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An emergency action plan to reduce bed blocking and ease record A&E waiting times will not take affect in time to ease the looming crisis this winter, doctors warn.

Professor Jane Monckton Smith, in a life-saving book, explains why there are patterns of escalating male violence that too often end in tragedy

Updated: July 11, 2021, 9:38 am © Supplied They don’t come more paradoxical than Dr Marie Joseph Jean Houbert. Born to sugar plantation-owning French aristocrats of Indian Ocean island Mauritius, he would choose instead to live his days as a recluse by the North Sea in Bridge of Don. A political futurist, he predicted the fall of ‘Fortress Europe’ via Middle-Eastern and African migration decades before it ever looked likely, yet lived without modern conveniences, having never owned a mic...

ROAD TEST: Land Rover Defender supreme off road and on road © Supplied by Land Rover The Land Rover Defender is a car that has a weight of expectations on its shoulders. Its job is to replace the original Defender – which kept virtually the same design for almost 70 years and is perhaps the most beloved off roader of all time. The all new Defender was launched last year and I drove it then at Land Rover’s off road centre in Dunkeld. I spent a day crawling over rocks, wading through streams...

MARY-JANE DUNCAN: A moment that goes straight to the blunder board By Mary-Jane Duncan © DCT Media As I type this, an 18-year-old Emma Raducanu, has just qualified for the fourth round at Wimbledon.  While waiting on her A Level results. Simultaneously, my oldest two are standing in the kitchen voicing their protests over the lack of kettle and demanding to know how they are going to make themselves a cup of tea. I’m not sure I have a sigh loud enough in my repertoire for this proud ...

Lockdown leads to cut in £10billion debt Scottish councils owe Treasury © Supplied by DCT graphics Scottish councils slashed £275 million from their £10 billion debts to the Treasury last year as work on major projects ground to a halt during the pandemic. Official data shows that most local authorities were able to cut the amount they owed in outstanding loans, with the total falling for the first time in five years, as borrowing for building schemes was put on hold because of lockdown. On...

Not gone, just graduated: Aberdeen minister Ken Gordon dies aged 85 Updated: 08/07/2021, 10:54 am © Supplied Tributes have been paid to Aberdeen Anglican minister of almost 50 years, Rev Kenneth Gordon who has died age 85. Kenneth Gordon and wife Jessica of the Scottish Episcopal Church, Aberdeen and Orkney Diocese. The devoted Christian, who was active in ministry until earlier this year, saw his death not as an occasion for sadness, but as his ‘graduation to Heaven’. Capital upbringing B...

Export slump threatens to put the brakes on Scottish economic recovery © Shutterstock / smshoot Parts of the Scottish economy are bouncing back quicker than expected – but many businesses are still suffering pandemic and Brexit-induced export woes. These are among the findings of the latest Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) Quarterly Economic Indicator Survey. Reporting “positive growth” in all sectors covered by the survey today (July 6), SCC says Scottish firms are seeing the first s...

Updated: July 5, 2021, 11:06 am © PRESS AND JOURNAL Customers of M&S Bank are facing major changes, including the closing of their current accounts. Keith Findlay takes a look at what’s happening. The end of the road for in-store branches of M&S Bank follows the growing trend of retail banking customers using their accounts online or by telephone. High street giant Marks & Spencer (M&S) started shutting in-shop branches of its banking arm last Friday. M&S Bank current accounts are due to clo...

© Shutterstock / Elnur The average value of people’s most prized possessions stands at nearly £5,000, with laptops, jewellery and bicycles topping the list of the most insured items, according to Confused.com. Yet almost half of UK homeowners and renters (47%) are leaving their valuables at risk by not having any form of home protection in place, the financial services comparison website said. ‘Concerning’ It added: “This is concerning, given the fact the average value of a person’s...