Australians woke today with a sobering realisation of how close we came to one or more of our own, on our soil, being abducted, tortured and beheaded.

David Cameron has announced that he will fast-track proposals to prevent Scottish MPs voting on English-only issues in the wake of the independence referendum.

New Zealand-based Scots were last night hoping English political leaders would honour promises to treat their homeland better if it stayed British.

Voreqe Frank Bainimarama is Fiji's elected prime minister and his Fiji First Party will form the new government.

Political parties bound for the opposition benches and those who failed to make the Fiji Parliament want the vote count suspended.

The Union Jack could be in for an overhaul - meaning another design for the New Zealand flag could be on the cards if Scotland becomes an independent country.

The world is waiting as Scotland takes to the polls this week in a referendum to decide whether Scotland should remain part of the United Kingdom, or become independent.

Auckland-based Scottish "tribal" musicians hoping to drum in an independent homeland tomorrow claim highland games organisers are shunning them for being too rabble-rousing.

Voreqe Frank Bainimarama, the man who seized power to become prime minister of Fiji in a 2006 military coup, could be retaining his position.

You see it in place names like St Kilda and Blairgowrie. Or in the sometimes miserable weather.

Across Scotland, dinner table talk is getting heated as families argue over how to vote in Scotland's independence referendum.

'Hello Iowa, I'm back!' Hillary Clinton has joked about her return to politics and possible run for the presidency at an event in a critical state.

Alex Salmond pledged there would not be a second Scottish independence referendum for another generation even if he loses Thursday's contest by a single vote.

Tony Abbott, Australia's Prime Minister, has moved into a tent in a far-flung stretch of Outback bushland to govern the nation for a week from a tiny Aboriginal community.

When Scotland's polling stations close their doors at 10pm local time on Thursday, a moment of nervous calm will settle on the lands north and south of Hadrian's Wall.

Nadi taxi driver Vinod Kumar says he "cannot wait" to have his say on who will form the next Fijian government.

Welfare payments will be stripped from people in Australia suspected of supporting terrorism.

He strode out. He spoke well and he "My Fellow Americans-ed" with the best of them. But this speech was one US President Barack Obama never wanted to make, writes Jack Tame.

Britain faces a period of severe economic turbulence if Scotland votes for independence this week, economists warn , as the prospect of a yes vote threatens a new financial crisis.

"Why do you think you can be King of Scotland?" shouts a heckler as supporters of Scottish independence and a media pack surround Alex Salmond, the man who might just astonish the world by breaking up the UK.