Scotland's papers: 15,000 pupils isolate and Gove's night out
The Scottish Daily Mail kicks off the week with a splash about rates of self-isolation in Scottish schools, claiming that almost 15,000 pupils are currently being kept out of the classroom after being exposed to the virus. The paper says parents are concerned the rules are not being applied evenly and that some pupils are being asked to self-isolate when they do not have to. It is only pupils who are close contacts of a positive case who have to self-isolate and they can return to school following a negative test.
"Minister of Sound" is how the Scottish Sun is describing government minister Michael Gove, who they picture dancing in a suit in an Aberdeen nightclub. The paper claims the Tory MP turned up to Bohemia nightclub on his own and danced for more than an hour.
The same story makes the Daily Record which says Mr Gove "waved his hands in the air like he just didn't care.. about the Covid crisis, Brexit shortages and Afghanistan. Its main story involves a shooting in Glasgow after a man, shot on Thursday, died in hospital on Saturday night. The paper describes the incident as a "gangland killing".
The National says more than 80 organisations will take part in a day of action to mark the seventh anniversary of the referendum on Scottish independence.
The Glasgow Times leads with the shooting story as it reveals that police have launched a murder inquiry. It also devotes much of its front page to Rangers' Old Firm victory at Ibrox on Sunday.
Afghanistan is top of the agenda in The Herald which looks at a "blame game" which has emerged over UK nationals stranded in the country. The paper reports that there are five times as many Afghan people who are eligible to come to the UK than previously estimated. The front page pictures the last UK troops to leave the troubled country, arriving back in the UK.
"British troops arrive home - but war goes on," says the i newspaper. It reports on a US drone strike in Kabul which intercepted a vehicle Pentagon officials claim was about to launch a suicide attack near the airport. The paper also says recriminations have begun with accusations that the UK government was "asleep on watch".
In the Daily Telegraph we learn that Afghan commandos could fight for the UK, much like the Gurkhas do, under new proposals. It comes as hundreds of special forces personnel arrive in the UK after being trained by British troops in Afghanistan. Like many other papers, it also reports on Nicola Sturgeon being forced to self-isolate after being identified as a close contact of a positive case of Covid.
The Scottish Daily Express also leads with Afghanistan quoting PM Boris Johnson who tells families of fallen heroes that their "suffering was not in vain". It too carries a picture of returning British troops.
The Times reports that the terror threat in the UK is "the worst in years" as it reports that former Army commanders, diplomats and MPs are warning that the UK is significantly less safe following the militant group's takeover of Kabul. It also says that the PM has offered to recognise the Taliban if they prevent attacks.
Monday's Courier claims a controversial Scottish government investigation upheld five counts of sexual harassment against Alex Salmond before being struck down by the courts. The conclusions of a near-eight month probe by Scotland's most senior civil servant, permanent secretary Leslie Evans, is disclosed in a new book, Break Up: How Alex Salmond And Nicola Sturgeon Went To War, by The Courier's editor David Clegg and journalist Kieran Andrews.
Low water levels in the north of Scotland could lead to weeks of shortages and a need for tankers to bring in water, according to the P&J. The paper says that such tankers have been sent to Skye in recent days and says that some reservoirs are at their lowest level in 20 years.
A sex attack on a 19-year-old woman in Dundee's Yeaman Shore has left residents in fear, according to the top story in the Evening Telegraph. Police have launched an investigation after she was attacked within a vehicle near the Dundee Railway Station in the early hours of Friday.
The Evening Express reports on the tragic death of six-year-old Kacey Seivwright, who became ill and died at an Aberdeen after school club a week ago. A campaign to raise money for defibrillators has been launched in her name.
And "You paw deluded fools" is the headline in the Daily Star which reports that "idiot flakes" want to cancel children's cartoon Paw Patrol for brainwashing children into liking police officers.
