Nurse writes to Nicola Sturgeon claiming care homes were 'bullied' into taking Covid patients

A decision to appoint a man as Scotland's first period poverty tsar has been slammed by tennis legend Martina Navratilova amid calls for a woman to be given the role.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has shared new guidance for people due to attend a face-to-face health assessment for benefits in Scotland, England and Wales. The DWP and assessment providers have put a range of measures in place so that consultations can take place safely while the nation learns to live with coronavirus.

Perth runner Ben Greenwood retained his Scottish 800m title in style.

Dame Deborah James' mother has told how much the support of the public in her daughter’s final weeks meant to her, and has also spoken of her greatest heartbreak during Deborah's last days. Podcaster and campaigner Dame Deborah, known by her social media handle Bowelbabe, died on June 28 at the age of 40, after being diagnosed with bowel cancer at the age of 35. Appearing on BBC Breakfast this morning (16 August), Deborah's mum Heather James spoke of the hardest moment during the weeks leading up to her daughter's tragic death.

A death row prisoner was put through "three hours of pain" in what human rights campaigners are calling the longest execution of all time. Nathan James Jr was sentenced to death by lethal injection for the murder of Faith Hall in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1994.

The hotly-anticipated Ayr & District Flower Show makes a welcome return this weekend.

Fans of ITV's Emmerdale have been playing detective again and some reckon they've worked out what actually happened to vicar Charles Anderson after he was found slumped on the chapel floor in Monday’s episode (16 August). Charles was rushed to hospital following a fraught conversation with his daughter Naomi after he was relived she finally agreed to talk to him and it looked as though Naomi had something to do with his demise.The conversation between the pair soon became heated, and the whole thing was overheard by Manpreet Sharma as she headed towards the church, catching a glimpse of a distraught Naomi hurrying away.

Nipsey Hussle has been posthumously honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.The Crenshaw rapper was shot and killed outside his Marathon Clothing store in Los Angeles in March 2019. He was 33 years old.Hussle’s life and career were honoured during a ceremony on Hollywood Boulevard in LA yesterday (August 15), with the City of Los Angeles and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce recognising the late rapper’s contribution to music and his philanthropic work.August 15, Hussle’s birthday, will now be celebrated as Nipsey Hussle Day in LA, Los Angeles City Council Member Marqueece Harris-Dawson declared yesterday.A post shared by Nipsey Hussle (@nipseyhussle)Speaking at the ceremony, Hussle’s widow Lauren London said: “Nip would’ve been honoured by this moment.

Confidence Man have announced details of their UK and Ireland tour that’s set to take place in November – you can see the dates and find ticket information below.The Brisbane band had previously confirmed shows in London and Manchester in early November, including a pair of gigs at London’s KOKO and a trio of shows at Manchester’s New Century Hall.Confidence Man will now tour the UK and Ireland throughout November, with further gigs set to take place in Glasgow, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham, Nottingham and Dublin.Tickets for these newly announced shows are set to go on sale on Friday (August 19) at 9am, and you’ll be able to buy them here.A post shared by Confidence Man (@confidenceman_)You can see Confidence Man’s upcoming UK and Ireland tour schedule below.November1 – KOKO, London3 – Roundhouse, London4 – KOKO, London9 – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow10 – New Century, Manchester11 – New Century, Manchester12 – New Century, Manchester15 – O2 Academy, Bristol16 – Tramshed, Cardiff17 – University Stylus, Leeds22 – O2 Academy, Liverpool23 – O2 Institute, Birmingham24 – Rock City, Nottingham25 – National Stadium, DublinBack in April Confidence Man released their second studio album, ‘Tilt’.Speaking about the record, which is the follow-up to their 2018 debut ‘Confident Music For Confident People’, back in March, Confidence Man frontwoman Janet Planet told NME: “I feel like the pop music we’re writing has an edge. It’s weird and it’s wonky.

Black Pumas have cancelled their touring plans for the remainder of this year.The psychedelic soul duo – comprised of Eric Burton and Adrian Quesada – have toured heavily in recent years in support of their self-titled debut album, which came out back in June 2019.Taking to social media last night (August 15), the Austin band confirmed that they’ll be taking a break from live shows until 2023.“After four incredible years of career milestones and unforgettable live experiences around the world, we have made the difficult decision to press pause and step away from touring for the rest of the year,” they wrote in a statement.“We have the best fans in the world and appreciate each and every one of you for your support and understanding. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to know you better.” You can see the message in the tweet below.We have the best fans in the world and appreciate each and every one of you for your support and understanding.

Snoop Dogg has announced the launch of his very own breakfast cereal, ‘Snoop Loopz’.Announced by Master P over the weekend (August 13), the gluten-free cereal promises “more corn, more flavor and more marshmallows”, and features a spoon-wielding blue dog on its technicoloured box.“The best tasting cereal in the game,” Master P wrote in the accompanying Instagram announcement, “[Snoop Dogg], we’re taking over grocery stores”.A post shared by Master P (@masterp)The cereal will be released under Broadus Foods, a venture founded by Snoop Dogg (real name Calvin Broadus), which elsewhere sells a variety of Snoop-branded breakfast products including oatmeal, pancake mix and syrup.According to the Snoop Loopz website, some of the profits from purchases of the cereal will benefit various charities for a variety of causes including homelessness. “The more we make, the more we give”, Master P wrote in reference to the proceeds.

Hard-Fi have announced a special Manchester reunion show next month – tickets will be available from here.Earlier this year, the Staines band confirmed that they’d be reforming for their first gig since 2014. That performance will take place at the O2 Forum Kentish Town in London on October 1, and sold out within 10 minutes of going on sale.During an interview with NME shortly afterwards, frontman Richard Archer explained that Hard-Fi were likely to play more gigs due to the positive reaction to their comeback.

CIX have shared a stunning music video teaser for ‘458’, an upcoming single from their fifth mini-album ‘OK episode 1: OK Not’.The new teaser for ‘458’ features each member of the boyband in solo scenes, each filled with imagery involving elements of water, fire, air and metal. The music video for ‘458’ and ‘OK episode 1: OK Not’ will both drop on August 22 at 6PM KST.‘OK episode 1: OK Not’ will feature a total of four tracks, as outlined in a previously-released tracklist on CIX’s official Twitter account.

ONEUS are set to make a comeback in September with a new mini-album titled ‘Malus’.On August 15, the six-member act announced that they would soon be returning with their eighth mini-album, sharing its cover art and release date. Titled ‘Malus’, ONEUS’ upcoming record will be released on September 5 at 6PM KST.[#원어스]8th Mini Album [MALUS] 2022.09.05 COMING SOON✔#ONEUS #8th_Mini_Album#MALUS #COME_BACK pic.twitter.com/6tL3fyhZ3B— ONEUS (@official_ONEUS) August 15, 2022Later that night, the group shared a teaser clip revealing their updated logo for the release.

This year's National Album Day 2022 has been confirmed to celebrate the art of the debut album, and its list of artist ambassadors has been announced. 

research about. Despite it being nothing new (Dr Michael Mosley has been speaking about it for years), the word “fasting” seems to strike fear into people. People say to me, “Oh I could never do that, I would pass out” or “I just hate being hungry.” However, new research is now showing that fasting or simply “giving our bodies a break from food” for short windows of time is something we should all be looking into if we want to live longer, ward of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and defend against diabetes, heart disease and cancer.Valter Longo of the University of Southern California is author of The Longevity Diet and one of the world’s leading specialists on fasting and living longer.

We love Victoria Beckham's Instagram stories;  she gives great snippets into her life behind-the-scenes, and we all love an insight into one of the world's most famous families - right?READ: Harper Beckham's £26 T-shirt is going to seriously fly off the shelvesOn Monday evening, Victoria shared a lovely snap of her summer holidays, and in one picture, she cosied up to her daughter Harper on a tennis court, and the pair were both wearing matching tennis dresses,  from the former Spice Girl's line with Reebok of course!WATCH: Victoria Beckham reveals Harper's multi-step skincare routineEleven-year-old Harper rocked a black version, and Victoria looked angelic in white. These two dresses are sadly past season buys, but they were around £58 at the time of sale.

Love Island star Luca Bish made his first solo red carpet appearance without Gemma Owen as he attended the House of the Dragon premiere in Leicester Square on Monday.The 23 year old’s outing comes after he reportedly met Gemma’s famous footballer dad Michael Owen for the first time.The couple have been attached to the hip since leaving the villa as runners-up as they recently travelled to Portugal together, where Luca became acquainted with the Owen family. Gemma, 19, decided to sit this event out though, leaving Luca to experience the premiere all by himself, which he certainly looked excited about.

Christopher Vourlias Ukrainian documentary “Dad’s Lullaby” and Romania’s “Between Revolutions” won the Docu Talent Awards, chosen from a field of nine documentary features from Central and Eastern Europe, at the Sarajevo Film Festival on Monday.The Docu Talent Award for the most promising project went to “Dad’s Lullaby” (pictured, above), directed and produced by Lesia Diak. It tells the story of a Ukrainian veteran who returns home burnt out and traumatized from war but hoping to find peace for himself and his family.

Naman Ramachandran The Dutch adaptation of Amazon original series “Modern Love” will premiere on Prime Video this winter. The series features stories about love and relationships, with each episode based on the popular column from The New York Times. The stories in the Dutch series all take place in Amsterdam, from central station, the Amstel to Amsterdam-Noord and Zuidoost.“Modern Love Amsterdam” is produced by NL Film, part of Banijay Benelux, with Sabine Brian as producer and Robert Alberdingk Thijm as showrunner.

Nicola Sturgeon has issued a warning to Scots as the country prepares for two days of "exceptionally hot" weather. The First Minister took to Twitter to give the advice on Sunday with temperatures expected to hit 30C on Monday and Tuesday.