05/08/2016 Reporting Scotland

The Royal Bank of Scotland lost ?2 billion in the first half of this

year and it's warning that economic slowdown is making its

The majority of shares in the Edinburgh-based lender

are owned by the UK Government and the share price fell today

It's now nearly eight years since RBS -

and other British banks - had to be bailed out.

Here's our business and economy editor, Douglas Fraser.

The core bit of the Royal Bank of Scotland is functioning

The boss says it's the fastest growing bank in Britain,

But - and it's a big but - it's got some big bills to pay.

It had to find more than ?1 billion to pay fees

It's had to pay ?1.3 billion for mis-selling - including a lot

more for payment protection insurance, or PPI -

and to cover the likely cost of going to trial with former

And that means in the last six months the bank has

Investors claim former chief executive Fred Goodwin misled them

when he persuaded them to pour ?12 billion into a so-called rights

His successor's still clearing up the mess.

Each quarter it makes ?1 billion of profit

And year-on-year we get hit by legacy issues.

For example, this time, 400 million of PPI.

We are looking at a 2008 rights issue,

of when we issued capital into the market and

people are saying it was

The aim was to be fully recovered three years from now -

but that looks ambitious given the uncertainty about Britain's

economic future as it prepares to leave the European Union.

RBS says big corporate clients are delaying investment decisions,

And if wider economic growth does slow down, as expected,

it's going to to be harder for RBS to hit its targets,

meaning yet more cost-cutting would be likely.

Four candidates have put their name forward to replace Stewart Hosie

They include the party's Westminster leader Angus Robertson

MP Tommy Sheppard and senior Inverclyde councillor Chris McEleny

Party members will vote next month, with the winner announced at the SNP

The Olympic Games in Rio start in about an hour and a half,

when the opening ceremony gets underway.

Scotland's Andy Murray will lead Team GB out as the flag bearer.

Our reporter Jane Lewis is outside the stadium.

Yes, not long to go. It looks amazing, doesn't it? The famous

football stadium, the Maracana already to go behind me to oppose

the opening ceremony of these Rio Olympics. Quite a bizarre

atmosphere. Plenty of people milling about on the streets behind me but

not many cars moving about. We heard about those talks of road test

taking place potentially because some people were unhappy about the

cost of these Olympics. We understand they have been taking

place but away from this vicinity and that is because there is a huge

security presence here. Lots of military and police personnel

surrounding the streets. A bizarre atmosphere but there is something

happening behind me. You can tell that. In terms of the opening

ceremony, it is surrounded in secrecy, we do not know what to

expect but from the rehearsals we have seen over the past few days we

can expect plenty of colour, plenty of reflection of the Rio character,

if you bite. Lots of colour and noise. After the show takes centre

stage, the athletes will come on and will be introduced to the crowd.

What an amazing and huge night for Scotland's Andy Murray, he is the

flag bearer for Team GB. He will beat out a team of approximately 70

athletes, perhaps a surprise to some, that is because the swimmers

and roars are in action tomorrow morning and will be tucked up in

bed, so not everyone will be present. Who will like the Olympic

flame? Pele has ruled himself out. We will find out later. But at that

beautiful stadium behind me, ready to go.

You enjoy yourself! Edinburgh's International Festival

and Fringe are underway. The two festivals -

now in their 69th year - are together staging thousands

of shows over the next three weeks. Our arts correspondent

Pauline McLean reports. You don't need a theatre,

just a corner of Edinburgh Welcome to Venue 91,

one of most 300 across the city, where students from Bristol

are telling one of the many stories We need to keep the balance

of the boat. If those people start moving,

or doing something, it can collapse. In my heart, it feels I need

to tell the story. Coming to the biggest arts festival,

where people are open to engaging with theatre and staff

is very important. I thought, if I am going to do it,

I might as well go all out. Six eyes, three nose,

half a dozen thighs and 30 toes... The open access nature of the Fringe

means that anything goes, For most stand-up comics,

the year's biggest news - the EU referendum -

was I wish I had a passion for cheese

because I think it It would be a lot more fun to do

an hour of comedy But I write jokes about things

that interest me. What interests me,

unfortunately, is politics. It's not surprising to find

politics being discussed, since both the International

Festival and Fringe began in 1947, as a way of uniting Europe

after the Second World War. After the summer we've had, people

are talking about our relationship Where better to have that

conversation than in a city where you will have people

from every nation looking at shows which provoke discussion, and just

having fun together as well? So the initial intention of

the festival was to reunite Europe at the end of the Second World War,

and so, to a degree, not in such tragic circumstances, I

think we are revisiting those ideas. For the next three weeks,

everyone is talking and singing and dancing in any available space

across the city. Rangers want an urgent meeting

with the Scottish FA and the author of a report into the crowd disorder

at last season's Scottish Cup Rangers claim there are inaccuracies

in the independent review on the sequence of events,

but aren't saying what they are. The report's recommendations include

making it a statutory offence to go onto the pitch

without lawful authority. Let's get the weekend weather

forecast now with Kawser. Thank you, Sally, good evening to

all of you. We ended today with some sunny spells scattered showers. They

are around at the moment but as they go through the night, they will ease

and it becomes dry. Some lovely pictures of sunsets. Overnight

tonight some long clear spells developing. It will turn chilly,

especially for rural and sheltered spots, perhaps down to three or 4

degrees. Tomorrow morning, there will be plenty of sunshine. Largely

dry as well, one or two showers for the North weather will be more in

the way cloud around. At nine o'clock tomorrow morning, a good

deal of sunshine around the South of Scotland and the central Belt. 15,

16 degrees. Driver the Edinburgh Festival and also for the festival

in Glasgow. Inverness begins dry, it should be dry for the belladonna

festival, rain later in the day. Sunshine for much of the country.

Across the UK, plenty of sun. More card for the North West in the

afternoon. Outbreaks of rain will arrive courtesy of low pressure.

Temperature-wise we are into the low 20s across Southern parts of

England. For Scotland, looking at 21 degrees. This area of low pressure

will arrive later on tomorrow evening and with that, some

strengthening southerly winds. The Met Office are concerned, they are

unseasonable and we could expect gusts of 50 mph or 60 mph,

especially overnight on Saturday and on Sunday morning. This could cause

some restrictions on the bridges and some travel disruption as well.

These black symbols represent the gusts, strong winds up to 40 or 50

mph widely. It looks like the bulk of the mine will be to the South.

Driver the South. Our next update is at ten past

six tomorrow evening. But, from everyone on the late team

here in Glasgow and around