Hi ,

Once again, Scotland is at the top of the global news agenda. And this time not because of a disappointing Willy Wonka experience in Glasgow. 

This time, we are caught up in the global 'free speech' debate after Donald Trump's second-in-command, vice president J.D. Vance, claimed that the Scottish Government was banning people from praying within their homes. 

Obviously, your pals at Ferret Fact Service has already looked at this, and its not true.  

For more examples of how Scotland is linked to the global culture, please read on.

Yours,

Ali

Story of the week

An in-depth look at a Ferret investigation

Reform UK’s Richard Tice boasted putting solar panels on his company’s properties could help tenants with their bills – despite publicly claiming people are being “ripped off” by the renewables industry.

In a speech last week, Tice, Reform’s deputy leader, pledged that if it wins the next election the party would impose new taxes on the renewable industry which he called “a massive con”.

He said there was a “direct link” between higher electricity prices and the growth of renewable energy generation. 

But Tice has been accused of “blatant hypocrisy” because his company has fitted solar panels and electric car charging stations at commercial properties it owns in England. 

What did we dig up this week?

A round up of our investigations in the last seven days

Mapped: The connections of the ‘culture war

Scroll through our interactive map highlighting how 'culture war' groups connect and help to influence each other.

Private prison profits: Addiewell pays £3m to shareholders amid safety fears and rising deaths

Scotland’s private Addiewell prison has paid shareholders more than £3m in less than two years despite serious concerns over prisoner and staff safety.

Scotrail awards £2m contract to firm criticised over performance

The state-owned rail firm has contracted out its finance and payroll a company set up by former owner Abellio – which was stripped of its franchise over performance concerns.

Question of the week

Should Scotland have privately-run prisons?

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Best of the rest

Investigations we've enjoyed from around the world

Killing EU rules? This supermarket billionaire blazed the trail before Musk

British billionaire David Sainsbury used his wealth to gain political influence over Europe’s science, innovation and regulation policies. (Follow the Money)

No, 150-year-olds aren’t collecting US social security benefits

Elon Musk claims to have found rampant fraud in the Social Security administration. There’s a much simpler explanation. (Wired)

Off air: One by one, the Taliban are removing women’s voices from Afghan radio

As one of the last female-run stations in the country is silenced, a former broadcaster gives an inside view of the crackdown on women working in the media. (Guardian)

Any comments? Have you seen something we could include? Email us at contact@theferret.scot.

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