LONDON: The number of Scots ready to vote for independence has risen according to a poll published yesterday, adding to evidence that a referendum on September 18 could be tighter than previously expected. The poll, conducted by ICM, showed the proportion of Scots who would vote in favour of independence rose to 39 percent, an increase of 2 percentage points from a similar survey conducted last month. The number of those voting against a split fell to 46 percent from 49 percent in February, according to the poll of 1,010 people. The British government is campaigning fiercely to keep Scotland’s 307-year union with England intact, arguing that both countries are better off together, while Scotland’s nationalists believe a split would give them the economic freedom to prosper. Yesterday’s poll is the second in the last week to show that support for Scottish nationalists has risen, after a Panelbase survey on March 20 showed a three percentage point rise in those who intended to vote for independence.
Carter uses snail mail to evade NSA
WASHINGTON: Former US president Jimmy Carter has admitted he uses snail mail to evade monitoring by the National Security Agency and that he feels such surveillance methods have been abused. “When I want to communicate with a foreign leader privately, I type or write a letter myself, put it in the post office, and mail it,” Carter said with a laugh, as he was questioned on the matter on NBC’s “Meet the Press” programme. “I have felt that my own communications are probably monitored,” he said. A trove of documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden have sparked outrage in the United States. Officials have defended the methods as necessary to thwart terror attacks but President Barack Obama has ordered reforms in the wake of disclosures. Asked whether the programmes were necessary, Carter said he thought they had “been extremely liberalised and, I think, abused by our own intelligence agencies”. “I believe if I send an email, it will be monitored.”
Quake off Chile
SANTIAGO: A shallow 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off Chile’s northwestern coast yesterday, but it did not trigger a tsunami, said seismologists based in the United States. The undersea quake had a depth of 6km and its epicenter was about 100km from Iquique, on Chile’s Pacific coast, the US Geological Survey said.
Agencies
