18/01/2012 Reporting Scotland

Welcome to Reporting Scotland. To date: unemployment is up by 19,000.

Family's say that they are feeling the squeeze. You have to divide the

money between your mortgage, fuel bills, and food troubles. I shop

around for food which I never used to do. A trial hears how this

schoolboy's friend was found standing over his dead body with a

knife and covered in blood. Andy breakfast-time raid at a Glasgow

Auctioneers. And amateur astronomers are turning their

telescopes to award the scars. -- The jobless figure is up but the

economy is showing signs of a rallying. Next figures today. The

unemployment rate has shown no signs of falling. Another 19,000

people joined Scotland's dole queues during the period. How does

that compare with the rest of the UK? The job market was still better

than in most English regions. But 8.6 % of our workforce is looking

for a job - and lost than the UK as a whole. The sluggish economy does

not just impact on those who have lost their jobs but all of us.

Nancy is feeling the squeeze. She has a job and a family. In these

tough times she is doing what many Scots do. Watching what she spends.

The mortgage is my biggest outgoing and that will go up this year. I am

saving for a wedding because I want to get married at the sea here. And

the food shopping is a massive concern. I shop around which I

never used to do. Now I tend to have to go into a few different

shops to see where the better value Retailers are complaining of a

terrible December. Their results are only marginally better than

last year, when heavy show caused chaos. -- heavy snow. 80% of our

members claimed that sales have fallen over the last three months.

That is a worrying sign. Many businesses expected to continue.

Customers are chasing a value and where retailers are seen to provide

There have been casualties - Scottish companies forced into

administration. Conditions are not easy. 2012 will be difficult. This

recession is rooted and high levels of debt and stress in the banking

sector. There will be slow growth and if things go badly wrong in the

euro-zone we could be dragged into A but Scotland's economy actually

grew during the autumn. The best growth rate seen in the country for

at a year-and-a-half. But it may not last. The Office of budgetary

responsibility things that the economy will shrink and stay flat

throughout the first half of next year. -- this year. More trouble

year. -- this year. More trouble The man accused of killing Jack

Frew has admitted to fatally stabbing the teenager in an East

Kilbride would land. The gay teenager's boyfriend was found

standing over the body with a knife and covered in blood. Craig Roy

denies the killing. The High Court held that the 16-year-old was

openly gay but accepted by friends and Piers. He died in May 2010. His

body was lying in a pool of blood and prosecutors claimed that Craig

Roy killed him. He denies murdering Jack Frew but today his QC told the

jury that his client did not dispute carrying out the attack.

The first witness was Craig Roy's partner, who claimed he received a

phone call saying that Jack Frew was dead. He rushed to the woods

and found Craig Roy with blood all over him and holding a knife. From

the whips he made a 999 call which was played to the jury. -- from the

woods. Visibly upset, he told the court that Jack Frew was beyond

help. Under cross examination he said that Craig Roy sometimes self-

harm do and was seeking medical help. Member of Jack Frew's family

were in court. Craig Roy sat in the court throughout the day with his

The row over Ambulance rest breaks appears to have been resolved.

Crews will work a shorter week in return for been available during

breaks. The dispute arose following the deaths of two people who wear

made to wait for an ambulance whilst local crews were on a break.

150 extra staff will be recruited in order to reduce the hours of

existing crews. The long-term solution is to move towards a 37.5

hour working week. Staff will be required to attend emergency calls

Still to come: Scottish Water will use hydropower and to generate more

of its own electricity. And in sport we speak to Andy Murray as he

prepares for his Australian Open second-round match. We will hear

from a heart of Midlothian player on the wages do battle and his

fight to save his career. -- wages Police are hunting the jewellery

thieves who made off with gems worth �500,000 from a Glasgow

Auctioneers. One a proper war a high-visibility jacket when

entering the premises yesterday morning. -- 1 Buckler. Some of the

Julie destined for sale tonight was targeted yesterday morning. Diamond

rings like this which would have been expected to fetch around

�1,900. All bundled into a bag and stolen. The robbery happened around

6:55am yesterday. Police believe that the thieves spent around 20

minutes helping themselves to the safer inside the auction house.

was a man in dark clothing and the high-visibility jacket. At this

stage we believe he made off in a vehicle which was parked near by.

More than 300 pieces worth over �410,000 have been stolen.

Detectives would not describe just how the thief gained access to the

safer but confirmed it was not have blown. They were today talking to

members of staff and the alarm company. Such is the scale of the

hall they have issued a nationwide and will possibly issued a nation -

Train drivers have been balloted on potential strike action following

the disciplining of a staff member who called insect to watch a

football game. Aslef will ballot members falling the absence of the

worker who was actually in Germany watching Rangers play when he said

A decision on Donald Trump potential golfing development will

Plastic surgeons at the Spire Murrayfield Hospital, which carried

out 800 operations involving controversial and plants are

holding an information event at the end of Germany for Women -- at the

end of January for women who are Scottish Power is to invest �20

million in small-scale hydro schemes across the country. High in

the Perthshire hills at this called clean water is piped to homes as

far away as Falkirk. For decades we have been using our lochs and

rivers to generate electricity. This is not part of a hydro scheme

but is used to produce power. I am about to discover how. The answer

can be found just down the glen at the local water treatment works.

This To thine is driven by the sheer force of the water being

piped into the plant. Energy which would otherwise be lost. With that

these three combines running we can produce enough electricity to run

at the ancillary works. It is a win-win situation. This NEC water

may be pure but it still must be treated to meet more than standards.

-- AC water. Drinking water date is on recognisable from 30 years ago.

More likely to be filtered, clear, fresher, and all that requires

energy to push it around various machinery. Scottish Water is

publicly owned so cutting costs should be good news for consumers.

And also good news for the In the last few minutes we have

heard that a theatre to hear Mac man has been arrested in connection

with the rate of a Women in George Square in October which was said to

have happened during an anti- capitalist demonstration. The camp

was set up as part of a worldwide movement. The man is expected to

appear at Glasgow Sheriff court Across the country this Wednesday:

one a year ago today the body of Betty Brown was found in a wood in

Cumbria. Her death remains a mystery and police have made a

Grampian Police claimed to have disrupted for team organised crime

groups and seized �250,000 worth of drugs since November. A 50 arrests

The Office of Fair Trading is to carry out its widest ever

investigation into fuel prices in the Western Isles.

A former nurse at a care home near Dumfries has been struck off for

misconduct. He failed to act when he saw and 90-year-old resident

fall. She died four days later. The Scottish Maritime Museum in our

fin has been awarded a grant to repair its roof. -- in the Air Show.

This will allow us to redesign the year and make it a better

experience. Shetland Islands Council is getting

its finances in order after a damning report. They must learn to

manage their finances and live within their means.

An Edinburgh company has been fined six 1/2 �1,000 after one of its

employees fell through a skylight. The accident happened to years ago.

You will find more on those and other stories on the website.

Looking at the night sky has always been popular with astronomy

enthusiasts. But a new television programme has been bringing this to

a wider audience. This week's Stargazing Live programme has

gained a lot of interest. Our correspondent has muscled in

amongst the telescopes in Edinburgh's Botanic Gardens.

Normally at sunset, the visitors here are rushing out of the gardens

and the gates are closed. But tonight a lot of the public are in

the gardens for a lovely feast of astronomy and dark sky events. It

has all been designed along with the Royal Observatory, the National

Museum for Scotland and also a local us on the society. It is all

to help with people becoming enthusiastic about astronomy. Even

though there are some showers, there are indoor activities ranging

from introduction to the night sky and meteorites. It is all geared up

to find an interest in astronomy. This is what we all hope to see on

a clear right across the country. Stars, galaxies and planets. --

night. For most people living in towns and cities, light pollution

obscures the light show. This is the largest telescope we have here.

It was built in 1928. Edinburgh's Royal Observatory, they

are keen to build a network for looking at the night sky. We are

looking for people to look around their local community and to

nominate new places that are great for star-gazing. They can visit our

website and find out how to do that there. We really hope that we get

this network of dark skies services. The north and west of Scotland have

some of the best dark skies in Europe. In Sky, they have already

identified nine of the best sites for star-gazing. We have lots of

enthusiasm to take that forward and develop it. The night was not the

best, but even so on nights of patchy cloud, planets and

consolations can be seen. You can see the Milky Way, of which people

do not see in are in areas. You come to an area like this and you

can see much more. And local businesses can also see the

potential for encouraging more winter visitors. I think this is a

great initiative for us because it will drop business to the area in

what is traditionally a quiet season. The weather has been about

next year here -- here in Edinburgh, but generally across Scotland there

is a wonderful range of observatories that can help you get

started. There are lots of events going on around Scotland over the

next two weeks, so if you want to find out what is going on near you,

log on to the website below. I will be back later for a full weather

update. Now the sport.

Andy Murray's pursued of his first grand-slam title continues early

tomorrow morning. It is the world - - he takes on France's Edouard

Roger Vasselin in round two of Australia -- the Australian Open.

He is not the only Scot looking forward to playing a second round

match in Melbourne. It is match point. Column Fleming

crouches in silent anticipation. -- Colin. Then he pounces. Yes, all

very dramatic as he and his partner when it through to the second round.

This was at the expense of their American competitors. The last few

results started to give us some self-belief. Hopefully with that

hard work, we can go on and achieve more. You probably do not know much

about Edouard Roger Vasselin, do not worry, nor does Andy Murray.

has been on the tour for a while. He is playing the best tennis of

his career at the moment. It will be a tough one. It took Andy Murray

over three hours to win his first round match. He will be hoping to

make quicker work tomorrow. One of the Hearts players has told

BBC Scotland that a lack of information from the club over late

payment of wages was the reason they took their issue to their

union. He says that they are now happy, even though the Premier

League club bought -- club were later again.

Wages for January might have been eight hours late going into Hearts

players bank accounts this month, but that is not the main concern of

Kevin Cowle. For me personally, that is the end of the matter. The

club has assured us we will get our wages on time. Yesterday it was the

news that we had been charged by the SPL for being late, but that is

a matter for the club and the SPL. The players are satisfied and have

got their wages. -- Kevin Kyle. Kevin Powell has experienced

something similar at Sunderland, but there they were kept abreast of

the situation. It is the not knowing. If someone had come and

told us this situation, a lot of us might have understood. The fact

that we were not told what was happening, that was the most

frustrating thing. Kyle has been sidelined for a year with a hip

problem. His main concern is surgery which he hopes will save

his career. He says he would not mind so it -- signing for Hearts

again. If I can get paid a reasonable wage and still be part

of the team, I would love to do that. It will all depend on whether

I am fit and able. I would love first and foremost to try and

extend my career at Hearts. I am sure the Hearts fans would welcome

back a fully fit Kevin Powell. Alas available place in the

Scottish Cup fifth-round will be filled tonight. Dunfermline up a

post in relent -- Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Last night,

come Arnett booked their place in the 5th round with a win over

Dundee. This strike helped the side to victory. St Mirren also

progressed, this call was enough to see them safely through.

You can listen to the game alive tonight on BBC Radio Scotland. --

live. Do not to know until after this show. -- two men.

Glasgow School of Art has been awarded one of the largest grants

of its kind to work out why the city has produced so many

successful contemporary artists. The money, more than �120,000, will

be used to investigate archives dating back three decades.

The winner of the 2011 Turner Prize... He may not have known it

at the time, but Glasgow Karla Black and -- Martin Boyce won a

place in art history last weekend as well as their Turner Prize. Many

commentators are wondering what is going on in Glasgow. So many

artists have come from this small corner of the city that one of

German curator even dubbed it, the Glasgow miracle. But perhaps this

success is more practical than that. A thriving art school helps a

thriving arts centre. Today's grant will allow it the study of archives.

We knew that Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Fabius people, we knew

that Damien Hirst -- Damien Hirst was here. None of this is remember

it. For artists to know that there is that lineage, actually changes

things. Parties and openings like this one work all important.

fact that the art school is just up there and Sauchiehall Street is

there, it was a bridge between the town and gown and it made the arts

more accessible for people. Also, it was a nice place to eat! Much

has changed over the years and this study will help identify a those

It has been quite a nice day through eastern areas, but this

evening we will see a scattering of showers across the North and the

West. It will start to than Colder. If we look at the picture for the

rest of the night, we see plenty of scattered showers. Where these

showers fall on frozen surfaces, there will be a risk of ice.

Tomorrow morning will have a nice start. This will not last. We will

start to see showers gathering in the West. There will be an

increasing risk of snow over the hills. The Met Office have issued a

yellow warning. If we start the tour across southern areas, there

will be a scattering of showers across the West and the south-west.

Some snow showers across the Southern Uplands. They it will be

it drifting snow as well in the strong to deal forced -- gale-force

winds. Deal forced -- storm force winds across the northern isles.

That is how it is looking. For the rest of the day, it looks like we

will see it wind at times, some of it pretty strong. The pressure

charts are showing a good deal of Friday sunshine for eastern areas.

On Friday, it is an nice-looking day with sunshine to begin with but

rain will start spreading from the south-west, that will be heavy and

preceded by snow on the hills. Looking into the weekend, it looks

like it will be a mixed bag. Frequent showers, blustery in the

West, and the best of the sunshine Scotland's retail sales are down

and jobless figures are up, but the economy here is showing some signs

of rallying. However, 239,000 Scots are now unemployed.

The search for this vessel of the Italian coast has been suspended

today after the ship slipped further into the sea. The captain

has now reported to have told investigators that he fell into a

lifeboat. The man accused of killing Jack

Frew has admitted fatally strapping -- stabbing the teenager. Nineteen-

year-old Craig Roy denies murder. It has been called Boris Ireland

and is one of the options to be discussed by the Government in at a