Scots vote against independence - Xinhua

A woman walks to vote at a polling station in Edinburgh, Britain, Sept. 18, 2014. No campaign won the Scottish independence referendum to keep Scotland within UK, polling results showed on Friday. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

EDINBURGH, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- No campaign won the Scottish independence referendum to keep Scotland within UK, polling results showed on Friday.

EDINBURGH, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The votes counting for the Scottish independence referendum started immediately after the ballots closed on Thursday night.

Polling stations in 32 local authorities across Scotland closed at 10 p.m. British Summer Time and the referendum results is expected to trickle in from as early as 1 a.m. on Friday. Full story

News Analysis: Politicians, experts underscore predicaments of independent Scotland

EDINBURGH, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- While Scotland is preparing for its historic referendum Thursday on whether to end its 307-year-old union with the rest of Britain on Thursday, politicians and experts have repeatedly voiced the adversities and predicaments met by an independent Sctoland.

While Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, leader of the "Yes" campaign, has promised that Scots will retain the pound in an independent Scotland, analysts remain skeptical about the viability of this option. Full story

British foreign secretary confident of Scotland staying in union

COPENHAGEN, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom Philip Hammond said here on Thursday that he is confident that the Scottish people will vote for the union.

"My hope is that the Scottish people will vote for the union, the hugely successful union that has delivered for all the people of the United Kingdom for many years," Hammond told a press briefing after talks with his Danish counterpart Martin Lidegaard. Full story

News Analysis: Scotland's referendum, if "Yes" vote, could trigger "chain of troubling impacts"

BRUSSELS, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- A "Yes" vote in the Sept. 18 referendum on Scotland's independence could trigger "a chain of troubling impacts," analysts say.

Thursday's referendum, destined to be historic, will decide on whether Scotland will remain part of the United Kingdom (UK), thus, of the EU and NATO, or become an independent state with all the consequences. Full story