9am Briefing: City diver drowns in loch

Jennifer Simpson, 42, died in a diving accident in in Loch Sunart in Ardnamurchan on Friday.

Woman killed on M8

A woman was killed after being hit by a car on the M8 motorway, police said today.

The woman died at the scene following the accident close to the Edinburgh bypass at 11pm last night.

Police said she appeared to have been walking in the road when she was struck by a car.

An investigation is under way and no more details about the woman's identity have yet been released.

The road was closed overnight between junction two Claylands and junction one Hermiston Gait, and reopened at 6am this morning.

Old School to be creative hub

The former North Canongate Infant School is being lined up to become a hub for writers, publishers and performing artists. The building on New Street, most recently known as the Canongate Venture, was due to be demolished to make way for a hotel and conference centre as part of the controversial Caltongate scheme.

But following the collapse of the scheme, the building is now being tipped to become a key part of the Capital's literary quarter.

Festival could shrink

The International Edinburgh Festival could be forced to shrink in future after organisers were warned to prepare for cuts of up to 15 per cent in Scottish Government funding.

Artistic director Jonathan Mills said it could affect the number of performances, but would not harm the Festival's "core principles".