13 bids for Yishun mixed commercial & residential site tender

SINGAPORE: The tender for a mixed commercial and residential site at Yishun Ring Road/Yishun Avenue 9 has attracted 13 bids.

According to the Housing and Development Board (HDB), the highest bid of S$212.1 million was submitted by CEL Property - subsidiary of Singapore-listed Chip Eng Seng Corporation.

This translates into about S$8,551 per square metre of gross floor area.

The second highest bid was jointly placed by Boo Han Holdings and Far East Orchard at S$193.7 million.

URA said the other bids for the 99-year leasehold site ranged between S$55.5 million to S$182.6 million.

CBRE Research said the level of interest was "within expectations".

It believed that the residential project above the retail space should generate a fair amount of interest, going by the success of other mixed-use sites like The Hillier and Bedok Residences.

The firm pointed out that Northpoint is the only shopping mall in the area at present. Hence, the retail space that is developed in the site should be well-received by residents, office workers and students in the vicinity.

Desmond Sim, Associate Director, CBRE Research said: "This site will be the first private residential project in the proximity of Yishun MRT station and will be a pre-cursor to the next mixed use site at the current Yishun Bus Interchange, that will be put up for sale in June 2013."

CBRE Research estimates that the developer could sell the retail portion on a strata-titled basis at around S$3,000 psf to S$4,000 psf and the residential units at around S$900 psf."

The land parcel spans 8,858.3 square metres, and has a maximum permissible gross floor area of 24,803 square metres.

HDB said a decision on the award of the tender would be made after the bids have been evaluated.

- CNA/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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Irishwoman at center of IRA tapes story found dead

DUBLIN Police say a veteran Irish Republican Army member at the center of allegations against Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has been found dead at her home.

Dolours Price had alleged that Adams was her IRA commander in Belfast in the early 1970s and was involved in ordering several Catholic civilians to be abducted, executed and buried in secret.

The Northern Ireland police have been seeking her tape-recorded interviews from an audio archive in Boston College, a case expected to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The 61-year-old Price was imprisoned in 1973 for being part of the IRA's first car-bomb attack on London. She received early parole in 1980.

Ireland's police force said in a statement Thursday she was found dead at her home in Malahide north of Dublin.

Play Video

IRA killer's confessions on tape

As CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips reported in September, Price carried the IRA bombing campaign to the heart of London.

Living in Dublin, she was trying to carve out her own version of history and settle some scores. She told her story -- along with other former IRA and British Loyalist fighters -- to researchers from Boston College, on the promise that the interview tapes would be held in the BC archives until the interviewees had died.

Northern Ireland's police, though, want the tapes now and an American court has ruled they can have them. But, the Supreme Court may yet decide on the matter.

The bomb Price set in London's main criminal courthouse killed a man and injured hundreds, and served time for it, Phillips reported. But the reason the police want to get their hands on her Boston College taped testimony is because of another crime she's admitted: The kidnap and murder of a mother of 10 children, Jean McConville. McConville was accused by the IRA of being an informer and one of the so-called "disappeared."

She, among many others, was driven across the border to the Irish Republic and shot. The IRA later revealed where some of the bodies were buried.

Price admitted she drove McConville across the border - and she knew what might happen.

"I was aware that that would possibly be her end, yes," Price said.

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Majority Favors Obama's Gun Control Plan

Jan 24, 2013 7:00am

Charles Dharapak/AP Photo

Most Americans respond positively to the stricter gun control measures Barack Obama proposed last week in the wake of the tragic shootings in Newtown, Conn. – but by less of a margin than such measures receive outside the context of partisan politics.

Fifty-three percent in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll view Obama’s gun control plan favorably, 41 percent unfavorably. Strong proponents outnumber strong opponents by 38 vs. 31 percent in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates.

See PDF with full results here.

Obama urged measures including background checks on all guns sales, reinstating the assault weapons ban, banning high-capacity ammunition magazines and armor-piercing bullets, new gun trafficking laws and increased access to mental health treatment.

Support for the package is lower than it was for some of the same steps tested individually in an ABC/Post poll earlier this month. Majorities from 88 to 65 percent favored background checks at gun shows and on ammunition purchases, creating a federal database to track gun sales and banning high-capacity magazines. That included, in each case, majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents alike.

In this poll, asking about “Barack Obama’s proposals for stricter gun control,” partisan allegiances kick in. The president’s proposals are seen favorably by 76 percent of Democrats but unfavorably by 72 percent of Republicans; most on each side feel strongly about their respective positions. Independents split 51-44 percent, favorable-unfavorable.

What remains to be seen is whether the president can overcome those partisan predispositions in his efforts to encourage Congress to pass the legislation he seeks.

Among other groups, Obama’s proposals are viewed positively by 56 percent of women vs. 49 percent of men; 58 percent of seniors vs. 47 percent of young adults; 66 percent in the Northeast vs. 50 percent in the rest of the country; 72 percent of nonwhites vs. 43 percent of whites; and 73 percent of liberals vs. 36 percent of conservatives.

The survey was done by landline and cellular telephone Jan. 16-20 among a random national sample of 1,033 adults, and the results have a 3.5 point-error margin.

SHOWS: This Week

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2013 could be 'climate game-changer'

An ice sculpture entitled 'Minimum Monument' by Brazilian artist Nele Azevedo outside Berlin's Concert Hall, September 2, 2009.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The "neglected" risk of climate change seems to be rising to the top of leaders' agendas


• Extreme weather events are costing the global economy billions of dollars each year


• Gas can be an important bridge to a lower carbon future but it's not the answer


• More investment in renewable energy is needed, with fewer risks

Editor's note: Andrew Steer is President and CEO of the World Resources Institute, a think tank that works with governments, businesses and civil society to find sustainable solutions to environmental and development challenges.

(CNN) -- As leaders gather for the World Economic Forum in Davos, signs of economic hope are upon us. The global economy is on the mend. Worldwide, the middle class is expanding by an estimated 100 million per year. And the quality of life for millions in Asia and Africa is growing at an unprecedented pace.

Threats abound, of course. One neglected risk -- climate change -- appears to at last be rising to the top of agendas in business and political circles. When the World Economic Forum recently asked 1,000 leaders from industry, government, academia, and civil society to rank risks over the coming decade for the Global Risks 2013 report, climate change was in the top three. And in his second inaugural address, President Obama identified climate change as a major priority for his Administration.

Andrew Steer

For good reason: last year was the hottest year on record for the continental United States, and records for extreme weather events were broken around the world. We are seeing more droughts, wildfires, and rising seas. The current U.S. drought will wipe out approximately 1% of the U.S. GDP and is on course to be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Damage from Hurricane Sandy will cost another 0.5% of GDP. And a recent study found that the cost of climate change is about $1.2 trillion per year globally, or 1.6% of global GDP.

Shifting to low-carbon energy sources is critical to mitigating climate change's impacts. Today's global energy mix is changing rapidly, but is it heading in the right direction?

Coal is the greatest driver of carbon dioxide emissions from energy, accounting for more than 40% of the total worldwide. Although coal demand is falling in the United States -- with 55 coal-powered plants closed in the past year -- it's growing globally. The World Resources Institute (WRI) recently identified 1,200 proposed new coal plants around the world. And last year, the United States hit a record-high level of coal exports—arguably transferring U.S. emissions abroad.

Meanwhile, shale gas is booming. Production in the United States has increased nearly tenfold since 2005, and China, India, Argentina, and many others have huge potential reserves. This development can be an economic blessing in many regions, and, because carbon emissions of shale gas are roughly half those of coal, it can help us get onto a lower carbon growth path.

However, while gas is an important bridge to a low carbon future—and can be a component of such a future—it can't get us fully to where we need to be. Greenhouse gas emissions in industrial countries need to fall by 80-90% by 2050 to prevent climate change's most disastrous impacts. And there is evidence that gas is crowding out renewables.

Renewable energy -- especially solar and wind power -- are clear winners when it comes to reducing emissions. Unfortunately, despite falling prices, the financial markets remain largely risk-averse. Many investors are less willing to finance renewable power. As a result of this mindset, along with policy uncertainty and the proliferation of low-cost gas, renewable energy investment dropped 11%, to $268 billion, last year.

What do we need to get on track?

Incentivizing renewable energy investment

Currently, more than 100 countries have renewable energy targets, more than 40 developing nations have introduced feed-in tariffs, and countries from Saudi Arabia to South Africa are making big bets on renewables as a growth market. Many countries are also exploring carbon-trading markets, including the EU, South Korea, and Australia. This year, China launched pilot trading projects in five cities and two provinces, with a goal of a national program by 2015.

Removing market barriers

Despite growing demand for renewable energy from many companies, this demand often remains unmet due to numerous regulatory, financial, and psychological barriers in the marketplace.

In an effort to address these, WRI just launched the Green Power Market Development Group in India, bringing together industry, government, and NGOs to build critical support for renewable energy markets. A dozen major companies from a variety of sectors—like Infosys, ACC, Cognizant, IBM, WIPRO, and others— have joined the initiative. This type of government-industry-utility partnership, built upon highly successful models elsewhere, can spur expanded clean energy development. It will be highlighted in Davos this week at meetings of the Green Growth Action Alliance (G2A2).

De-risking investments

For technical, policy, and financial reasons, risks are often higher for renewables than fossil-based energy. Addressing these risks is the big remaining task to bring about the needed energy transformation. Some new funding mechanisms are emerging that can help reduce risk and thus leverage large sums of financing. For example, the Green Climate Fund could, if well-designed, be an important venue to raise funds and drive additional investments from capital markets. Likewise, multi-lateral development banks' recent $175 billion commitment to sustainable transport could help leverage more funds from the private and public sectors.

Some forward-looking companies are seeking to create internal incentives for green investments. For example, companies like Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and UPS have been taking actions to reduce internal hurdle rates and shift strategic thinking to the longer-term horizons that many green strategies need.

Davos is exactly the type of venue for finding solutions to such issues, which requires leadership and coalition-building from the private and public sectors. For example, the the G2A2, an alliance of CEOs committed to addressing climate and environmental risks, will launch the Green Investment Report with precisely the goal of "unlocking finance for green growth".

Depending on what happens at Davos—and other forums and meetings like it throughout the year—2013 could just be a game-changer.

Follow us on Twitter@CNNOpinion.

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Andrew Steer.

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Smaller terror groups drive threat in Indonesia

JAKARTA: With all the major suspects involved in the 2002 Bali bombings killed or imprisoned, smaller groups with more local aims are driving the terrorist threat in Indonesia.

Experts highlighted this, as part of discussions into the changing pattern of terrorism, at a forum in Jakarta.

Indonesian security forces have so far arrested almost 800 people on suspicion of militancy and sentenced nearly 700 of them.

But while the security forces' efforts and internal rifts have left Indonesia's most feared terror group Jemaah Islamiyah weakened, some members have now moved to form new cells and seek new recruits.

These new cells are now targeting the police, rather than orchestrating large scale bombings against Westerners.

"Like it or not, the excessive use of violence by authorities has spurred the possibility of the emergence of small cells, therefore we witness, if we look at the incidents, more attacks are towards the police," said Noor Huda Ismail, director executive at Institute for International Peace Building.

"Because they have enough oxygen to continue to breathe, enough ammunition to continue the recruitment because of the excessive of powers and this problem will linger until the next years."

Terrorists are increasingly using the Internet to tap into this perception of over-reach by authorities, using it to spread their message, and also raise funds.

They are even looking into hacking as part of fund raising efforts, in addition to donations, bank robberies, and legitimate front businesses.

But their network on the ground remains strong.

Experts say a major challenge for authorities is to track "dot connectors" -- ordinary people with radical thoughts who volunteer to connect the different terror cells spread out across the country.

"We tend to focus on big names like Santoso (a wanted terror suspect), who has become a celebrity in the media, but we forget these small actors who actually connect the dots," said Ms Noor Huda.

Ms Noor Huda also said post conflict areas such as Poso and Ambon will remain vulnerable conflict areas as they are conducive places for further terrorist recruitment.

Women who in the past served as moral support are now taking an active role in the terror cells by running shelters for terrorists on the run.

Terror expert Professor Greg Barton, meanwhile, put the focus on at-risk groups vulnerable to being recruited, saying the government needs to pay more attention to them.

He also felt civil society needs to be empowered to help prevent terror convicts from becoming repeat offenders.

Prof Barton said: "At best, many people who could be helped to permanently walk away from terrorism fall back into the old communities, the old networks because they are not helped to provide an alternative. Practical things like plugging them into new employment opportunities, new social networks are really key."

Professor Barton hopes Indonesia's two largest Muslim organisations, Nahdatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, play a larger role in creating post-prison rehabilitation programmes to help former convicts embrace a new way of life.

- CNA/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 largest bloc, exit polls show


• Yesh Atid comes in second, 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, the most, as expected.

Analysis: World distracted as Israelis head to polls

Jewish Home, an extreme right party with charismatic leader, Naftali Bennett, got 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

Netanyahu 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 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," said Makovsky, an Israeli analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

"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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Netanyahu likely clings to job in Israel election

Updated at 6:59 a.m. Eastern.

JERUSALEM Israel's parliamentary election ended Wednesday in a stunning deadlock between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-line bloc and center-left rivals, forcing the badly weakened Israeli leader to scramble to cobble together a coalition of parties from both camps, despite dramatically different views on Mideast peacemaking and other polarizing issues.

Israeli media said that with 99.8 percent of votes counted on Wednesday morning, each bloc had 60 of parliament's 120 seats. Commentators said Netanyahu, who called early elections expecting easy victory, would be tapped to form the next government because the rival camp drew 12 of its 60 seats from Arab parties who've never joined a coalition.

That means the right-wing Netanyahu will have to form a coalition with moderates who support peace talks with the Palestinians, reports CBS Radio News correspondent Robert Berger. That could help Netanyahu improve ties with the U.S., but it could also mean he is only able to build an unstable coalition government that won't last.

A startlingly strong showing by a political newcomer, the centrist Yesh Atid party, turned pre-election forecasts on their heads and dealt Netanyahu his surprise setback.

Yesh Atid, or There is a Future, a party headed by political newcomer Yair Lapid, is now Netanyahu's most likely partner. Lapid has said he would only join a government committed to sweeping economic changes and a resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians.

Addressing his supporters early Wednesday, Netanyahu vowed to form as broad a coalition as possible. He said the next government would be built on principles that include reforming the contentious system of granting draft exemptions to ultra-Orthodox Jewish men and the pursuit of a "genuine peace" with the Palestinians. He did not elaborate, but the message seemed aimed at Lapid.

Shortly after the results were announced, Netanyahu called Lapid and offered to work together. "We have the opportunity to do great things together," Netanyahu was quoted as saying by Likud officials.

Netanyahu's Likud-Yisrael Beitenu alliance was set to capture about 31 of the 120 seats, significantly fewer than the 42 it held in the outgoing parliament and below the forecasts of recent polls.

With his traditional allies of nationalist and religious parties, Netanyahu could put together a shaky majority of 61 seats, results showed. But it would be virtually impossible to keep such a narrow coalition intact, though it was possible he could take an additional seat or two as numbers trickled in throughout the night.

The results capped a lackluster campaign in which peacemaking with the Palestinians, traditionally the dominant issue in Israeli politics, was pushed aside. Netanyahu portrayed himself as the only candidate capable of leading Israel at a turbulent time, while the fragmented opposition targeted him on domestic economic issues.

Israeli actor, journalist and author Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid party, speaks to supporters, Jan. 23, 2013 at his party headquarters in Tel Aviv.

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Getty

Netanyahu's goal of a broader coalition will force him to make some difficult decisions. Concessions to Lapid, for instance, will alienate his religious allies. In an interview last week with The Associated Press, Lapid said he would not be a "fig leaf" for a hard-line, extremist agenda.

Lapid's performance was the biggest surprise of the election. The one-time TV talk show host and son of a former Cabinet minister was poised to win 19 seats, giving him the second-largest faction in parliament.

Presenting himself as the defender of the middle class, Lapid vowed to take on Israel's high cost of living and to end the contentious system of subsidies and draft exemptions granted to ultra-Orthodox Jews while they pursue religious studies. The expensive system has bred widespread resentment among the Israeli mainstream.

Thanks to his strong performance, Lapid is now in a position to serve as the kingmaker of the next government. He will likely seek a senior Cabinet post and other concessions.

Yaakov Peri, a member of Lapid's party, said it would not join unless the government pledges to begin drafting the ultra-Orthodox into the military, lowers the country's high cost of living and returns to peace talks. "We have red lines. We won't cross those red lines, even if it will cost us sitting in the opposition," Peri told Channel 2 TV.

Addressing his supporters, a beaming Lapid was noncommittal, calling only for a broad government with moderates from left and right. "Israelis said no to the politics of fear and hatred," he said. "And they said no to extremism and anti-democracy."

There was even a distant possibility of Lapid and more dovish parties teaming up to block Netanyahu from forming a majority.

"It could be that this evening is the beginning for a big chance to create an alternative government to the Netanyahu government," said Shelly Yachimovich, leader of the Labor Party, which won 15 seats on a platform pledging to narrow the gaps between rich and poor.

Although that seemed unlikely, Netanyahu clearly emerged from the election in a weakened state.

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Te'o Tells Couric He Briefly Lied About Girlfriend

Manti Te'o briefly lied to the media and the public after discovering his online girlfriend did not exist and was a part of an elaborate hoax, he admitted in an exclusive interview with ABC News' Katie Couric.

The star Notre Dame linebacker, who has been hounded by the reporters since the story broke Jan. 16, told Couric in a taped interview Tuesday that he was not lying up until December. Te'o said he was duped into believing his online girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, died of cancer.

"You stuck to the script. And you knew that something was amiss, Manti," Couric said.

"Katie, put yourself in my situation. I, my whole world told me that she died on Sept. 12. Everybody knew that. This girl, who I committed myself to, died on Sept. 12," Te'o said.

Te'o said he received a phone call Dec. 6 from a woman claiming she was Kekua, even though Kekua had allegedly passed away three months earlier.

"Now I get a phone call on Dec. 6, saying that she's alive and then I'm going be put on national TV two days later. And to ask me about the same question. You know, what would you do?" Te'o said.

See more exclusive previews tonight on "World News With Diane Sawyer" and "Nightline." Watch Katie Couric's interview with Manti Te'o and his parents Thursday. Check your local listings or click here for online station finder.

Te'o, 21, was joined by his parents, Brian and Ottilia, in the interview.

"Now many people writing about this are calling your son a liar. They are saying he manipulated the truth, really for personal gain," Couric said to Te'o's father.

Man Allegedly Behind the Manti Te?o Dead Girlfriend Hoax Watch Video

Manti Te'o Girlfriend Hoax: The Man Accused of Elaborate Prank Watch Video

'Catfish' Documentary Creator on Manti Te'o Hoax Watch Video

"People can speculate about what they think he is. I've known him 21 years of his life. And he's not a liar. He's a kid," Brian Te'o said with tears in his eyes.

Click here for a who's who in the Manti Te'o case.

Diane O'Meara told NBC's "Today" show Tuesday that she was used as the "face" of the Twitter account of Manti Te'o's online girlfriend without her knowledge or consent.

O'Meara said that Ronaiah Tuiasosopo used pictures of her without her knowledge in creating Kekua.

"I've never met Manti Te'o in my entire life. I've never spoke with him. I've never exchanged words with him," O'Meara said Tuesday.

The 23-year-old marketing executive went to high school in California with Tuiasosopo, but she says they're not close. Tuiasosopo called to apologize the day Deadspin.com broke the hoax story, she said.

Timeline of Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax story

In an interview with ESPN last week, Te'o said he had received a Twitter message from Tuiasosopo apologizing for the hoax.

The Hawaiian also spoke to Tuiasosopo on the phone the day the Deadspin report came out, according to ESPN.com. He found out that "two guys and a girl are responsible for the whole thing," he said.

But he did not know the identities of the other individuals involved, other than the man he says was Tuiasosopo.

Tuiasosopo, a 22-year-old resident of California, has not admitted involvement publicly. Tuiasosopo graduated from Paraclete High School in Lancaster, Calif., in 2007 and has posted dozens of videos online signing Christian songs.

Those who knew him say he was a devout Christian and a good athlete. His former football coach Jon Flemming described him as gregarious, and from a "good loving family." Flemming said Tuiasosopo is the kind of guy who gives you a hug when he sees people he knows.

"He's doing good. Wishing everyone would go away," Flemming told ABC News Wednesday after a recent correspondence with Tuiasosopo.

Flemming said Tuiasosopo is "somebody I'd want my kid to grow up like. He's responsible, respectful, disciplined, dedicated."

Tessi Toluta'u, a Polynesian beauty queen, told ABC News this weekend that "Lennay Kekua" reached out to her in 2008 about entering pageants.

When visiting Los Angeles in 2009, Toluta'u was supposed to meet Kekua, but she failed to appear. Tuiasosopo met Toluta'u instead.

"[It's a] sick joke that went way too far," Toluta'u said.

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Defterios: What keeps Davos relevant

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Since the late 20th Century, the ski resort of Davos has been synonymous with the World Economic Forum


• Defterios: I first came to Davos as a relatively junior correspondent, two months after the Berlin Wall fell


• Fall of Communism, China's opening, removal of apartheid in South Africa unfolded in the 90s
  
  


• It's the inter-play between geo-politics and business is what keeps the forum relevant

Davos (CNN) -- Veterans of Davos often refer to nature's awe-inspiring work as the Magic Mountain.

The name comes from an early 20th century novel by Thomas Mann -- reflecting on life in an alpine health retreat, and the mystery of time in this breath-taking setting.

Read more from John Defterios: Why Egypt's transition is so painful

Since the late 20th century, this ski resort has been synonymous with the World Economic Forum, which represents networking on its grandest scale.

This year nearly 40 world leaders -- a record for this annual meeting -- 2000 plus executives and it seems an equal number of people in the media, like yours truly, are in pursuit of them all. The setting is certainly more chaotic then a decade ago. The agendas of the Fortune 500 chief executives are to filled with bi-lateral meetings and back door briefings to allow for the spontaneity that made this venue unique.

Davos gets ready for leaders' gathering

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I first came to Davos as a relatively junior correspondent in 1990, two months after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was arguably then, after nearly two decades in the conference business, when the forum became a fixture on the global calendar.

Quest: U.S. economy to dominate Davos 2013

I can remember, quite vividly, working out of a bunker (like we do today) in the Davos Congress Centre. West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl sat side-by-side with his East German counterpart Hans Modrow. That meeting before the global community helped set the stage for monetary union, a huge unification fund for what became Eastern Germany and shortly thereafter German elections.

The early 90s at Davos were dominated by European reconstruction after the fall of communism. Former party bosses came to the forum to convince business leaders that a transition to market economics could be delivered. Boris Yeltsin made his Davos appearance during that chaotic transition from the USSR to today's Russia.

Davos 2013: New year, same old problems?

In 1992, Chinese Premier Li Peng used the setting here in the Alps to articulate plans for the country's economic opening up to the world. Not by chance, the architect of Washington's engagement with Beijing, the former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger also took a high profile that year.

Again only two years later in 1994, Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres walked hand in hand on stage, holding a public dialogue leading up to the creation and recognition of the Palestinian Authority.

The World Economic Forum, as the saying goes, was positioned to be in the right place at the right time. While the author of the Magic Mountain talked about the complexity of time around World War I, in the 1990s time was compressed here.

The fall of communism, the lowering of global trade barriers, the opening up of China, the removal of apartheid in South Africa and the proliferation of the internet all unfolded in that decade.

Interactive: How's your economic mood?

As those events came together, so too did the major players as they made the journey to Davos. Michael Bloomberg, evolving as a global name in financial data and now the Mayor of New York City, sat alongside Microsoft CEO Bill Gates. U.S. President Bill Clinton outlined his party's historic move to the political center before a packed audience of global business executives.

To spice things up, rock stars and actors, as they became activists, chose the Davos platform: Bono, Richard Gere, Sharon Stone, Brad and Angelina would have the wealthiest and most powerful corporate titans freeze in their tracks.

Earlier this week, I walked into the main plenary hall as workers put the final touches on the stage and lighting. It is a venue which has welcomed countless political leaders and business executives, during internet booms and banking busts, in the midst of a Middle East crisis and even during the lead up to two Gulf Wars.

But that inter-play between geo-politics and business -- during the best and worst of times -- is what keeps the forum relevant. It allows this setting at the base of the Magic Mountain to endure and recreate something unique during what Mann rightly described as the ongoing complexity of our times.

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