An agreement on the rules for a referendum on Scottish independence is in its final stages and almost ready to be signed by Alex Salmond of the SNP and the British Prime Minister David Cameron.

A Scottish government spokesperson said:

“We are on track for the full agreement, including the terms of a section 30 order, to be presented to the First Minister and the Prime Minister over the next few days.”

Nato’s secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Tuesday that the alliance is ready to defend Turkey against any aggression from Syria, after a week of clashes between the neighbours.

Rasmussen spoke to reporters ahead of a Nato defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels, and said,

"Obviously Turkey can rely on Nato solidarity.

"We have all necessary plans in place to protect and defend Turkey if necessary."

"Genocide did not take place in Srebrenica. This is about individual guilt of members of the Serb people. The Serbian parliament condemned this crime, but did not say it was genocide.

No Serb recognizes that genocide took place in Srebrenica, and I am no different."

"Europe can ask anything except that we renounce Kosovo... In case it was necessary to renounce Kosovo, then it's more acceptable to us to forget about Europe (EU).

According to an independent analysis of criminal justice in the European Union, carried out by the London based organisation Fair Trials International, the abuses of Human rights in EU based criminal trials has doubled in the past five years.

The analysis found that states on the eastern fringes of the EU habitually violated individual’s right to liberty and a fair trial. The figures, which were taken from a 5 year between 2007 and this summer, showed the number of right to a fair criminal trial violations increase by over a 100%.

The International Criminal Court is considering the venue of Saif al-Islam’s trial at a public hearing in The Hague.

Libya wants to try Gaddafi in the country and lawyer Ahmed al-Jehani told the hearing that patience was needed as it will take the authorities some time to organise a fair trial.

However, lawyers of the ICC argued that Gaddafi will not receive a fair trial in Libya and the hearing will hear evidence from ICC defence lawyer Melinda Taylor, who was arrested by Libyan authorities earlier this year while visiting Muammar Gaddafi’s son.

A 14-year-old Pakistani rights activist, Malala Yousafzai, was shot and injured in the Swat Valley in Pakistan.

Malala rose to fame in 2009 for keeping a diary on BBC Urdu about life in the Swat Valley under Taliban rule. She was internationally recognised for criticising Taliban policies, especially the shutting of schools for girls, and was awarded the first National Peace Prize by the Pakistani government in 2011.

A group of Northern Christian leaders - the Northern States Christian Elders Forum (NORSEF) demanded that the 2015 presidency be allocated to a Christian, citing marginalisation, reported The Guardian Nigeria.

The NORSEF chairman, Mathew Owojaiye and Secretary Illiya Yusuf said that Northern Christians would protest against Muslim politicians putting themselves forward for the contest.

In a statement, NORSEF said:

“The Federal Government must understand that Christian leaders are being put in a very difficult position. Why must we keep apologising to our people on behalf of the Federal Government? Why must we keep telling our people to be calm in the face of such provocations, slaughter and terrorist acts? Why is the Federal Government making us cowards, inactive and incapable leaders to protect our people and fight for their interest? Our youths are becoming restless and furious. We urge the Federal Government to show that they are truly in control. This nation is fast becoming a failed state”.

Owojaiye said:

“We the Christians boldly affirm that the next person to be president of this country from the north must be a Christian”

Hugo Chávez won the presidential vote on Sunday, securing another six year term in office.

Chávez's socialist part, polled 54.66% compared to 44.73% for the opposition leader Henrique Capriles of the Movement for Democratic Unity (MUD).

Addressing cheering crowds from the balcony of Miraflores Palace, Chávez said people had "voted for socialism" and exclaimed, "the revolution has triumphed!"

The former president of the Maldives, Mohamad Nasheed, has been arrested for failing to turn up at his trial for illegally arresting a judge.

A spokesman for Mr Nasheed's party, Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, tweeted that Nasheed was "grabbed from protesting supporters" before being arrested and "taken away" from the southern atoll of Fares Mathoda.

"I also fear for his safety given the brutality shown by armed and covered police. We do not know where he is being taken," he told the BBC.