THE SNP has backed off plans to draw attention to a second independence referendum on ballots at May’s election.

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

A second independence referendum could take place while Scotland is in the recovery phase from the Covid crisis.

The latest stage in lockdown easing was announced at an unscheduled Covid-19 briefing by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Tuesday.

The National Trust for Scotland has outlined proposals for battlefield locations in a new manifesto published ahead of the forthcoming Scottish Parliamentary Elections on May 6, 2021

DOES Sir Keir Starmer look like a Prime Minister in waiting? So asked the YouGov poll earlier this week, to which only 22 per cent said Yes, three points down from last month and unfavourably compared to the more-than-half who replied to the contrary...

FIRST, there was just the slightest tingle of nerves. SNP loyalists will rarely admit it out loud, but some of them were worried about Alex Salmond’s comeback project, Alba. Before, that is, they saw it in action; before they saw who it had lure...

HOSPITAL admissions for Covid have nearly doubled among under-45s in Scotland in the space of a week amid warnings that unvaccinated younger adults should be cautious as lockdown restrictions ease.

Incredible footage of a Sei Whale - rarely seen in Scotland - has been captured showing the mammal having a grand old time in the Firth of Forth, South Queensferry.

THERE were two chaps standing plonk in the middle of the bike lane the other day.

THE GREENS want to set up new ferry links to Europe using Scotland's publicly-owned provider.

SHE went through the devastating loss of her beloved father to cancer during lockdown and at the same time found out her mum had been diagnosed with secondary breast cancer.

BBC Breakfast weather presenter Tomasz Schafernaker's hair has become a topic of debate. The TV meteorologist has been sporting a longer style during lockdown.

I know Hampden comes in for a bit of stick at times but it’s still the home of Scottish football and the place every young kid dreams of playing at when they grow up.

A headteacher is bidding to keep his pupils in for the summer.

SEX and politics has really only one rival for headline-grabbing at Westminster: money and politics.

DOUGLAS Ross has been accused of “playing games” with unionist voters in order to shore up support for the Conservatives.

LABOUR has claimed its jobs recovery plans would create at least 170,000 new positions – as Anas Sarwar’s strategy was handed a seal of approval by the party’s UK leader.

THE Scottish Liberal Democrats will today pledge to offer new bursaries for student paramedics in their manifesto ahead of the Holyrood election.

MY goodness, what an apocalypse awaits an independent Scotland, at least according to Struan Stevenson ("The breakup of the UK will damage Scotland, Britain and the special relationship", The Herald, April 15). Post-pandemic economic meltdown, geopol...

WORK has started on the redevelopment of the former Rolls-Royce site at Hillington, 15 years after it was vacated.

By Scott Wright

BP has suspended production from a historic West of Shetland development amid the challenges posed by the fallout from the coronavirus crisis and the energy transition.

THE upcoming funeral for the Duke of Edinburgh and specifically the issue of dress code was discussed by columnists in the newspapers.

One new essential item that we have all had to get used to over the past 12 months is the face covering.

THERE have been very few occasions this season where Rangers have not found the answers required as Steven Gerrard’s side have passed tests at home and abroad with flying colours. On Sunday, they will face one of their most important of the camp...

IT started out life as a cottage industry when dog lover Dom Hogan couldn't find nutritional pet treats on the market.

NICOLA Sturgeon's plans for £6 billion of increased spending over the next parliament will require "tricky trade-offs" and potentially cuts or tax rises, a leading think tank has said.

NICOLA Sturgeon are branded her political opponents “infantile” for complaining the SNP hasn’t done enough with its 14 years in power.

Nicola Sturgeon has become one of more than 2.5 million Scots to receive at least one dose of the vaccine, after being inoculated at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow.

The Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex will not walk shoulder to shoulder when they join senior royals taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral procession.

NICOLA Sturgeon has said she doesn’t want to get into “an arm-wrestling competition” with her critics within the Yes movement about who is hungrier for independence.

Scottish pubs have lost up to £841m in beer sales alone since the start of the pandemic, with industry leaders concerned that the hospitality sector will be in crisis long after it ends.

Glasgow's biggest open air dining, drinking, and entertainment venue has unveiled a new restaurant line-up.

DOUGLAS Ross has defended UK ministers appearing in front of the Union Jack as he hit out at “flag-waving ultra-nationalists".

NICOLA Sturgeon has denied “weaponising” children’s rights in order to pick an election fight with Westminster after criticism from Scotland’s top lawyer.

Data from the Scottish Government has revealed there have been 237 positive coronavirus tests recorded since Wednesday.

ANYONE who has spent any length of time in the great county of Aberdeenshire will know the area has some of the finest ice cream shops in the country.

ALEX Salmond has insisted Alba is now the only party making independence an immediate priority in the upcoming Holyrood election.

A major technical failure with CalMac's largest ferry has left it out of action

NICOLA Sturgeon has ruled out a second referendum on Scotland’s membership of the EU while demanding another on its membership of the UK.

The SNP has promised Scotland's schools greater decision-making powers over how new funds aimed at closing the attainment gap are spent.

DOUGLAS Ross has ruled out Ruth Davidson playing any Holyrood strategy role after May’s election after the outgoing former party leader was placed front and centre of campaign material.

Mr Sarwar said he does not believe he can “turn around the decline of the Labour Party in Scotland for the last 20 years”

THE SNP has announced its intention to freeze income tax rates and bands for the next five-year parliamentary term. 

SCOTTISH Labour has published a dossier of fifty "SNP failures and broken promises" ahead of Nicola Sturgeon’s launching her party’s election manifesto.

NICOLA Sturgeon's worst quality is that she is far too timid on independence, Alex Salmond has said.

A SCOTS doctor’s efforts improve end-of-life dementia care will be recognised by a new university scholarship, that is being launched today in her honour.

NICOLA Sturgeon will today launch her manifesto for a fourth consecutive SNP term with a vow to increase spending on frontline health services by 20 per cent.

Just over one year ago, amateur photographer Jos Treen dusted off old negatives taken of 1970s Glasgow, that had spent the last forty years hidden away in his attic.