Sturgeon denies bridge maintenance cuts
Bin lorry prosecution cash considered
Probe into baby trolley glue 'prank'
Peer proposes Scottish second chamber
Government may consider organ opt-out
The Scottish Conservatives have called for an independent inquiry into the decision to close the Forth Road Bridge.
He also called on the Scottish government do more to help commuters.
During a debate at Holyrood, the Transport Minister Derek MacKay said he expected the Forth Road Bridge to reopen in time for people to return to work in the new year.
Richard Wilson
BBC Scotland
Ann Budge has criticised the SPFL for not informing clubs sooner about the changes to the Scottish League Cup.
The Hearts owner says she only learned about the details of the changes when she read about them in the media.
Image source, SNSAlthough welcome to change, Budge said that she has not yet had time to go over the details and examine how they will impact on Hearts and other clubs.
"I would liked to have known a little bit more about them before they were publicly announced," she said.
Scottish women who volunteered in Serbia during World War I are being commemorated in a series of stamps.
The British Embassy has teamed up with Serbia Post to celebrate the efforts of the Scottish heroines.
Image source, British Embassy in SerbiaFive women who worked as doctors, nurses and drivers feature on the new stamps. They are Evelina Haverfield, Dr Elsie Inglis, Dr Elizabeth Ross, Dr Katherine MacPhail OBE and Dr Isabel Emslie Galloway Hutton.
A sixth English woman, Captain Flora Sandes, who was the only British female to bear arms during WW1, is also being remembered.
A group of Scottish independence campaigners who set up camp outside the Scottish Parliament have been ordered to pack up.
Sheriff officers, acting on behalf of Scottish Parliament bosses, have delivered a notice telling them to go by 17:00 on Friday or face court proceedings.
Parliament management has described the camp as an unauthorised occupation.
However, those running it have told the BBC they will not leave.
The principal of an Aberdeen university that awarded Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump an honorary degree is considering whether to revoke it.
Image source, AFPA spokesman for Robert Gordon University said: “Mr Trump's honorary degree was awarded in 2010. Business and entrepreneurship are key areas of focus for the university, and Mr Trump is recognised for these activities (including his investment in the North-East of Scotland).
“This award was made prior to the appointment of RGU's current Principal, Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski, who is considering the position. He is totally committed to equality of opportunity and to respect for different cultures, values which are an important part of RGU's ethos.”
Eleven people have been charged after a series of drug raids across Tayside in the last week.
Officers seized Class A, B and C drugs from a number of homes in Dundee, Angus and Perth and Kinross.
Police Scotland said the raids were part of Operation Slate. About £9,500 of drugs was seized.
Det Insp Paul Riley appealed to members of the public to help officers take drug dealers off the streets by reporting them.
Plans by Andy Murray's mother Judy to set up a sport-centred development near Dunblane have been rejected by Stirling Council's planning and regulation panel.
Judy Murray, along with golfer Colin Montgomerie, wanted to build a £70m residential and holiday resort on green-belt land.
The proposed development would have covered a 110-hectare site between Dunblane and Bridge of Allan.
Image source, Park of KeirIt would included training facilities for tennis and golf, a four-star hotel, luxury houses, a museum and visitor centre, a multi-use sports pitch, and cycle trails.
Planning officials had recommended it should be rejected because it would be a large-scale residential development, on Green Belt land, and it wouldn't include any affordable housing.
Follow the debate here on Holyrood Live.
Image source, GettyWeather update - Shower and shower alike
BBC Scotland Weather
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Turning rather cloudy and cool for many this afternoon, with plenty of showers. The heaviest and the most frequent of the showers will be in the west. Caithness, Aberdeenshire and eastern parts of the Borders will see the driest, brightest conditions. After a mild morning, temperatures will fall to around 7C as the showers move in and winds veer westerly and ease somewhat.
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The Calmac summer ferry service between Ardrossan and Campbeltown is to be made permanent, it has been announced.
A pilot service, linking North Ayrshire and the Kintyre peninsula, has operated for the past three years.
Transport Minister Derek Mackay said it had proved "incredibly popular" and transported an average of over 10,000 passengers and 2,000 cars per year.
He said the permanent service would be part of an enhanced summer timetable for CalMac next year.
Your views - Forth Road Bridge closure
Emergency vehicles are allowed over the bridge so why not have one lane open to SINGLE DECKER buses in both directions and this way people will not have an added 2 hr journey to work and also ensure the bridge is not over weighted/burdened during repairs. I'm sure more people would then use this form of public transport.
Andrew Guppy
Nicola Sturgeon says the contingency plans are working "as well as you could have expected". What contingency plans? It doesn't appear that there were any contingency plans. The various plans in place have all been devised since the bridge closed and changes continue to be made as people complain that they are not working.
Bill Saunders
Scotland's deputy first minister John Swinney has held talks with some of the businesses being affected by the closure of the Forth Road Bridge.
Hauliers had warned they might seek compensation for extra costs totalling £600,000 a day.
After his telephone conference, Mr Swinney said that if travel plans needed to be altered he would consider doing that.
The Forth Road Bridge has been closed for urgent repairs until the new year.
Image source, Forth Road BridgeA student lost the only copy of his dissertation when a thief stole a computer hard drive from his van, a court has heard.
Richard Tolmie took the drive from the St Andrews University student's campervan, which was parked in Dundee.
Image source, OtherThe thief was traced using an app on the stolen smartphone
The 29-year-old was tracked to homeless accommodation in the city using an iPhone he also stole from the vehicle.
He admitted two charges of theft on 1 or 2 August. Sentence was deferred at Dundee Sheriff Court and he was released on bail.
The Scottish government has said it would consider any request for funding towards a private prosecution of the Glasgow bin lorry driver, Harry Clarke.
One bereaved family is taking action after an inquiry found the crash could have been avoided if Mr Clarke had not lied about his history of blackouts.
The inquiry found he had "repeatedly lied in order to gain and retain jobs".
Image source, PAThe 58-year-old was unconscious when the lorry veered out of control on 22 December 2014, killing six people.
The BBC asked the Scottish government if ministers would consider any requests for funding towards any private prosecution of Mr Clarke.
A spokesman said: "Private prosecutions in Scotland are exceedingly rare and there are a number of steps that would need to be followed before a private prosecution could proceed. "Scottish ministers would consider any request for public funding towards a private prosecution very carefully, should such an application be made."
Trains are expected to start running again this afternoon on the West Coast mainline between Glasgow and London.
Services stopped running on Saturday as Storm Desmond swept through the country.
Image source, OtherNetwork Rail says 8ft of floodwater caused widespread damage to the railway, but work has gone on round the clock to make repairs and clear the debris.
A number of emergency speed restrictions will remain in place as the network continues to recover from the impact of Storm Desmond.
Phil Goodlad
BBC Scotland
Playing Premiership matches abroad "could be part of an exciting new future", says Scottish Professional Football League chief Neil Doncaster.
Celtic and Dundee are exploring the possibility of playing a Premiership fixture in the USA.
Image source, SNSDoncaster says Scottish football should keep an open mind regarding any ideas that could help the game to grow.
"We owe it to everyone involved to look at what's possible and work through the ramifications," Doncaster said.
Talks between Celtic and Dundee are at an advanced stage, with Boston and Philadelphia potential host cities for a league fixture between the sides next season. The clubs plan to put a formal proposal before the SPFL in the next few weeks.
Canada's Marlene Stewart Streit and American Judy Bell are the latest women to become honorary members of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
Stewart Streit, 81, is the only player to win the British, Canadian, US and Australian women's amateur titles, and Bell, 79, was a Curtis Cup captain.
Image source, Getty ImagesIn September 2014 the Royal and Ancient voted to allow women members for the first time in its 260-year history.
In February, the Princess Royal became one of the first women to join.
Along with Stewart Strait and Bell, a further eight women have also become members of the club.
Two brothers have been jailed for carrying out a brutal street attack in North Lanarkshire which left their victim fighting for his life.
Grant Murray, 20, was convicted of attempted murder following the attack on 38-year-old James Martin in Newarthill on 1 February.
His brother, Graham Murray, 30, was convicted of assault for punching Mr Martin and causing him to fall.
Grant Murray was jailed for eight years and his brother for 11 months at the High Court in Glasgow.
Thousands have signed a petition calling for Donald Trump's honorary degree to be revoked by Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University.
Image source, ReutersMr Trump, who owns a golf course in Aberdeenshire, was awarded the honorary doctorate in 2010 in recognition of his "business acumen and entrepreneurial vision".
More than 3,500 people have signed the petition so far.
BBC Sport Scotland
Darts world champion Gary Anderson has revealed he deliberately lost a Premier League match against Adrian Lewis at Glasgow's SECC in 2011.
Scot Anderson, 44, led the match 3-0 but, with Lewis suffering "disgraceful" abuse, allowed the Englishman to reel off eight legs in a row to secure an 8-3 victory.
When asked if he intentionally lost, Anderson told BBC Scotland: "Yes.
"I didn't want to win a game where that happened; I thought it was a disgrace."