The First Minister claimed that 'Scotland will vote Yes' despite the setbacks which the independence campaign has suffered in the past two days. His speech in Edinburgh was met with applause from a gathering of foreign journalists - but the excitement seemed to be too much for actor Brian Cox, a prominent supporter of independence, who was pictured falling asleep during the talk.

North Korea's embrace of Mr Salmond comes after Russian separatists in Ukraine embarrassed the SNP campaign after launching an online campaign to support independence.

Gerard and Christina White are angry after neighbour Mohammed Nazir extended his house in Moseley, Birmingham, and turned a four-foot gap between the two homes into one measuring a few inches. The couple fear Mr Nazir's expansion project will knock thousands off the value of their £250,000 home - which is now so close to their neighbour's that they effectively 'share a gutter'. Despite claims the building work starting before planning permission was granted and the local MP branding the development a 'monstrosity', Birmingham City Council has approved the extension and has refused to take action.

Mel Greig (lower right) is not due to give evidence at the inquest into the death of Jacintha Saldanha (top right), but said she was prepared to answer questions from her family 'on or off the stand' at the Royal Courts of Justice. Ms Saldanha, 46, was found dead in her staff housing shortly after staff were tricked into revealing details of the Duchess of Cambridge's stay at London's King Edward VII Hospital in December 2012. Kate, who was then pregnant with Prince George, was being treated for acute morning sickness at the time.

An anonymous cyclist has taken more than 50 videos of dangerous drivers in Manchester and posted them on Youtube. The footage shows drivers stopping in cycle lanes, making risky U-turns, overtaking recklessly and turning without checking mirrors. He began filming around five years ago after being hit by a driver.

Jonathan McNally, 27, a father-of-one from Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, hanged himself just a few weeks after auditioning for new reality TV show The Project. Mr McNally's family said he suffered from depression sparked by childhood issues over his height, despite eventually growing to be 5ft 7in. His sister, Gina, said he used to hear voices in his head, and blamed a lack of help from mental health services for his death.

Ladies arriving for the second day of the St Leger Festival proved a colourful sight in their elegant dresses and supersized hats. Many opted for glamorous peacock feather numbers, while more still chose titfers embellished with lashings of lace. The St. Leger Festival is one of the UK's oldest race meetings and attracts some of the biggest owners in the world, among them Her Majesty the Queen whose horse Sea Shanty is scheduled to run today.

The Duchess of Cornwall led a memorial service to her late brother Mark Shand (inset) today, following his sudden death earlier this year. She was joined at St Paul's Church, Knightbridge, by the Prince of Wales, and other members of the Royal family including Princess Beatrice (right) and the Duke and Duchess of Kent. Many of Mr Shand's friends from the world of showbusiness were also in attendance, including Trudie Styler (left), the wife of musician Sting. Camila had earlier spoken for the first time of the moment she learnt that her 'indestructible, charismatic' brother had died after a fall in New York.

Courtenay Cummings, main picture, was among 30 pupils to be kept out of lessons for the day after she turned up to school in her usual black canvas footwear, pictured. Cantonian High School in Fairwater, Cardiff, inset, insists that letters were sent out in July explaining trainers and 'daps' - rubber-soled canvas shoes - were not acceptable. But Courtenay's parents claim they never received their copy.

Alex Salmond may have played down fears of an exodus from an independent Scotland - but it seems one of the country's most famous residents may have already moved south. A mysterious photo taken in the Lake District appears to show a creature not unlike the Loch Ness Monster emerging from the water of Windermere. The picture - said to have been accidentally captured at the tourist hotspot in Cumbria - has baffled experts.

David Lee, 37, has racked up £14,000 in parking fines after leaving his Ford Mondeo in disabled bays across Lincoln. He ignored more than 140 tickets in one year, often leaving unpaid and damaged parking tickets on the car's dashboard - with a notice labelling the Leeds firm 'UK Car Park Scammers'. UK Car Parking Solutions said it plans to issue £10,000 worth of charges before the courts, as well as an estimated £1,000 in costs.

The blanket is having a moment, having been the toast of Burberry's autumn/winter show. Cara Delevigne and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley have both modelled blanket capes but with the potential for looking like you've slept rough, are they acceptable outerwear?

A field in Rio de Janeiro has been converted into a high-tech football pitch (pictured). About 200 energy-capturing tiles harness player movements to power lights. The new pitch was launched by Brazilian football legend Pele. The technology could also apparently be used to power future cities. Similar tiles have been employed in airports, shopping centres and more but this is the first time they have been used on a football field.

Photographer Corinna Kern spent a year with a compulsive hoarder, creating a series of touching images that shed light on the condition. George's Place tells the story of George Fowler, a 72-year-old man whom Kern met while documenting London's squatting scene. The dapper septuagenarian was a squatter in the '70s but had been living in four-bedroom council house for 33 years.

Heather Davey (pictured with her daughter Holly, left) and Kim Edwards (right) both regret leaving England for a new life in France, writes SAMANTHA BRICK. They spent all their savings trying to renovate properties that were wrecks and struggled to get jobs. The British Charitable Fund, a charity established nearly 200 years ago to help destitute British people in France, is helping a record numbers of expats. Many are people like Heather who were lured to France by the prospect of developing, and profiting from, cheap, derelict properties, but who then fell prey to unscrupulous workmen, were mired in endless bureaucracy - and who found the French benefits system far less generous to outsiders than our own.

Japan is currently experiencing an ageing epidemic, after a third consecutive year of being the oldest population in the world. It is thus understandable that Shukatsu Festa has rose to prominence. The popular yearly event in Tokyo, attracts some 5000 visitors and 50 different funeral companies.

Hudson, who is nearly two months, has the heart disease cardiomyopathy and desperately needs a heart transplant to survive so his father Kevin Bond posted a photo of him on a Facebook page called 'Hudson's Heart' to raise awareness and money for medical costs. But when Mr Bond, a photographer from Atlanta, tried to advertise the page for $20 the social media giant rejected the photo citing it as not adhering to their guidelines and being either 'scary, gory or sensational, and evokes a negative response.'

This is the strange moment when solid granite starts cracking under the strain of intense pressure, top left. As the rock is warmed by the sun in Sierra Nevada, California, top right, it starts to expand. As the pressure increases, cracks develop in the rock, bottom left, before it eventually reaches its breaking point and explodes, bottom right.

Former jockey Gary Cooper was a well-known character in Penarth, South Wales, after putting up Christmas decorations inside the bus shelter, only for council workers to tear them down. After he was given an Asbo in November 2012, the 45-year-old moved to Cardiff but on June 6 this year he suffered a massive heart attack following an all day drink and drugs bender, and died.

Dianne Parr, 48, from Cornwall (left) had her teeth removed while conscious, Alexandra Bythell, 36, from Burnley (right) suffered a botched appendix removal and Juliette Wills, 41, from Brighton (centre) came round too early from an operation. According to a new report by the Royal College of Anaesthetists at least 150 patients a year become conscious on the operating table.

Two ex-Google employees say they lived at the Mountain View campus for more than a year. One of the employees, said he lived out of a camper on campus on a dare and it proved 'execellent for his career since he socialized with co-workers almost every week with parties at the RV. Another employee said he lived on campus because rent prices in the area were too high. He eventually saved enough money to move into an apartment in San Francisco.

Captain Gerald Gibbs (far left) from South Norwood, Surrey, captured two German airmen (middle two) during the First World War before taking their picture and giving them dinner. Two weeks later, they sent him a letter (inset) asking for a signed photo to remember him by, before wishing him 'good luck' and singing off 'with chummy German airman greetings'.

These dramatic photos capture a herd of elephants as they charge towards the Tarangire River in Tanzania during their seasonal migration - chasing away hundreds of buffalo cooling off in the shallow water. Israeli zoologist Michal Samuni-Blank photographed the majestic elephants as they approached the river, where roughly 500 buffalo were escaping from the parched African terrain (pictured top right). The herd of roughly 25 elephants - both adults and calves - can be seen sloping down a grassy hill before breaking into a run as they get closer to the water - a scarce resource during the dry season. The usually docile animals are photographed chasing away the lingering buffalo (bottom right) before stopping in the water to drink and play (left).

The herd of 17 goats was spotted by railway staff after the farm animals wandered into the station in the town of Terrassa, in Catalonia. The herd was believed to have made it on to the track after building work on a local farm had left a section of fence damaged. 

Play was suspended in the first round of the KLM Open on Thursday when Paraguay's Fabrizio Zanotti was hit on the head by a golf ball from a wayward shot by Alexandre Kaleka. Zanotti, who won the BMW International Open earlier this season, was on the 16th fairway when he was injured by a ball struck from the 14th tee. The 31-year-old received treatment on the course and was then taken to hospital. Zanotti had started his round from the 10th at Kennemer Golf Club and was level par after six holes when the incident occurred. 

Two-year-old Ari has become a minor celebrity in his home town of Blackburn after locals expressed their love of the strange garment, which keeps his flowing black hair out of his mouth and eyes. Owner Mark White said:  'You wouldn't believe how often we get stopped when I take him out for walks. People always want to know why he's wearing the snood and I have to take it off to show them his long hair. He certainly gets a lot of attention.'

Laura McCullough, 30, saw her weight balloon to 26st 7lb (left) by the time she was 25 years old. Doctors told Laura, from Worthing, that the only way to cure her agonising endometriosis was to lose weight or undergo a full hysterectomy which would leave her infertile. Knowing she wanted children Laura underwent the surgery, dropping to 13st 7lb (right). Now free of her disabling symptoms, Laura is undergoing IVF in the hopes of starting a family.