New Year's Eve celebrations around the globe as world says goodbye to 2020

Lockdown in Scotland has been extended until at least the middle of February in an effort to halt the spread of the new virulent strain of coronavirus. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs on Tuesday that transmission of the virus appeared to be slowing down but was still too high to ease current restrictions.

Nicola Sturgeon "acted in an honourable way" after former colleague Alex Salmond reportedly claimed she breached the ministerial code by misleading the Scottish Parliament. Former first minister Mr Salmond's submissions to an inquiry into sexual assault claims against him have been obtained by national newspapers, in which he claims Ms Sturgeon's evidence over when she knew about the allegations was "simply untrue".

schools will be closed for the entire of January as part of the new lockdown imposed across the country. Most pupils were scheduled to return to schools on the already-delayed date of January 18 after the winter break.

lockdown travel restrictions apply to Trump as much as anyone else, adding a golf trip is not an "essential purpose".The outgoing US president is refusing to accept defeat to Joe Biden, fuelling global speculation about what he will do on inauguration day on January 20.Sturgeon, at her first coronavirus briefing of the year, was asked if she knew whether Trump was planning to visit one of his golf resorts."I hope and expect the travel plan he immediately has is it exit the White house - beyond

Get the stories that interest you straight to your inbox every day with our personalised newsletterMainland Scotland will go into a full national lockdown from midnight in a bid to get to grips with the rising number of coronavirus cases.The grim news was delivered by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon this afternoon at the Scottish Parliament after MSPs were recalled for an emergency sitting.She described the current Covid situation as "extremely serious" with decisions made at a cabinet

Mariah Carey, the ultimate holiday-season diva, gave an interview with Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper on New Year's Eve. Cohen and Cooper were standing in Times Square, where a scaled-back New Year's Eve celebration was taking place and Jennifer Lopez was performing in the background.

In a series of tweets today, Ms Sturgeon said: "The rapid increase in Covid cases, driven by the new variant, is of very serious concern. The steep increases & severe NHS pressure being experienced in other parts of the UK is a sign of what may lie ahead.

Most people might just be celebrating the New Year today, but these stars are also celebrating their birthday!

Leave it to these two to keep things cool, calm, and collected… and look like the cutest couple ever while doing it, too!

Coleen Rooney shared an adorable image of herself with her four children, all in matching pyjamas, to mark the new year. Writing on Instagram, she said: "Happy New Year from me and my NYE dates.

Mariah Carey filmed a cute video for her fans on New Year’s Eve and it turned out to be unintentionally hilarious. The mother of two attempted to sing “Auld Lang Syne” — a traditional tune that’s usually sung on New Year’s Eve — when she forgot the lyrics in the middle of the song. After she belted out a few notes, Mariah laughed and said, “I don’t know how it goes.”

Nicola Sturgeon has made another personal plea to Scots to stay away from loved ones to help stem the spread of coronavirus. The First Minister urged families to forsake the first-foot tradition as cases are "worryingly high".There were 2,539 new cases of the deadly virus reported in Scotland in the last 24 hours.Sturgeon tweeted: ":Today’s case numbers are worryingly high again."The new variant is accelerating spread.

As years go, we can probably all agree that 2020 wasn't the greatest. However, Jennifer Lopez decided to beckon in 2021 in the best possible way, with a blissfully over-the-top performance on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest.Beginning with a video intro featuring J.Lo's subway ride while wearing a baby blue, Cinderella-inspired ball gown, the Hustlers star then took to the stage in New York City, and she was literally larger than life.

First Minister tweeted just after the Brexit transition period formally ended at 11pm on December 31. Scotland's trading and travel relationships with EU countries will now be governed by the agreement announced by the UK Government on Christmas Eve.