All posts tagged: Scotland

Scotland celebrates 20 years of humanist marriages

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Today marks the 20th anniversary of the first legally recognised humanist marriage in Scotland. Over 50,000 humanist weddings have happened since. Humanists UK congratulates Humanist Society Scotland on this momentous occasion and calls for the UK Government to act so that humanists in England and Wales can have the same right to marry in line with their beliefs as their Scottish counterparts. Humanist marriages gained legal recognition in Scotland in 2005 following a decision of the Registrar General to read humanist marriages into the existing law. Since then, legally recognised humanist marriages have exploded in popularity. More humanist weddings were conducted in 2022 (9,140) than religious marriages of all kinds combined (8,072). In 2014 the first two same-sex marriages in Scotland were also humanist. To mark the occasion, MSPs have lodged a motion in the Scottish Parliament celebrating 20 years of humanist marriages. It also ‘calls on the UK Government to follow Scotland’s lead and give non-religious couples in England and Wales the choice of a legal humanist marriage ceremony.’ In England and Wales, …

Powerful new supercomputer to be built in Scotland in government U-turn | Science, Climate & Tech News

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[ad_1] A powerful new supercomputer will be built in Edinburgh after all, the chancellor has announced.  Up to £750m has been put aside for the project, Rachel Reeves revealed as part of her spending review. The Conservatives, when in government, had previously pledged £800m for the project but in August, Labour scrapped the plans, claiming it was part of “unfunded commitments”. “We are investing in Scotland’s renewal, so working people are better off,” said Ms Reeves on Wednesday. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 1:29 Keir Starmer wants UK to embrace AI On Monday, one of the leading figures in AI, the chief executive of NVIDIA, told the prime minister the UK had all the ingredients to be a leader in AI except for the infrastructure. “You can’t do machine learning without a machine. The ability to build AI supercomputers here in the UK will naturally attract more AI startups” and create a better ecosystem, said Jensen Huang at London Tech Week. The UK is the third-largest AI market in the …

Assisted dying bill passes first stage in Scotland

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[ad_1] A bill to allow terminally ill, mentally competent adults to access assisted dying in Scotland has passed its stage one vote in Holyrood. MSPs passed the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill by 70 votes to 56. Stage one is a vote on the principles of a bill. While assisted dying is not explicitly criminalised in Scotland, helping someone to die could lead to prosecution for murder, culpable homicide or reckless endangerment. The bill includes a system of legal safeguards. The request would have to be approved by two independent doctors, and the individual would have to have lived in Scotland for at least a year. A mandatory reflection period of two weeks would usually apply. Although initially drafted to apply to those aged 16 and over, the bill will be amended to apply only to those who are 18 and over. The bill was introduced by Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur as a Members’ Bill, meaning it was not introduced by the Scottish Government. The National Secular Society supported the bill …

Woman’s body found close to where two sisters vanished in Scotland | UK News

Published by Sam

[ad_1] The body of a woman has been recovered from the River Dee close to where two missing sisters disappeared in Aberdeen. Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both aged 32, were last spotted on CCTV in the city’s Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday 7 January. The women were seen crossing the bridge and turning right on to a footpath next to the River Dee in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club. On Friday, it was confirmed a woman’s body had been recovered from the water east of the club. Although the body is yet to be formally identified, Police Scotland said the family of Henrietta had been informed. The force added there were “no apparent suspicious circumstances”, with searches ongoing for Eliza. The Police Scotland dive and marine unit, along with other specialist officers, are carrying out further searches of the river and the riverbanks between Queen Elizabeth Bridge and Victoria Bridge. Image: A police dive boat pictured on the River Dee at Aberdeen Harbour earlier this month. Pic: PA Image: …

NSS: Scotland should repeal religious observance laws

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[ad_1] The Scottish Government should repeal laws mandating collective worship in schools, the National Secular Society has said. Responding to a Scottish Government consultation, the NSS said laws mandating collective worship – known in Scotland as religious observance (RO) – are incompatible with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The law in Scotland requires state funded schools to hold “community acts” which promote “the spiritual development of all members of the school’s community”. Non-denominational schools are “encouraged to draw upon” Christian traditions in RO. While the law allows parents to withdraw their children from RO, there is no independent right to withdrawal for children, even when they are over 16. In its response, the NSS noted the Committee overseeing the convention has repeatedly recommended laws mandating RO be repealed, most recently in 2023. Last summer, the Scottish Government incorporated the CRC into Scots Law, creating a legal duty for public bodies to act in compliance with the convention. The NSS said the Scottish Government’s proposed legislative changes, which would only require …

Mom-To-Be Unboxes The Baby Gift She Received From The Scottish Government

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[ad_1] Some countries are far better than others when it comes to supporting their citizens, particularly parents. Scotland, for example, offers employees up to 52 weeks of maternity leave, compared to America’s paltry 12.  Another way the country helps their expectant parents is through its “Baby Box initiative,” which according to Scotland’s government website, was started in 2017 to “give every baby in Scotland an equal start in life.” One mom-to-be on TikTok unboxed the baby box she received from the Scottish government. Content creator and pregnant woman Maisie Elliott opened her baby box in a video, showing viewers just how well the Scottish government prepares moms-to-be. “I am 35 and a half weeks pregnant, and I’m gonna show you everything that I have got in my Scottish baby box,” she began. “Everyone who lives in Scotland is entitled to this free box,” Elliott explained. “It’s funded through the government, and you get it delivered … towards the end of your pregnancy.” “We’re gonna go through everything that is included in here,” she continued. “I …

Six Dollar Marble Sculpture Could Earn Millions to Scottish Town

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[ad_1] Invergordon, a small town in central Scotland, could see its coffers filled following a decision by county committee to sell a marble bust made by the French artist Edmé Bouchardon in 1728 that, a quarter of a century ago, was propping open the door of a storage shed. The bust, which was bought for roughly $6.31 in 1930, could fetch more than $3 million through a private sale brokered by Sotheby’s, which appraised the sculpture at the request of the local government last year.  While the sculpture was originally purchased for display, a series of mysterious events led to it be placed in a storage shed “with other discarded council paraphernalia.” Former Invergordon community councilor Maxine Smith, who now serves on the broader governmental body the Highland council, told the Guardian last October that she found the bust while digging around the shed for a set of ceremonial robes that had gone missing. Related Articles “I found the robes…” she said “and also a wee white marble sculpture thing holding open the door. It could have been binned …

What do parties in NI, Scotland & Wales have to offer secularists?

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[ad_1] The 2024 General Election is next week. Following our analysis of the manifestos from the main nationwide parties, let’s look at how the parties running exclusively in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales approach issues of importance to secularists. We’ve looked at the manifestos of all parties which had at least one MP when the election was called: the Alliance Party, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Sinn Féin and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) for NI; ALBA and the Scottish National Party (SNP) for Scotland; and Plaid Cymru for Wales. Bishops in the House of Lords Every party would, as a bare minimum, reform the House of Lords in a way which would call into the question the 26 seats assigned as of right to Church of England bishops. The DUP’s policy is the softest: a smaller chamber with a distribution of seats that “strengthen representation for the devolved regions”. The presence of 26 clerics exclusively from an English church would therefore have to be addressed. However, the DUP also want the Lords …

‘We are planned out of the area’: the Gypsy Travellers in Scotland opposing a proposed brewery and taproom | Roma, Gypsies and Travellers

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[ad_1] The village of Pitlochry, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, is best known for picturesque views and Victorian architecture, and as a base for idyllic holidays spent hillwalking, fishing and exploring the nearby Highlands. Brothers Jack and Connall Low hope that visitors and locals will also soon be able to enjoy a cold beer at the new brewery and taproom which they are planning to build in their home town. But just a short walk up a steep brae in dense woodland, their neighbours at Bobbin Mill are not so keen on the project. The McPhee family – part of the Gypsy Traveller community that was once forcibly settled there – has lived on the site for more than 70 years, and they feel the new taproom puts them at risk of discrimination and threatens local wildlife. The brewing company, Wasted Degrees, had plans approved for a new site by Perth and Kinross council this month, despite official objections from the McPhee family, and expects to open late next year. At Bobbin Mill’s horseshoe of …