Rick and Morty season 8's concept art hints that the Adult Swim hit may return to one divisive sci-fi staple for only the second time in its history.
Read More »
Rick and Morty Season 8 Promises To Break The Show’s One Big Sci-Fi Rule
Shocking number of Scots kids needing addiction help in schools revealed as ‘misuse’ rockets
HUNDREDS of schoolchildren need specialist help in class due to addiction and substance abuse.
New stats show number has more than tripled in the last decade, with 714 pupils in Scottish schools need extra support from teachers and staff due to “substance misuse” – a huge increase from the 228 in 2014.
And schools are also facing a massive increase in the number of pupils behaving badly – with the number of pupils needing extra help due to their behaviour rocketing by 42,634 in the last decade – with almost 71,000 needing more support from teachers.
Scottish Tory children’s spokeswoman Roz McCall branded the Scottish Government figures a “reckless failure” of the SNP.
She said: “The SNP government’s reckless failure to tackle substance abuse, unacceptable behaviour and additional needs lets down pupils and leaves staff and schools vulnerable.”
Scottish Labour’s education spokesperson Pam Duncan-Glancy said “These astonishing trends lay bare the devastation being done in our schools by substance misuse and mental health problems.
Find out what's really going on
Register now for our free weekly politics newsletter for an insightful and irreverent look at the (sometimes excruciating) world of Scottish Politics.
Every Thursday our hotshot politics team goes behind the headlines to bring you a rundown of key events – plus insights and gossip from the corridors of power, including a ‘Plonker’ and ‘Star’ of the Week.
Sign up now and make sure you don’t miss a beat. The politicians would hate that.
“From cuts to ASN in schools to the chaos in our NHS, the SNP’s record of failure is hurting Scottish children.”
And the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition last night blasted the fact the number of specialist ASN teachers has dropped to a record low of 2,837 – a drop of 240 since 2014.
A spokesman said: “The Scottish Government and local authorities need to work together to provide the necessary resourcing to address the needs of those children and young people with ASN, who represent some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society. “
Questions were also raised last night about the impact of the pandemic on students amid a major increase in the number of pupils who need extra support due to “interrupted learning”.
Those figures have risen by almost 8,000 since Covid, and are six times higher than they were in 2014.
The number of students needing help due to communication difficulties has also doubled since the pandemic.
While pupils suffering from mental health problems and needing extra support has doubled since Covid, rising from just over 6,000 in 2019 to 12,707 last year.
More than four in ten children in Scottish schools require extra support, an increase from just over five percent in 2007.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said:“We are aware there has been a significant rise in the number of pupils with additional support needs (ASN) in recent years and spending by local authorities on ASN support reached a record high of over £1 billion in 2023/24.
“Whilst substance use affects a small number of pupils with ASN, it is important in those cases that schools take a comprehensive approach to intervention and ensure young people are informed of the harms caused by substance use.
“As part of our National Mission to reduce drug deaths and improve lives we are investing £1.5 million in Planet Youth, also known as the Icelandic Model, which involves whole communities in keeping children safe. We’re also investing nearly £4 million to expand the successful Routes model which supports young people who experience substance use in their families.”
“He’s Pretty Sus About Having All of These Family Trappings in His Firehouse”: Dermot Mulroney Teases Pascal’s Reaction to Damon’s Return in ‘Chicago Fire’ Season 13
Dermot Mulroney teases what's in store for Pascal now that Damon is back in Chicago Fire Season 13.
Read More »
‘Murdle’ TV Series Based on the Popular Puzzles in the Works at Amazon
Amazon and Legendary Television are adapting the popular murder mystery puzzle series Murdle for television. Here’s what we know.
Read More »
John Lithgow Explains His Harry Potter Preparation For Albus Dumbledore
John Lithgow has revealed his method for getting prepared to play Albus Dumbledore in HBO's Harry Potter reboot.
Read More »
“We wanted to focus on a single-player experience”: The Hardest Hidetaka Miyazaki Game Spat on Multiplayer and So Should the Next Fromsoft Title
When it comes to ranking Hidetaka Miyazaki’s creations, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice stands in a league of its own. The director wanted to freely experiment at the time, which is the primary reason why the 2019 title is FromSoftware’s hardest game ever and why one of its core elements should be followed through in whatever […]
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
Michael Lowry appears to give TD 2 fingers as Dail shuts down to roars of ‘shame, shame, shame’ in new speaking row spat
MICHAEL Lowry appeared to give a TD two fingers today as the Dail dramatically shut down to a chorus of “shame, shame, shame” from the opposition politicians as the speaking time row exploded back into life.
Amid chaotic scenes, the controversial Tipperary TD insisted he was telling rival deputy Paul Murphy to “sit down” using his two fingers.
He told the Irish Sun: “Murphy was using video against regulation. I beckoned him to come nearer.”
The madness began when the Government forced through a vote to change the rules of the Dail to create a new “Other Members” slot to give Michael Lowry and other Government backing TDs time to raise issues with the Taoiseach and Tanaiste in the House.
The vote – which the Government won by 94 to 74 – also reduces the ‘Taoiseach’s Questions’ session in the Dail down from two to just one per week and cuts the time that TDs can raise issues during the daily Order of Business discussion.
Opposition parties have joined together to battle against the move as they demand a clear definition between the opposition and Government benches.
They claim that Michael Lowry and three other independent TDs who are backing the coalition should be forced to take their speaking time from the Government slots.
Social Democrat TD Gary Gannon claims that the new “Other Members” slot for Coalition backing TDs amounts to “the Government correcting its own homework” as they pretend to hold the Taoiseach to account in Dail questions.
The row over speaking time has kept Dail business frozen for weeks with no new laws passed or Committees set up.
The dispute led to the delay of Micheal Martin as Taoiseach earlier this year as opposition TDs shouted down the Dail in protest.
The fight bubbled under the surface for weeks before coming to a head today as the Government forced through a vote to try to put the issue to bed.
This sparked outrageous scenes in the Dail as opposition TDs refused to take their seats and repeatedly roared down Ceann Comhaile Verona Murphy.
In a perceived attempt to force the suspension of the House, opposition TDs roared accusations about a “grubby deal” and demanded to know why the Taoiseach was forcing through the vote “to appease Michael Lowry.”
When the vote was eventually passed, TDs refused to let the Ceann Comhairle move on to other business as they shouted down the Taoiseach as he stood to take questions.
The Ceann Comhairle eventually suspended the House with Government TDs leaving to a chorus of “shame, shame, shame” from the Opposition benches.
'SURELY THERE IS A BETTER WAY'
By Adam Higgins
MICHAEL Lowry laughed and waved to furious TDs as he played up to the role of the villain in the pantomime that was the Dail today.
For the second time this year, our parliament was forced to close as opposition TDs shouted down the House in embarrassing scenes that benefit no one.
Trump’s potentially devastating tariffs, the worsening housing crisis, the lack of special school places – and yet our Dail is torn down in a row over….speaking time.
I think the opposition might be picking the wrong hill to die on here.
Essentially, this all centres on four TDs effectively led by Lowry who are backing the Coalition but also want speaking time to question the Taoiseach as if they were opposition.
They are not in opposition.
Lowry, Danny Healy Rae, Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole are government TDs – regardless of what Taoiseach Micheal Martin says.
They negotiated the programme for Government. They have colleagues who are now ministers.
They boasted about being “inside Government.”
This charade of them pretending to be somehow in the Coalition but also independent of Government needs to stop.
Micheal Martin is trying to claim this is all about giving backbenchers in Fianna Fail and Fine Gael more speaking time – which simply doesn’t fly.
Why not call this new speaking slot “Government Members Questions” then instead of “Other Members?”
The opposition are well within their rights to protest the Dail changes but is this really how they want to do it?
I don’t think anyone watching today’s chaos would look back and say they’re proud of our parliament.
Surely there is a way to protest that doesn’t block all Dail business and effectively leave the parliament frozen?
During these dramatic scenes, People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy took out his phone and began video recording Michael Lowry.
In the clip, Deputy Lowry can be seen giving two fingers to the camera.
The Tipperary TD then approached the Dail’s ushers and appeared to complain about Deputy Murphy’s use of his mobile phone to record.
He later told reporters that he was telling the People Before Profit TD to “sit down” with his two fingers.
The explosive row now threatens to block any further business in the Dail as opposition parties vow to continue to fight the move which they claim is undermining democracy.
‘FARCICAL’
Before the Dail collapsed, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald accused the Taoiseach of turning the Dail inside out to placate Michael Lowry.
Labour’s Ivana Bacik raised the issue of the Government cutting a Taoiseach’s questions session from the weekly schedule.
She said: “You used this row to give yourself Wednesdays off.”
The Taoiseach accused the opposition of manufacturing a political row over eight minutes of speaking time which he claimed was “farcical.”
The defiant Fianna Fail leader claimed that “the election result never sunk in for some” as he tried to defend the Government through a chorus of jeers.
UP IN ARMS
He claimed that the Government were making the changes to give government back benchers more time to speak in the Dail – without mentioning Lowry or the Independent TDs.
Throughout these exchanges, opposition TDs roared over eachother while the Government benches sat silent.
The Ceann Comhairle was repeatedly forced to interject to call for respect as the opposition heckles grew louder and louder.
TDs repeatedly aimed their fury at Deputy Lowry who laughed and waved at politicians during the debate.
At one point, TDs – largely from Sinn Fein – refused to sit down and continued to roar at the Ceann Comhaile who sat and waited for several minutes for them to stop.
SHOUTED DOWN
She eventually said: “You’re making a holy show of yourselves” – which was met with applause from the Government benches.
There was confusion when the Ceann Comhairle eventually called the vote as TDs could not hear what she said.
When the vote was won by the Government, some from the Sinn Fein benches claimed they no longer had confidence in the Ceann Comhairle.
“[Paul] Murphy was using video against regulation. I beckoned him to come nearer.”
Michael Lowry
As the Taoiseach rose to his feet to try and move on with other Dail business, he was shouted down by the combined opposition who were now standing up and refusing to take their seats.
The Ceann Comhairle then shut down the Dail for the day which led to chants of “shame” from the opposition.
‘VERY TROUBLED’
Speaking at a joint press conference tonight, the opposition leaders said they will not back down as they signalled further disruptions to the Dail up ahead.
Some opposition figures also turned their criticism towards the Ceann Comhairle over her handling of the episode today.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said: “Very shockingly the Ceann Comhairle has been part of ramming through these new provisions.
“We’re very troubled by that. We have been discussing it. There is no doubt that she has done significant damage to her standing.”
The leaders of the opposition parties plan to meet early tomorrow to plot their next move amid concerns over further shouting protests in the days to come.
BBC coverage of World Cup qualifier is interrupted by temporary fault as Wales fans are left fuming
THE BBC’s coverage of Wales vs North Macedonia was interrupted by a technical error on Tuesday.
Just over two minutes into the World Cup qualifier, coverage of the match was stopped.
Instead, a screen which read: “Temporary fault,” covered the screen while the broadcaster scrambled to get the live feed going again.
Footage eventually continued around a minute-and-a-half later.
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheSunFootball and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunFootball.
10 Best Littlefinger Quotes in ‘Game of Thrones,’ Ranked
Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish has some of the most iconic quotes in Game of Thrones, from his "Chaos is a ladder" monologue to his witty one-liners.
Read More »
Atomfall: All Radio Tower Locations
After progressing Joyce Tanner's Lead, Atomfall players must find three Radio Tower locations and their corresponding Radio Tower keycards.
Read More »