Thousands of Scots will gain access to their GP at evenings and weekends under a groundbreaking deal close to being signed by doctors' leaders and the Government. Ministers have offered Scottish family doctors an extra £16m to help cover the cost of out-of-hours opening but have been accused of "blackmail" after warning GPs they will take an effective pay cut of £6,000 each if they refuse.

Security chiefs have admitted that at least 2,000 terrorists are on the loose in the UK and they do not have enough officers to properly track their movements.

Muslim fanatics in Scotland could be radicalised within weeks, the country's terror czar has warned. And John Corrigan stressed that the exact potential of the threat is constantly changing and can never be quantified.

Road chiefs spent £5.6m "improving" a crash-free stretch of dual carriageway and created an accident blackspot. Fifty-three people have been injured – two of them seriously – since a section of the Edinburgh City Bypass was resurfaced in 1999. Before the work, no accidents had been recorded.

Scottish doctors have started prescribing cannabis on the NHS before it is officially licensed in a bid to relieve the pain of multiple sclerosis sufferers.

One in eight rape victims treated at a specialist centre in Scotland is under 15 years old, new figures reveal.

Police chiefs have ordered the biggest-ever shake-up of rape investigation in Scotland amid growing concern about low conviction rates and avoidable trauma for victims.

A video diary which has been posted on the internet shows Scotland's now First Minister partying with Tartan Army foot soldiers in the World Cup in France in 1998.