Talking points
Our editors will be looking ahead today to these developing stories ...
Scottish residents vote on the independence issue. The referendum asks those who are aged over 16 a single yes/no question on whether Scotland should leave the United Kingdom. The latest polls show that the result could be very close. Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has been leading the independence campaign, while former Labour minister Alistair Darling has been spearheading the drive for a "no" vote. The referendum result is expected tomorrow Hong Kong time.
President Xi Jinping continues his visit to India. He arrives in New Delhi for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who hosted him yesterday in Ahmedabad - the main city in the state of Gujarat and seat of power for Modi when he was chief minister there. Analysts say the two leaders could sign deals worth as much as US$100 billion as they cement ties which for many years were strained by border disputes.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko meets US President Barack Obama in Washington and addresses the US Congress - amid concern over Russian-backed separatist activities in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian lawmakers have just ratified a landmark pact with the European Union which brings the former Soviet state closer to the West. Separatists have been fighting for their own state in the country's eastern regions.
The US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee questions Secretary of State John Kerry about President Barack Obama's strategy on fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. On September 10, Obama pledged to expand military action, including mounting more air strikes, sending military advisers to Iraq and supporting the Iraqi authorities. He also held out the possibility of taking action in Syria.
World powers and Iran hold a new round of talks on Tehran's disputed nuclear programme. The talks, which include the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany, are chaired by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. The talks mark a new phase in the negotiations after the parties failed to reach an agreement by an initial deadline of July 20. They have now set November 24 as a new target.
Former social welfare assistant director Rachel Cartland gives her thoughts on whether a universal retirement protection scheme is viable in Hong Kong. Last month, University of Hong Kong academic Nelson Chow Wing-sun proposed the provision of a monthly HK$3,000 pension for all those aged 65 and over.
