:00:07. > :00:10.Five men have been detained in a police operation at a retail
:00:11. > :00:14.During it, armed officers fired shots to blow out the tyres
:00:15. > :00:19.Police Scotland says specialist rounds were used to disable the cars
:00:20. > :00:22.in order to reduce the risk to the public.
:00:23. > :00:25.The operation was in connection with the theft of a cash machine
:00:26. > :00:27.from a supermarket in Carnoustie in the early hours of this morning.
:00:28. > :00:44.It was around 1030 this morning that shocked diners at the McDonald's
:00:45. > :00:50.restaurants of police swing into action. Specialist officers five men
:00:51. > :00:55.in the car park with reports of two or three gunshots. Police later
:00:56. > :01:00.confirmed that higher deflation rounds were fired, believed to be
:01:01. > :01:04.from a shotgun style device to stop vehicles in their tracks. A gun
:01:05. > :01:11.cartridge could be seen under one of the cars. The five men detained in
:01:12. > :01:15.connection with the theft of the cash machine from inside this
:01:16. > :01:20.supermarket seven miles away in Carnoustie. That was reported at
:01:21. > :01:25.around 4:30am this morning. This afternoon, heavy police presence at
:01:26. > :01:31.this disused property on the outskirts of Carnoustie. This
:01:32. > :01:41.looking very much like an intelligence led operation. At any
:01:42. > :01:42.point during this operation today were any members of the public but
:01:43. > :01:46.at risk? It is very important
:01:47. > :01:50.when we are mounting operations of this kind, particularly
:01:51. > :01:51.involving firearms officers, that we assess the risks and do
:01:52. > :01:54.everything to minimise them. The incident has been referred
:01:55. > :01:56.to the Police Investigations and Review Commission, a routine
:01:57. > :02:04.decision when firearms used. Farmers hit by delays to EU payments
:02:05. > :02:09.will be offered loans from a ?20 million hardship fund set
:02:10. > :02:12.up by the Scottish government. The Rural Affairs Secretary,
:02:13. > :02:13.Richard Lochhead, apologised to farmers for not being able
:02:14. > :02:16.to process payments on time, because of failures
:02:17. > :02:18.in a new IT system. Farmers have warned
:02:19. > :02:20.of a "cash flow crisis". He was born on this farm just
:02:21. > :02:33.outside Saint Andrews. His main income is from cereal crops
:02:34. > :02:36.but he relies on EU subsidies to support his business
:02:37. > :02:40.throughout the year. He is yet to receive a penny
:02:41. > :02:43.of the payments he would expect. The subsidy payments that would have
:02:44. > :02:46.come in January would have paid for the things we need to get
:02:47. > :02:52.ready for next season. You have demand from your supply
:02:53. > :02:55.trade and you just have to meet it. If you want the staff when you need
:02:56. > :02:59.it, you have to pay for it. It has been a difficult
:03:00. > :03:04.year for farming. Pretty awful weather,
:03:05. > :03:08.the markets have been challenging and in addition there has been
:03:09. > :03:11.a significant change in the way European subsidies are delivered
:03:12. > :03:17.to farmers in Scotland. It is down to the Scottish
:03:18. > :03:20.Government to administer the payments, but problems
:03:21. > :03:22.with their new computer system means 60% of farmers are yet to receive
:03:23. > :03:29.the money they are due. At the annual conference,
:03:30. > :03:34.they did not hold back on letting the Cabinet Secretary
:03:35. > :03:36.know how they felt. We need to know what
:03:37. > :03:40.we are getting now. He could not put a timescale
:03:41. > :03:43.on when payments would be made but said the hardship fund
:03:44. > :03:47.would help the worst off. Payments are far slower
:03:48. > :03:51.than we expected. We have extra staff to try and speed
:03:52. > :03:54.up the process of applications, to fix the problems
:03:55. > :03:58.with the IT system. We have this ?20 million fund
:03:59. > :04:00.to help those businesses who are concerned that unpaid bills
:04:01. > :04:06.are sitting on the kitchen table. When I am due to pay
:04:07. > :04:12.tax to the government, they do not wait a year,
:04:13. > :04:14.they add interest. That small bit might mean enough
:04:15. > :04:19.to that business to get them Total farming income is expected
:04:20. > :04:25.to be down for the second year The delay in support payments
:04:26. > :04:29.is another blow for farmers Finance Secretary John Swinney has
:04:30. > :04:38.written to the Treasury with a fresh proposal on the financial
:04:39. > :04:41.arrangements underpinning His offer follows weeks of deadlock
:04:42. > :04:46.between ministers in Edinburgh and London over
:04:47. > :04:48.the fiscal framework. Mr Swinney says his plan will ensure
:04:49. > :04:52.that taxpayers in the rest of the UK are not worse off as a result of
:04:53. > :05:02.powers being devolved to Scotland. The threat of a strike by college
:05:03. > :05:05.lecturers has come a step closer. The EIS will ballot members at most
:05:06. > :05:07.of Scotland's colleges. It's the latest stage in a long
:05:08. > :05:09.running pay dispute. One major issue is the discrepancies
:05:10. > :05:13.between how much staff who are doing similar jobs earn at
:05:14. > :05:14.different colleges. An unofficial ballot before
:05:15. > :05:16.Christmas suggested most The ballot closes in the first week
:05:17. > :05:22.of March and a strike could take Scotland's ski resorts are gearing
:05:23. > :05:26.up for what promises to be their busiest weekend
:05:27. > :05:29.of the season so far. The week of the half-term school
:05:30. > :05:31.holidays is a vital period As Craig Anderson reports,
:05:32. > :05:38.the early indications are good. For Scotland's snow sports areas
:05:39. > :05:42.this season has been up and down, but with reasonable cover
:05:43. > :05:45.and a promising forecast, the next few days should
:05:46. > :05:48.offer decent conditions. And at half term that is good news,
:05:49. > :05:51.not just for operating companies but for the local communities
:05:52. > :05:55.that surround them. For every pound spent here,
:05:56. > :06:00.a further ?5 is then spent in the local area, whether retail,
:06:01. > :06:02.accommodation, bars, restaurants. It was busy at Cairngorm,
:06:03. > :06:14.with more than 1200 customers Today's sunny conditions allowed
:06:15. > :06:22.for alfresco dining. A bit windy up top but it was
:06:23. > :06:26.nice to see the sun. Quite windy, but as soon as you drop
:06:27. > :06:30.down, the snow is fresh and you can get some good speed
:06:31. > :06:35.and some good skiing. Scotland's ski areas will never
:06:36. > :06:39.compete with the top Alpine resorts, but they say if you can ski here,
:06:40. > :06:46.you can ski anywhere. And maintaining these operations
:06:47. > :06:50.throws up daily challenges. Keeping the momentum going,
:06:51. > :06:52.getting open a few days, keeping the machinery
:06:53. > :06:55.and infrastructure working. A lot of damage, a lot of ice,
:06:56. > :06:59.problems with snow cannons freezing up, it is a massive
:07:00. > :07:04.challenge but we love it. The unpredictable weather means that
:07:05. > :07:07.skiing in Scotland can be a bit But when the conditions are fine,
:07:08. > :07:14.it can be as good as anything Today has been a good start
:07:15. > :07:20.to the weekend and all of the ski areas in Scotland are hoping that
:07:21. > :07:23.will continue for this next crucial Football and Dundee beat
:07:24. > :07:33.St Johnstone 2-0 to move into fourth Kane Hemmings was the difference
:07:34. > :07:38.this evening with a goal in each half as the Dens Park side ran out
:07:39. > :07:41.victors and overtook St Johnstone Dundee are now level
:07:42. > :07:49.on points with Ross County. Let's see what we can expect
:07:50. > :08:02.from the weekend weather. A lot of dry, bright weather in the
:08:03. > :08:09.forecast, but also some wintry weather as well. We do have a
:08:10. > :08:14.warning in force from the Met office for further snow showers and ice in
:08:15. > :08:20.Central and eastern parts of the country tonight. There is this band
:08:21. > :08:25.of rain, sleet and snow. Rain on the coast but inland it will be snow.
:08:26. > :08:30.Drifting south towards the capital and the Borders overnight. Further
:08:31. > :08:34.west, it is reasonably dry but that land stretching all the way up to
:08:35. > :08:40.Glasgow so even higher parts of the central belt will potentially get
:08:41. > :08:45.some snow. Further north, dry start of the day but a cold one. A few
:08:46. > :08:48.wintry showers were pushing across Orkney and Shetland. Through the
:08:49. > :08:52.course of the day we will continue to see the snow showers affecting
:08:53. > :08:59.parts of the Southeast, the Borders and at times drifting back north, as
:09:00. > :09:03.well. But elsewhere dry and bright with some decent spells of sunshine.
:09:04. > :09:07.A cloudy and cold day through Wales, the Midlands on the side of
:09:08. > :09:15.outbreaks of rain. Cloudy, too, and wetter times in Northern Ireland. At
:09:16. > :09:19.times the snow shower will drift further north back into the
:09:20. > :09:24.Lothians. Further north but a sharp frost. Looking ahead towards the
:09:25. > :09:29.second half of the weekend, we still have the air coming in from the
:09:30. > :09:34.North. More of the north-easterly component to those winds. How wintry
:09:35. > :09:37.start across the Southeast, then we will start to see snow showers
:09:38. > :09:42.affecting the north of the country and the times than the East Coast as
:09:43. > :09:47.well. Largely dry and bright, spells of sunshine but it will be cold. In
:09:48. > :09:52.the Monday and believes most of the showers, it is reasonably dry but it
:09:53. > :09:54.will be cold. The winds will continue to come in from the North.
:09:55. > :09:59.From everyone on the late team here in Glasgow and around