The Scottish Government asked the UK Government for help in one particular issue, which was about aerial firefighting capacity – that is, to drop water from helicopters onto the fire.

I MADE it clear to him that I intend to continue to pursue the importance of the democratic right of the people of Scotland to decide their own future should be respected.

We’ve got all the help we need on the ground, but we just needed additional aerial water spreading capacity and the UK Government doesn’t have that – I’m not rejecting anything, they just haven’t got anything to offer us.

The UK Government does not have such resources – that’s the only thing that we need, we don’t need any other help.

It was a demonstration of far-right hatred within the city of Glasgow at a time when the city was also welcoming representatives of 74 Commonwealth countries in a joyful set of sporting occasions throughout the city.

We live in a democracy and people have the right to protest but the behaviour on the weekend was absolutely and completely unacceptable.

There was plenty of hateful behaviour being demonstrated at these demonstrations at the weekend.

I fully support Police Scotland and the effective measures that they took to bring the situation under control and I look forward to those responsible being brought to justice.

I thought the behaviour at the demonstrations was totally and utterly unacceptable, it is just unworthy of our streets to have the far-right rhetoric that was spewed out onto our streets, and the violence that went with it.

I condemn unreservedly the behaviour that was undertaken at the weekend.

In Gaza and the West Bank, civilians are still being killed by Israeli forces, families are still living in fear, and millions of people are still in urgent need of humanitarian support.

This additional £500,000 contribution reflects the Scottish Government’s continued commitment to helping people affected by this humanitarian crisis.

Through the Occupied Palestinian Territory Humanitarian Fund, the extra financial support that I am announcing today will help deliver vital assistance including food, healthcare, clean water, shelter and protection services, reaching…

A request has been made today to the UK Government for military assistance in aerial support that can be used to supplement existing resources that are being deployed to tackle the Cairngorms wildfire and we await a response.

our values matter – and the SNP will always ensure the open, progressive values of the people of Scotland are reflected in how we act internationally.

it is right that we take specific action to show our solidarity with the people of Gaza – under my leadership Scotland will always stand with the people of Palestine, and support an independent, sovereign Palestine.

Scotland’s energy should be in Scotland’s hands.

Efforts to tackle the wildfire in the Cairngorms are in their tenth day, and changeable weather conditions have presented a range of challenges for those on the ground. I praise their resilience and tireless efforts to bring it under…

It is essential people avoid the affected areas for safety reasons and to allow responders to focus on tackling the wildfire.

I would obviously ask people in the region to follow all of the advice that is available and to respect the exclusion zone that’s been put in place.

I disagree with the far-right agenda, I disagree with the intolerance perpetuated.

We’ve got different approaches to business in place in Scotland, so there will be quite a large number of premises that are already exempt from business rates because of the small business bonus scheme.

It is essential that public safety is respected and that people respect the rule of law. That includes on hate crime.

The Mack is a building that can be utilised as part of the future of Scotland.

The latest update I received on the situation in the Cairngorms shows an improved picture, however, as we have already seen, events can change very quickly due to the weather conditions.