News from Scotland

A loophole which allows incompetent teachers to escape the threat of being struck off is to be closed, the Scottish Government has confirmed.

Police investigating a brutal road attack by an armed gang have assured the public that information will be treated in the "strictest confidence".

The SNP Government may be set to drop plans to hold a referendum on Scottish independence before next year's elections, it has been confirmed.

The BBC has been accused of "institutional bias" against Christianity by the head of the Catholic church in Scotland.

Scotland and Wales need to have a bigger say in the "London-dominated" Labour Party, campaigners claim.

A teenager has been killed after a car crash in the early hours of Sunday.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon and TV presenter Michelle McManus are to join thousands of competitors in Scotland`s biggest race.

Officials from the national transport body took more than 600 short-haul domestic fights last year, figures show.

Around £500 million of foreign investment in Scotland has been secured by the Government body tasked with delivering it, bosses said.

Finance Secretary John Swinney has set out the priorities for the Scottish budget ahead of looming cuts.

A new poll puts Labour 10 points ahead of the Nationalists.

A rider is being treated in hospital after she fell from her mount and suffered a head injury at the prestigious Burghley Horse Trials.

A man who was killed in his home suffered a "sustained attack," police have said.

The family of a father and son killed in a motorbike crash said their deaths would leave a huge hole in their lives.

About 1,400 jobs are facing the axe at one of the country's biggest councils, it has been disclosed.

More than three quarters of Britons think the taxpayer should not contribute to the cost of Pope Benedict XVI's forthcoming visit to Scotland and England, according to a s

A "uniquely special" Scottish soprano has won a nationwide search to find an opera star.

All but one of 12 rioting football hooligans who took part in the worst destruction Manchester has suffered "since the blitz" will be going to jail, a judge has said.

Investment in renewable energy and low carbon projects will create real economic wealth, First Minister Alex Salmond has said.

A drugs factory with £1 million worth of cocaine and mixing agents has been uncovered by police.