US and Israel attack Iran

UN CHIEF CONDEMNS AGGRESSION

“The use of force by the United States & Israel against Iran, and the subsequent retaliation by Iran across the region, undermine international peace & security.” – @antonioguterres condemns military escalation in the Middle East.

I condemn today’s military escalation in the Middle East. The use of force by the United States & Israel against Iran, and the subsequent retaliation by Iran across the region, undermine international peace & security.   All Member States must respect their obligations under international law, including the Charter of the @UN.

The Charter clearly prohibits “the threat of the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”  

“I call for an immediate cessation of hostilities & de-escalation. Failing to do so risks a wider regional conflict with grave consequences for civilians & regional stability. I strongly encourage all parties to return immediately to the negotiating table.  

“I reiterate that there is no viable alternative to the peaceful settlement of international disputes, in full accordance with international law, including the UN Charter. The Charter provides the foundation for the maintenance of international peace and security.”

PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER STATEMENT

Earlier this morning, the United States and Israel struck targets in Iran.

Iran has since launched indiscriminate strikes across the region.

I know the British people and communities across our country will be deeply concerned about what this means for security and stability and for the fate of innocent people across the region – which for so many of us includes friends and family members.

So while the situation is evolving very quickly, I want to set out our response.

The United Kingdom played no role in these strikes.

But we have long been clear – the regime in Iran is utterly abhorrent.

They have murdered thousands of their own people, brutally crushed dissent, and sought to destabilise the region.

Even in the United Kingdom, the Iranian regime poses a direct threat to dissidents and the Jewish community.

Over the last year alone, they have backed more than 20 potentially lethal attacks on UK soil.

So it’s clear – they must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.

That remains the primary aim of the United Kingdom and our allies – including the US.

I condemn Iran’s attacks today on partners across the region, many of which are not parties to this conflict.

We extend our support and solidarity to them.

As part of our commitments to the security of our allies in the Middle East we have a range of defensive capabilities in the region – which we’ve recently taken steps to strengthen.

Our forces are active and British planes are in the sky today as part of coordinated regional defensive operations to protect our people, our interests, and our allies – as Britain has done before, in line with international law. 

We’ve stepped up protections for British bases and personnel to their highest level.

We are also reaching out to UK nationals in the region and doing everything we can to support them.

I have been speaking with leaders today – from the E3, and across the region.

It is vital now that we prevent further escalation and return to a diplomatic process. 

We want to see peace and security, and the protection of civilian life. 

Iran can end this now. (EH? – Ed.)

They should refrain from further strikes, give up their weapons programmes, and cease the appalling violence and repression against the Iranian people – who deserve the right to determine their own future, in line with our longstanding position. 

That is the route to de-escalation and back to the negotiating table.

FIRST MINISTER JOHN SWINNEY

First Minister @JohnSwinney has called for de-escalation and a diplomatic solution, following the US and Israel’s strikes on Iran:

JEREMY CORBYN MP:

The attacks on Iran by Israel and the United States are illegal, unprovoked and unjustifiable. Peace and diplomacy was possible. Instead, Israel and the United States chose war.

This is the behaviour of rogue states — and they have jeopardised the safety of humankind around the world with this catastrophic act of aggression. Our government must condemn this flagrant breach of international law, and urgently pursue a foreign policy based on justice, sovereignty and peace.

STOP THE WAR COALITION:

Humanitarian aid for Malawi

Two charities are to receive funding to help people in Malawi facing food shortages as a result of prolonged dry spells and widespread flooding.

Tearfund and SCIAF will receive £400,000, which will be split equally between them and delivered through Scotland’s Humanitarian Emergency Fund (HEF)  to help address the humanitarian crisis which has seen widespread crop failure and livestock losses as a result of the climate-shocks.

The funding will allow the two charities to distribute cash to people in the affected areas to meet their immediate food and basic needs. It will also allow the charities to deliver training on cholera prevention, safe water usage and hygiene practices to combat the risk of cholera.

External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson said: “The widespread flooding has killed and displaced many people and exacerbated ongoing food insecurity for millions of people.

“This funding will help support people and businesses directly at a local level – where it is needed – by empowering them to buy food and supplies.”

SCIAF’s Chief Executive Lorraine Currie said: “We secured this funding to support Malawian families suffering from the combined challenges of food insecurity, malnutrition, and climate-related shocks.  

“Since the onset of rains in November 2025, the country has been hit by floods, leading to deaths, displaced families, and damage to crops.

“A number of households are experiencing malnutrition, particularly children under five, and pregnant and breastfeeding mums. These people urgently require immediate, life-saving assistance to prevent a catastrophe.

“This funding comes at a time when many governments are turning their backs on people suffering from hunger, poverty and injustice around the world. Scotland continues to be a good global citizen. The funding means that we can reach out to over 3100 families with cash grants and much needed high-calorific food such as fortified corn soy blend. It’s literally a life-saver.”

Vincent Moyo, Tearfund Country Director for Malawi, said: “Communities in Nkhotakota are facing an extremely difficult and uncertain period. Repeated flooding and prolonged dry spells have destroyed crops, reduced incomes, and pushed many families to the brink as the lean season intensifies.

“With very limited assistance currently reaching these areas, households are being forced to skip meals and sell the little household assets they have just to survive. 

“This project will provide a vital lifeline at a critical moment – enabling families to meet their most urgent food and basic needs with dignity, while also reducing the risk of cholera through targeted health and hygiene awareness.

“It will help stabilise households’ livelihoods now and prevent an even deeper crisis in the months ahead.”

ALBA turmoil: Formal Demand for Members’ Ballot

ALBA Continuation Group has written to the party leadership calling for an emergency all‑members ballot on whether ALBA contests the May Holyrood regional lists or de‑registers altogether.

NHS Lothian staff are Finalists in RCN Scotland Nurse of the Year Awards

Two NHS Lothian nurses have been named as finalists in the prestigious RCN Scotland Nurse of the Year Awards 2026, which celebrate excellence, innovation, and dedication within the nursing profession across Scotland.

Mike Spall-Hancy, Advanced Nurse Practitioner (Sexual Health & HIV), Chalmers Centre, NHS Lothian, has been shortlisted for the Clinical Leadership Award in recognition of his transformative impact on health advising and Genitourinary Medicine (GUM) nursing.

Through innovative, patient centred service redesign, he modernised STI diagnosis, treatment, and partner notification by introducing digital booking systems, online results management, and pharmacy treatment vouchers, improvements that have received national recognition.

Mike also led early planning for the rollout of DoxyPEP (a pill taken after sex to help prevent sexually transmitted infections), developing efficient delivery pathways with minimal resource impact. This work led to his appointment as British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) Scotland Nurse Lead.

As a clinical leader, he reintroduced nationally recognised STIF training, supported non-medical prescribers, delivered extensive education across the wider workforce, and strengthened service sustainability while improving staff satisfaction, clinical capacity, and integration with health and social care partners.

Daisy Sandeman, Clinical Nurse Manager – Advanced Practice, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, NHS Lothian has also been named a finalist for the Inspiring Excellence, Nursing Innovation and Research Award, recognising her exceptional contribution to delirium care and advanced nursing practice in cardiothoracic surgery.

Alongside a full time clinical role, Daisy completed a PhD on postoperative delirium, which directly informed the development of a new pre operative risk assessment and support pathway. This reduced delirium rates from around 40% to 18%, significantly improving patient recovery, experience, and length of stay. In her leadership role, she champions research led innovation across nine specialist nursing teams, building a research active workforce and embedding audit and quality improvement into professional development.

Her work extends nationally and internationally and includes collaborative research that reduced postoperative atrial fibrillation rates, contributions to national delirium guidelines, and regular teaching, mentoring, and conference presentations.

Alison Macdonald, Executive Nurse Director at NHS Lothian, said: “I would like to congratulate our staff that have been shortlisted for these awards.

“Being named a finalist is a significant achievement and reflects the exceptional care, compassion, and commitment our nurses show to patients every day.

“I would like to wish them the very best of luck.”

The winners will be announced at the glittering awards ceremony on 30 April at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Find out more about the awards at Scotland Nurse Of The Year Awards 2026 | Royal College of Nursing Scotland | Royal College of Nursing

ASSC calls for fair regulation to be an urgent election issue

The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) has written to senior policymakers across the political spectrum, urging them to recognise fair and proportionate regulation of self-catering as an urgent issue for the forthcoming Scottish Parliament election.

The letters set out how the current regulatory environment for self-catering is increasingly unstable and inconsistent, as lawful and compliant businesses face growing uncertainty with the looming threat of closure for many. What was intended to be a balanced framework is in reality creating serious risks for businesses and local economies, particularly in rural, island and remote areas where self-catering plays a vital year-round role.

The ASSC highlights mounting concerns around the way planning permission and short-term let licensing rules are being applied by some local councils, often in ways that go beyond the intent of national Scottish Government policy.

Despite assurances that these regimes would be decoupled, they are increasingly being reconnected in practice, with operators facing licence refusal, non-renewal or additional planning hurdles even where no material harm has been evidenced.

The correspondence emphasises that this cannot be seen as a marginal sector issue as self-catering provides an annual £1bn boost to the Scottish economy and supports more than 29,000 jobs.

Continued regulatory drift and overreach risks further eroding business confidence, stalling investment and placing communities which rely on tourism under unnecessary strain. If left unaddressed, this issue risks becoming a litigation problem in the next Scottish Parliament.

The ASSC has therefore asked parties to commit to, as part of their election platforms, practical and deliverable solutions. These include a clear and unequivocal decoupling of short-term let planning and licensing regimes, stronger national guidance with defined limits on local discretion, and a review of planning policies that are currently enabling unintended and inconsistent outcomes. These asks align directly with the ASSC Manifesto for the 2026 Scottish Parliamentary Election.

The trade body has made clear that early political leadership can prevent further escalation and provide a much-needed reset with industry. They have also invited parties to engage directly with the sector to shape workable solutions early in the next Parliament. 

Fiona Campbell MBE, CEO of the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, said: “Our sector is fully supportive of fair and proportionate regulation but what it cannot sustain is a system that is unclear, inconsistent and increasingly adversarial in nature.

“If Scotland’s £1bn self-catering sector is to continue playing its positive role in communities across Scotland, we sincerely hope that all parties take heed of the concerns being raised by responsible operators and commit to engaging constructively with us.

“By working together, we can secure the correct regulatory balance that benefits all stakeholders and fixes this issue once and for all.”

A copy of the letter can be viewed here.

ASSC-2026-Election-ManifestoDownload

StepChange: A Manifesto for the Holyrood Elections

PROBLEM DEBT IN SCOTLAND

We’re calling on Scotland’s political parties to prioritise financial security.

Our Scottish election manifesto sets out actions to:

– Ensure room to repay council tax

– Tackle the energy debt crisis

– Rebuild financial resilience

– Address economic abuse

– Deal with problem debt

Read more:

https://stepchange.org/policy-and-research/parliament/scotland-policy-asks.aspx

Work underway on new 99-home Salamander Yards development 

Construction is now underway at Salamander Yards, a landmark 99-home development set within one of Edinburgh’s most vibrant and popular neighbourhoods, Leith.

Located on Salamander Street, just moments from the buzzing heart of Leith and backing directly onto Leith Links, the development is a joint venture between five star housebuilder Cruden Homes and MNM Developments. The project will transform a former industrial site into a contemporary mixed-use neighbourhood, contributing to the continued regeneration and growing cultural energy of the Leith Waterfront.

Leith has become synonymous with independent retailers, creative workspaces, community-led events and some of the capital’s most celebrated restaurants and bars. From artisan coffee shops and street markets to waterside dining and cultural festivals, the area has evolved into one of Scotland’s most dynamic places to live.

Salamander Yards will provide a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments, with 35% of the homes allocated as affordable housing to help meet the growing demand for high-quality, accessible homes in the capital. The development will also feature two commercial units at ground level, further enhancing the area’s thriving business scene and creating a lively street presence.

Designed by 7N Architects, the development has been carefully crafted to complement Leith’s distinctive character, blending contemporary design with the area’s industrial heritage.

Residents will benefit from landscaped outdoor spaces, including a private courtyard, alongside enhanced public realm improvements on Salamander Street and new active travel routes to promote safer, more accessible cycling.

The new development backs directly onto Leith Links, one of Edinburgh’s most historic and well-loved green spaces, giving residents immediate access to expansive parkland, sports pitches and walking routes. 

Salamander Yards is situated close to excellent transport connections, including bus routes, established cycle paths and the tram network, offering outstanding connectivity to Edinburgh city centre and beyond.

Fraser Lynes, Chief Executive of Cruden, said: “Salamander Yards is a key contribution to the evolution of Leith Waterfront, helping to shape a vibrant and sustainable place for people to live.

Together with our partners at MNM Developments, we are proud to deliver high-quality homes, including much-needed affordable housing, in one of Edinburgh’s most exciting and culturally rich neighbourhoods.

“Backing onto Leith Links and just moments from the Shore, this development combines green space, connectivity and community in a truly unique setting.”

Marc Teague, Managing Director at MNM Developments, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Cruden to bring Salamander Yards to life.

“Leith continues to grow as a vibrant, creative and highly desirable place to live and work. This development not only delivers much-needed homes, but also supports the wider regeneration of the waterfront and enhances the strong sense of community that defines the area.”

Salamander Yards forms part of the wider regeneration of the Leith Waterfront, helping to create a thriving, mixed-use neighbourhood just minutes from the heart of the capital. First homes are due to complete in Spring 2027. 

Self-portrait by Scottish painter Jack Vettriano to go on display at National Galleries of Scotland

National Galleries Scotland: Portrait

Portrait of the Artist, Jack Vettriano

1 March 2026 –  2029

Free

Commemorating one year since the passing of celebrated Scottish painter Jack Vettriano, National Galleries of Scotland has announced it is to showcase two works by the artist.

Celebrating the life and prolific career of Vettriano, the artist’s estate will loan two self-portraits Portrait of the Artist and Homage to Fontana? over a six-year period. Portrait of the Artist will go on display on the one-year anniversary of his passing on 1 March 2026, at National Galleries Scotland: Portrait.

Free to visit, the painting will stay on display until early 2029 when it will then be swapped with Homage to Fontana?.

A self-taught painter, Vettriano was loved at home in Scotland and internationally for his evocative and timeless works that continue to captivate and inspire. His career made a huge contribution to the Scottish arts and culture scene and even broke records in the UK and Scotland.

In 2004 his painting The Singing Butler achieved a record price for a Scottish painting sold at auction and went on to become the best-selling art print in the UK. The work even inspired Banksy, whose reimagining of the painting sold in March 2025 for £4.3million. Vettriano is internationally recognised, with the likes of Jack Nicholson, Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Tim Rice among collectors of his work.

Portrait of the Artist, painted in 1993, is an early self-portrait by Vettriano and was painted a year after The Singing Butler. It depicts the artist taking a break from painting at his Edinburgh flat where he had a studio. A dramatic depiction of light and shade sets the scene for a moment of contemplation. The artist’s paint-splattered clothes emphasise the task at hand.

The cinematic Homage to Fontana? was painted later in 1999. The title and slashes in the painted canvas reference the Argentine-Italian artist Lucio Fontana (1899–1968) whose slashed canvases of the 1950s and 60s blurred the distinction between two and three dimensions to create ‘an infinite dimension’.

Vettriano invites us to follow his act of contemplation in relation to what lies beneath the surface and beyond. The painting returned to Edinburgh in July 2025 after its inclusion in a Vettriano exhibition at the Palazzo Pallavicini in Bologna and is the largest of three versions of this composition.

Born Jack Hoggan, Vettriano grew up in the coastal mining village of Methil in Fife. After leaving school at 15, he followed his father down the mine, working as an apprentice engineer.

He later moved on to white-collar jobs in management services, taking up painting as a hobby in the 1970s when a girlfriend bought him a set of watercolours for his birthday.

From then on, Vettriano spent much of his spare time teaching himself to paint.

He learned by copying Old Masters, Impressionists, Surrealists and a plethora of Scottish artists, taking inspiration from studying the collection at Kirkcaldy Galleries. It was his experience living near Leven Beach which prompted him to make the decision: ‘I’m going to set some paintings on beaches.’  

A figurative painter, Vettriano described his work as ‘more or less autobiographical.’ He worked from photographs of scenes he staged with models in his studio.

His paintings evoke the nostalgia of the 1940s and 50s and were often set, in the artist’s own words, in ‘sombre and sordid interiors’. Vettriano’s dramatic use of light and shade is a distinctive element of his work and heightens the stories of love, sex and betrayal in his paintings. 

In the late 1980s he moved to Edinburgh and took his mother’s last name, Vettriano. The artist’s breakthrough came in 1988 when he submitted two works to the Royal Scottish Academy’s Annual Exhibition, with both works selling within the first day.

Subsequently he was courted by several galleries, with his first solo exhibition in Edinburgh in 1992. Soon, his works began to gather international acclaim, leading to exhibitions in London, Hong Kong, Johannesburg and New York.

The first major retrospective of his work was at Kelvingrove Art Gallery in 2013 and featured Homage to Fontanna?.  The exhibition was record-breaking, attracting more than 136,000 visitors over its five-month run.

Imogen Gibbon, Head of Portraiture & Photography & Chief Curator at the National Galleries Scotland, said: ‘‘We’re thrilled to be welcoming visitors to the Portrait gallery to come and see Portrait of the Artist – by Jack Vettriano. It feels particularly significant that we are able to showcase a self-portrait to celebrate Vettriano’s contribution to Scottish culture on the anniversary of his death.

“This portrait and the subsequent work Homage to Fontana? will take their place on loan in The Modern Portrait display amongst the many other contemporary portraits of Scots who have made an impact at home in Scotland and internationally.

“National Galleries of Scotland extend our thanks to the artists estate, who came to us with this idea and supported us to make it happen’.”

Carolyn Osborne,  Director, Jack Vettriano Publishing Limited, said: ‘Jack was known as The People’s Painter and it’s entirely fitting that the public will be able to see one of his paintings in such a beautiful setting within a mile of where it was painted.’

Terminally ill people and their families urge MSPs to vote for the Assisted Dying Bill

Terminally ill people and families of those who suffered as they died have come together to urge MSPs to vote for Liam McArthur MSP’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill in the Scottish Parliament.

The letter, signed by 54 people with lived experience across Scotland, tells of the fear of facing a painful and protracted death without the option of an assisted death, and the bleak options with which they are left, including ending their own lives behind closed doors.

Those who have witnessed a loved one suffer as they die highlight extreme suffering that is beyond the reach of any palliative care, leaving those behind with harrowing memories.

The lead signatory of the letter, Norma Rivers, 73, from Ayr, has terminal myeloma – a rare form of blood cancer. Having witnessed her father’s traumatic death from cancer, she knows she doesn’t want to suffer as she dies.

Norma said: “Having no choice can force people into things they don’t want to do. I want to live as long as possible, but I am running out of treatment options.

“If the Bill isn’t passed before I die, I will take matters into my own hands. I have just been living in fear, trying to work out which of my drugs I need and how much, and scared I’ll end up worse if it doesn’t work.

“All I ask if for a peaceful ending surrounded by my family.”

FULL TEXT OF THE LETTER

Dear MSPs,

We have come together as terminally ill people and families of those who suffered as they died, to ask you to vote for the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill at Stage 3.

We are the real people at the heart of this Bill. Some of us face a terminal diagnosis ourselves, while others have witnessed a loved one suffer unbearably at the end of life. When you voted for the Bill at Stage 1, we know that you did so with our stories in your minds, and we ask you to please do the same at Stage 3. The Stage 1 vote brought such relief and hope to us, that no one else might have to suffer as we have.

For those of us with a terminal diagnosis, denying us choice will not stop us seeking it out. Without assisted dying, we are coerced into suffering against our wishes. Many of us have already seen a loved one suffer and know what is coming. Like the vast majority of Scots, we are priced out of travelling to Switzerland.

We do not want to die alone in a foreign country, but could not risk our loved ones facing prosecution when they return without us. The only other option is to end our own lives behind closed doors. This means endless sleepless nights calculating the combination and amounts of drugs we need and the intense fear that none of it will work and we will end up in a worse position than before.

Watching a loved one suffer has put us in impossible situations too. The agony we have witnessed, even with the very best palliative and hospice staff doing everything they can, is unimaginable.

We have been left powerless, hands tied by the law, as our closest family begged us to help them; to take them to Switzerland when we know they are too far gone, or  o scour the dark web for pills, not knowing what’s in them or where they come from.

The law abandoned us when we needed it most, leaving us to scramble around in the dark with no process, no safeguards, and no compassion. We are only left with harrowing memories, guilt that we were powerless to help, and our own health conditions caused by the stress.

Assisted dying would be a lifeline. It would let us live the rest of our lives in peace, making precious final memories with our loved ones, without the constant dread of how our lives will end. It’s too late for our loved ones who have died, but we have the opportunity to make things  ight so no one has to suffer as they did.

This issue is not going away. Voting against this Bill will not stop us from dying, but will deny us a lifeline to a safe, peaceful death surrounded by our loved ones.

You have before you an opportunity to shape what an assisted dying law in Scotland looks like.

A law that is safe, compassionate, and provides choice to those who so desperately need it. Without it, our options are bleak. The most dangerous thing you can do for us is nothing.

Please give us hope by voting for the Assisted Dying Bill.

Thank you.