Scots vote on independence, United Kingdom's fate on knife-edge; counting on

• PM David Cameron is also expected to respond to the voting in a live televised address after the final results.

• The Queen may make a written statement on Friday afternoon, after the result have been declared.

• Reports are saying that in Orkney, No won 10,004 votes compared with 4,883 for Yes. In in Shetland voters rejected independence by 9,951 votes to 5,669.

• The northern isles of Orkney and Shetland have also voted against independence, as per reports coming in.

• According to reports, Clackmannashire has voted no. ​Clackmannanshire was the first to declare, with No winning 19,036 votes. BBC reported that 16,350 voted Yes on an 89% turnout.

• As per a foreign daily, the only poll of Scots after the vote shows the no campaign leading with 54% compared to 46% for the yes camp. This essentially means that the nation has voted against independence. A survey by YouGov found an eight-point lead for no, said the report. This was after pollsters examined the way 800 people had voted by post and 1,828 people who made their decision at the ballot box.

• As the polls closed and the vote counting began, there was a quiet thrill of history in the making on the fog-shrouded streets of Scotland's capital, Edinburgh. Many Scots were staying up all night in homes and bars to watch the results roll in, PTI reported.
• Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg are making all effort to persuade Scots not to leave the Union. They have promised new powers for the Scottish Parliament under "devo max" and to safeguard the Barnett formula, which gives Scotland more public spending per head of population than England and Wales.
• The Tory revolt against David Cameron's offer of "financial party bags" to Scotland if it stays in the union continues to gain momentum.
• As the voting is underway for the referendum, former prime minister Gordon Brown has called on people to vote for the 'No' camp.

PLEASE SHARE: Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown calls on Scots to vote NO: http://t.co/QtEQAE8N1L #indyref — Better Together (@UK_Together) September 18, 2014

•  It seems like David Cameron will be facing a growing dissent within his party over the pledge made to Scotland as now, Rail Minister Claire Perry has joined the chorus of Tory MPs against PM's promise of continuing the Barnett formula, which gives Scots extra Whitehall cash, reported the Mirror.
• According to the report, Perry has warned that David Cameron must not hand over “a whole raft of goodies” to Scotland.
  
• As Scots continue to vote for their future, both camps are trying to prove the other one wrong, by exposing their 'lies'. The 'Better Together' campaign highlighted how Alex Salmond had allegedly planned major cuts from the NHS, in spite of having promised to save it; the Yes camp too has come forward with its reports debunking the No camp.
• 'Yes Scotland' has tweeted a report from Holyrood Daily that says that a majority of Conservatives oppose  maintaining Barnett Formula if No camp wins. If confirmed, this puts in question, the pledge made by three Westminster leaders, who promised to preserve the Barnett Formula, that decides the distribution of spending fund.

BREAKING NEWS from @HolyroodDaily: Majority of Conservative MPs oppose maintaining Barnett Formula http://t.co/bPpV4gCVnB #indyref #voteYes — Yes Scotland (@YesScotland) September 18, 2014

The 'Yes Scotland' has tweeted a wisecrack remark by Eddi Reader, a Scottish singer-songwriter, who says that she loves both the Yes and No voters so much that she would love to gift them a country.

I love all the Yes voters and No voters too. I love them so much I want to give them a country #VoteYes #indyref pic.twitter.com/aTirwpGpKq — Yes Scotland (@YesScotland) September 18, 2014

• Scotland secretary, Alistair Carmichael has warned that if Scotland seeks to separate from the UK, it could get a taste of its own medicine as oil-rich Shetland may go the same way and secede from Scotland, reported the Guardian.

• Speaking to the Guardian, the Scotland secretary who is an MP for Orkney and Shetland, said that even the oil-rich island may "consider becoming a self-governing territory like the Isle of Man rather than stay part of an independent Scotland in the event of a yes vote".

• The Church of Scotland has urged the people to go to the polling stations with "cool heads and calm hearts", and make their choice according to their own faithfully held opinions.

CoS-NEWS | Church of Scotland urges voters to display unity on polling day whichever way they intend to vote: ... http://t.co/te5nIa9s2p — Church of Scotland (@ForthChurches) September 18, 2014

British actor Hugh Grant came out in support of the "No" camp, urging the Scotland to stay with the UK, in a tweet.

A lot of Scottish relations. A lot of Scottish blood. Not that you care, but please stay, Scotland. — Hugh Grant (@HackedOffHugh) September 13, 2014

• The Scottish independence campaign has so far been marked by a unique decency, untouched by violence or hateful rhetoric, however on the voting day an untoward incident  has come to light, wherein a 'Yes' supporter was arrested after a blind pensioner was punched for supporting 'No' camp, reported the Daily Mail.

• Also, a Scottish MP has slammed a graffiti "Vote Yes or else", smeared on the walls of a polling station.
• Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Dumbarton constituency, tweeted a picture of the graffiti, condemning the act as "shocking".

Shocking behaviour from yes campaigners. Should not be trying to threaten and intimidate #voteno #indyref pic.twitter.com/L7zhP5rDFc — Jackie Baillie (@jackiebmsp) September 18, 2014

• As the last of the polls conducted on the night before the referendum confirmed the narrow but consistent lead of the "No" camp, the SNP leader for the first time admitted that they were "still the underdogs in this campaign".

• Salmond urged all to vote for "a new dawn for Scotland" repeating his slogan of "let's do it", calling the yes movement "the greatest campaign in Scottish history".

• Speaking to a crowd of supporters chanting "Yes We Can" in Perth on Wedesday night, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond made the final push on the eve of vote, urging the Scots to vote Yes in what he called an "opportunity of a lifetime".

•  Hailing Tennis star Andy Murray's late night tweet in favour of Scottish independence, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said, “I hear that Andy Murray has hit another winner today, which is great news," the Guardian quoted him as saying.
• Alex Salmond spoke after casting his vote, where he repeated his "Let's do it" mantra, calling the referendum "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity".

• In what is being called the largest amount of money ever staked on a political event, an unidentified British businessman has placed a bet of a whopping amount of over 1 million dollar over Scotland referendum. The businessman who is not Scottish, placed a bet worth  £900,000 (1.5 million dollars) at his local bookmaker, William Hill, reported the Daily Telegraph.

If Scots vote No, the businessman is set to strike gold and will take home the lump sum of over 1 million dollars.

• As Scotland votes today to decide its future, the US has made clear its view on the referendum, vouching for a United Britain. In a tweet posted by the White House, marked BO (by US President Barack Obama), the US hinted it wanted the Scotland to stay together with the UK.

The UK is an extraordinary partner for America and a force for good in an unstable world. I hope it remains strong, robust and united. -bo — The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 17, 2014

• Meanwhile, the "Better Together" camp has highlighted an allegedly leaked paper that has reportedly exposed the Scottish National Party and Alex Salmond's secret planning to make huge cuts worth  450 million pounds from National Health Scheme (NHS).

In case you missed it: a LEAKED paper has exposed SNP NHS lies: http://t.co/IDLQj6YLb1 #indyref pic.twitter.com/a1s7Z7mmfh — Better Together (@UK_Together) September 18, 2014

Earlier, Alistair Darling, who has been leading the No camp, had tweeted the same, exposing how Alex Salmond was betraying people by promising to save NHS, but secretly planning cuts worth millions of pounds, equivalent to jobs of 15 K nurses.

Just hours before we make our irreversable choice a leak shows the SNP secretly plan £450m in NHS cuts. Equivalent of 15k nurses #indyref

— Alistair Darling (@TogetherDarling) September 16, 2014

• According to one of the last moment polls by the Daily Record, the 'No' camp was found leading with a  wider margin than predicted by other surveys.

• The Daily record reports that it interviewed 1266 Scots by telephone in a 24 hour period up to 9pm yesterday, and found 53 per cent of Scots rejecting the independence and 47 per cent stamping 'Yes'.

• The 'Yes Scotland' camp which has been campaigning vigorously for the Scottish independence, received an additional boost today as Tennis champion Andy Murray posted a tweet in their favour in the eleventh-hour.

  Huge day for Scotland today! no campaign negativity last few days totally swayed my view on it. excited to see the outcome. lets do this! — Andy Murray (@andy_murray) September 18, 2014

• The 'Yes Scotland' camp, which has more than a hundred thousand followers on Twitter, in a tweet on Thursday repeated its call to people, for voting a 'Yes'.

  Polls are open from 7am to 10pm. With a simple ‘X’ in a box, we can build a better Scotland. #VoteYes #indyref pic.twitter.com/Fa1caaFWDh — Yes Scotland (@YesScotland) September 18, 2014

• One and half hours into voting and the Yes Scotland has posted and retweeted a dozen of tweets while the the No camp, the “Better Together” seems comparatively lackluster, with just one tweet posted in its favour on its account which has 42K followers, less than half of those following the opposing camp on Twitter.

On a crucial day for Scotland, hundreds of thousands of Scots on Thursday morning queued up to cast their ballots to decide if they want to leave or stay with the United Kingdom.

Voting began on 7 am local time and will go on till 10 pm and ballots will be cast at more than two thousand polling booths across the country on Thursday.

The outcome, that could end the Scotland's 307-year old union with the United Kingdom, is expected to arrive in early morning hours on

Friday.

According to the BBC,  results will be declared by "breakfast time", said chief counting officer Mary Pitcaithly in Edinburgh.

An unprecedented number of voters are expected to vote in the crucial Scottish independence referendum today as 97% of the electorate has registered for voting.

Out of 5.3 million population of Scotland, over 4.2 million people have got themselves registered.

On the ballot paper, Scots will find a simple straight question - “Should Scotland be an independent country?” - with two options to tick in – Yes and No.

Thursday is a landmark day for the Scotland as just within a day, Scots could find themselves in a different country, leaving the UK government disappointed.

It will be interesting to see whether the Westminster's last-ditch effort to retain Scotland by offering more powers