HE had a saltire pin on his lapel, St Andrew's crosses all over his tie and a giant Scottish flag logo behind his shoulder.

Follow along with the latest coronavirus news in Scotland and further afield.

The stay-at-home order across Scotland has been lifted

A “TRIPLE whammy” of obesity, alcohol consumption and Hepatitis C has been blamed as new research revealed that Scotland has the UK’s highest rates of liver cancer, with deaths and diagnoses doubling since the late 1990s.

By Ian McConnell

RAIL staff are furious at a "despicable" social media campaign by ScotRail over a conductors' strike which is to cause further disruption this weekend.

A senior judge has opened the door for criminal prosecutions over malicious Rangers fraud prosecutions saying it was in the "interests of justice" to release vital evidence sought in the case.

NICOLA Sturgeon will today set out the SNP’s business pandemic recovery blueprint by giving high streets a new lease of life.

SCOTTISH Labour has announced plans for a commission to "clean up Holyrood" and restore trust in the Scottish Parliament.

Schools have been warned to "tread carefully" during the alternative assessment process as fears grow that many pupils will face intensive, exam-style tests after Easter.

NORTH Sea-focused Harbour Energy has underlined how much money it expects to make even if oil prices remain under pressure following completion of a deal that made it the biggest independent in the area.

YOU'D think a working man used to wrangling multiple children and juggling several partners might know to choose his moments.

ON reading a flier promoting the local SNP candidate I note it indicated the intention to rejoin the EU after independence as the best way to recover from the pandemic and set Scotland on the road to economic recovery.

CARDIGANS are a hot fashion item. No, do not adjust your reading glasses. The humble knitwear garment is enjoying a sartorial moment as evidenced by its growing prominence and popularity among social media influencers.

DOZENS of MPs and peers have signed a pledge opposing the introduction of vaccine passports.

Police in Edinburgh will continue engaging with youths over the Easter holidays, after antisocial behaviour has plagued public transport across the city.

SIR Richard Branson's latest Virgin Hotel in Scotland is set to open its doors in 2022.

easyJet has said it will launch a new route from Scotland to a beach holiday resort in Turkey this summer amid hopes that limits on overseas travel will ease as coronavirus vaccines are rolled out.

A SCOTTISH start-up has been awarded an Innovate UK grant to create Artificial Intelligence (AI) that simplifies how companies can source and on-board top on-demand UK talent.

THE joy of hotels, forgotten art of socialising and new narratives were the topics raised by columnists in the newspapers.

JUST a few weeks ago, May’s Holyrood election was shaping up to be an SNP landslide. Nicola Sturgeon looked set to be not so much re-elected as anointed, like a benign empress on course effortlessly to crush the puny rebel barons.

Senior moment

ALEX Salmond’s ambition to return to Holyrood could be in tatters after the first poll including his new Alba Party put support for the project at just 3%.

A man has been arrested and charged with alleged sexual offences following a police investigation into activities at a dance school in Argyll.

We can turn to social media engagement figures to give us a preliminary sense of how much support Alex Salmond’s party has.

ALEX Salmond has criticised the SNP’s independence strategy – warning that “pigeon-holing yourself into one route and one timescale” plays into the hands of Boris Johnson.

VOTERS in Glasgow will tell a far-right candidate "where to go", the leader of Scottish Labour has said.

NICOLA Sturgeon has insisted women “must be at the centre of our plans for recovery” - including a women’s health plan to form part of the SNP’s strategy to rebuild the NHS.

Sir Richard Branson has hailed plans for a second Virgin Hotel in Scotland.

ALEX Salmond should not be included in televised election debates, the leader of Scottish Labour has said.

THE LAWYER of Glen Kamara expects Slavia Prague and Czech Republic defender Ondrej Kudela to be charged after allegedly racially abusing the Rangers player.

Scottish salmon producers have rejected allegations put forward in Netflix’s latest documentary ’Seaspiracy’, claiming the film makes assertions that are “wrong, misleading and inaccurate”.

NICOLA Sturgeon has said she will not work with Alex Salmond if he is elected, and has pledged to hold an inquiry into the Coronavirus response this year.

ANYONE who has ever had the good fortune to drive the coast road through Wester Ross and Sutherland can vouch for its stunning beauty.

The former leader of Britain First is standing for election in the same constituency as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.

FURTHER sanctions are to be imposed on Myanmar from the UK.

BORIS Johnson has welcomed a controversial report into race discrimination in the UK, despite its condemnation by BAME people.

The BBC is looking into over 1000 complaints about BBC Scots football pundit Michael Stewart questioning Rangers star Glen Kamara who insisted he was racially abused by a Slavia Prague player during the Ibrox club's Europa League 2-0 defeat.

LOWER exposure to the virus earlier in the pandemic could explain why Scotland now has the highest Covid infection rates in the UK, Scotland's chief medical officer has said.

A study of the effects of Scotland leaving the UK found that the effect would be more 'nuanced' than previous analysis has suggested

It brings the death toll under this measure – of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days – to 7,610.

ALEX Salmond will write to Ofcom in a bid to ensure his Alba Party takes place in televised election debates.

NICOLA Sturgeon has been accused of putting another referendum before Scotland's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

THE LIBERAL Democrats have pledged for every workplace in Scotland to have provision and training of mental health first aiders.

Mr Salmond – who was unveiled as the leader of the new Alba Party on Friday – appealed to Ms Sturgeon to work with him in pursuit of their shared goal

The SNP leader would like to see a new breakaway poll in the first half of the next parliament

NICOLA Sturgeon asked that we should judge her on her record in education. There is very little reason to doubt what the damning verdict would be in that case. Scotland's ratings have plummeted in the international rankings.

A SCOTS castle which is said to have been an inspiration for Walt Disney has been named the UK's top destination of the year.

Samuel Kasumu has quit his role as a special adviser to the Prime Minister on civil society

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