Nearly 18,000 Stirling households connected to speedy broadband - but critics say work still to be done

coronavirus pandemic.

drug dealing in Scotland, has been jailed after being caught red-handed with £130,000 in his van. Salim Patel ran a "sophisticated" laundering operation from a city business unit where millions of pounds were machine-counted and packaged for distribution, a court has heard.

has been banned from driving - after crashing his expensive £40,000 Jaguar car while nearly four-times the drink-drive limit. Interior designer John Amabile, who has appeared in a host of programmes, was fined and ordered to attend a rehab course after racking up his second drink-driving conviction.

BBC Scotland over its broadcasting of the briefings, head of news and current affairs Gary Smith defended them as he said they contained "important public health information”. Smith said audience numbers for the briefings, in which the First Minister is questioned by journalists on coronavirus issues, had “varied”.

Perth and Kinross were reached by the £463 million Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) project, which came to an end earlier this month. Engineers from Openreach laid more than 454km of cable across Perth and Kinross during the build, which started in 2014.

Get the latest Scottish crime and courts news sent straight to your inbox with our daily Criminal Record newsletterAn appeal has been launched by police after a member of the public was scammed into buying a fake mobile phone in Stirling on Sunday evening.The incident took place when the victim when approached by the scammer after withdrawing money from a cash machine in the Barnton Street area of the city at around 5pm.The seller then offered the victim a mobile phone at a reduced price - but

recently announced that he will be funding a 10-year programme to allow aspiring artists to follow in his footsteps at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where he graduated with a BA in Acting in 2003. With three annual scholarships for undergraduate students in the School of Drama, Dance, Production and Film. Don't miss the top culture and heritage stories from around Scotland. Sign up to our twice weekly Scotland Now newsletter here.

Emergency services have raced to the scene of a crash near Stirling this evening. Cops arrived at the smash at the Bannockburn Interchange, which connects the M9 and M80, near the Stirling Services, shortly before 7pm.

pandemic, with residents now expected to live an average of just two years. The study by top academics also warned about the impact of visiting restrictions on care home residents’ quality of life.

Get the latest Scottish parenting news sent straight to your inbox each week with our newsletter.Foodbank charity Start Up Stirling is appealing for help to support children and their families through the summer.For many families the summer holidays can be a particularly challenging time as they try to ensure they have enough food each week to live on, as well as finding enough money to buy school uniforms, schoolbags and shoes for the school year ahead.Start Up Stirling spokesperson Julie

Home Energy Scotland has discovered that 70 per cent of Scots are concerned about fuel bills rising this year, with almost two thirds using more energy than usual during the first 12 months of the coronavirus pandemic. The research also found that half of Scots have noticed a worrying increase in their energy bills already, however, it’s worth noting that the Scottish Government has increased the level of support available to households.

street valium tablets during two raids on her home has been remanded in custody. Leanne McCabe was discovered with drugs worth more than £100,000 when her council flat in the Menzieshill area of Dundee was raided by detectives.

Covid-19 continue to rise with the latest figures showing an increase to 10,185 detected cases. It comes as UK cases of the variant have risen almost four-fold in less than a month.Public Health England figures show a total of 161,981 confirmed and probable cases of Delta variant have now been identified in the UK - up by 50,824, or 46%, on the previous week.

drug- related pick-up in Scotland. A mystery individual was seen briefly climbing into the back of Worley's taxi after he drove from Liverpool and pulled up outside shops in Perth.