A BRAVE Scots corporal who led his troops through a hail of gunfire to overpower five Taleban insurgents in a potentially deadly raid in Afghanistan is to be honoured on Armed Forces Day.

EUROPEAN leaders will “pay the price” if they arm Syrian rebels, the country’s president, Bashar al-Assad, warned.

SCOTLAND’S islands councils have demanded more powers regardless of the outcome of next year’s independence referendum as part of a flagship campaign launched Monday.

MOORS murderer Ian Brady made his first public appearance for decades on Monday when he appeared at a mental health ­tribunal considering his sanity as he seeks to end his own life.

Two men who admitted their part in a £730,000 jewellery store raid in the centre of Edinburgh have been jailed.

HAVING reached the one-third milestone of my ‘One Hundred Weeks’ project I thought I would reward myself with a jaunt to the races.

MOORS murderer Ian Brady will today begin his bid to be declared sane and moved to a Scottish prison, where he hopes to starve himself to death.

BIG-name Scottish festivals such as T in the Park and Rockness have been left with thousands of unsold tickets this year – but Scotland’s smaller and boutique-style events appear to be booming.

FRANCE and Spain would not accept an independent Scotland into the European Union, a European Parliament vice-president has claimed.

TOUGH decisions must be made about how much is spent on care towards the end of life if health services are to remain affordable in years to come, a leading Scottish doctor has warned.

RUSSIAN president Vladimir Putin last night issued a blunt warning to the West not to arm Syrian rebels who “eat the organs” of their enemies.

THE leading Scottish doctor who created a jab to prevent cervical cancer says a vaccine to stop people getting skin cancer is now on the horizon.

THE outstanding achievements of 103 Scots have been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list – the highest number since 2003.

SCOTTISH architecture firm RMJM is to scrap its Edinburgh headquarters and axe almost half of its staff north of the Border to focus on its international business.

SCOTLAND could be forced to keep Trident nuclear weapons for up to 20 years after independence as the UK seeks out an alternative base, leading military experts have said.

THE Treasury has signalled future cuts to the Scottish budget after six more government departments agreed a combined reduction of more than £1 billion in their coffers for the 2015-16 financial year.

FORMER Scottish MP George Galloway insisted last night that the hijacking of Nigel Farage’s press conference in Edinburgh last month “looked ugly”.

HERITAGE charities have raised fears a new heritage “super-body” could threaten their survival, with the National Trust for Scotland urging thousands of its members to object to the controversial plan.

THE push to encourage more working-class students to go to university could damage Scotland’s colleges and further cement their image as a “lesser choice”, a new report has found.

UK banks in Scotland will be forced to decide whether to keep their headquarters north of the Border if Scotland becomes independent, a legal banking expert has warned.