News Headlines - 20 April 2013

▽Tories could lose 600 shire seats amid Ukip surge in local polls - Telegraph

The Conservatives are braced for the loss of hundreds of seats in next week's local elections - thanks to the rise of the UK Independence Party and the unpopularity of the government.

▽Economics at heart of English-Scottish union - FT.com

Three hundred years on, the state of the Scottish economy could again help decide the fate of the UK, ahead of an independence referendum scheduled for September next year that could end the union sealed in 1707. Although opinion polls suggest less than a third of Scots are committed supporters of independence, many voters are undecided and the economic mood over the next year could influence their final verdict.

▽BBC News - Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf in custody for two weeks

Mr Musharraf, who ruled Pakistan between 1999 and 2007, was arrested on Friday. The High Court ruled that the allegations amounted to an act of terrorism and ordered him to appear at Islamabad's anti-terror court. Mr Musharraf has described the case against him as politically motivated.

▽Chinese Premier visits epicenter after deadly quake - Xinhua

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Saturday afternoon visited the area torn by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake in China's Sichuan Province, calling for wasting no time to save lives.

▽Japan wins approval from member countries to join Trans-Pacific trade talks | Reuters

Japan won approval from participating countries to join talks on a U.S.-led Asia Pacific free trade agreement, central to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plans to open the economy to more competition and revive growth.