It’s farewell to ‘Ceilidh King’ and Greens deal

YOUSAF FEELS HEAT OVER AXED PACT

Nothing continued to happen in the world of Scottish politics... OK, that was just to ease you into the weekend.

On the contrary, there was turbulence at Holyrood as First Minister Humza Yousaf, above, announced the SNP was scrapping the Bute House Agreement, which had established a formal partnership with the Scottish Greens when Nicola Sturgeon was in office in 2021.

The news, which followed increasing tensions between the two parties over a range of issues, prompted Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross to call a vote of no confidence in Mr Yousaf, and Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar calling for the same on the whole Scottish Government. These will take place next week.

RWANDA SCHEME BECOMES LAW

The Safety of Rwanda Bill, which declares the nation a safe country in which to deport asylum seekers, received royal assent, meaning it has become law.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, below, created the legislation to revive the scheme to send people arriving on small boats to the East African nation after the Supreme Court ruled the scheme “unlawful” in a landmark decision last year.

Following a number of setbacks and delays, and despite repeated opposition from the House of Lords, the controversial bill was passed in Parliament.

VOYAGER BACK IN CONTACT

There was delight in the scientific community when it emerged that Nasa’s longestrunning spacecraft, Voyager 1, is sending information back to Earth again for the first time since November.

The boffins, using painstaking research techniques, have managed to fix a problem on the space probe, which was launched 46 years ago, following five months of silence.

On November 14 last year, the craft stopped sending usable data back to Earth, even though scientists could tell it was still receiving their commands and working well otherwise.

TRIBUTES FOR ‘CEILIDH KING’ FERGIE

There was sadness at the news of the death of acclaimed Scottish accordionist Fergie MacDonald, below right, just a day before his 87th birthday.

Nicknamed “The Ceilidh King”, he played an important role in popularising the West Highland style of Scottish dance music throughout his lengthy career.

In a social media post, relatives said he died at his home in Moidart, near Fort William, “peacefully surrounded by his family and listening to the music he loved so much”.

A number of tributes were paid to MacDonald, including from modern trad bands Skerryvore and Skipinnish, and from the organisers of the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow.

CASTING CALL FOR ISLAND ACTORS

Lights, camera and action have been promised in a casting call for Mull and Iona residents who want to appear in a Netflix series being filmed on the islands.

No experience is necessary and filming will take place in May and June. Aspiring actors who are accepted will receive a payment of between £130 and £280 a day but you must be an “early riser”.

The company behind the recruitment drive, Extra People, is remaining tight-lipped about details of the drama, but said it will star Jamie Dornan and Gary Lewis.

SHETLAND’S FIRST WHISKY DISTILLERY

The first dedicated whisky distillery in Shetland will open its doors later this year.

Lerwick Distillery, founded by Martin Watt, Calum Miller and Caroline MacIntyre, is nearing completion after they found the Market Street site two years ago.

It aims to offer tours to customers in the future, with tourists being a particular target market.

The trio claim it will be the most northerly whisky-only production plant in the world, with an opening date for the new distillery yet to be announced.

GETTING IN A FLAP

Solarpowered sonar equipment to deter gulls from nesting at three sites is to be trialled by Aberdeenshire Council.

The devices, which do not harm the birds, have been installed at Westhill and Fishermoss primary schools as well as units at West Shore Industrial Estate in Fraserburgh.

They are expected to be in place for 10 to 12 weeks.

It comes after the council urged residents and visitors to help tackle issues with urban gulls.

Last year, there were 40 complaints about people feeding the birds, with warning letters issued.