Scotland's first minister has said a second independence referendum is "highly likely" after the UK voted to leave the EU. Nicola Sturgeon said it was "democratically unacceptable" that Scotland faced the prospect of being taken out of the EU against its will. She said the Scottish government would begin preparing legislation to enable another independence vote. Scotland voted in favour of the UK staying in the EU by 62% to 38%. The UK as a whole has voted to leave, by a margin of 52% to 48%...

The UK has voted by a narrow margin to leave the European Union after 43 years in an historic referendum, a BBC forecast suggests.

The Scottish Parliament has voted to support an outright ban on fracking after SNP MSPs abstained. Labour tabled an amendment saying there "should" be a full ban as part of an environment debate headed by new cabinet secretary Roseanna Cunningham. After SNP members abstained, the motion was passed by 32 votes to 29. Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse said there needed to be proper research and a public consultation before a decision was taken on fracking.

Surprised to see a white flurry in the middle of the year? Our man says it once even snowed in June.

In a new report (pdf) focused on Scotland but with global implications.

The man accused of murdering Glasgow shopkeeper Asad Shah has issued a statement saying he carried out the killing because he believed Mr Shah had "disrespected" Islam. Tanveer Ahmed, 32, from Bradford, is accused of killing Mr Shah outside his shop in Glasgow almost a fortnight ago. In the statement he denied the incident had anything to do with Christianity. Mr Ahmed claimed Asad Shah had "disrespected" Islam by claiming to be a prophet.

Scotland and Wales are in preliminary talks to split away from the UK and form a new country if Britain votes to leave the EU in June. The extraordinary proposal has been discussed by members of the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Government, and it is being taken seriously by the UK Government. The Independent can reveal the plans today after it was passed redacted documents by a Cabinet Office whistle-blower.

We’re more than a little bit jealous of this book club. If you’ve ever wondered how to get JK Rowling along to a discussion about The Cuckcoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (her pseudonym) we might well have the answer…

Researchers based in Edinburgh, Scotland are inviting individuals from around the world to contribute to a culturally-inspired, interstellar radio message that will broadcast from Earth into space ...

After 19 years of imprisonment, Mary Queen of Scots is beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England for her complicity in a plot to murder Queen Elizabeth I.

‘I was going north to find a tree farm, in a land where there are no trees.’ Cal Flyn on Scottish forestry.

A danger to life warning is issued and winds of 101mph recorded as Storm Gertrude batters Scotland, causing major disruption.

Scotland's prison hairdressing competition: where prisoners are given scissors and a chance at a new life. Directed by Finlay Pretsell and Adrian McDowall.

A MAN hunting for a place to stay in Glasgow has revealed he answered one advert for a £450-a-month bathroom.

Pan Am Flight 103 from London to New York explodes in midair over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members aboard, as well as 11 Lockerbie residents on the ground. A bomb hidden inside an audio cassette player detonated in the cargo area when the plane was at an altitude of 31,000 feet.

We traveled to Edinburgh for a long weekend as Rico already needed to go up for work on that Thursday—extending the trip seemed an obvious choice to escape for a few days! Thursday was spent primarily working, but Friday brought our first day of wandering and exploring.

Orkney’s number of Stone Age sites implies that the remote Scottish islands once may have been at the centre of it all. But why? An exciting new discovery could hold the clues.

One evening, when I was growing up on Exmoor, my father returned home with some news. He had just seen a large black cat – a panther, he supposed – on the horizon. He reported the sighting to the local farmer, who was not at all surprised, for he, too, had seen this ominous beast... Rupert Hawksley.

A Russian officer on watch when a 423ft cargo ship ran aground at full speed in Scotland had drunk half a litre of rum before taking up his post, an investigation has found. The Lysblink Seaways vessel was travelling from Belfast to Skogn in Norway with a cargo of paper when it became stuck off the west coast of Scotland near Kilchoan in the Ardnamurchan peninsula on 18 February this year. The chief officer on watch, a 36-year-old Russian...

Graffiti project