Forget the pound if you walk away, Britain warns Scotland 
Edinburgh, February 13
Britain told Scotland on Thursday it would not be able to keep the pound if it voted to end its 307-year-old union with England, declaring that the currency could not be divided up “as if it were a CD collection".

2 Sikh men abducted in Pak 
Peshawar, February 13
Two Pakistani Sikhs and their two employees were abducted by unidentified persons in restive northwestern Khyber Pakthunkhwa province today, police said.

Karachi, February 13
A Taliban suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into a bus carrying policemen in this southern Pakistani city today, killing 13 people and injuring 50 others. The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), with which the government is negotiating to end a bloody insurgency, claimed responsibility for the attack outside a police training centre.

The bomber targeted the bus as it was coming out of the centre in Shah Latif Town on the outskirts of Karachi. "The bus was taking policemen for security duties when the incident took place," SSP Aamir Shaukat said.

Seemi Jamali, a top official at Jinnah Hospital, said 11 policemen were killed. Rescue officials said two civilians were among the dead.

Jamali said at least 50 people were injured and the condition of 10 of them was critical. She added the death toll could rise. TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid claimed responsibility for the attack while speaking to Dawn News channel. He said it was a "revenge attack" for the killing of militants.

Taliban fighters were victims of targeted killings at several places in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, he claimed. "Our defensive war will continue until an agreement is reached on a ceasefire," he said.

Teams representing the government and the TTP have held discussions on framing a roadmap for a dialogue but it is unclear whether the two sides will agree on a ceasefire.

According to reports, about 30 kg of explosives were used in the attack on the bus that was carrying more than 50 policemen. — PTI

Karachi: Pakistan's biggest city is heading towards chaos and operations targeting militants cannot succeed without cooperation between the federal and provincial governments, interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said 

Melbourne, February 13
The Australian military has monitored an unprecedented naval exercise involving three Chinese warships in international waters which will impact security policies of Australia and its neighbours like Indonesia and India, a media report has said.

"The unusual naval exercise late last week is considered to have been a deliberate and provocative move by the Chinese that will send a clear message to the region," an ABC News report said.

For the first time, the Chinese navy sent warships sailing through the Sunda Strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra, the report said.

The ships travelled along the southern edge of Java, close to Christmas Island, and then through the Lombok Strait between Lombok and Bali, it said.

"The move is considered to be an unprecedented show of military might by the Chinese and will have a significant impact on security and strategic policy settings for Australia and our regional neighbours, particularly Indonesia and India," the report said. Analysts believe that by sending ships through the region in such a fashion, China is making it clear that it now considers the Indian Ocean a strategic priority.

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop told Australia Network that “The fact that the Chinese navy's conducting exercises in international waters is not a matter that I would raise with my counterpart because, as I say, Australia does similarly. — PTI

London, February 13
Britain continues to battle extreme weather conditions which are set to worsen tomorrow. The armed forces have now been scrambled to assist with the relief and rescue efforts as British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged "we cannot let this situation happen again".

A man carries his daughter through floodwaters in Worcester, England, on Thursday after the Severn river broke its banks. — AFP

"Of course you get these abnormal weather events but we've got to do better as a country to make ourselves more resilient," he told BBC Radio. Tens of thousands of homes remain without power and there is renewed travel disruption after hurricane-force winds continued to batter parts of the country.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin told the House of Commons that 61 million pounds would be spent to help repair the damage but the Labour said at least 118 million pounds was needed for rail repairs alone.

As well as 16 severe flood warnings, the UK Environment Agency has also issued about 360 less serious flood warnings and alerts, mostly in southern England and the Midlands.

Hundreds of members of the armed forces are continuing to help those affected by the flooding and around 2,000 remain on stand by. —PTI

Edinburgh, February 13
Britain told Scotland on Thursday it would not be able to keep the pound if it voted to end its 307-year-old union with England, declaring that the currency could not be divided up “as if it were a CD collection".

British Finance Minister George Osborne, striking an unprecedentedly blunt tone as the September referendum approaches, said a break with the United Kingdom would cost Scots dearly in commerce and finance. Scottish nationalists accused him of bullying and said his words would backfire.

"If Scotland walks away from the UK, it walks away from the UK pound," he told a group of about 200 business leaders in a hotel penthouse with a panoramic view over the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. Refusing to be drawn on whether his toughened stance would antagonise some Scots, he said. "The pound isn't an asset to be divided up between two countries after a break up as if it were a CD collection,” Osborne, Prime Minister David Cameron's closest ally, said. Scotland votes in a yes/no referendum on independence on Sept. 18.

The vote is open to about 4 million of Scotland's 5.3 million residents aged over 16 with opinion polls showing the nationalists trailing but the gap starting to narrow. With more uncertainty over the outcome in September the debate has accelerated and Osborne's speech came after Cameron last week made the patriotic case for unity which was described as a "love-bombing" by commentators.

But the 42-year-old architect of Britain's drive to reduce spending delivered a much harsher message to Scots: If you leave the UK, you will lose the pound and pay higher rates of interest.

Scotland's Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "This is a panic move which will backfire spectacularly. People won't take kindly to the Westminster establishment ganging up to try and bully Scotland in the decision that we are being asked to take on the referendum," she said. — Reuters

Peshawar, February 13
Two Pakistani Sikhs and their two employees were abducted by unidentified persons in restive northwestern Khyber Pakthunkhwa province today, police said.

Sardar Singh, a resident of Peshawar, registered a case against terrorists in a police station in connection with the abduction of his son Pawinder Singh, nephew Nand Singh and the two others.

The incident occurred near Daraban in Dera Ismail Khan district when the Sikhs came to the area in connection with their medicine business, police officials said.

Pawindar Singh and his cousin Nand Singh, residents of Mohallah Jogan Shah in Peshawar, and the two others were travelling in a car to Daraban to sell medicines when they were kidnapped at gunpoint. Peshawar has a sizable Sikh population and there have been several instances in recent years of members of the minority community being kidnapped for ransom. — PTI