Global Outlook

 Nicola Sturgeon is expected to quit as Scotland's first minister on Wednesday, standing down after more than eight years in the role and with no obvious successor in place. The 52-year-old is the longest-serving first minister and the first woman to hold the position. She has been a member of the Scottish Parliament since 1999, became the deputy leader of the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP) in 2004, and the leader in the wake of its 2014 independence referendum when the country voted 55% to remain as part of the UK. Sturgeon has led her party to a series of election victories at the local, Scottish, and UK level. She led SNP to enormous success at the 2015 UK election , winning a whopping 56 of 59 seats in Scotland and establishing it as the third largest party in Britain. She announced her resignation on Tuesday at a hastily-arranged news conference, saying her decision came from "a deeper and longer-term assessment" and was not a reaction to short-term pressures. ...