A lorry driver has died and more than 130,000 homes have been left without power as gale force winds battered Scotland.

Five people with alleged links to dissident Republicanism have appeared in court charged with terrorism offences and conspiracy to murder.

Torrential rain, thunder and lightning is blighting the first weekend of the school holidays, as thousands set off across the UK for their summer break.

A man has been arrested after €3m-worth of cannabis was seized at a ferry port.

The Scottish Liberal Democrat leader has written to the Lord Advocate to seek assurances that the Lockerbie bombing is still being “rigorously and actively investigated”.

Jessie J has defended 'The Voice' against claims it is boring.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has dismissed calls for a fresh inquiry into the conviction of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi in the wake of his death.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the Libyan man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, has died, according to his brother.

A lone protester attempted to pelt newly elected MP George Galloway with eggs today as he celebrated his by-election victory.

If it was not for the diminutive Shetland pony, horse racing might well have been a sport for plodders rather than kings, research has revealed.

A ferry carrying more than 100 people started drifting off the Scottish coast after it suffered engine trouble on its way to Northern Ireland, the coastguard said.

Uncapped Northampton centre Joe Ansbro will replace the injured Max Evans in Scotland’s team to meet South Africa in the second autumn Test at Murrayfield tomorrow.

IT used to be one of the life’s simple, taken-for-granted pleasures to stand outside in the blackness of night and just gaze at the star-speckled heavens.

Almost 200 passengers and crew remained stranded on board a ferry today after a lorry broke free and burst through the ship's rear door.

Police in the North and in Scotland are tonight investigating the discovery of a man’s body on the Scottish coast.

Scotland’s First Minister will meet his Northern Ireland counterparts in Belfast today.

Kerry Katona’s fiancé gave guests the thumbs up today, ahead of a low-key wedding ceremony at a hotel in Gretna Green.

Gretna’s Scottish Cup fairytale ended today as the team from the small border town lost the final to hot favourites Heart of Midlothian following a thrilling penalty shoot-out.

County Tipperary became the Mecca for hare coursing fans from around the world today as the 81st annual Irish meeting got under way.

Passengers on a ferry forced aground by hurricane-force winds today remained stranded on board their stricken vessel.

IMMIGRATION cheats, some coming from the Republic, are using the North as the base for a money-spinning bogus marriage scam to get EU citizenship, it was claimed last night.

A schoolgirl who died with her grandmother in a New Year fire tragedy in a remote village in Scotland was today named by police.

A teenage girl and her grandmother have died in a house fire and another person is recovering in hospital from smoke inhalation, Scottish police said today.

POLICE were last night hunting thieves who stole a Leonardo da Vinci painting from the estate of one of Scotland’s richest landowners.

A father and his 12-year-old son died and another son, aged 14, is missing after a motorboat capsized off the west coast of Scotland.

An Irish teenager has died on holiday in Scotland after a quad bike she was riding on a beach flipped over, police said today.

STENA LINE is set to become the biggest player on the Irish Sea, taking over €70m of P&O’s ferry assets on two routes.

Heroin with an estimated street value of £9m has been recovered by Scottish police.

A Scottish town was today shaken by an earthquake measuring 2.9 on the Richter scale.

The owner of five pet sheep slaughtered under foot-and-mouth restrictions has branded Government officials co-ordinating the cull as ‘‘evil people’’.

Nearly a third of British farms could become infected with foot-and-mouth disease, scientists have warned.

The British Government is to delay a decision on a vaccination ‘‘firebreak’’ to try to control the spread of foot-and-mouth, Downing Street said today.

An emergency package of measures to help the Scottish tourism industry through the deepening foot-and-mouth crisis is to be announced.

A total of 27 new cases of foot-and-mouth have been confirmed today, bringing the total to 649.

There have been 21 new confirmed cases of foot-and-mouth in Britain today, bringing the total to 628.

The number of Scottish cases of foot-and-mouth disease has risen to 85.

If Britain fails to control foot-and-mouth, 50% of livestock will have to be destroyed, the Government's chief scientist has warned.

A further 35 cases of foot-and-mouth disease have been confirmed by Britain's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Britain's chief vet Jim Scudamore is visiting Cumbria to explain the Government's planned pre-emptive slaughter of up to 500,000 healthy animals to farmers.

The number of confirmed cases of foot-and-mouth in Britain has now topped 300 as the controversy over the planned mass cull of healthy animals continues.

The mass cull of healthy animals to stamp out foot-and-mouth disease has already begun.

The British Government has vowed to continue with plans for the controversial mass slaughter of healthy animals which may have come into contact with foot-and-mouth disease.

The British Government is facing further calls to abandon plans for a mass slaughter of healthy animals which may have come into contact with foot-and-mouth disease.

Britain's farming industry faces months of torture as the toll from foot-and-mouth disease continues to rise.