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

A man has died after fire broke out at a property in Inverness.

NICOLA Sturgeon has admitted she and her government "took our eye off the ball" as Scotland racked up the worst drugs death rate in Europe under the SNP.

The Queen has returned to royal duties just four days after the death of her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.

SCOTLAND’S massive per capita health spending advantage over England has been almost wiped out since devolution, the UK’s leading economic thinktank has found.

DON’T worry, this is not going to be about Prince Philip. He will feature but only in passing, and not because of his status as the so-called ‘father of the nation’, as Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House, dubiously called him, but because ...

COVID has exposed “unexpected vulnerabilities” for heart health at all stages of the disease, according to Scots cardiologists.

THE SNP has announced plans to secure the future of Gaelic by investing in education and exploring the creation of a recognised Gaelic-speaking area.

IT IS a state-of-the-art hospice which offers those terminally ill with cancer care in their final days as well as offering support services for people living with the disease.

I MUST challenge a statement made by Andrew Dunlop in his piece “Nicola Sturgeon is not the right leader for Scotland’s vital post-Covid recovery” (The Herald, April 13).

Covid-19 has exposed an adult numeracy “crisis”, with tens of thousands of unemployed Scots facing bleak prospects because they find it difficult to complete basic tasks such as understanding pay slips and working out discounts.

IT has been on display at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum for the past 15 years and is a welcoming sight for visitors as they gaze up at the suspended Spitfire.

WHEN Labour was trying to make itself electable again in the 1990s its media advisers developed a tick-box approach to avoiding policies and attitudes that might discourage voters. It was called “eliminating the negatives”. Alba seems to be doing...

Bosses at a sexual abuse charity have been lambasted by an employment judge after a former CEO was forced out of her job.

ISLANDS tourism representatives have hailed the reopening of the key industry in line with mainland Scotland after a month “in limbo” awaiting a restart date.

THE SCOTTISH Greens will today set out their vision for creating more than 100,000 jobs by investing in renewable energy, warm homes, public transport and restoring nature.

AFTER enduring months of lockdown, Scottish glances have been cast enviously south of the Border this week.

New guidance aimed at preventing suicide has been issued to all local councils in Scotland in a bid to create a consistent approach across the country.

THE Sottish fintech facing a £145 million takeover that staff have opposed amid fears about the impact on jobs has achieved a record performance on a key measure.

HE may have failed in his bid to become US President and his wife Kim Kardashian West may have filed for divorce, but there has been some good news for Kanye West. He is now a billionaire six times over, according to reports last month. And Sotheb...

NORTH Sea heavyweight Les Thomas is joining the board of a minnow that hopes to develop a major new production hub in the area.

WE'VE gone through a year like no other because of the pandemic, and now begin to face the challenges of what comes next.

THE rift signalled by the differing tributes to the Duke of Edinburgh from his two grandsons and the end of the Elizabethan era were discussed by columnists in the newspapers.

LIVING in Scotland these days you could be forgiven at times for thinking that the entire world order was being addressed through the arguments for and against Scottish independence.

Family fun

Nicola Sturgeon will take on Douglas Ross, Anas Sarwar, Patrick Harvie and Willie Rennie in a live election debate on STV.

Such was the good news on lockdown easing delivered earlier in the day by Nicola Sturgeon, one half expected her to be carried into the STV debate on the shoulders of a grateful public.

DOUGLAS Ross has been grilled over "prejudiced" comments he has made about the travelling community.

Scotland's five main party leaders are going head-to-head tonight in the second live televised debate ahead of the Holyrood election.

Scotland's political leaders locked horns for the second time ahead of the May 6 election during the STV Leaders' debate.

NICOLA Sturgeon has today announced an update on Scotland’s plans to move out of lockdown.

TRAVEL to and from Scotland's island communities and the mainland will be allowed from April 26, but islanders will have to remain under Level Three Covid restrictions until mid-May.

THE SNP has pledged to hold a competition for ideas to "transform" Scotland's economy, with £50 million of funding up for grabs for the winning project.

People who have recovered from Covid-19 may be at risk of developing blood clots due to a 'lingering and overactive immune response', according to a study.

ALCOHOL will not be served indoors in cafes, bars and restaurants in Scotland until at least mid-May.

Thousands of pounds have already been raised in memory of a woman who died after her bicycle collided with a van on a rural Scots road.

HATCH, a “new contemporary dining concept” from the team behind The Adamson in St Andrews, will open on Monday, April 26.

Groups representing retail and hospitality businesses have called for additional flexibility from the Scottish Government, claiming current plans fail to offer any solace to firms.

ALEX Salmond has been accused of being an "unwitting pawn" manipulated by Russia to undermine the United Kingdom.

Once I had left my childhood years behind me playparks became meaningless fixtures on town landscapes – noisy gathering places with lots of little people.

The Scottish fire service has warned of an extreme risk of wildfire in place across North-East, East and Central Scotland.

THE LIBERAL Democrats have matched an SNP commitment to transform 1 million homes to zero and low emission heating by 2030.

THE 2010 General Election was held in the aftermath of the financial crash, and after 13 years of Labour government. PM Gordon Brown sought to counter the sense it was time for a change by arguing it was “no time for a novice”. His appeal fail...

ALEX Salmond has accused the BBC and STV of "effectively censoring" his new Alba Party and "distorting the democratic process" in Scotland.

Numbers of fresh coronavirus cases have dropped to the lowest levels since last Septembe allowing the ban on on travelling around Scotland is to be lifted from Friday, the First Minister has said.

Austin Sheridan said there was "no way" he could be a member of a party

THE top UK civil servant behind the first independence referendum has said a second one should happen if there is a simple Holyrood majority for it in May.

Nikolay Todorov was allegedly subjected to racist abuse during Inverness' clash with Raith Rovers last month.

Police Scotland is appealing with witnesses following a fatal crash in North Lanarkshire.

Coronavirus community testing unit will return to Cowie on April 15 for residents across Stirling.