The Herald

Mafia Sets Up Close Links with Scottish Drugs Gangs Call to Base European Crime Centre Here

SCOTTISH criminals are stepping up their connections with organised gangs across Europe, including the mafia, to benefit from lucrative drugs and money-laundering schemes. The head of the agency that combats serious and organised crime in Scotland has called for a financial investigation centre for the whole of Europe to be set up here.

The Running Man

Jamieson Refuses to Disclose Identities of Sex Abusers

PARENTS who fear there may be child sex offenders in their neighbourhoods are to be kept in the dark about them, the Scottish Justice Minister has decided. Cathy Jamieson has backed expert advice that disclosure is "almost invariably undesirable", drives the problem underground and risks giving a false sense of security. "The risks posed by sex offenders are serious, but they must not be allowed to create a climate of fear, " she said.

Grimasons: Stop Illegal Trade in Guns

DAVID and Ozlem Grimason have visited Turkana, one of Kenya's remotest and poorest areas, where they saw the devastation caused by illegal weapons crossing borders. On their return to Scotland, the couple, from Edinburgh, whose two-year-old son was shot dead as he slept in his pushchair during a holiday in Turkey, urged governments to unite to crush the illicit trade insmall arms. The couple's demand comes ahead of next week's United Nations world conference on the small arms trade.

Radical Revamp for Glasgow Art School

GLASGOW School of Art, which has produced generations of Scotland's top artists, is planning a radical revamp of its city centre campus. The school, which last year announced an GBP8.5m plan to redevelop its iconic Mackintosh Building, is to overhaul and demolish some of its other less glamorous and wellknown buildings which dominate part of the Garnethill area.

More Air Strikes On Afghanistan Than Iraq

COALITION aircraft have dropped twice as many bombs on targets in Afghanistan in the past three months than on insurgents in Iraq. A Pentagon spokesman acknowledged that US aircraft alone had carried out 360 air strikes in southern and eastern Afghan provinces since April, compared with 160 over the same period in Iraq.

Putting the 'Tache in Mackintosh

Hunt for Gunman Who Shot Takeaway Workers Shop Had Also Been Set On Fire

POLICE were last night hunting a hooded gunman after two workers at an Indian takeaway were shot. The two members of staff, who were believed to be Asian, were attacked at around 12.45am yesterday in Knightswood, Glasgow. Although the two men, aged 21 and 24, are in a stable condition in hospital, police are treating the incident as attempted murder.

Redesigned Care Homes Can Help Children's Behaviour

VULNERABLE young people are better behaved after interior designers redecorate and de-institutionalise children's care homes, a pilot scheme has found. The project, which transformed residential homes in South Lanarkshire Council, found youngsters responded well to better standards of furniture and decor.

Kerr Takes Healthy Route in His Stride

ANDY Kerr was among the 1500 men who took part in the run yesterday. The Health Minister completed the course in just less than an hour and said afterwards: "I was just happy to finish. There was a great atmosphere and the crowd was really spurring us on. There were a few shouts of 'well done, big man' as I was going round, and people telling me I was setting a good example."

It Was Scotland's First 10k Run for Men . . . So of Course It Had to Rain 1500 Turn Out for Event at End of Men's Health Week

AMASS of humanity twisting and stretching in harmony to the strains of the theme tune to Rocky is a somewhat incongruous sight. Until recently, an aerobic warm-up to Eye of the Tiger would have been alien enough to many of the participants.

Warning to Over-40s: It's Time to Cut Down On Drink

PEOPLE aged between 40 to 60 are drinking more than previous generations and should be encouraged to cut down, according to a report. An expert group commissioned by NHS Scotland found that baby boomers were drinking in excess of safe limits, despite the body's ability to cope with alcohol decreasing with age.

Car Crash Kills Five From Same Family

Former Hunterian Director Dies

Teenage Prisoners Held Over Death

Farm Workers Get 6.9per Cent Pay Rise

THOUSANDS of farm workers are to receive a pay rise of up to 6.9per cent, it was announced yesterday. A deal agreed between unions and employers will have pay for workers on the highest grade rise from GBP5.91 to GBP6.31.

Medical Kit Stolen From Ambulance

Children Respond to Care Homes Revamp

VULNERABLE young people are better behaved after interior designers redecorate and deinstitutionalise children's care homes, a pilot scheme has found. The project, which transformed residential homes in South Lanarkshire Council area, found youngsters responded well to better standards of furniture and decor.

Executive Accused of 'Moral Vandalism'

SCOTLAND faces ruinous social division because of government support for single parents, according to a leading bishop of the Catholic Church. Bishop Joseph Devine of Motherwell yesterday stepped up the pressure on the Scottish Executive over social policy, specifically using next year's Holyrood election as political leverage.

Art School Is to Update and Expand for the New Century Ugly Buildings to Be Sold or Demolished

THE Glasgow School of Art is planning a radical revamp for its city centre campus. The leading art school, which has produced generations of the nation's top artists, announced last year it was to redevelop the symbol of the world-famous institution, the iconic Mackintosh Building, in an GBP8.5m scheme.