MORE than 100 people from the oil and gas sector have taken up senior government roles under the Conservatives, and two dozen have left such positions to work for major oil companies. Source

THREE-quarters of Scottish small business owners are suffering sleepless nights over worries about the UK economy, according to a new survey. Source

The renowned and widely-liked broadcaster Bernard Ponsonby retired this week in a hail of deserved appreciation. Ponsonby combined the qualities of warmth and humanity with a sharp edge of journalistic inquiry. He signed-off from STV with an assessment that Scottish politics now suffers from “a real dearth of thinkers”. He cited the former politicians “Donald […] Source

THE band has become a staple of the north east wedding scene since forming in 2015. …

THE organisations were awarded grants, ranging from £3,320 to £20,000 which aim to boost the arts sector in Moray. …

JOHN Mundell OBE will take over the role in May. …

Andrew Blaikie, The Scots Imagination and Modern Memory: Representations of Belonging, Edinburgh University Press. The 1980s and 1990s was probably the heyday of Scottish cultural studies with the work of Colin MacArthur, Tom Nairn, Lindsay Paterson and others engendering a constant critique and (generally) healthy debate about historical and contemporary representations of Scotland nurtured by […] Source

THE chief executive of Ferguson Marine, where the two delayed and over-budget CalMac ferries are being built, has been sacked by the state-owned company’s board … Source

A “BELOVED” family-run cafe revealed it has closed permanently after an “incredible journey”. Source

A FORMER headteacher whose son registered her business with Companies House is now the creator of an award-winning Scottish craft gin. Source

EAST Ayrshire councillors have given the go ahead to a £150 million whisky maturation facility near Kilmarnock, despite vociferous opposition from people living and working near the site. Source

A BIODIESEL firm is set to shut its only Scottish plant – leading to the loss of around 75 jobs … Source

In the week it was announced that 300,000 more children were plunged into absolute poverty in a single year at the height of the cost of living crisis, amid soaring levels of hunger and food bank use, the Conservatives, Labour and Lib Dems all united to condemn Nike’s new St George Cross design on the […] Source