| Good morning Voornaam It's Wednesday! After today we are on the sweet downward slope to the weekend, the sunshine, the ice creams on the beach, the sleeping late, the Taylor Swift concerts - so much to look forward to! In the meantime, we can take a look through some of today's top stories. Our big exclusive today comes from our Education Correspondent, who takes a look at a Scottish University at war as bosses are accused of 'intimidating' colleagues. Read all about it right here. Next up, Scotland and the UK is in the grips of a whooping cough outbreak, which has tragically already led to the death of five babies. Our Health Correspondent explains why whooping cough is on the rise in Scotland, and what can be done. He explains: "Whooping cough – also known as pertussis – is a bacterial infection that causes long bouts of coughing, characterised by a strong indrawing of breath heard as a “whoop”. "As of May 27, there have been 2,808 laboratory-confirmed pertussis cases in Scotland in 2024 – far higher than Scotland’s previous outbreaks." Read more here. 
Our Heritage Correspondent has been taking a look at 'ghost crofts', which are honestly just as fascinating as they sound. She writes: "The ‘ghost crofts’ of a Scottish island are being rediscovered this summer. "Nunton Hill in Benbecula now lies totally uninhabited, but 100 years ago was home to crofters, families and a school. Today, traces of everyday life can still be seen, including the shell of the old school house, in the now deserted community." Keep up with this remarkable story right here. It wouldn't be General Election season if we didn't take a look at yet another television debate. Last night saw Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer go head to head in a dramatic showdown. Neither party came off particularly well, explains our Political Correspondent Alister Grant, who, after watching every gruelling second, wrote some handy analysis for those who may have missed it. "Recent polls indicate the Tories are heading for a crushing defeat, while Labour is potentially on course to win the largest majority in modern British politics, surpassing even Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide. "So, did this debate change anything? The short answer is no. It generated more heat than light, and neither leader can claim a convincing victory." Read the full analysis here. Don't forget you can follow along with live news updates with our daily blog here. Have a brilliant day From The team at The Scotsman | 
