Tickets to this year’s Edinburgh International Festival went on sale on Saturday 24thMarch from the Hub at Castlehill. From today, the public can also purchase them from five new venues across the city. Continue reading
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Edinburgh International Festival tickets on sale from new venues across the city
26 MarHard times for housing benefit claimants
26 MarBy Natalia Rodríguez Domínguez.
£150m will be removed every year from the Scottish economy as a result of the UK Government’s new Housing Benefit law. More than 95,000 households in the social rented sector will be affected by the reform and this will mean an average monthly loss of up to £65 for claimant tenants. Continue reading
Cineworld sees customer boost after price cuts
19 MarA few days after Cineworld announced the removal of all booking fees for its filmgoers nationwide; people seem to be happier than ever with this decision and most of them claim this will positively affect their attendance in the future. Continue reading
Tibet Protest March across Edinburgh
12 MarActivists from Edinburgh joined the worldwide commemorations of the Tibetan National Uprising Day on Saturday with a march through the Scottish capital.
This year marks the 53rd anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising in the country’s capital, Lhasa. The Uprising erupted on 10 March 1952, a decade after the Chinese invasion of the country.
One of the organisers of Saturday’s march explained their motivation was to denounce China’s violent regime, “China’s repressive policies since it occupied Tibet 60 years ago have created a crisis in Tibet, provoking an unprecedented wave of self-immolations by Tibetan monks, nuns and laypeople. So far, 21 Tibetans have set fire to themselves in eastern Tibet; eight since 6 January 2012. Marchers”.
Protesters departed from The Mound at 1.30pm and walked to the Chinese Consulate in Murrafyeld, where they left hundreds of flowers matching the colours of the Tibetan flag, alongside pictures of Tibetants who were killed or self-immolated since the Chinese occupation of the country.
Armed with placards, flags, flowers and megaphones, they peacefully marched over George IV Bridge, down Victoria Street, along Grassmarket, Lothian Road and Shandwick Place, calling for support to bring human rights back to Tibet. Some of the banners read: ‘Let Tibetan voices be heard’, ‘Tibet is Burning’ and called for freedom for Tibet.
Marchers also handed out leaflets holding the Chinese authorities responsible for neglecting the basic rights of the Tibetan people stating, “The Chinese authorities have engaged in wholesale abuse of human rights of native Tibetants, while embarking on a campaign to eradicate Tibetan language and culture”.
Edinburgh University Tibet society also encouraged people to gather in Bristo Square on Saturday. A spokesperson for the society expressed their support, “We need to let the world know that Scotland will always stand in Solidarity with Tibetants in Tibet and will not stop until Tibet is free”.
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First published on 12th March 2012 (Edinburgh Napier News). Link
Cause of Morningside fire still unknown
12 Mar40 firefighters were called to deal with a blaze at a church in Morningside, Edinburgh, on Friday 9 March. Three days later, the exact cause of the fire is still being investigated. 
The alarm was raised at 19:07 at Rock Elim Church on Morningside Road. Upon arriving at the scene, fire crews discovered the blaze which had broken out in the roof space of the church building.
A spokesperson for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said: “The blaze was extinguished by two firefighters in breathing apparatus using a high pressure hose reel and small tools for cutting away”. Continue reading
36 State-owned Remploy factories due to close by the end of this year.
9 MarRemploy is closing two-thirds of its 54 factories across the UK according to the Government’s package of reforms to maximise the number of disabled people supported into work.
Listen here:
First published on 9th March 2012 (Edinburgh Napier News). Link
One step closer to become a Fair Trade Nation
27 FebSo far, almost two-thirds of higher education institutions have achieved the goal and there are only four more local authorities needed for Scotland to see its dream of being one of the world’s first Fair Trade Nations become true.
In order to meet the criteria, the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government are also required to actively promote Fairtrade Fortnight each year since the campaign was launched in 2006.
With the theme “Take a step for Fairtrade” this year’s Fortnight runs from 27th February to the 11th March. Being a key year for the nation’s future to get the Fair Trade status, the Fairtrade Foundation is asking everyone to take a step for it.
A spokesperson for the Fairtrade foundation said “It can be a simple step, like swapping your tea to Fairtrade, or a bigger step, like asking everyone in your office to do it too.”.
For those willing to find out what events are taking place in Edinburgh as part of the Fairtrade Fortnight 2012, this link from the Edinburgh Council is a must.
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First published on 27th February 2012 (Edinburgh Napier News). Link
Students across Edinburgh say NO to Rest of UK £9,000 tuition fees
24 Novby Natalia Rodríguez Domínguez
On Wednesday, students and supporters took to the streets of Edinburgh to protest against the fee hikes for students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland studying in Scotland.
Demonstrators met at 12:30 outside the Scottish Parliament and marched to the Scotland Office (place of the UK Government in Scotland) as response to the Scottish Government’s announcement to de-regulate fees for this year.
‘RUKidding?’ Anti fees March was organised by Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) to fight against the University’s decision to raise the fees for students from the Rest of the United Kingdom (RUK) to £9,000 per year from September 2012.
Edinburgh and St. Andrews’ universities have set non-Scottish UK students to pay £36,000 for a four-year course, while Scots will continue to receive free higher education. The measure will not affect European Union Students from outside the UK either. Thanks to the EU competition law, they will still be entitled to benefit from free higher education as long as they are domiciled in Scotland.
Around 200 students carried placards reading “RUKidding? No £9k” and claimed “No matter where you are from, no matter where you study – NO to £9,000 fees”.
Matt McPherson, EUSA President, said: “In the summer, Mike Russell, the Education Secretary, met with Principals from each of Scotland’s universities to set what the fee level would be. He set out his agenda, and the universities set out theirs.” and added: “Well at the march we set out ours – and I’m proud of the message of fair and equal access to education which we promoted.”
Despite the raise of fees does not affect Scottish students so far, Matt considers it essential to continue protesting about this issue. He said: “The one thing that makes universities in Scotland so important is that they are ambitious global institutions and we want to make sure we they remain that way.
“A third of our students are from the rest of the UK and we have to campaign and represent them as much as we can and as much as we would any Scottish student”.
University Rector, Iain McWhirter and NUS Scotland president, Robin Parker, also joined the demonstrators and lead some assemblies expressing their indignation over the introduction of fees of £9,000 a year for some students.
Matt keeps his optimism about their initiative. He said: “We are winning our argument where it matters – in the hearts of our people and communities.
“We may not get rid of fees in the next few weeks or years, but I think we will see the end of them within our lifetime, because we believe in our cause.”
New future ahead for Spain after the General Election Day?
24 Novby Natalia Rodríguez Domínguez
Mariano Rajoy, new president of Spanish Goverment
Will Spanish General Election results mark the beginning of a new era for the country to get over its worst-ever economic crisis?
This year’s elections have been dominated by Spain’s deepest debt crisis. In his victory speech, Mariano Rajoy, new President of the Spanish Government stated: “There won’t be any miracles. We never promised any”. However, despite the seriousness of the current situation, he also expressed his optimism: “As we have said before, when things are done properly, the results come in.” Continue reading
Future energy options discussed in Madrid today
17 Novby Natalia Rodríguez Domínguez
MixGenera International Conference took place today, from 8:15 to 17:45, in Madrid, Spain. It brought together researchers, engineers and practitioners to analyse the future of electricity supply and other alternative energy sources.
The Conference was sponsored by IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES), CIGRÉ (International Council on Large Electric Systems), Red Eléctrica de España and Carlos III University. It presented papers with new research results on the new electricity supply equipments and methods which will converge in 2020 and 2030.
Some of the topics discussed today have been the following: Introduction and control of renewable generations; perspectives for the nuclear generation, utilisation of gas turbines, CO2 and Hydro generation capture, distributed generation, smart grids and the future of electricity markets.
More info on their website: http://electrica.uc3m.es/mixgenera/
Original story published on 17th Novemeber 2011, Edinburgh Napier News. Link.
Thousands of students protest against Spanish education cuts
17 Novby Natalia Rodríguez Domínguez
Just three days before the Spanish General Elections, thousands of students and teaching staff from Spanish Universities have taken to the streets in order to protest against education cuts, difficult working conditions and educational reform which is to be implemented by the government in 2015. Continue reading
Natalia Rodriguez 