Mark Wright was selected from a competitive pool of nominees submitted by business owners who have directly benefited from the guidance, expertise and commitment of Business Gateway’s dedicated advisers.

A Lanarkshire business adviser has been chosen to receive a Business Gateway Impact Award for the second year running.

The Impact Awards, which took place at Business Gateway’s recent all-staff conference in Edinburgh, celebrated the exemplary service, commitment and impact made by Business Gateway’s local staff in supporting business owners across the country.

Mark Wright was selected from a competitive pool of nominees submitted by business owners who have directly benefited from the guidance, expertise and commitment of Business Gateway’s dedicated advisers.

Business owners praised Mark for “consistently going above and beyond with practical, knowledgeable and patient support”, with several people saying he had helped them secure funding, navigate complex processes and build confidence from start-up through growth.

Councillor Gail Macgregor, COSLA Spokesperson for the Environment & Economy and Chair of the Business Gateway board, said: “The Impact Awards were designed to shine a light on those who empower the local business community in Scotland, helping individuals and organisations to navigate challenges, reach new milestones and achieve lasting success.

“I’d like to offer my congratulations to Mark on receiving an Impact Award. Mark and the rest of the Business Gateway network go above and beyond every day to help businesses thrive, and these awards are a testament to their dedication and the tangible difference they make.

“We’re delighted to have been able to recognise and celebrate their achievements.”

With around 350 staff located around the country, Business Gateway’s teams are the backbone of Scotland’s business support system.

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Available free of charge to anyone looking to turn their idea into reality or grow their business, Business Gateway offers online and in-person support on everything from building the foundations of a strategy to setting up an e-commerce website, to help with marketing and budgeting.

In 2025-26, Business Gateway supported over 50,000 customers, managed over 30,000 enquiries and celebrated the launch of over 7,200 new businesses.

For more information on Business Gateway and its services, please visit https://bgateway.com.

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Which? found Waitrose to be the cheapest for several of the products included in the analysis, including Dolmio Bolognese Sauce Onion And Garlic 450g, which was £1.50 on average in Waitrose compared with £2.60 at most other supermarkets, including Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco for those without a loyalty card – a difference of 73%.

A rare strain of hantavirus broke out on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius as it sailed from Argentina to Cape Verde.

A small number of people in Scotland have been linked to the hantavirus outbreak, according to Public Health Scotland (PHS).

A rare strain of hantavirus broke out on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius as it sailed from Argentina to Cape Verde.

The national public health body said it will remain in close contact with those who have been exposed to the virus and will continue precautionary testing, as well as ongoing care and support.

Health bosses added that there are currently no known cases of hantavirus in Scotland and the risk to the general public is very low.

Three people died on the voyage and nine cases confirmed by tests have been identified. The health body said it is working with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS boards in Scotland to “take appropriate action”.

Samples from those who have been contacted by health authorities will be sent to a high security lab in Glasgow for analysis.

A PHS statement read: “Public Health Scotland (PHS) is working with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), and colleagues across the UK, to respond to the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak and take appropriate action. This includes well established protocols around contact tracing and isolation measures where necessary.

“PHS and NHS boards in Scotland are working to follow up with a small number of individuals who had potential contact with cases and will remain in close contact with these individuals for up to 45 days from the last potential exposure. Contacts will continue to receive precautionary testing as required, as well as ongoing care and support. There are currently no known cases of hantavirus in Scotland and the risk to the general public is very low.”

Scientists at the Centre for Virus Research (CVR) have already received samples from about 20 people who were on the ship, with the team now looking into how the virus has spread as well as potential treatments.

Centre director Prof Emma Thomson said: “The symptoms are classically of respiratory illness, rather like a severe influenza infection or Covid-19 – people get very breathless.

“Unfortunately, the consequences of the Andes strain can be very severe, and one in three people might be expected to die.

“So that makes it a very serious infection and that’s why we need ongoing research to look for new treatments and vaccines.”

Six people evacuated to the UK on Wednesday were able to return home or to suitable accommodation to complete a 45-day isolation period.

They had already isolated at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral, Merseyside, for 72 hours and tested negative for the virus.

In total, 22 passengers and crew had been isolating at the hospital – the rest will remain but are asymptomatic and have tested negative for the virus. It has not been revealed for how long the remaining patients will stay in hospital.

Two Brits with confirmed cases are being treated in the Netherlands and South Africa. The head of the UN health agency previously said there was “no sign” of a larger hantavirus outbreak.

Researchers at the CVR are now looking at blood and nasal samples from passengers, crew and traced contacts.

Thomson said the main aim is to investigate potential treatments and a vaccine.

She added: “We are working on improving our understanding of how the virus divides, transmits, and thinking about how current antiviral treatments can be used as a new treatment.

“For example, some vaccines that have been designed to fight against other types of hantavirus might also work against the Andes strain.”

A number of cases have been seen in Scotland in the past, involving a different type of hantavirus which can only be transmitted from rodents.

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The consultation, which will run for 12 weeks, is available on the Scottish Sentencing Council website and organisations and people from all backgrounds, legal or otherwise, are encouraged to have their say on the guideline to help ensure it is fit for purpose.

The Scottish Sentencing Council has launched a public consultation to seek views on a draft sentencing guideline for domestic abuse offences.

The consultation, which will run for 12 weeks, is available on the Council website and organisations and people from all backgrounds, legal or otherwise, are encouraged to have their say on the guideline to help ensure it is fit for purpose.

Domestic abuse is an area of great concern to the public and accounts for a significant number of cases across courts in Scotland.

The sentencing of such cases is complex and can prove challenging for judges, particularly due to the broad range of circumstances involved in domestic offending and the need to give careful consideration to the protection of victims.

Research also shows that victims want greater clarity on the processes and reasons behind court decisions.

The guideline is designed to be of use to the courts and court users, as well as the general public, by clearly setting out the information which should be considered by judges in deciding sentences.

Lord Beckett, Lord Justice Clerk and Chair of the Council, said: “This guideline will assist the court in selecting what can sometimes be challenging sentencing decisions, thereby enhancing consistency.

“It will also aid public awareness by helping people better understand what domestic abuse can involve, and what is considered by the courts when reaching a sentence.

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“The public consultation is a vital stage in developing a sentencing guideline. In order for it to be useful to the court, court users and the public, we are seeking as wide a range of views as possible and I encourage everyone to take the time to respond to the consultation.

“Every response will be carefully considered by the Council before the guideline is finalised.”

The draft guideline makes clear that these offences can cause particularly damaging harm to those impacted by abuse, including children, and can inflict lasting trauma.

It sets out some of the behaviours domestic abuse can entail, such as coercive control like isolating a victim from family or friends, as well as economic abuse or physical or sexual abuse.

A list of factors which can make offences more serious, and may lead to a more severe sentence, are also detailed in the guideline – for example, using a child to direct offending behaviour at a victim or preventing a victim from obtaining assistance.

READ MORE: Domestic abuse victim choked she struggled to breathe and saw ‘black dots’ in front of her face

The draft guideline also includes a section explaining the legislation on non-harassment orders.

The deadline for responding to the consultation is August 6. All responses will be carefully considered before the guideline is finalised and submitted to the High Court for approval.

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As the US President has headed to China for a key summit chaos has erupted behind the scene, with a US staffer trampled and members of Trump’s Secret Service involved in a standoff

Behind the scenes of the high-stakes China summit, tensions are reportedly erupting as all eyes are on the US and China leaders.

President Trump and Xi Jinping have held talks discussing divisive issues such as the Iran war, trade, technology and Taiwan.

Trump claimed in a toast at the state banquet that the US and China have a “deep sense of mutual respect” but the off stage relations between the nations have seemingly continued to worsen as the state visit continues.

With a reported ‘standoff’ and one US staffer trampled by a horde of Chinese journalists backstage of the trip has been labelled a “s***show”.

The first incident occurred on Thursday morning when a group from the Chinese press reportedly stormed into Trump’s meeting with President Xi, knocking over and stepping on a White House staffer.

As the aide was knocked over Americans protested at the actions, but thankfully they were not seriously injured.

Members of Trump’s Secret Service also reportedly had confrontation with Chinese officials after being barred from entering a historic Beijing temple due to one of the agents possessing a firearm.

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A journalist claimed the “intense” standoff took place during Trump’s first full day of the state visit which caused delays.

According to the White House press pool, the agent accompanying reporters was stopped by Chinese security and refused entry to the temple’s compound due to his firearm.

This dispute between US and Chinese officials led to a delay in the press corps entering the temple complex with press officials briefly held while US and Chinese officials engaged in a heated debate about whether they could proceed.

As they were held in the holding room, one American reporter shouted “We have to go!”

Chinese officials the reportedly chased the US delegation as they ran across the square to reach Trump’s convoy of cars.

The unseen dramas of the trip have thus far contrasted the majority of the interactions between the two leaders, with the standoff taking place as a peaceful tour of the historic temple was taken by Xi and Trump.

However, discussing tense issues between the nations Xi warned that the countries could “come into conflict” in a two hour showdown earlier on Thursday.

The Chinese leader said: “If handled properly, bilateral relations can remain generally stable.

“If handled poorly, the two countries will clash or even come into conflict, pushing the entire China-US relationship into a highly dangerous situation.”

Traditional missionary (particularly for the bottom partner)

Doggy style (kneeling)

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Legs up over shoulders positions

Cowgirl / reverse cowgirl (on top)

Standing sex

Armagh had 28 points to spare over Down in the Ulster semi-final while Monaghan have lost one of their starting players from the extra-time win over Derry

Kieran McGeeney has, unsurprisingly, named an unchanged starting 15 for Sunday’s Ulster final clash with Monaghan on Sunday.

The Orchard County turned in a devastating when they defeated Down by 28 points in Clones a fortnight ago.

Blaine Hughes retains the goalkeeping jersey ahead of Ethan Rafferty while Ross McQuillan is named in the match-day panel after missing the Down game with a calf strain.

All-Ireland winning captain Aidan Forker is also among the substitutes after tearing his calf ahead of the preliminary round win over Tyrone last month.

Meanwhile, Monaghan have suffered a blow on the eve of the Ulster final with midfielder Louis Kelly ruled out with an Achilles injury.

Monaghan came through a rollercoaster semi-final against Derry with Jack McCarron’s stunning late two-point sideline forcing extra-time before Rory Beggan sealed the win with the final kick of the game.

Darragh McElearney, who was listed to start against Derry comes in to the team with Karl Gallagher moving to midfield.

Gary Mohan and Ryan Wylie have also been added to the match-day squad as has U20 star Max Maguire.

Armagh: Blaine Hughes; Peter McGrane, Aaron Mckay, Paddy Burns; Greg McCabe, Tiernan Kelly, Jarly Óg Burns; Joe McElroy, Jason Duffy; Darragh McMullen, Conor Turbitt, Tomás McCormack; Cian McConville, Andrew Murnin, Oisin Conaty.

Subs: Ethan Rafferty, Gareth Murphy, Oisin O’Neill, Ross McQuillan, Daniel Magee, Ciaran Mackin, Barry McCambridge, Ryan Duffy, Aidan Forker, Tomás Galvin, Rory Grugan.

Monaghan : Rory Beggan; Darragh McElearney, Ryan O’Toole, Dylan Byrne; Cameron Dowd, Killian Lavelle, Dessie Ward; Micheál McCarville, Karl Gallagher; Aaron Carey, Mícheál Bannigan, Stephen O’Hanlon; Conor McCarthy, Andrew Woods, Stephen Mooney

Subs: Kian Mulligan, David Garland, Robbie Hanratty, Bobby McCaul, Gary Mohan, Max Maguire, Ryan McAnespie, Shane Hanratty, Oisin McGorman, Jack McCarron, Ryan Wylie.

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A woman in her 60s has been arrested in connection with the 2008 murder of Strabane man Andrew Burns, who was shot dead near Donnyloop Church in Co Donegal

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A woman has been detained in connection with the fatal shooting of Andrew Burns in Co Donegal.

Mr Burns, originally from Strabane, was killed by Óglaigh na hÉireann in a dissident-linked killing in which gardaí suspect multiple individuals were involved, reports the Irish Mirror.

The woman, in her 60s, was apprehended in relation to the murder inquiry on Thursday and is currently being detained at a Garda station in the North West region.

The victim was shot twice in the back on a roadway near Donnyloop Church on 12 February 2008.

Martin Kelly, who had connections to the Óglaigh na hÉireann organisation, was found guilty and given a life sentence for Mr Burns’ murder in 2012.

His trial revealed how he had been instructed to transport Mr Burns from his residence in Strabane to Donnyloop in Donegal for a punishment shooting. He drove the victim to the church car park where three individuals were lying in wait in a hedge.

A gunman opened fire on Mr Burns, who attempted to flee but was struck by a second shot which proved fatal. All three climbed into Kelly’s vehicle and he transported them back across the border, pausing to conceal the weapon in a hedge.

Kelly was questioned by gardaí and the PSNI at a hotel in Northern Ireland where he confessed to his involvement.

In a significant development on Thursday evening, gardaí confirmed that the woman had been arrested in connection with the murder investigation and that she is being detained pursuant to Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act 1939.

A garda spokesperson stated: “An Garda Síochána continues to appeal to anyone with any information to come forward, in particular, the occupant or occupants of a red van that it is believed to have been in the area of Donnyloop, Castlefin, Co. Donegal, at around 7pm on the evening of Tuesday 12th February 2008.

“Anyone with information is asked to contact Letterkenny Garda Station on 074 9167100, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday preserved women’s access to a drug used in the most common method of abortion, rejecting lower-court restrictions while a lawsuit continues.

The court’s order allows women seeking abortions to continue obtaining the drug, mifepristone, at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor. Access is likely to remain uninterrupted at least until into next year as the case plays out, including a potential appeal to the high court.

The justices granted emergency requests from makers of mifepristone, who are appealing a federal appeals court ruling that would require women to see a doctor in person and halt delivery of mifepristone through the mail. The federal Food and Drug Administration, which first approved mifepristone for use in abortion in 2000, stopped requiring in-person visits five years ago.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented, with Thomas writing that the two companies, Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro, are not entitled to the court’s action to spare them “lost profits from their criminal enterprise.”

Anti-abortion groups, frustrated with President Donald Trump’s administration, are pushing the FDA to move faster with a review that they hope will result in restrictions on mifepristone, including blocking its prescribing via telehealth platforms. The Republican administration says the work takes time.

Earlier this week, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary resigned after months of criticism from Trump’s political allies, including abortion opponents.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and similarly aligned groups had called on Trump to fire Makary over the slow pace of the mifepristone review.

The court is dealing with its latest abortion controversy four years after its conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed more than a dozen states to effectively ban abortion outright.

The case before the court stems from a lawsuit Louisiana filed to roll back the Food and Drug Administration’s rules on how mifepristone can be prescribed. The state claims that the policy undermines the ban there, and it questions the safety of the drug, which has repeatedly been deemed safe and effective by FDA scientists.

Alito, who wrote the opinion overturning Roe, agreed that the state’s efforts have been thwarted by medical providers and private organizations that mail the pills to women in Louisiana, despite the abortion ban. Danco and GenBioPro “are obviously aware of what is going on yet nevertheless supply the drug and reap profits from its felonious use in Louisiana,” he wrote.

Thomas said those who mail the pills are in violation of the Comstock Act, a 19th-century law that has long gone unenforced and bans mailing any “article, instrument, substance, drug, medicine, or thing which is advertised or described in a manner calculated to lead another to use or apply it for producing abortion.”

Lower courts concluded that Louisiana is likely to prevail, and a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that mail access and telehealth visits should be suspended while the case plays out.

The drug is most often used for abortion in combination with another drug, misoprostol. Medication abortions accounted for nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. in 2023, the last year for which statistics are available.

Telehealth prescribers were prepared to switch to sending abortion patients a regimen that uses only misoprostol.

While Thursday’s ruling keeps the status quo in place for now, abortion-rights advocates warn that the case isn’t settled forever.

“We are relieved that access to mifepristone remains protected for now, but this should never have been on the table in the first place,” Serra Sippel, executive director of The Brigid Alliance, which helps coordinate and fund travel and other logistics to assist women traveling for abortion, said in a statement. “Patients and providers should not be forced to wait on court rulings to know whether people can access critical health care.”

The decision is “extremely disappointing” but not a defeat, said Gavin Oxley, a spokesperson for the anti-abortion advocacy group Americans United for Life. “The Supreme Court still has the opportunity to hear the case in full and bring justice to Louisiana,” he said.

The current dispute is similar to one that reached the court three years ago, when the justices blocked a 5th Circuit ruling in a suit filed by anti-abortion doctors and kept mifepristone widely available, over dissents from Alito and Thomas.

Then, in 2024, the high court unanimously dismissed the doctors’ suit, reasoning they did not have the legal right, or standing, to sue.

In the current dispute, mainstream medical groups, the pharmaceutical industry and Democratic members of Congress have weighed in cautioning the court against limiting access to the drug. Pharmaceutical companies said a ruling for abortion opponents would upend the drug approval process.

Debate over the safety of mifepristone has churned for more than 25 years. The FDA has eased a number of restrictions initially placed on the drug, including who can prescribe it, how it is dispensed and what kinds of safety complications must be reported.

Despite those determinations, anti-abortion groups have filed a series of petitions and lawsuits against the agency, generally alleging that it violated federal law by overlooking safety issues with the pill.

Trump’s administration has been unusually quiet at the Supreme Court. It declined to file a written brief recommending what the court should do, even though federal regulations are at issue.

The case puts the administration in a difficult place. Trump has relied on the political support of anti-abortion groups but has also seen ballot question and poll results that show Americans generally support abortion rights.

Both sides took the administration’s silence as an implicit endorsement of the appellate ruling.

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Associated Press writer Ali Swenson contributed to this report from New York. Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, N.J.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.

The opening headlines from the summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Beijing signal an openness on the Chinese side towards stabilising relations with the US. In his opening remarks, the Chinese president noted that China and the US “should be partners not rivals”. But he warned Trump that a crisis over Taiwan could lead to “clashes and even conflicts”.

With Xi also indicating that there will be more opportunities for US companies to do business in China, the stage is set for a relatively successful summit. Both sides can claim it as a success because it offers some concrete benefits in the form of a trade war avoided and at least the prospect of cooperation on global issues such as the Iran war. It also sets a generally more positive tone for relations between the two countries.

Such an outcome is particularly troubling for Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, who will see his relevance and leverage diminished by more stable and predictable US-China relations. Putin’s aspirations to position Russia as a great power depend on Moscow either being strategically useful to Washington and Beijing, or gaining leverage with them by demonstrating a capacity to be disruptive.

However, on both counts, Putin’s hand has been substantially weakened. His war against Ukraine is no longer a priority issue for the US, with the two main American interlocutors in peace talks, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, focused on negotiations with Iran.

Putin’s latest phone call with Trump on April 29 will have been disappointing for the Russian leader. His offer to take Iran’s highly enriched uranium to Russia was reportedly rebuffed by Trump, who told him to focus on “ending the war with Ukraine”. And days later the Kremlin was forced to scale back its annual military parade in Moscow, due to concerns that it could be targeted by Ukrainian forces.

On the Chinese side, things are possibly even more troubling. The last face-to-face meeting between Xi and Putin took place in September 2025. They have only held one video conference since then. A Kremlin statement during the Trump-Xi summit that Putin will visit China soon smacks more of desperation than confirmation.

Putin’s leverage

While Putin appears sidelined in the US-China relationship, he is not without cards of his own. Major global issues – including wars in Ukraine and Iran, energy security and the future of the international order – are still connected to Russia. This provides Putin with a degree of leverage in his relations with both Xi and Trump.

But exercising this leverage comes with significant risks, especially in areas where Chinese and US interests are more aligned with each other than with Russia. Take the case of the Iran war as an example.

Russia benefits most from this conflict continuing. The disruption it is causing to global energy flows has pushed up oil and gas prices, keeping Moscow’s war economy afloat. It has also reduced the flow of US arms to Ukraine. Unsurprisingly, therefore, Russia has expanded its support for Iran – from intelligence and cyber support to providing unjammable drones.

While Russian support is unlikely to enable Iran to win the war, it will give the regime in Tehran more time to avoid defeat and increase the costs for the US, its regional allies and the global economy. This is not going to play well with Trump, who is under mounting domestic pressure to wind down the war in Iran.

Beijing has offered Iran some support throughout the war, for example by helping it bypass western sanctions on the export of its oil. But there are clear limits to how far China will go. For China, its relationship with the US is far more important than the one with Iran. This tilts the balance of preferences in Beijing towards an end of the conflict rather than towards its continuation.

This does not mean that China and the US will now align against Russia. Relations between Russia and China are longstanding and deep across a range of issues. Their “no-limits partnership” may be increasingly asymmetric, but there is still a great deal of anti-American and anti-western alignment between them.

The US under Trump is also more ambivalent about its stance on Russia than under previous administrations. Trump’s transactional foreign policy – and his urge to make deals rather than pursue a consistent strategy – is something Russia will continue to try to leverage to its own advantage.

Ahead of the Trump-Xi summit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov released a statement in which he said “the path to the implementation of a whole range of economic projects will be open” if the White House agrees to decouple trade from the war in Ukraine. This indicates that Moscow is fully aware of this opportunity – as well as the challenge to offer the US something China cannot.

The Xi-Trump summit is a party to which Putin was not invited. The fact that the US and China seem to be heading towards a period of better-managed relations indicates that his efforts to make his presence felt have largely failed. This does not bode well for his aspirations to restore Russia to its Soviet-era status as a great power – but it does not imply that he will give up.