Ewan Petrie

The Listowel Writers’ Week is more used to political intrigue on the pages of fiction. But the arrival of Nicola Sturgeon just days after her estranged husband admitted embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP put this literary festival in a quiet corner of the south west of Ireland at the centre of an ongoing real-life political storm. This was the perfect stage for the former first minister of Scotland to begin putting her side of events.

A Palestinian man living in Glasgow has launched a petition to bring his severely ill father to the UK for urgent heart surgery after he suffered a heart attack in Gaza. University lecturer Dr Mohammed Alshurafa said the petition is his “only hope” of securing life‑saving treatment for his dad, Bahjat, 66. He said doctors in Gaza have told the family they can no longer offer further treatment, with hospitals overwhelmed, medical staff killed or displaced and key equipment destroyed.

CalMac says the current disruption to its services is down to a failure to invest in new ferries for too long. Four of its large vessels remain out of service, with five smaller ones also sidelined, leading to cancellations and reduced capacity. At one point this week, almost a third of the entire fleet was unavailable, either due to technical issues or planned maintenance, but the ferry operator says the situation is looking brighter.