Scottish premier Sturgeon to step down

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LONDON: Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Wednesday announced her intention to resign, saying that part of serving in politics is knowing when it is time to make way for someone else.

At a news conference in Edinburgh, Bute House, Sturgeon said she wrestled with the decision, but that the pressure of the job was relentless and that she is a human being as well as a politician.

Sturgeon has faced months of controversy over a law that makes it simpler for people to change their gender on official documents.

The decision caught political observers by surprise, despite the ongoing controversy over the gender recognition measure. She had vowed to take the British government to court over its decision to block the law and argued that the UK government was making a “profound mistake” by vetoing the Gender Recognition Reform Bill.