THE summer solstice is only 28 days away, but in parts of Scotland yesterday, it was like winter had never left, as people awoke to a blanket of snow.

PASSENGERS will be riding the trams in Edinburgh by the end of the year, a former consultant to the £776 million project has predicted.

SCOTLAND’S most senior policeman has urged the government to use funds seized from criminals to fight crime, saying it is “nuts” to refuse.

NISSAN is recalling of one of its most popular models over a fault that could result in the the steering wheel coming off in the driver’s hands.

The debate on Scottish independence is focused on “political point-scoring” that is “turning people off”, the Kirk’s Church and Society Council said today.

THE Yes and No independence referendum campaign groups could dodge strict spending limits with the creation of “dummy” bodies to spend surplus cash, it has emerged.

SENIOR Conservative Murdo Fraser has questioned whether the direction of Ruth Davidson’s leadership will “be enough” to secure a revival of the party in Scotland.

A UGANDAN rapist who was jailed after admitting on Facebook that he attacked a woman has been deported after immigration officials dismissed his claim that he would face persecution because he was gay.

AN animated video was unveiled today in an effort to boost votes for a name for the Forth Replacement Crossing as organisers revealed figures which showed the voting rate has significantly slowed.

THE soldier killed in a horrific attack on a London street has been named as Drummer Lee Rigby, a father of one who had served in Afghanistan.

TWO men have admitted a £730,000 heist at a top Edinburgh jewellers.

THE Scottish Government today gave the green light for the world’s largest wave power scheme, to be developed in the stormy seas off the coast of the Western Isles.

THE Church of Scotland needs to take “real risks” and create “radical models” of training if it is to persuade more young people to become ministers, the General Assembly heard yesterday.

Scotland will be the first part of the UK to have a dedicated fund to help with the development of the wave energy sector, energy minister Fergus Ewing said.

EDINBURGH has slumped dramatically in a visitor satisfaction poll in the past year, new figures have suggested, with the city dropping out of the top ten UK destinations.

THE head of the Kirk’s charity wing has warned it will be forced to consider the future of some care services if local authorities keep cutting funding.

SCOTLAND’s universities would be inundated with applications from UK students looking for free tuition should the country become independent, it has been claimed.

AN INDEPENDENT Scotland would have one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the Western world in a bid to attract multinational firms, Alex Salmond has promised.

SALES of wine fell by almost 4.5 million bottles in the year after the Scottish Government banned multi-buy deals, a new NHS report has revealed.

TORY divisions over plans to legalise gay marriage last night saw 56 of the party’s MPs vote to wreck the government’s proposals by allowing straight couples to take up civil partnerships.