CommonSpace speaks to Madeleine Habib, the skipper who sailed the first all-women mission to Gaza and faced down the Israeli army with tea and biscuits 

LEADING an all women team in an attempt to break the brutal blockade of Gaza, Madeleine Habib faced down the Israeli Defence Force [IDF] with kindness as her boat was boarded by armed troops.

Motion at Dunfermline conference would see party back the end of faith schools in the state education system

THE Scottish Liberal Democrats could back changes to the state school system which would see Catholic schools axed. 

A motion put forward by party members to their autumn conference in Dunfermline is calling on the Scottish Government to remove religious belief as a “placing criteria” for those pupils attending state schools across Scotland. 

EHRC find that only 3 per cent of orgnaisations measure their disability and Bame pay gaps

RIGHTS organisations have called on new measures to tackle inequalities in the workplace after it was revealed that most employers do not effectively record or analyse data on wages and promotions of disabled and Black & Minority Ethnic (BAME) workers.

Wonga stops issuing new loans as company teeters on the edge of administration

LEADING economists are calling to changes in the structure of UK finance as the exploitative 'payday' loans company Wonga stops issuing new loans, as it sits on the verge of bankruptcy.

Wonga has been the subject of an escalating number of claims by customers relating to former loans. The company has lined up an administrator and shareholders have thrown £10m at the company to try to keep it afloat.

Private rents in Edinburgh and Glasgow have risen one-third since 2010, while the roll-out of universal credit has led to a sharp rise in rent arrears

A TENANTS’ UNION has called on the Scottish Government to immediately introduce a cap on rent prices, as a new study reveals that many low-income households can now not even afford the cheapest private rented housing, as the effect of the UK Government’s housing benefit freeze bites.

Ex-chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks compared comments by Jeremy Corbyn to Enoch Powell, but what questions did most of the media leave unasked? 

DUBBED the summer of discontent, Labour is facing a growing "crisis" as it battles to deal with allegations of anti-semetism, and comments from Jeremy Corbyn in 2013 have provoked fresh fury amongst some who say the Labour leader is himself anti-semetic. 

Huda Elmi, standing for election to Labour's ruling national executive, also criticised the sale of a racist comic at the shop linked to the MSP

A RACIST comic book on sale in a shop linked to Edinburgh Southern MSP Daniel Johnson has prompted criticism of the Labour MSP, with his response to the discovery branded "unsatisfactory" by a senior Scottish Labour figure. 

The Herald reported on Wednesday that Paper Tiger, a stationary shop in Edinburgh, was stocking the book "Tintin in the Congo" alongside related merchandise.

The EIS teachers’ union has said the findings of the Scottish Government’s year one review, which found teachers and pupils were content with the policy, run contrary to their evidence

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT Education Minister John Swinney has announced a suite of changes to the government’s much criticised standardised assessment measures in schools, but campaigners and teachers’ union EIS have said the changes will not solve the fundamental problems at the heart of the policy.

Theresa May has made clear her view that UK foreign aid should serve UK state interests

CAMPAIGNERS have warned that a change in the direction of UK aid policy could see an independent Scotland funnelling public funds into the explicit promotion of UK state interests, if the proposals of the SNP’s Growth Commission were to be followed.

CommonSpace interviews former CIA spy Valerie Plame, discussing the lead up to the Iraq War, her illegal exposure and the consequences for the future 

WATCH as the ex-CIA spy Valerie Plame, who led the US missions to track down nuclear weapons, details how she thinks the central premise for the Iraq war was wrong and not based on true intelligence.

For decades Valerie Plame operated at the highest level of the intelligence service, but how did this former spy become a household name? She shares the secrets at the heart of the Iraq war.