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Thumping win for Japan’s Oppn LDP, predict exit polls
Kerry likely to be next US Secretary of State
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2nd shooting was averted that day
Benazir murder case: Key witnesses summoned
first round
Absent Chavez dominates Venezuelan state elections
Syria warplanes bomb Palestinian camp for first time
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Thumping win for Japan’s Oppn LDP, predict exit polls
Tokyo, December 16 Exit polls by television broadcasters showed the LDP winning nearly 300 seats in Parliament's powerful 480-member lower house, while its ally, the small New Komeito party, looked set to win about 30 seats. That would give the two parties the two-thirds majority needed to over-rule Parliament's Upper House, where no party has a majority and which can block Bills, which should help to break a deadlock that has plagued the world's third biggest economy since 2007. An LDP win will usher in a government committed to a tough stance in a territorial row with China, a pro-nuclear energy policy despite last year's Fukushima disaster and a potentially risky prescription for hyper-easy monetary policy and big fiscal spending to beat deflation and tame a strong yen. Senior executives of the LDP and the New Komeito party met earlier to confirm they would form a coalition if they get a combined majority, Kyodo news agency reported. "There's no doubt the LDP will team up with the New Komeito in the new government," LDP senior executive Yoshihide Suga told public broadcaster NHK. As for cooperation with other parties, he said, “It depends on each policy. So, we'd like to consider carefully and humbly." Voters had expressed disappointment with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which swept to power in 2009 promising to pay more heed to consumers than companies and reduce bureaucrats' control of policymaking. Exit polls showed the DPJ, which was hit by defections ahead of the vote, winning only 65 seats, just over a fifth of their tally in 2009. Many voters had said the DPJ failed to meet its election pledges as it struggled to govern and cope with last year's huge earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, and then pushed through an unpopular sales tax increase with LDP help. Voter distaste for both major parties has spawned a clutch of new parties including the right-leaning Japan Restoration Party founded by popular Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto. A dozen parties fielded candidates, confusing many voters. Exit polls showed Hashimoto's party picking up about 46 seats. That could make it a potential LDP partner if the New Komeito, which is more moderate on security issues than the LDP, decides later to change allies, some analysts said. "If it is to do with economic policies, the Komeito will probably go along. But if it is more to do with right-wing policies, the Komeito may not agree," said Sophia University professor Koichi Nakano. "The LDP might be tempted to shift to the Japan Restoration Party." LDP leader Abe, 58, who quit as premier in 2007 citing ill health after a troubled year in office, has been talking tough in a row with China over uninhabited isles in the East China Sea, although some experts say he may temper his hard line with pragmatism once in office. The soft-spoken grandson of a Prime Minister, who would become Japan's seventh premier in six years, Abe also wants to loosen the limits of a 1947 pacifist constitution on the military, so Japan can play a bigger global security role. — Reuters vote for change
Noda quits as party chief Tokyo: Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has resigned as chief of the Democratic Party of Japan to take responsibility for the party's loss in parliamentary elections. — AP
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Kerry likely to be next US Secretary of State
Washington, December 16 Sixty-nine-year-old Kerry, currently the chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been a close confidant of Obama on foreign policy issues. "President Obama has decided to nominate John Kerry to be the next secretary of state and could make a formal announcement as early as next week," CNN reported. Media reports said Obama made up his mind to nominate Kerry after his first choice, Susan Rice, the US Ambassador to the UN, withdrew herself from being considered for the post. Rice dropped out of the running on Thursday after criticism from Republicans about her statements about the September attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, which left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. If confirmed by the Senate, Kerry would replace Hillary Clinton, who has decided to leave the post by the end of the first term of the Obama Administration, which is January 20. Kerry, the senior senator from Massachusetts and the Democratic Party's 2004 presidential nominee, is noted for the experience, gravitas and relationship-building skills that could help him succeed as the United States' top diplomat. On many occasions, Kerry has come to the rescue of the Obama Administration, especially when it comes to the US ties with Pakistan, wherein he travelled several times to mend the strained relationship including the one in the immediate aftermath of the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. He is also the author of the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Bill that provided more than $7.5 billion in five years to Pakistan. Unlike Rice, Kerry is expected to easily sail through the Senate confirmation process because of his long serving in the Senate and his good relationship with Republican Senators.
— PTI
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US Classroom
carnage Newtown, December 15 "They were first-graders," said Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner Dr H Wayne Carver II, before releasing the names of all the victims of the school shootings on Saturday. Asked to describe the attack, Carver, who oversaw the autopsies of all the victims and conducted many himself, called it "the worst I have seen." The shooter, identified by law enforcement officials as Adam Lanza, killed his mother Nancy on Friday, then drove to the school where he gunned down another 26 people before taking his own life in one of the deadliest mass shootings in US history. He fired a rifle, shooting his victims multiple times. Parents identified their children through pictures, a process intended to
minimize their shock, Carver said. Members of the close-knit community went into public mourning on Saturday as the depth of the tragedy became clear. " I don't know how to get through something like this," said Robbie Parker, a 30-year-old physician's assistant whose 6-year-old daughter Emilie was among the dead. "My wife and I don't understand how to process this and how to get our lives going," Parker told reporters. The oldest of his three kids, Emilie, "could just light up a room," he said. Police did not officially identify Lanza or his mother, but his father on Saturday issued a statement saying he too was struggling to understand his son's actions. "No words can truly express how heartbroken we are," Peter Lanza said. "We are in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we can." While Americans have seen many mass shootings in the past decades, the victims have rarely been so young. On Saturday, some Democratic lawmakers called for sweeping new gun-control measures, a move certain to run up against stiff opposition from the nation's powerful pro-gun lobby. President Barack Obama plans to travel to the affluent suburb of 27,000 people about 80 miles (130 km) from New York City on Sunday to meet with victims' families and speak at a vigil at 7 pm local time, the White House said in a statement. Police earlier said they had assembled "some very good evidence" on the killer's motives. "Our investigators at the crime scene ... did produce some very good evidence in this investigation that our investigators will be able to use in, hopefully, painting the complete picture as to how - and more importantly why - this occurred,"
Connecticut State Police Lieutenant Paul Vance told reporters. Shooter Adam Lanza had struggled at times to fit in in his suburban community and his mother Nancy pulled him out of school for several years, to home-school him, said Louise Tambascio, the owner of My Place Restaurant, where his mother was a long-time patron.
— Reuters obama’s visit Newtown: US President Barack Obama is scheduled to arrive in Connecticut on Sunday to mourn the dead and console the survivors of a gunman's rampage. Obama's appearance at an interfaith vigil in the once-tranquil town of Newtown will be watched closely for clues as to what he meant when he called for "meaningful action" to prevent such tragedies in the wake of the massacre on Friday. A total of 28 people died in the incident. — Reuters
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2nd shooting was averted that day
New York, December 16 Sammie Eaglebear Chavez, 18, told friends at Bartlesville High School that he wanted to lure their schoolmates and teachers to the gym and then open fire, according to officials. He also claimed to have explosives he planned to detonate once the police arrived, the New York Daily News reported. A classmate overheard Chavez scheming on Thursday and cops arrested him on Friday before he could carry out his plan. A judge in the small city of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, which lies about an hour north of Tulsa, ordered that Chavez be held on $1 million bail.
— PTI
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Peshawar airport attack toll rises to 16
At least 16 persons, including 10 militants, one soldier and two policemen, were killed on Saturday and Sunday in an audacious suicide Taliban assault on Peshawar airport.
The attackers had targeted the Peshawar airfield used both for civilian flights and military operations in the troubled Khyber Pakhtunkhawa province.
Military spokesman Maj-Gen Asim Salim told reporters that the attackers fired five rockets and used two vehicles loaded with explosives, hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons. They apparently aimed to enter the airbase late on Saturday night. In a fierce gun battle between the attackers and a joint force of army and police, five militants were killed. Another five sneaked in the darkness and hid in an under-construction house near the airport. On Sunday morning, a joint operation was again launched during which three militants were shot dead while two others - wearing suicide vests - blew themselves up during the exchange of fire. Gen Asim said all 10 appeared to be foreigners, mainly Uzbeks. They failed in their mission to enter the airbase but damaged two of its outer walls. “One soldier and two policemen were also killed besides three residents of the adjacent village and injuries to 40 others,” he said. The airport was reopened on Sunday afternoon at the conclusion of joint operation by the military and the police, Gen Asim said. “The terrorists apparently failed in their mission,” he said adding that there was no damage to Pakistan Air Force (PAF) equipment and personnel. Peshawar airport is a joint military-civilian facility. It was the second militant attack in four months on a military airbase in Pakistan and replicated attacks last year on Mehran Naval Base in Karachi and Kamra aircraft factory, about 60 km northwest of Islamabad. terror trouble
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Benazir murder case: Key witnesses summoned
“He will again record his statement before the ATC judge because his earlier statement was recorded by an investigation officer and it cannot be used as evidence unless the witness is cross examined by the defence counsel,” he said. Siegel had stated before JIT that Benazir Bhutto had received a telephone call on September 25, 2007, in his presence in Washington in the office of US Congressman Tom Lantos. Terming it a very bad call, she reportedly said Musharraf used “threatening and abusive language” and warned her that her “safety depends on the state of our relationship” and that her security would only be guaranteed if she returned after the elections. According to Siegel, Benazir sent him an email on October 26, 2007, in which she expressed her sense of insecurity and informed him that if something happened to her, she would hold Gen Musharraf responsible, apart from the individuals mentioned in her October 16 letter to the former President.
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first round
Cairo, December 16 Rival camp officials said the Egyptians have voted narrowly in favour of the draft, citing the unofficial figures, after the first round of the two-stage referendum held yesterday. The Muslim Brotherhood said the group's tallies showed that 56.5 per cent of voters had supported the Constitution, while 43 per cent had voted 'no'. The figures had fallen short of the landslide the Brotherhood had been hoping for. The Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) had representatives posted at almost every polling place in the 10 areas. Opposition officials also said that the vote appeared to have narrowly gone in favour of the 'yes' camp, the Al Jazeera news channel reported. Majority of the voters in the capital Cairo have rejected the draft, with 57 per cent opposing it. In Gharbiya governorate, 52 per cent opposed the draft, the Egypt Independent newspaper reported. However, the support for the draft was received in governorates like South Sinai (63 per cent), North Sinai (82 per cent), Sohag (79 per cent) Assiut (76 per cent) Sharqiya (66 per cent) and Aswan (74 per cent), it said. The second round of the referendum is scheduled for next Saturday, after which the official result would be announced.
— PTI
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Absent Chavez dominates Venezuelan state elections
Caracas, December 16 The vote for 23 state governorships, seven of which are currently controlled by the Opposition, has been overshadowed by the president's battle to recover from cancer surgery in Cuba. Capriles, 40, needs to hold on to the governorship of Miranda state to remain the opposition's presidential candidate-in-waiting, while both sides will want a good showing to create momentum in case of a new showdown over who replaces Chavez. "This is the best indication of how well the opposition will fare in an upcoming contest for the presidency between Henrique Capriles and designated Chavez dauphin Vice President Nicolas Maduro," said Russell Dallen of Caracas-based BBO Financial Services. — Reuters
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Syria warplanes bomb Palestinian camp for first time
Beirut, December 16 "Warplanes staged an air strike on an area near Al-Bassel hospital in Yarmuk camp, hurting several people," said the Observatory. According to initial reports cited by the watchdog, there may also have been people killed in the strike. The air strike on Yarmuk was the sixth today on flashpoint districts in southern Damascus, the Britain-based watchdog said. Warplanes also bombarded the nearby districts of Al-Hajar al-Aswad and Assali, scene of intense fighting between troops and rebels, it added. "The army feels it has to step up its campaign to suppress the insurgency in southern Damascus, and that it cannot fight off rebels without resorting to air power," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.
— AFP
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Special to the tribune As nurse Jacintha Saldanha is laid to rest in her home town of Shriva, near Mangalore in Karnataka, questions continue to be asked about how and why she committed suicide at the prestigious King Edward VII hospital in London. It turns out that Jacintha left three suicide notes and at least one of them allegedly blames the two Australian radio presenters who telephoned pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles inquiring about the morning sickness of the Duchess of Cambridge. Jacintha was the senior nurse on duty at the hospital reception desk when RJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian telephoned from Australia late on a Tuesday night to inquire about the condition of Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge and wife of Prince Charles's elder son, Prince William. Jacintha transferred their call to another nurse who then answered personal details about the duchess' condition. It now turns out that the two Australians called back an hour later to explain they had made a prank call, but Jacintha was left feeling confused, unhappy and agitated because she had no experience of dealing with the media and may have blamed herself for revealing confidential information. Why this devoted mother and devout Catholic then went on to commit suicide by hanging herself remains a mystery. It has been suggested that one of the reasons is that she was reprimanded by hospital staff, but this has been strenuously denied by the King Edward VII authorities. Others have hinted that Jacintha decided to take her own life after some hospital colleagues allegedly reprimanded her by email. All of this will be clarified if and when an inquiry is held into her death. Meanwhile, it turns out that after the prank call late on December 4 and early December 5, Jacintha started to consider suicide. In one off her three notes, she specifically asked to be buried in Shirva. A statement issued by the Edward VII hospital says: "No one at the hospital has seen these notes, so we cannot comment. However, we reiterate that Jacintha was an outstanding nurse. Hospital staff offered her their support and told her they considered her the victim of a cruel hoax. They stood by her actions and made it clear there was no criticism of her and that there would be no disciplinary action of any kind." Marks discovered on Jacintha's wrist indicate she may have tried to slash her wrists before finally hanging herself by her own scarf. It is understood she was still breathing when her body was found by a colleague shortly after 9.30 am on the morning December 7. But attempts to revive her failed. The colleague who went into her room had earlier been contacted by Jacintha's husband, Benedict Barboza, who lives more than 100 miles away in Bristol and was used to speaking to his wife everyday. Jacintha, who lived in London for part of the week because of her work, used to commute once a week to Bristol to be with Benedict and their two children, 17-year-old Junal and 14-year-old Lisha.
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B'desh marks 41st Victory Day Assange to make embassy appearance Israeli Foreign Minister resigns 
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An anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi has summoned key witnesses in the Benazir Bhutto murder case, including US lobbyist Mark Siegel, to record their testimony.
According to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)’s Special Prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, Siegel had recorded a statement under Section 161 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) before a joint investigation team constituted in 2008.
