro market, but “in other sectors such as oil and gas and real estate, this type of ­arrangement has worked very successfully over long periods”.

Dominic Helmsley, managing director of infrastructure at 
SL Capital, said: “Small hydro power is a growth area of the market across Europe and we will pur­­sue scale through additional purchases in the sector.”


Ship’s cook saves life of fisherman who lost leg

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A FISHERMAN has lost his leg in an accident at sea when a rope became wrapped around the limb and “snapped” it in two.

Paul Buchan was at risk of bleeding to death on his vessel in the middle of the North Sea but his life was saved by the quick actions of the ship’s cook.

Mr Buchan, 22, survived after chef Charlie McDonald tied a tourniquet to the mangled remains of the leg to stop the bleeding.

The fisherman was airlifted to hospital where surgeons had to amputate his leg at the thigh because of the extent of the injuries.

He was 50 miles off the coast in the North Sea passing a rope to another boat when the incident happened.

“My leg got hauled up. I heard a crack – a snap – and I froze,” Mr Buchan said. “I tried to block the pain out. I don’t know how I managed. I knew my leg was bleeding, but I didn’t know it had snapped off. I didn’t look down.”

While Mr McDonald attempted to stem the bleeding, the skipper of the Fruitful Vine, John Nichol, alerted the coastguard. Mr Buchan was then taken by helicopter to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

“Charlie and John were trying to take my mind off it. They were in more shock than me,” Mr Buchan said.

“I’ve never even broken a bone before, and now the worst possible thing has happened.”

Mr Buchan, who left school at 16 to go to sea, is from a long line of fishermen, including his father Andrew who was at the hospital when the doctors operated. He admitted he could not bring himself the break the news to his son that his leg was gone.

“I said the doctor could, and we would be there for support,” Andrew Buchan said. “I don’t know where you start breaking news like that. The surgeon spoke to us on Saturday and told us they had taken his leg off just below the knee then on Monday he was taken into the operating theatre again and more was taken off, this time just above the knee.

“We were told that the cook did an excellent job with the tourniquet and we’d like to thank him because he probably saved Paul’s life.”

Speaking about his son’s recovery Andrew Buchan said: “He’s coming on really well all things considered.

“He’s up and about in his wheelchair, which was a surprise, and he’s making jokes.

“He asked when he was lying in the hospital bed if he would get back to sea again, I didn’t know what to say to him but for health and safety reasons I don’t think he will.”

University of Glasgow graduates

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University of Glasgow Wednesday 1st July 2015

* Denotes First Class Honours

Honorary Degrees

Doctor of Engineering - Charles Berry

Doctor of Engineering - John Scott Younger

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

DOCTOR OF ENGINEERING - SYSTEM LEVEL INTEGRATION - Sean James Salisbury

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY - AEROSPACE ENGINEERING - Ahmad Naddi Bin Ahmad Mazlan

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING - Mayuree Chanasakulniyom; Ross Colquhoun; Colm Craven; Angus Jackson McLachlan; Emadeddin A Mansur Sheafi

CIVIL ENGINEERING - Douglas Bertram; Ross James Donald Mackenzie

ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING - Robert Martyn Heath; Mirza Muhammad Mashood Anwar; Graham Sharp; Jonathan Siviter

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING - Akuro Big-Alabo; Andrew Feeney; John Russell

MASTER OF SCIENCE - AEROSPACE ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT - Ilaria Vernaglione*

ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING - Mahmoud Moh Abdussalam Ahtaiba*

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING - Mahdi Farhan Khulbas Al-Attabi; Zequn Dong; Gary Hugh McNicol; Martin Wolff*

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT - Deepthi Priyanka Vijayan

MECHATRONICS - Moses Osaze Igbinosa*; Ojo Taiwo Micheal Dare*; Mohd Syafiq Bin Zaid

TELECOMMUNICATIONS ELECTRONICS - Owoeye Kehinde Ayodeji*

MASTER OF ENGINEERING - AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING - Mehmed Hasan Ahmed; Graham Alastair Allan; Blair Bingham; Robyn Caldwell; Martin Chisholm; Elizabeth Mary Corrigan; Matthew Kenneth Michael Darroch; Catherine Anne Donald*; Mark Aaron Doyle*; Marta Malgorzata Drabek; Nicola Rose Faull; Michael David Ferguson; Liam John Ferrier*; Crisdean Finlayson; Sarah Fitzpatrick*; Steven Hadden; Craig Stuart Thornhill Hasler; Benjamin Alastair Kerridge*; Nicholas James McCaw; Michael Joseph McCue; Brett Kyle MacGillivray; Andrew Robert McGregor; Anna Sophie Maciver*; Liam Anthony McManus*; Darragh McNulty; Matthew James Murphy*; Simon Christopher O’Hara*; Michael Partridge; Luke David Reid; Kris Alan Thomson*; Sebastian Wiinblad-Rasmussen*; Matthew Wright; Robert Thomas Young

AEROSPACE SYSTEMS - Daniel Finnigan; Stephen Andrew Hamilton; Krisjanis Kuksa; Davide Restuccia; Calum Robert Rother*; Agata Tomaszewska; Lisa Whittle*

AUDIO AND VIDEO ENGINEERING - Martin Roy Hammond

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING - Johan Bäckemo-Johansson*; Hannah Myriam Carruth; Callum Ian Chisholm; Ross Collins; Duncan Ewen Finlayson; Ruaridh Malcolm Gollifer*; Rachel Emily Haywood*; Sally Sui Yun Leung; Gayle McCann*; Mhairi Katriona MacLean; Zanib Khan Panni*; Jakub Sikorski*; Douglas Cormac Venters*; Ruaridh Winstanley*

CIVIL ENGINEERING - Laura Anderson; Stephen Barcroft*; Michael Blunsden*; Benjamin Martin Dodds; Martin Hristov*; Liu Lixin Liu Sun*; Josh McGregor*; Patrick Thomas McIntyre; Lisa Jane MacKay; Euan-Angus MacLeod*; Fraser Neil MacSporran*; Steven James McTier; Craig Mercer*; Myra Rosemary Notley*; Andrew Roe; Alastair Samson*; Johnnie Chun-Lim Shak*; Thomas Shinton*; Adam James Sloan*; Mark William Solley*; Anttoni David Vattulainen; John Watson*; Sean McFie Watson*; Oliver Maxwell Watt*; Douglas Foster Young

CIVIL ENGINEERING WITH ARCHITECTURE - Emma Auld; Eva Babič*; Callum Mark Stuart Burnett; Veronica Katyuska Corsetti*; Blair Alexander Whitehead Cowan; Benjamin Robert Smith; Alastair Ross Turner*

ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING - Vera Biryukova*; Robert Alan Hamilton Courtney*; Alistair Deering*; Aaron Duffy*; Stanislav Gil*; Cameron James Gribble*; Mark Ellis Jackson; Andrejs Litvins*; Craig Gordon McAllister*; Suhail Mahmood; Euan Patrick Murphy*; Douglas Ormiston*; Edgars Pavlovskis*; Andrew John Pender*; Riisnæs Karl Jonas; Christopher Thomas

ELECTRONICS WITH MUSIC - Andrew Brownlie; Shawn Carranza*; Andrew Robert Cook*

MECHANICAL DESIGN ENGINEERING - Richard Graham Copeland*; Jegor Mljavov; Jonathan Stewart Raine

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING - Rasheeda Margaret Ahmed*; Gordon James Cairns Atkinson*; Eduardo Carrellan*; Liam Samuel James Clark; Stephen Cooper; Stuart Gill*; Colin Henning*; Martin James Jack*; Cailean McAulay*; Lynn MacFarlane; David McLachlan; Sean McLaughlin*; Gareth Neil Macmillan*; Colin Andrew Munley*; Johanna Platt; Steven Rendall; Scott Ritchie*; Michael Neil Robertson*; William James Spratt*; Rebecca Sarah Anne Steven; John Declan Stott*; Timothy David Western*

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING WITH AERONAUTICS - Fergus Iain Willoughby Baird*; Greg William Ralston Bannatyne; Ross Alexander Campbell; Gian Paolo Ituralde; Rohit Jaiswal; Andrew Iain Graham Logan; Calum Angus MacDonald; Stephen John McGrath; Ryan Alexander O’Keefe*; Craig Patterson; Christopher James Rafferty*; Michaela Tevenan

MICROCOMPUTER SYSTEMS ENGINEERING - Plamen Atanasov Petkov

PRODUCT DESIGN ENGINEERING - Nadia Maria Bassiri; Ramsay Cameron Black*; Helen Rosemary Campbell*; Eilidh Rebekah Gibson; Harry Hutton; Hannah Kirkbride*; Ruari Lambert; Steven James McCauley; Craig George Meakin*; Kayleigh Nelson*; Opoku Agyeman Harry; Matias Aaron Rinne*; Gordon Ritchie; Andrew Ian Robertson; Jordan Andrew Smith; Euan Spalding; Kim Katarina Stendahl; Francesca Alys Stephens*; Jonathan James Thomson; Michael Tougher*; Robert James Turner*; Heather Walker; Erin Kate Wallace

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING WITH HONOURS - AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING - Robert Gordon Mccreath Allan; Kieran John Boyd; Anthony John James Carlin; Euan McHugh Crawford; Rebecca Findlay; Callum Fyffe; Andrew Forbes Goudie; Thomas Robert Graham; George Hall; Huerta Montes Javier; Charlotte Louise Linn; Andrew Paul McColm; Conor McDonald; Jordan McDougall; Allan Colan Murray; Zaran McDonald Seran; David John Thurlbeck

AEROSPACE SYSTEMS; Adam McDermott

AUDIO AND VIDEO ENGINEERING - Moises Ojeda

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING - Aisha Abdullahi; Amy Louise Crum; Adil Zen Elahi; Iglesias Maria De La O; David Johnstone; Jamie Macdonald; Ian Pelvilain Smith; Siyu Xiong; Xinyi Zhao

CIVIL ENGINEERING - Martin McLean Andvik; Eftychia Koursari; James Thomas Lees; Ryan James McFarlane; Justin Mayes; Jed Thomas Moore; Duncan Angus Thomson*; Wang Liyu

ELECTRONIC AND SOFTWARE ENGINEERING - Justin Brendan McManus; Mălăescu Alexandru-Marian

ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING - Andrei Catalin Cornescu; Oscar Andrés Díaz Castillo; Gatis Gaumigs; Sliman Gougam; Alexandra Ioana Ilia*

ELECTRONICS WITH MUSIC - Aidan Feherty*; Keziah Lucy Milligan*

MECHANICAL DESIGN ENGINEERING - Greg Walkinshaw

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING - Connor James Beveridge; Patrick Richard Gifford; Shaun Johnson; David Millington*; Mishra Indra Deo; Jafar Mohamad; Philip Alexander O’Brien; Shivani Ram; Khuram Shahzad; Stephen Taylor

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING WITH AERONAUTICS - Mark Deuchars; Richard Dunlop; Calum Robert Gunn

PRODUCT DESIGN ENGINEERING - William Balloch; Stephen Neil Darby; Lindsay Jean Kerr; Nicola Kerr; Fraser Malone; Liam Nathan Mitchell; Nicholas Plunkett; Cameron Taylor; Mu Wang

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE WITH HONOURS - AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING - Shelbin Paul; Sampath Kumar Senthil Kumar

ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING - Kai Xiao

MECHANICAL DESIGN ENGINEERING - Matthew Thomas Cooper

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING - Kang Cheng; Ross McIntyre

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING WITH AERONAUTICS - Cheryl Easton

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

CIVIL ENGINEERING WITH ARCHITECTURE - Ewan Hepburn

ENGINEERING STUDIES - Taseer Ahmad; Harris Douglas; Jack Turnbull Gatensby*; Aaron Robert Wark; David Yung Ping Warsito

DOCTOR OF ENGINEERING - SYSTEM LEVEL INTEGRATION - Stuart Alan Kennedy

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY - AEROSPACE ENGINEERING - Mohd Hafizi Bin Shamsudin

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING - Ming-Liang Lai; Christian Witte

CIVIL ENGINEERING - Alan Kelly

ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING - David McIlvenna; Vasileios Papageorgiou

MASTER OF SCIENCE - ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING - Juan Anza*; Yusuf Aminu*

ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT - Atli Thrastarson*

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING - Teoh Sua Lim*

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT - Abraham Yaru Ortiz Morales

TELECOMMUNICATIONS ELECTRONICS - Gwamzhi Ponsah Emmanuel*

MASTER OF ENGINEERING - MECHANICAL ENGINEERING - Karolis Šikšnius*

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING WITH HONOURS - AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING - Stephanie Cowan; Tadas Margiris Rinkevicius

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING - Fraser Macdonald Stevenson; Wang Danlin; Jingwen Xie

CIVIL ENGINEERING - Andrew John McKenzie Cunningham; Nikolas Dimitrakopoulos; Kenneth Laing; Lawrence Smeaton

ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING - Georgios Karadimitris

ELECTRONICS WITH MUSIC - Tautvydas Kėdis

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING - Callum Graham McCance

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE - ENGINEERING STUDIES - Rhuaraidh Grant

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING - Noorrizan Yahya

Spanish takeover of TSB gets green light

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TSB’s takeover by Spanish banking group Banco de Sabadell has been sealed after City regulators gave the £1.7 billion deal the green light in a move that will increase competition for the UK’s biggest lenders.

Sabadell – Spain’s fifth-biggest bank – agreed to buy TSB earlier this year with aims to turn it into a major competitor to Britain’s “big five” grouping.

Taxpayer-backed Lloyds Banking Group floated TSB last June after the brand was revived to meet the EU rules on state aid, but the return to the stock market proved short-lived with Sabadell making its takeover offer in March.

Lloyds said the approval for the takeover from the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority means it has effectively completed the sale of its remaining 40 per cent stake in the business for around £680 million.

It hopes to get confirmation that it has now met the European Commission’s requirements on state aid “well ahead” of the year-end deadline.

Paul Pester, chief executive of TSB, said the deal was a “major vote of confidence in TSB”. He said: “With the extra firepower and fresh perspective of Sabadell, TSB will be stronger and even better placed to build on its position as Britain’s challenger bank.

“Being part of the Sabadell Group will help TSB bring more competition to the UK market more quickly and help us break the stranglehold the ‘big five’ banks have had for far too long.

“TSB and Sabadell have similar values. Both have heritages that date back to the 19th century and proud histories of focusing on and supporting hard working local people and businesses.”

Sabadell said completion of the deal marked a “milestone” for the group.

Chairman Josep Oliu said: “Today marks the beginning of a major project. This is a milestone that enables us to enter a market with vast opportunities. We do so in partnership with a well-positioned challenger bank with a prestigious brand backed by a long tradition. Furthermore, TSB has a highly professional management team which is successfully delivering its business plan and which is committed to growing TSB further still as part of the Sabadell Group.

“TSB will enable us to increase our international footprint and diversify our business activities. It’s a major opportunity.”

TSB is the seventh largest retail bank in the UK, with more than 600 branches, 8,700 employees and some 4.7 million customers.

But the group said in April it planned to close 17 branches and posted a sharp fall in first-quarter profits – at £34.3m, down 67 per cent on a year earlier.

TSB said the fall largely reflected higher costs, with operating expenses up as the group developed its infrastructure after being spun out of Lloyds and investment spending increased.

Lloyds was forced to offload TSB in return for its bailout at the height of the financial crisis.

The taxpayer was initially left holding a 40 per cent stake in Lloyds, but this has since been reduced to less than 17 per cent as the UK government sells off tranches of shares with aims to return the bank to full private ownership.

Shore Capital analyst Gary Greenwood said: “TSB’s shares are expected to be de-listed from the main market of the London Stock Exchange on or around 28 July. Consequently, we formally terminate coverage of TSB stock.”

Comment: Europe’s medicine hasn’t helped Greece

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These days Greece is faced with an important dilemma. Should it accept the current arrangement with the European institutions or reject it? This is indeed a very difficult question for anyone to answer; even for those who are strictly committed to the European identity of the country.

In my view, the main reason for this is that five years of austerity measures have not helped the Greek economy recover, and this greatly weakens the argument put forward by the European institutions that they have been prescribing the appropriate medicine to Greece.

In fact, the country’s GDP has declined by 25 per cent, unemployment has reached unprecedented levels, while the economy in general appears to be mired in the mud.

A consecutive series of spending cuts and higher taxes – a combination required for achieving the desired budget surpluses – have led to deflation with the weakest portion of the population suffering most of the blow.

The Greek economy does indeed suffer from chronic diseases which have to be dealt with (eg, idleness in some parts of the public sector, early retirement privileges for some, undeclared labour and people working for cash in hand to avoid paying tax). It is also true that most Greek governments in recent years have not tackled these issues effectively.

However, it should be emphasised that austerity measures have had a very strongly negative impact on a very productive part of the population, especially small to medium-sized businesses.

In short, the argument here is that Greece differs from countries such as the Republic of Ireland (with a strong export sector, uninterrupted foreign direct investments) and therefore unless specific development measures (eg investments approved and supported by the European Investment Bank) enter the discussion, the situation in Greece is going to get worse.

It follows that, the situation in Europe could have been much more tranquil if the European institutions had agreed on a specific development package for Greece targeting specific sectors of the economy, along with some debt relief.

l Ioannis Chatziantoniou is a senior lecturer in economics and finance at Portsmouth University

Mobile phone roaming charges to be scrapped in EU

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Mobile roaming charges are set to be scrapped within the European Union from June 2017.

Under the new rules, mobile phone users will pay the same price to make calls, send text messages and use data wherever they are in the EU, meaning calling friends or family while travelling will make no difference to bills from 15 June, 2017, the European Commission announced.

European negotiators have also reached agreement on so-called net neutrality rules, which will see internet providers banned from blocking or slowing down access to particular content, services or applications.

Andrus Ansip, the EC’s vice-president for the digital single market, said: “Europeans have been calling and waiting for the end of roaming charges as well as for net neutrality rules. They have been heard. We still have a lot of work ahead of us to create a digital single market. Our plans to make it happen were fully endorsed by heads of state and government last week, and we should move faster than ever on this.”

Gunther H Oettinger, commissioner for the digital economy and society, said: “I welcome today’s crucial agreement to finally end roaming charges and establish pragmatic net neutrality rules throughout the EU. Both are essential for consumers and businesses in today’s European digital economy and society.

“We will build on these important foundations in our forthcoming review of the EU’s telecoms legislation.”

The EC said a series of technical conditions need to be fulfilled in order to abolish roaming charges, but it is “fully committed to implementing those conditions and making sure that the end of roaming charges is operational as of day one”.

Roaming charges will become cheaper from April, when operators will only be able to charge a small additional amount to domestic prices of up to €0.05 (3p) per minute of calls made, €0.02 per SMS sent, and €0.05 per MB of data, excluding VAT.

Under the new net neutrality rules, users across the EU will be free to access the content of their choice and will no longer be unfairly blocked or slowed down.

This means access to a start-up’s website will not be unfairly slowed down to make way for bigger companies, the EC said.

No service will be hampered because it does not pay an additional fee to internet service providers.

All internet traffic will be treated equally, subject to strict and clearly identified public-interest exceptions such as network security or combating child pornography.

Following yesterday’s agreement, the rules will have to be formally approved by the European Parliament and the Council.

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