TODAY’S WEATHER

⛈️ The weather shifts today, with rain until the afternoon in Glasgow and the threat of rain all day in Edinburgh. It’s more likely to stay dry in Aberdeen and London. (Here’s the UK forecast).

THE BIG STORIES
Israel’s ‘double tap’ attack draws condemnation | Findlay’s Holyrood attack | Police Scotland accused

📣 Israel attacked one of the main hospitals in Gaza yesterday, then followed up with a second attack, just as journalists and rescue workers were rushing to the scene, killing at least 20 people and wounding many more.

Among the dead were five journalists, including reporters who worked for The Independent, Associated Press and Reuters. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office called the strike a “tragic mishap” and said the military was investigating. (AP) (Independent)

• The “double tap” strike and killing of journalists prompted a wave of international condemnation, including from UK Foreign Secretary, David Lammy. (Guardian)

• Editorial: Israel’s killing of journalists is a shameful silencing of reporting on Gaza (Independent)

📣 Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay has called for a “radical power shift” to stop Scotland sliding towards a “one-party state” under the SNP.

In a speech intended to give fresh impetus to his leadership after a difficult summer in which a second MSP quit the party, Findlay was highly critical of the “performative” Holyrood parliament, saying: “What goes on inside the concrete carbuncle at the foot of the Royal Mile has become increasingly irrelevant and at times damaging for most ordinary Scots.”

Findlay called for more money and power for councils, greater transparency on lobbying across the public sector, and a cut in the number of Scottish quangos. (Mail)

• Reviews were not entirely positive: David Bol writes that his pitch to voters “risks leaving his party looking like an imitation of Reform and reaching for the tin hats. […] Mr Findlay has been a smooth media talker since becoming leader. But the lack of self-belief he espoused in his set-piece speech will do nothing to settle Conservative nerves as Holyrood returns in what will be a long trudge to next May’s election.” (Scotsman)

• “The 25-minute speech in the Trades Hall was billed as an announcement of plans to give more powers to local councils and communities. However, Findlay — having derided ministers for making statements in Holyrood which were “light on detail” — said the proposals would be laid out in a policy paper to be released ‘in due course’.” (Times £)

📣 Police Scotland is accused of “burying” a damning report from an internal review group which warned of “pervasive misogyny, predatory senior officers, and a ‘toxic boys’ club culture’ in which women officers were bullied into silence and called “troublemakers” for reporting abuse.

The report was delivered in May 2024, but only came to light this month after being disclosed under freedom of information legislation. (The Herald has the exclusive)

IDEAS
Why the arrival of rain this week won’t solve Scotland’s £50 billion water problem

🗣️ Last night felt like the last evening of the summer, at least in Edinburgh: balmily warm and still for the last night of the Festivals. The weather changed audibly overnight, with the wind picking up and some early-morning rain heralding the arrival of remnants of Hurricane Erin.

Gardeners may welcome the rain this week, but it’s unlikely to do much to fix unusually low river and reservoir levels across Scotland, especially in the east. Water levels are at an historic low after the driest spring since 1964, with two areas - one in Aberdeenshire, the other in Fife - at “significant scarcity,” which is the highest level of alert.

Water use restrictions have been imposed for the first time to reduce the water being used for industry and agriculture.

This problem has been coming down the line for some time, as this excellent briefing from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre sets out. “Is Scotland prepared for drought?” it asks. Not especially, is the answer. The document sets out how the Scottish Government might react should the situation get much worse.

It’ll take more than a few days of rain to recharge Scotland’s water reserves. What water company bosses really want is a winter of consistent, but not too heavy, rainfall.

The odds of that appear poor. While the Met Office says there’s “no evidence of positive or negative trends” in the number or intensity of big storms, some scientists say we’ll have to get more used to wild swings “from one extreme to another over short periods of time” because of climate change. They call it “weather whiplash”. Huge downpours tend to be less useful for recharging groundwater, as the excess water runs off down rivers rather than into the soil.

Scottish Water, Scotland’s publicly-owned water utility, has been keen to emphasise that climate change is only part of the problem. The BBC quotes the company’s economic demand manager, Brian McCarthy, who warns that if the current relative dry period extends into the rest of this year, there will be concerns for water supplies “into next year and beyond”.

Scottish Water’s draft long-term strategy forecasts that funding for sustainable services over the next 25 years could cost a staggering £50 billion. That’s a doubling of the current rate of spending.

Population increase in the east of Scotland is part of the problem. But so is Scotland’s relationship with rain, “and the perception that in a land of more than 30,000 freshwater lochs, water must surely be abundant”. In fact, many areas of Scotland are persistently vulnerable to drought.

Scots also use much more water than their English neighbours - 178 litres a day versus 140 litres - so the Scottish utility wants its customers to use less. It suggests not using hosepipes in the garden, shorter showers and using a bucket and sponge to wash your car. It’s also running a trial of water meters in Dundee.

In England, meanwhile, water companies want a national water grid, to “save us from drought”, according to the Telegraph (£). Canals - already used to move water around between parts of the country - would be used more widely to get it to where it’s needed.

But the water industry down south is only starting to emerge from a period of chaos, characterised by the near-bankruptcy of Thames Water, with its regulator being scrapped and dozens of recommendations being adopted from the Cunliffe Review, which reported back this summer (read the full report / key points).

The problem of reduced rainfall might be immediate, but - on both sides of the border - it appears that near-term, large-scale solutions to the challenges that raises will be down to consumers, not the water companies or government. Shorter showers for all, it seems.

AROUND SCOTLAND

📣 Scottish children are waiting years for access to mental health services, freedom of information requests have revealed, with one young person waiting 1,137 days for treatment to start. The Scottish Liberal Democrats are calling for more support. (Daily Record)

📣 A beach in Greenock was locked down by the bomb squad after a “suspected explosive” was discovered by a member of the public on Sunday. The item was removed for disposal. (STV)

📣 The Church of Scotland owns a boutique hotel in northern Israel - and a row over its future has led to resignations from the Kirk’s Israel Palestine committee. (The Scotsman has the exclusive)

AROUND THE UK & WORLD

📣 Donald Trump has moved to sack the Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook over allegations she committed mortgage fraud. The claims have not been confirmed, and Cook said she had “no intention of being bullied” into stepping down. The move is being seen as an attack on the central bank’s independence. (Guardian)

📣 Nigel Farage has stepped up his rhetoric on illegal immigration, calling it a “scourge” which is affecting the UK on a “historic and unprecedented” scale. Later today he will outline how Reform would tackle small boat crossings, with plans which are likely to include detaining and deporting people who enter the UK illegally. (BBC)

• UK ready to deport 100 migrants but those in France are undeterred (Times £)

📣 A Strictly Come Dancing star has been arrested on suspicion of rape, according to reports. The man, in his 30s, was not named, but the BBC says the new series of the show will continue as normal. (Mirror)

📣 Ukraine is warning it’s at risk of losing the drone war against Russia, as the technology used in the devices continues to develop rapidly. (Sky News has the exclusive)

SPORT

⚽️ It’s a huge night in Europe for Celtic, who have made the 10-hour trip to Kazakhstan for a difficult Champions League qualification tie against Kairat Almaty without the benefit of any advantage from the first leg. The game is worth £40 million to the club - but boss Brendan Rodgers says his players can’t think too much about the consequences of failure. (BBC) (Daily Record)

• The game is on Amazon Prime, kick off at 5.45pm.

⚽️ 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha scored the winning goal as Liverpool beat Newcastle 3-2 in the Premier League. His goal came in the 100th minute - and he became the club’s youngest-ever scorer. (🎥 See the highlights)