Hand-crafted birthday message for Nicola Sturgeon with balloons appears outside Bute House in Edinburgh

Covid cases has broken out in the Greater Glasgow area. The First Minister said there were 17 confirmed cases in Scotland's largest health board yesterday - which includes the city as well as the neighbouring council areas of Renfrewshire and Inverclyde.

John-Paul ClarkWest Lothian chart toppers The Snuts have sent an open letter to Nicola Sturgeon asking for industry support.The lads have been hit hard financially in recent times because they had to postpone planned gigs during the global health crisis.The West Lothian Courier reported last week how fans of the group had started a crowdfunder to help them pay their road crew.The letter to the First Minster, dated August 4, asks that she support the music industry whilst also listing the many

Nicola Sturgeon has said all pupils who are unhappy with their exam results will be able to appeal them for free as the Scottish Government faced mounting criticism over how grades were awarded. For the first time in more than 130 years, Scottish youngsters did not sit down for exams in May as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

bars and restaurants could face a “further shutdown” if Scots do not abide by strict public safety rules.The First Minister said pictures of a large queue outside an Aberdeen bar had made her want to cry.A key part of the Government’s policy of coming out of lockdown involved the reopening of pubs and restaurants.Get all the top Scottish politics news sent straight to your Inbox by signing up to our Politics newsletter.We cover Holyrood, Westminster and local councils, with a current focus on

pub too often after alarm at a rise in coronavirus cases.Around half of the latest positive cases of Covid-19 were among people in their 20s and 30s.First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the levels are a reason for caution, while other parts of the world have also seen infection rates among young people surge.At a coronavirus briefing on Friday, Sturgeon said "nobody can safely get Covid", despite the disease causing more fatalities among older people.Urging people to "stick rigidly" to the latest

coronavirus cases.The warning against non-essential travel also applies to anyone in affected areas, including Manchester, who had plans to visit Scotland.First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the restrictions in the most significant step back to lockdown since the height of the pandemic in the UK.Sturgeon said: "I'm grateful to the Prime Minister for the update on the recent developments in the north west of England and all four nations agreed on the importance of sharing localised

Nicola Sturgeon has announced that pupils will be in the classroom full-time when schools return next month.Pupils will begin to return from August 11 and all young people will be back in full-time education by August 18.In a statement to Holyrood this afternoon the First Minister did say that some local authorities may opt for phased return but all pupils will have returned to school by August 18.A Scottish Government report reads: "The expectation is that all schools will reopen by August 11,

Get the stories that interest you straight to your inbox every day with our personalised newsletterNicola Sturgeon has confirmed Scottish schools will reopen from August 11.The First Minister said she expected all pupils to be back in full time education from August 18 at the latest.In a statement to Holyrood this lunchtime, Ms Sturgeon confirmed classrooms would re-open in full rather than adopting a "blended" learning approach, which had once been proposed.Every school will have to carry out a

Sturgeon. The First Minister told hospitality businesses they "cannot allow standards to slip" - and told members of the public to avoid premises failing to follow the rules.

Nicola Sturgeon. Angus Robertson faces a battle with party colleague Joanna Cherry to win the nomination for the seat, which is the Nationalists' number one target at next year's Holyrood election.

Covid-19 in recent days could be linked to the outbreak at a call centre in North Lanarkshire.

Nicola Sturgeon has got a good 'un, if you ask us. The First Minister's husband took to Twitter this morning to ensure his wife's milestone birthday celebrations  kicked off in the ultimate style.

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, celebrated her 73rd birthday on July 17 with the well-wishes of family and friends.

shielding ” policy by the end of the month. The First Minister also announced a further lifting of restrictions on a category of people who have been subject to the greatest coronavirus restrictions.

Nicola Sturgeon has declared it was a good day for Scotland as the country's hospitality sector reopened and the number of deaths from Covid-19 continued to fall. But the SNP leader once again urged Scots to "keep the heid" as she admitted to being nervous as the single biggest easing of lockdown restrictions in four months took place.

Get the stories that interest you straight to your inbox every day with our personalised newsletterScotland has recorded no new deaths from coronavirus for the seventh day in a row, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced.The latest figures were revealed as the country took a key step out of lockdown today, with pubs and restaurants opening indoors for the first time.Attractions such as cinemas and museums have also been reopening, while long queues have been waiting at the country's barber

Nicola Sturgeon said the opening of pubs indoors was the “highest risk” since exiting lockdown began and encouraged those going to the pub to “do so carefully”.Speaking as Scotland celebrated a sixth day with no deaths from the virus, she said: “I think we all know where alcohol is being taken, sometimes our inhibitions are lower ... we behave in a way we wouldn’t normally do, getting closer to people.

Sturgeon has blasted reported UK Government plans to hold on to a key economic lever after the Brexit transition period.It has been claimed Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not devolve control over ‘state aid’, which allows Governments to subsidise companies.The First Minister tweeted this morning: “This would be a full scale assault on devolution - a blatant move to erode the powers of the Scottish Parliament in key areas.