Egyptians clash on revolution's 2nd anniversary

CAIRO Two years after Egypt's revolution began, the country's schism was on display Friday as the mainly liberal and secular opposition held giant rallies saying the goals of the pro-democracy uprising have not been met and denouncing Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

Thousands of protesters filled Cairo's central Tahrir Square, where the January 2011 uprising was born, and the area outside the presidential palace in the city's Heliopolis district. Throughout these places, the iconic Arab Spring chants of "Erha! Erhal!" or "leave, leave" and "the people want to topple the regime" rang out.

The protesters are using the anniversary to stage a show of strength in a bid to force Morsi to amend a disputed constitution drafted by his Islamist allies. They are also demanding freedom of expression and the independence of the judiciary.

Clashes broke out for a second day on some sidestreets near Tahrir and police fired tear gas to disperse the young men throwing stones. There were also clashes in Alexandria.

Smaller crowds also gathered in central squares in the Mediterranean cities of Port Said as well as the Nile Delta city of Mehalla and Suez at the southern entrance of the Suez Canal.

Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood supporters opted not to mark the anniversary on the streets, arguing that they will honor the occasion with acts of public service, like treating the sick and planting trees, a tactic dismissed by the opposition as a public relations stunt ahead of parliamentary elections expected in April.

The Brotherhood's ultraconservative allies, known as Salafis, also said they would stay off the streets to avoid clashes.

Egyptian demonstrators wave the national flag and shout slogans during a protest in Alexandria on January 25, 2013 -- the second anniversary of the revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak.

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AFP/Getty Images

The anniversary of the revolution comes as Egypt faces a new phase in its upheaval: Ruling Islamists trying to push through their agenda, an opposition trying to break their lock on power, and an economy in free-fall that threatens to fuel public discontent.

At the heart of the country's political divide is a disputed constitution drafted by Morsi's allies without the participation of liberals or minority Christians, what the opposition sees as a bid by Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood to take control of all state institutions and the president's meddling in the judiciary.

"I am asking everyone to go out and demonstrate to show that the revolution must be completed and that the revolution must continue," opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei said in a televised message posted on his party's website. "There must be a constitution for all Egyptians. A constitution that every one of us sees himself in it," said the Nobel peace Laureate and former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, IAEA.

New militia-like groups opposed to the Islamists have declared in video messages posted on social networks this week their intention to defend the opposition protesters if attacked. At least 10 people were killed and hundreds injured when Morsi's supporters descended upon protesters camped outside his palace in December, starting clashes that lasted for hours with firebombs, swords, knifes and firearms.

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Alleged Doctor Killer Had Anger Issues, Friend Says

Jason Smith, the Philadelphia exterminator who police say showed up at the home of Dr. Melissa Ketunuti this week to solve her rodent problem before strangling her, was a problem child as an adolescent, a family friend told ABC News.

The family friend from many years ago, who asked for anonymity, said Smith, 36, had behavior and anger issues, and that he also liked to set things on fire.

After Smith and Ketunuti got into "some kind of argument" in Ketunuti's basement, he struck her, strangled her and set her on fire, according to police.

Smith reportedly admitted to the brutal slaying after hours of police questioning Wednesday night.
Smith told police that Ketunuti had "belittled" him, sources told ABC News affiliate WPVI-TV in Philadelphia

He snapped and apparently tried to hide any evidence by setting the 35-year-old doctor on fire with paper he lit in the kitchen, the station reported.

Philadelphia Police Department/AP Photo

Pa. Doctor Killing: Person of Interest in Custody Watch Video

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"People like Mr. Smith basically walk around with a huge chip on their shoulder, and they feel so inadequate and so insecure that any perceived belittlement of them will set them off," ABC News consultant and former FBI agent Brad Garrett said.

Capt. James Clark of the Philadelphia Police Department said Smith's mood and clarity varied during his alleged confession.

"At some points, he was solemn. At other points, it was like he was in a fog," Clark said at a news conference.

Smith has been charged with murder, arson, abuse of a corpse and risking a catastrophe.

Ori Feibush, who owns a coffee shop near Ketunuti's street, said he and police pored over hours of surveillance video until they saw Ketunuti walking home from doing errands, with Smith steps behind her.

"Forty-five minutes later, we see this same guy walking past, but [he] looks a little more disheveled and he's got gloves on," Feibush told ABC News.

Police say that after the slaying, Smith circled Ketunuti's block twice, before heading off to another job.

Ketunuti was a doctor at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and had lived alone in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood of the city for about three years. Her family released a statement saying they are "devastated by this senseless act of violence."

"Melissa's friends from childhood, college, residency and elsewhere remember her many kindnesses, even during long hours, as well as her zest for life: traveling, running and spending time with friends and family," the statement said. "Melissa was a source of joy to everyone in her life. Her passing has left an enormous gap in our lives."

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Genes from nowhere: Orphans with a surprising story

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Taiwanese gets life sentence for election rally shooting

TAIPEI: Taiwan's supreme court ruled on Thursday that a man who opened fire at an election rally, killing one person and injuring a politician's son, must serve a life sentence.

The top court confirmed a decision last year by the high court, which convicted Lin Cheng-wei, 48, of attempted murder and illegal possession of firearms and sentenced him to life.

The high court had increased a 24-year sentence passed by a district court.

Lin, who had a criminal record, was arrested at the scene after opening fire at a campaign rally of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party in November 2010 near Taipei.

Lin claimed he had intended to shoot a KMT candidate with whom he had a personal dispute, but that he accidentally shot Sean Lien -- son of former vice-president Lien Chan -- in the face while he was on the stage.

Lien denied Lin's claim, insisting he himself was the target.

A man in the crowd was hit by the same bullet and died on the spot, only hours before voters went to the polls in local elections.

Lien was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery and released after ten days of treatment.

The incident revived painful memories of another election-eve shooting in 2004, when then-president Chen Shui-bian and his deputy Annette Lu were shot while campaigning for re-election.

Critics alleged that the 2004 shooting was staged to win sympathy for Chen, who eventually won by a razor-thin margin in a disputed election that plunged the island into political turmoil for months.

- AFP/xq

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North Korea makes new threats against U.S.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: North Korea is upset by a recent U.N. security council resolution, an analyst says


• Pyongyang says it plans a new nuclear test and further long-range rocket launches


• These are part of an "all-out action" targeting the U.S., it says


• North Korea has conducted two previous nuclear tests, in 2006 and 2009

Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korea said Thursday that it plans to carry out a new nuclear test and more long-range rocket launches, all of which it said are a part of a new phase of confrontation with the United States.

The North's National Defense Commission said the moves would feed into an "upcoming all-out action" that would target the United States, "the sworn enemy of the Korean people."

Read more: U.N. Security Council slams North Korea, expands sanctions

Carried by the state media, the comments are the latest defiant flourish from the reclusive North Korean regime, whose young leader Kim Jong Un has upheld his father's policy of pursuing a military deterrent and shrugging off international pressure.

The defense commission statement follows a United Nations Security Council resolution on Tuesday that the United States pushed for, condemning a recent recent rocket launch by North Korea and expanded existing sanctions.

Read more: North Korea silences doubters, raises fears with rocket launch

The North's angry statement "should have been the expected outcome" from the U.N. decision, said Daniel Pinkston, senior analyst for the International Crisis Group covering Northeast Asia.

"I think they are completely outraged and insulted by it," he said.

Read more: N. Korea's launch causes worries about nukes, Iran and the Pacific

North Korea, which often issues bellicose statements in its state media, said Thursday that it rejected all Security Council resolutions concerning it.

It described this week's resolution as "the most dangerous phase of the hostile policy toward the DPRK," using the abbreviated version of its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Read more: U.S. official: North Korea likely deceived U.S., allies before launching rocket

Analyst: Threat meant as a deterrence

The threats toward the United States, a constant theme in the North's propaganda, have more to do with deterrence than a desire for full conflict, Pinkston said.

"I don't believe they have the capability, the intention or the will to invade or destroy the United States," he said. "They wish to deter interference from the U.S. or any outside powers."

Read more: North Korea's rocket launches cost $1.3 billion

North Korea's successful rocket launch last month nonetheless changed the strategic calculations for the United States, showing that the North's missile program is advancing despite an array of heavy sanctions imposed on it.

Analysts say it still has a lot of work to do to master the technology necessary to mount a nuclear warhead on missile or accurately target it.

Read more: South Korean officials: North Korean rocket could hit U.S. mainland

At the same time, Pyongyang has been hinting for a while that a new nuclear test could be in the cards.

Just before the North sent out its latest hostile statement Thursday, a U.S. State Department official was telling reporters in Seoul that Washington hoped that Pyongyang wouldn't go ahead.

Read more: Huge crowds gather in North Korean capital to celebrate rocket launch

"We think that that would be a mistake, obviously," said Glyn Davies, the U.S. special envoy on North Korea. "We call on North Korea, as does the entire international community, not to engage in any further provocations."

North Korea has carried out two previous nuclear tests, in 2006 and 2009, both of which were condemned by the U.N.

Pyongyang didn't say Thursday when exactly it would carry out a third test, but it could happen "at any time," according to Pinkston.

He said that it was hard for anybody outside the North Korean nuclear sector to know if the country is technically ready to carry out the test, but that politically, "it seems an appropriate time."

Demands unlikely to sway North

South Korean defense officials said last year that they believed the North had been in a position to carry out a new test whenever leaders in Pyongyang gave the green light.

North Korea's nuclear program is "an element of threat to peace not only for Northeast Asia but also for the world," Park Soo-jin, deputy spokeswoman for the South Korean Unification Ministry said Thursday.

"North Korea should immediately stop its nuclear test and other provocation and should choose a different path by cooperating with the international community," Park said.

That appears unlikely at this stage, though.

After a failed long-range rocket launch in April, North Korea ignored international condemnation and carried out a second attempt last month. That one succeeded in putting a satellite in orbit, Pyongyang's stated objective.

But the launch was widely considered to be a test of ballistic missile technology. And it remains unclear if the satellite, which the North insists is for peaceful purposes, is functional.

Both North Korea's previous nuclear tests took place weeks or months after long-range rocket launches.

Those tests were carried out under the rule Kim Jong Il, the father of the current leader, and the man who channeled huge amounts of money into North Korea's nuclear and missile development programs.

Kim Jong Il died in December 2011 after 17 years in power, during which the North Korean people became increasingly impoverished and malnourished.

Economically, the country relies heavily on trade with its major ally, China.

CNN's K.J. Kwon reported from Seoul, and Jethro Mullen from Hong Kong. CNN's David Hawley in Seoul contributed to this report.

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North Korea planning "high-level" nuclear test

Updated at 7:15 a.m. Eastern

SEOUL, South Korea North Korea's top military body warned Thursday that the regime is poised to conduct a nuclear test in response to U.N. punishment, and made clear that its long-range rockets are designed to carry not only satellites but also warheads aimed at striking the United States.

19 Photos

North Korea's long-range rocket launch

The National Defense Commission rejected Tuesday's U.N. Security Council resolution condemning North Korea's long-range rocket launch in December as a banned missile activity and expanding sanctions against the regime. The commission reaffirmed in its declaration that the launch was a peaceful bid to send a satellite into space, but also said the country's rocket launches have a military purpose: to strike and attack the United States.

The commission pledged to keep launching satellites and rockets and to conduct a "high-level" nuclear test as part of defensive measures against the U.S.

"We do not hide that a variety of satellites and long-range rockets which will be launched by the DPRK one after another and a nuclear test of higher level which will be carried out by it in the upcoming all-out action, a new phase of the anti-U.S. struggle that has lasted century after century, will target against the U.S., the sworn enemy of the Korean people," the commission said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"Settling accounts with the U.S. needs to be done with force, not with words, as it regards jungle law as the rule of its survival," the commission said.

The U.S. State Department had no immediate response to Thursday's statement. On Wednesday, after Pyongyang's foreign ministry issued its own angry response to the Security Council decision and said the North would bolster its "nuclear deterrence," U.S. envoy to North Korea Glyn Davies urged restraint.

"It is important that they heed the voice of the international community," Davies said Wednesday in South Korea. He was meeting with government officials on a trip that also will take him to China and Japan to discuss how to move forward on North Korea relations.

Davies said that if North Korea begins "to take concrete steps to indicate their interest in returning to diplomacy, they may find in their negotiating partners willing partners in that process."

CBS News' Shannon Van Sant says reaction from North Korea's longtime ally China in the wake of threats was predictably muted. China's Foreign Ministry urged all parties "to remain calm," and called for a resumption of the long-stalled six-party talks.

While China could play a key role in pressuring the North to give up its efforts for a nuclear weapon, it is unlikely to do so, says Van Sant. China is keen to avoid instability and any influx of refugees along its northeastern border. Beijing also has significant trade ties with Pyongyang, and would be reluctant to endanger that relationship.

North Korea carried out underground nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, both times just weeks after receiving U.N. sanctions for launching long-range rockets it claimed were peaceful bids to send satellites into space.

At a military parade last April, North Korea showed off what appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Experts say the North Koreans must conduct further tests of its atomic devices and make them smaller before they can be mounted as nuclear warheads onto long-range missiles.

Though it insists its efforts to launch a satellite are peaceful, North Korea also claims the right to build nuclear weapons as a defense against the United States, which stations more than 28,000 troops in South Korea. The adversaries fought in the three-year Korean War, which ended in a truce in 1953 and left the Korean Peninsula divided by the world's most heavily fortified demilitarized zone.

North Korea has enough weaponized plutonium for about four to eight bombs, according to nuclear scientist Siegfried Hecker, who visited North Korea's nuclear complex in 2010. In 2009, Pyongyang also declared that it would begin enriching uranium, which would give North Korea a second way to make atomic weapons.

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N. Korea Vows More Nuke Tests Targeting U.S.

In a bellicose statement singling out the United States as the "sworn enemy" of the Korean people, North Korea today announced plans for a third nuclear test and continued rocket launches.

The move is seen as a disappointment to those who hoped the country's new leader, Kim Jong-Un, might take a less aggressive path than his predecessor and father, Kim Jong-il.

It is also seen as a direct challenge to President Obama and South Korea's newly elected president, Park Geun-hye, who takes office next month.

The statement from North Korea's National Defense Commission read:

"Settling accounts with the U.S. needs to be done with force, not with words as it regards jungle law as the rule of its survival."

The renewed threats come in response to the U.S. backed resolution tightening sanctions against North Korea after its December rocket launch.

At that time, North Korea repeatedly insisted that the launch was simply part of its peaceful space program. The recent statement made no mention of that.

It read: "We are not disguising the fact that the various satellites and long-range rockets that we will fire and the high-level nuclear test we will carry out are targeted at the United States."

South Korean officials analyzed debris from the December launch that, they say, indicates North Korea built and tested crucial components for a missile that can fly further than 6,200 miles.

Analysts say that preparations at the Pungyee test site in northeastern North Korea are underway and that a new underground test could take place on short notice.

Within the international monitoring community it is not believed that North Korea currently has the capability to launch a long-range rocket with the capacity to reach the United States or the technology to mount a nuclear warhead on a long-range missile. But the U.S. is not pleased with North Korea's plans. Glyn Davies, the top U.S. envoy to the region, said in Seoul, "We hope they don't do it. We call on them not to do it."

China, North Korea's main ally in the region, is also urging restraint. China backed the U.S. resolution at the United Nations and today the Foreign Ministry cautioned North Korea not to take further steps to increase tension.

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See ya, latex: Reinventing the condom

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China urges restraint on N Korea, cites possible nuke test

BEIJING: China called for restraint on Wednesday after the United Nations tightened sanctions on North Korea as punishment for a rocket launch, citing the possibility of another nuclear test by its wayward ally.

"The DPRK's (North Korea's) satellite launch as well as the possible nuclear test highlight the urgency and importance of settling relevant issues on the Korean peninsula," foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters.

"We hope all parties will bear in mind peace and stability of the Korean peninsula, exercise calmness and restraint and avoid actions that might escalate tension."

China backed a Security Council resolution passed on Tuesday in response to last month's long-range rocket launch. The UN expanded the list of North Korean entities on the UN's sanctions list but stopped short of imposing new penalties.

The North reacted defiantly, vowing to strengthen its nuclear and missile capabilities and fuelling speculation about a possible third nuclear test.

China is the North's sole major ally and its leading energy supplier and trade partner. It is seen as one of the few nations able to influence Pyongyang's behaviour.

Communist Party chief Xi Jinping called for dialogue and consultations to achieve the Korean peninsula's denuclearisation and long-term stability.

Speaking with a visiting envoy of South Korean president-elect Park Geun-Hye, Xi said China expects an early resumption of long-suspended six-nation talks on the peninsula's denuclearisation, the official Xinhua news agency said.

State media in China also called for talks to resolve tensions, even after the North rejected dialogue on its atomic programme following the UN move.

"The ultimate way to restore lasting peace and stability on the Korean peninsula is to build trust among key parties through dialogue and consultation," Xinhua said in a commentary.

The agency described the UN move as "a clear response to Pyongyang's violation of Security Council resolutions, which the DPRK as a UN member should abide by".

"It is worth noting that the long-stalled six-party talks remain the most viable platform for dialogue," Xinhua said.

The talks are chaired by China and also involve the two Koreas, the United States, Japan and Russia.

The aim has been to entice Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear programme in exchange for aid and security guarantees, but the process has been moribund since the North abandoned the forum in 2009.

Beijing has long touted the talks as the best way to reduce tensions.

- AFP/xq

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Centrists make gains in Israel elections

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Will Israel's new government be more centrist or move right?


• Netanyahu's right-wing Likud Beitenu wins the largest bloc, exit polls show


• Yesh Atid comes in second and Labor third, polling says


• Votes from military members and prisoners are not finalized

Jerusalem (CNN) -- A surprisingly strong showing by centrists in Israel's national election tempered a narrow majority won by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party.

Netanyahu's right-wing Likud Beitenu won between 31 and 33 Knesset seats in the Israel election, TV exit polls reported, more than any other party, as expected. But that's a sharp drop for the bloc, a coalition of the Likud and the Yisrael Beitenu parties that had 42 seats in the outgoing Knesset.

Analysis: World distracted as Israelis head to polls

Jewish Home, an extreme right party with a charismatic leader, Naftali Bennett, held its own, getting between 11 and 12 seats.

The Yesh Atid party, a new centrist movement devoted to helping the middle class and halting military draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox civilians, came in a surprising second place with at least 18 seats, according to the exit polls.

Read more: Israel defies international criticism of settlement plans

The Central Election Committee reported Wednesday that 99% of votes have been counted and verified, but outstanding votes from members of the military and prisoners won't be finalized for a couple of days.

Official results and allocation of seats in the Knesset -- Israel's parliament -- won't be announced until then.

Forming a coalition

The newfound centrist clout will be part of Netanyahu's calculations in forming a new government. The prime minister told weary but elated supporters early Wednesday he plans to form a government "as broad as possible" and pursue his goals with "many partners."

"I believe the results of the election represent an opportunity to make changes that the people of Israel want to see and that will serve all citizens of the state of Israel," he said. "I plan to lead those changes and to that end we must establish a government that is as broad as possible, and I've already started out on that task."

He cited a number of principles a new government will embrace: security, preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, economic responsibility in the face of the global financial crisis, increasing equality in sharing burdens and lowering the cost of living, including the cost of apartments.

"It is a great privilege but it is also a great responsibility," Netanyahu said. "I believe the results of the elections represent an opportunity to make changes that the people of Israel want to see and (that) will serve all of the citizens of the state of Israel."

But the centrists and leftists attracted waves of voters displeased with, among other things, Israel's high cost of living, and more supportive of talks with Palestinians. At first glance, the initial result reflects a politically polarized electorate, with possibly an edge to the rightists.

Yossi Beilin, a politician who is staunchly in the peace camp and one of the chief architects of the Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative called the Oslo Accords, said it will be impossible for Netanyahu to form his own government and he hopes none of the center-left parties join him.

"The center-left in Israel is alive and kicking. It's almost the majority, or half and half," he said. "All the talks about the demise of the left are over for the time being."

Yesh Atid's leader is a dynamic figure. Yair Lapid, a longtime prominent journalist whose late father, Tommy Lapid, led Shinui, a onetime secularist party that took on the influence and power of the ultra-Orthodox.

Yesh Atid also calls for reforming the governmental system, improving education, jump-starting the economy through small-business assistance and providing housing assistance for military veterans and young couples.

The Labor Party, whose leader Shelly Yacimovich campaigned solely on economic concerns, apparently won 17 seats, according to exit polling. Before the election, she was expected to finish in second place, so that is a surprise. She and other centrists were working to tap into the disaffected Israelis who took to the Tel Aviv streets in 2011 to protest frustrating economic conditions.

Is Israel's swing to the right over?

One party in Israel never gets a parliamentary majority of more than 60 seats, so parties must rely on coalition-building. The question is whether Netanyahu will stay on the right or move to the center.

Will Netanyahu form a right-wing coalition with Jewish Home and religious blocs such as Shas -- which earned between 11 and 13 seats, exit polls show? Or will he move to the center and try to form a coalition with Yesh Atid, for example, and others? Or is it possible that a center-left coalition could be cobbled together, without the right wing?

Netanyahu and his party sensed Yesh Atid's momentum. He called on his backers to come out and vote.

"The Likud government is in danger, go vote for us for the sake of the country's future," he was quoted as saying.

After the exit polls rolled in, Netanyahu thanked Israelis on Facebook for his showing and indicated that he wants "a very wide government" as the hard work of coalition building begins Wednesday.

"The (election) results observed are a great opportunity for many changes for the benefit of all citizens of Israel. The complications ahead of us are many and wide, as from tonight I will start my efforts to form a very wide government as possible."

A polarized nation

Michael Singh, managing director at the Washington institute, said the result reflects polarized politics in Israel. The immediate consequences of the result is that coalition building will be difficult and time-consuming, he said.

The worst-case scenario would be government paralysis and maybe another election sooner rather than later. While he said it's possible that a centrist coalition led by Yesh Atid, which means "there is a future," and Labor could emerge, Singh thinks Netanyahu and Lapid will form a government.

Likud celebrated after the results came in. Danny Danon, a Likud party member expected to serve in the next Knesset, was asked why the Israeli-Palestinian peace process hasn't been front and center in the campaign.

Both talks and the issue of Iran were not as prominent among factors as expected by many observers. Domestic issues, in contrast, played a large role in the campaign.

Israel has no partner among Palestinians, Danon said, and noted that peace initiatives have been tried but haven't borne fruit. He cited the situation in Gaza, where militants fire missiles into Israel despite the country's departure from that Palestinian territory. Israel launched an offensive against Palestinian militants in Gaza last year after enduring missile fire on its territory.

The next government, he said, will reach out to Palestinians "but will also continue to make sure Israelis are strong and safe."

Israel doesn't "want to see an al Qaeda state in our backyard," Danon said.

David Makovsky, an Israeli analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the election is good news for the Obama administration, which has had prickly relations with the right-wing Netanyahu government. It comes after a high turnout -- the percentage of eligible voters who cast a vote was 66.6%, just 1% more than the 2009 election.

"It's unclear if Netanyahu wanted a pure right-wing option in the first place," Makovsky said.

"But Washington can breathe a sigh of relief that Netanyahu will need to reach accommodation with some parties at the center of the map who essentially would like to see progress on the Palestinian issue as well as on economic issues."

CNN's Joe Sterling reported from Atlanta. CNN's Sara Sidner, Kareem Khadder and Nicola Goulding reported from Israel.

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