Castle Douglas technology charity eyes expansion after high demand for new service

It may look like a ‘scruffy, overgrown piece of land’ but locals say Stockport County’s plans to turn it into a car park would destroy a ‘haven’ for wildlife left undisturbed for decades. The resurgent club - which narrowly missed out on promotion to the third tier of English football last season - has a seven-year plan to redevelop its Edgeley Park home, as it eyes a return to the game’s big time.It comes after The Hatters secured a 250-year lease from the council for the ground, part of which was occupied by the old Sykes Bleach Works. The proposals include using land behind the ‘pop side’ of the ground as a 60-space car park for staff, players and officials - albeit with a ‘considerable area’ set aside for landscaping and ecology.A planning appliction is expected later this year - but local nature lovers are urging the club to think again. They say the football pitch-sized plot is the only area suitable for wildlife in the whole of Edgeley - bar two pieces of land at the sewage works - hosting a variety of potentially vital flora and fauna.

Mhairi Black has urged Douglas Ross to "grow a backbone" and whip Scottish Conservative MPs to vote in favour of sanctions against Boris Johnson.

Police are appealing for the public’s help to trace a pensioner reported missing from a town in the Highlands.

Fire crews in the Highlands are battling the third significant wildfire in the region in recent days after flames took hold in woodland near Fort William.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “The Inseparables,” Jérémie Degruson’s ambitious animated feature competing this week at Annecy festival, has been sold to a raft of territories by Octopolis and nWave. Based on an original idea by Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow, the Oscar-nominated writers of “Toy Story,” “The Inseparables” follows the misadventures of Don, a runaway puppet with a boundless imagination and, DJ Doggy Dog, an abandoned stuffed animal toy in need of a friend. Don and DJ Doggy Dog cross paths in Central Park and pair up against all odds for an epic adventure of friendship in New York City. The film was penned by Bob Barlen and Cal Brunker. Budgeted at $25 million, “The Inseparables” was produced by nWave Studios in Belgium, Octopolis in France and A Contracorriente Films in Spain.

The FBI tried to… pic.twitter.com/1EOPB7DMyt“I said mom, all you ever do is read the New York Times,” Watters said. “Imagine reading the newspaper every day, and not knowing what the news is. … She didn’t know Biden had documents scattered all over Chinatown, or in the garage with the Corvette with the door open.

Tucker Carlson and Fox News is heating up. The cable news network, which announced on April 24 that it had “agreed to part ways” with its star anchor, sent Carlson a cease-and-desist letter on June 7 over his newly launched Twitter show, according to a person familiar with the matter. Fox News did not respond to a request for comment. The letter arrived hours after Carlson’s first show posted on the social media platform on June 6. The episode, clocked at 10 minutes and 27 seconds, was taped in Carlson’s home studio in Maine and took swipes at everyone from Senator Lindsey Graham to Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the mainstream media. It has notched 114.8 million views so far. A second episode, which posted on June 7 and runs slightly longer at 12 minutes and 38 seconds, boasts 54.9 million views to date, according to Twitter’s own measures.

Marta Balaga Ukrainian phenomenon “Mavka” is expanding its universe. Following the premiere of feature film “Mavka. The Forest Song,” it is now set to become a 3D animated series as well. Directed by Oleh Malamuzh, it will be produced by Animagrad Studio – part of the Film.UA Group – with France’s TeamTO already on board as co-development partner. The project, which will be teased at Annecy’s Partners Pitch, will serve as a prequel to the film, explains Film.UA’s Kseniya Baranova. “It’s set immediately after the battle between humans and Lesh, the forest guardian, which happened while the rest of the forest dwellers were in their deep winter sleep,” she said.

Just when you thought the football season was over, there is another high-profile footballing event taking place with some very familiar, including many non-sporting, faces.

A frantic search is underway to trace a man missing from a Highland town.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent “Forest,” an Italian eco-themed animation film about deforestation, has scored some strong pre-sales for Rome-based True Colours at the Cannes Marché du film. The still-in-production 3-D animation feature – the protagonist of which is a young mushroom named Fey – has been picked up for roughly 20 territories by Top Film Distribution which will distribute “Forest” in Ukraine, CIS, the Baltics, and Eastern European countries including former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Poland, Czech and Slovak Republics, Romania, and Hungary.  Helmed by Luca Della Grotta and Francesco Dafano, the film is produced by Italy’s AI One, the same team that previously spawned 2020 similarly themed animation feature “Trash” that sold in more than 30 countries. 

A record number of soldiers and civilians from across the globe came together to take part in the 24-hour Cateran Yomp in Perthshire and raise £300,000 for soldier and veteran support.

Rangers at Blair Drummond Safari Park are welcoming a new arrival - the first Californian sea lion pup to be born in Scotland in two decades.

Josh Taylor says he is going to make "clown" Teofimo Lopez pay for his "disrespectful" comments when the pair fight in New York on Saturday night. Scotland's WBO super-lightweight champion defends his title against Lopez in the early hours of Sunday morning at Madison Square Garden, live on Sky Sports. Taylor and Lopez have had a war of words ongoing for quite some time and security had to keep the pair apart during a distanced face-off following Thursday's press conference.

The Love Island villa is set to welcome a brand new bombshell during Thursday night's episode as the couples will face another shake-up just four days into the new series. Surprising the islanders with his arrival, the mystery new singleton will take three girls of his choosing on a date each in the new hideaway terrace as it opens its doors for the first time this series.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Alice Rohrwacher’s “La Chimera,” in which “The Crown” star Josh O’Connor plays a British archeologist named Arthur who gets involved in an international network of stolen Etruscan artifacts during the 1980s, has sold worldwide after premiering positively in Cannes. The Match Factory has inked deals for the film in the U.K. and Ireland (Curzon); Australia and New Zealand (Palace Entertainement); Benelux (September Film); Germany (Piffl Medien); Hong Kong (Edko);  Spain (Elastica); South Korea (M&M International); China (Jetsen); Japan (Bitters End); Taiwan (Swallow Wings); Austria (Stadtkino); Baltics (A-One); Bulgaria (Art Fest); CIS (Mauris Film); Czech Republic & Slovakia (Aerofilms); Finland (B-Film); Denmark (Filmbazar); Former Yugoslavia (MCF): Greece (Cinobo); Hungary (Cirko); Middle East and North Africa (Moving Turtle); Poland (Aurora Films); Portugal (Midas); Romania (Independenta); Singapore (Anticipate Pictures); Thailand (Documentary Club); and Ukraine (Arthouse Traffic). 

Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher’s latest pic La Chimera has inked a series of international deals for The Match Factory following its well-received debut at last month’s Cannes Film Festival.

Several people have died and a further 100 are seriously hurt after three trains collided in India.

John Bullough’s widow, Lady Georgina, has spoken of her “astonishment” at the turnout for her husband’s funeral and the sense of being held by the “family” of John’s Atholl Highlanders comrades.

People in Scotland planning to make a new application, or need to upload supporting evidence for Adult or Child Disability Payments, over the weekend may have to wait until Monday due to planned IT downtime from Social Security Scotland. The devolved welfare department said “essential maintenance” will be carried out from the afternoon on Friday, June 2 until midnight on Sunday, June 4.