RUTH Marr (Letters, April 6) tells us that everything is rosy in the field of education in Scotland. Yet in December 2019 John Swinney admitted that four children out of 10 from Scotland’s poorest areas are leaving primary school without achievi...

MASS testing for coronavirus will soon be rolled out in Scotland, with everyone eligible for twice weekly testing under new plans.

By Ian McConnell

Thousands of children are on Scots waiting lists for tooth extractions through the Covid-19 crisis which may take years to clear, dentists have warned.

Calls for community-led democracy are growing as a new poll finds three quarters of Scots want local decision control of post-Covid recovery, according to the Electoral Reform Society.

Teachers and parents have warned of safety concerns as well as mounting confusion over exams this year, after it was announced all pupils across Scotland will be back in the classroom full-time following the Easter holidays.

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

SCOTTISH Labour and the Conservatives have vowed to go further than the SNP to end the “dementia tax” that leaves self-funding care home residents facing up to 40% higher fees.

They are the heroes who have ensured the access to good sustainable food was available through the Covid-19 lockdown. While the pandemic put strains on the food system, Scots have responded to ensure their was nutritional produce on our plates.

A SCOTS whisky company has had an "irresponsible "advertising campaign banned for linking the consumption of alcohol with mountaineering.

SCOTLAND needs bolder and more radical policy changes in order for the economy to grow significantly over the next 15 years, a new report has warned.

FORMER Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw has criticised Scotland's universities and colleges after it emerged just two have adopted an international definition of antisemitism.

Analysis

ONE in three Covid survivors was diagnosed with a neurological or psychiatric disorder within six months of their infection, according to the largest study to date on the effects of the disease on the brain.

The first lesson Dom McKay will appreciate is that the atmosphere around what he does is tied unequivocally to what happens on the pitch.

Nicola Sturgeon is to outline plans to increase NHS activity to 10% above pre-coronavirus levels as part of efforts to help Scotland recover from Covid-19.

A NEW-YORK style pizza restaurant is set to open in Glasgow as part of an expansion push by a popular Scottish capital-based brand.

Cairn Energy may be set to buy a stake in a gas field off Israel in a deal that would be worth more than $1bn (£0.85bn).

Despite the fact that it goes against all common sense, the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa now looks almost certain to go ahead as planned.

THE issue of twice weekly Covid testing for the public and the vaccine passport were debated by columnists and contributors in the newspapers.

THE prospect of Alex Salmond returning to parliament has spread panic in the Holyrood chicken coop. It only took one opinion poll suggesting his new party, Alba, might deliver a handful of seats, to reveal the instincts of the Scottish political e...

A MODEST house with a large garden came on the market recently, near where I live in the Borders. Set among rolling fields, it looked so desirable, a friend bought a fistful of Euro lottery tickets in the hope of being able to swoop on it. Her spl...

Lemon aid required

Commencing in late 2022, the expedition will cover 17,000 miles across 14 countries and three continents in approximately 120 days from the South Pole, through South America and North America to the finish line at magnetic North.

Nicola Sturgeon hopes a 'reasonably good number' of Scotland fans will be able to support their side inside Hampden during Euro 2020.

The Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine trial on children has been paused while the UK regulator investigates possible links to rare blood clots in adults.

UEFA'S provisional one match ban for Slavia Prague's Ondrej Kudela over alleged racial abuse of Rangers star Glen Kamara will mean he avoids police questioning, it has been claimed.

ALEX Salmond will not be included in the STV leaders' debate next week, despite his demands for "fair coverage".

Schools have been forced into a situation where exams are really the only workable option.

Scotland’s hospitality sector is facing a “day of reckoning” as government help is said to end in less than two weeks, industry leaders have warned.

It is hardly surprising that a leading Scottish nationalist such as Alex Salmond invokes the Declaration of Arbroath on April 6, 2021.

ALEX Salmond has refused to define what he means by an independence ‘supermajority’ in terms of MSP numbers, despite it being the slogan and basis of his new party.

A tourism leader has said the absence of an announcement about the route-map for the Scottish islands has cost millions of pounds in cancellations.

ALEX Salmond has said independence negotiations should start within days of the Holyrood election, despite the ongoing pandemic and economic fallout from lockdown

At last, the season of renewal and birth is upon us, and with it the power of nature to re-energise mind, body and spirit. And as I get older and more appreciative of my environment I often stop in my tracks to admire the spring blossom on a tree ...

THE HOUSE UPTOWN

By Professor Jackie Taylor

Judges should rule on whether Scotland can hold a second independence referendum without Westminster’s consent before the Holyrood election so that people do not have to vote “in ignorance”, a court has heard.

ANAS Sarwar expects Labour’s UK leader to be up in Scotland campaigning during the Holyrood election campaign.

All pupils except those on the shielding list will be back in the classroom full-time following the Easter holidays, Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed.

Scotland has recorded 259 positive coronavirus tests in the past 24 hours, Nicola Sturgeon said.

A year after the Scottish Government announced it had appointed a heavy hitter to run the new Scottish National Investment Bank questions about what the organisation is for are getting ever louder.

DOUGLAS Ross has said he has “significant reservations” about so-called Covid passports, warning they could lead to a discriminatory “two-tier system”.

Nicola Sturgeon has outlined further steps in Scotland’s route map out of lockdown.

ONE of Nicola Sturgeon’s most trusted advisers has backed voting for Alex Salmond’s new Alba Party.

THE first mention of a passport seems to be by Nehemiah who, in what would be a breach of the current regulations, was handing out the drinks to King Artaxerxes indoors, and feeling glum about the state of Jerusalem’s walls. The King gave him le...

SUPPORT for rural Scotland should be for life, not just the length of a campaign trail, but my past experience covering elections would beg to differ.

Forecasters have put in place a yellow weather warning for snow in the north of Scotland.

The boss of easyJet has warned that requiring holidaymakers returning from low-risk countries to pay for two coronavirus tests will only reopen international travel “for people who can afford it”.

Civerinos, well known all over for their famous pizza is officially opening their latest venture on the promenade at Portobello beach in Edinburgh.