 | | | Neil McIntosh | | Editor of The Scotsman |
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Dear reader, The horrific scenes from Putin's murderous invasion of Ukraine have, once more, been hard to escape this week. News of new atrocities seems to be daily, now, and we still wait to hear what one of those - that attack on a theatre in Mariupol - has cost in lives. We'll continue to bring you comprehensive updates from Ukraine in the days ahead, alongside inspirational tales of bravery and compassion from people closer to home. But life in Scotland goes on, and we've reported on a number of very significant issues this week that are worth your attention. Scotland's constitutional debate rumbles on Today, our exclusive poll revealed a majority of Scots believe preparations for Indyref2 should stop because of the invasion of Ukraine. An SNP MSP has since said stopping those discussions would be giving Vladimir Putin a "veto" over democracy. Scotsman columnist Joyce McMillan offers a more thoughtful reflection on the poll, and its implications for the independence movement. Rising Covid rates in Scotland Through the week we've continued to keep a close eye on Covid rates - if you're in Scotland and it feels like an awful lot of people are coming down with it at the moment, it's because there's a lot of it about. Today we report one in 14 of us have it - that adds up to 376,000 across Scotland, and the highest level since the ONS infection survey began in the autumn of 2020. Deep concerns about 'toxic' Edinburgh children's homes We reported on a damning internal investigation that found "illegality, maladministration and injustice" in the running of the Capital’s secure accommodation for young people. It was on the agenda for a council meeting this week, and must have made for shocking reading... but the council decided it didn't have time to debate it. Grenfell inquiry concerns over children's hospital cladding Another story exclusive to The Scotsman this week revealed health officials are urgently reviewing the safety of cladding on Edinburgh's Sick Kids hospital because of concerns raised during the Grenfell Inquiry. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe returns home And, in one of the happier stories of the week, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was finally allowed to leave Iran and fly home to the UK, after a six-year-long ordeal. As Martyn McLaughlin wrote, beyond the joy of seeing her return home to her young daughter, and husband: "The time will come soon to ask why it took close to six years to secure her release, and to scrutinise what more could have been done by the UK government to expedite that process." Looking to the weekend Looking forward to tomorrow's busy Saturday Scotsman, our coverage will span the world: Ukraine, of course, but also to Hong Kong - which is dealing with a huge, deadly Covid outbreak. We'll have all the weekend's sport previewed, and a packed Magazine with Dermot O'Leary as our cover star, and plenty on Scotland's finest food, drink, arts, books and outdoor pursuits. Our Six Nations offer ends this weekend, use the code SIXNTS30 to claim 30% off a new annual subscription before time runs out. Thank you, as ever, for your support - I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Best wishes, Neil McIntosh Editor, The Scotsman | 
