Battery expert: "I would not fly in a Dreamliner"

(CBS News) WASHINGTON - Investigators say they still don't know what caused batteries to burn in two Boeing 787 Dreamliners, and until they figure that out and how to fix the problem, none of the planes will be allowed to fly.

More than any other plane, the Dreamliner relies on lithium ion batteries to help power its advanced electrical system. They're lighter and more powerful than older battery types, but they contain a highly flammable liquid electrolyte.

U.S. officials defend handling of 787 mishaps

Boeing 787 probe turns to battery companies

Boeing plans to carry on with Dreamliner production

Federal investigators are examining the disassembled battery from the 787 that caught fire in Boston January 7, spewing molten electrolyte.

George Blomgren worked for Eveready, a batteries and flashlights company, for 40 years. He says lithium ion batteries are bundled together for the 787, and that increases the risk.

"These fires burn at very high temperatures, so they are just very dangerous fires," he said.

George Blomgren, a battery expert for Eveready

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CBS News

The Boston fire, and the burned-out battery on a Dreamliner in Japan, is not the first time lithium ion batteries have caused problems.

In 2011, a Chevy Volt lithium ion battery was damaged in a crash test. Three weeks later, it burst into flames. Chevrolet installed a number of fixes to prevent fires.

Safety features also were added to lithium ion batteries in some cell phones and laptops after 56 million were recalled for risk of overheating and exploding.

Boeing says lithium ion batteries "best met the performance and design objectives of the 787" and "Based on everything we know at this point, we have not changed our evaluation."

Blomgren considers the safety of lithium ion batteries on planes questionable.

"From what I know about incidents, I would not fly in a Dreamliner tomorrow. I just wouldn't feel that it was appropriate or safe," Blomgren said.

Many experts believe in the promise of lithium ion batteries, including for airlines, but they just aren't sure its safety has been perfected.

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New Orleans Ready for 1st Super Bowl Since Katrina

The people of New Orleans have hosted nine Super Bowls since 1970, but Super Bowl 2013 may be one of the most meaningful yet.

That, of course, is because it's the first Super Bowl in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina devastated the region in 2005.

When the San Francisco 49ers compete against the Baltimore Ravens on Feb. 3, it may rank with the 2002 game, when New Orleans hosted Super Bowl XXXVI after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

FULL COVERAGE: Super Bowl 2013

"Our home was destroyed by water," said Doug Thornton, 54, senior vice president of SMG, the management company of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. "Like many in New Orleans, we struggled at times, but have been an active part of the city. For many of us who have gone through this, there is a tremendous sense of pride to showcase our city [for those who] who may have not been here since Katrina."

The Superdome's manager since 1997, Thornton was in the Superdome for five days when Hurricane Katrina made landfall. Back then, it was called the Louisiana Superdome. It later became a shelter for thousands of displaced residents who had lost their homes.

"It's a fixture in the city," Thornton said. "You can't drive anywhere without seeing it. You can't think about going to an event unless you're coming here."

Thornton said the connection between the 37-year-old building and the local residents is even stronger since Katrina.

"We commonly refer to it as the living room of New Orleans," Thornton said.

Super Bowl 2013: Young 49ers Fan's Rap Video Watch Video

German-based car company Mercedes-Benz purchased the naming rights to the stadium in 2011, and Thornton said people embraced the new name immediately, "because we kept the word Superdome in the title."

On game day, Thornton said, he won't be able to enjoy the game. He'll show up to the Superdome around 7:30 a.m., make his rounds around the Superdome, and his day will end well after midnight.

"I've come to learn after doing these events for many years [that] there's no enjoyment," Thornton said. "You learn quickly in this business you can no longer be a fan. We're workers. This is a lifestyle, not a job. You're committed to it. It's 24-7."

The same can be said for the 5,000-or-so workers who will be in the Superdome on game day.

"It's no different than a football player getting ready for the game. You have to be ready mentally and physically," he said.

Read More: Volkswagen Uses Viral YouTube Stars in Super Bowl 2013 Pre-Game Teaser

The city has been preparing for this moment since May 2009, when New Orleans was named host of Super Bowl 47.

Jay Cicero, 50, executive director of the Super Bowl host committee and president and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, said more than $1 billion in recent infrastructure improvements were not done just for the Super Bowl, but the completion dates were moved up "dramatically" because of the big game.

The city also recently completed a $350 million renovation to the Louis Armstrong International Airport.

On Monday, the city will host a ceremony for the expansion of the historic street car line to one block away from the Superdome.

Cicero said about 100,000 people are expected to travel to New Orleans from out of town for events related to the Super Bowl, which are listed on NewOrleansSuperBowl.com.

The city is also hosting other events that sandwich the Super Bowl because of Mardis Gras 2013.

An early estimate from the University of New Orleans predicted the Super Bowl's economic impact to the region would be valued around $434 million.

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Meet today's most ambitious women

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Report: Women in Brazil, Russia, India and China more ambitious than U.S. counterparts


• Extended families, affordable childcare makes it easier for mothers to work, says author


• Eldercare and "daughterly guilt" are a more significant barrier than in Western world


• Women report: Assertiveness not considered feminine in China and India

Editor's note: Sylvia Ann Hewlett is an economist and the founding president of the Center for Talent Innovation, a Manhattan-based think tank where she chairs the Task Force for Talent Innovation, a task force of more than 70 global companies focused on fully realizing the new stream of talent in the global marketplace.

New York (CNN) -- The rapid growth in emerging markets over the past decade has made them fertile ground for the development of new approaches to attracting and managing talent.

Among the biggest beneficiaries: Ambitious, educated women in Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC). Following the trend in developed nations, BRIC women are graduating from university at rates equal to or exceeding men. As they enter the professional workforce in their home countries, these women have an unparalleled opportunity to leapfrog their Western counterparts.

Research from the think tank I set up, Center for Talent Innovation, shows that their career ambitions and commitment overwhelm those of women in the U.S.

Their career ambitions and commitment overwhelm those of women in the U.S.
Sylvia Ann Hewlett

In my book, "Winning the War for Talent in Emerging Markets: Why Women are the Solution," written with Ripa Rashid, we say some 76% of Chinese women, 80% of Brazilian women, and a whopping 86% of Indian women aspire to the top job, compared to only 52% of their U.S. counterparts. Over 80% in Brazil, Russia and India love their jobs, versus 70% in the U.S.

Yet their promising futures too often are derailed by family-rooted "pulls" and workplace-centered "pushes."

Although childcare is one of the most common career killers for women in the United States and Western Europe, it is rarely a serious problem in the emerging markets. Parents and in-laws frequently live nearby and are willing to pitch in to help care for their grandchildren. Nannies and household help are, for the most part, affordable and readily available.

Instead, BRIC women confront a series of family and social pressures that pile onto women when they marry, ratchet up after they have children, and become almost crushing as their parents and in-laws get older.

Eldercare is a ticking time bomb, especially in countries where filial piety is tightly woven into the cultural value system.

Although elders today represent a net benefit to the female career professional in BRIC markets, demographic projections a huge leap in the percentage of the population over 60.

This dramatic shift will land squarely on professional women. While many women in our sample did not have children, the vast majority -- 81% -- do have eldercare responsibilities. "Daughterly guilt," already substantial across the BRICs, actually exceeds maternal guilt in India and China.

Gender bias remains an indisputable reality of the workplace
Sylvia Ann Hewlett

In spite of the tremendous gains in women's status in the BRICs over the past two decades, gender bias remains an indisputable reality of the workplace.

In India and China, over 25% of CTI survey respondents believe women are treated unfairly in the workplace owing to their gender; in India, the number is 45%.

More than half of educated women in India and nearly half of their counterparts in China have encountered bias severe enough to make them consider scaling back their career goals -- or quitting altogether. (Russia is the exception, in part owing to a Communist legacy that integrated women into the workplace better than elsewhere in today's emerging markets.)

Even a sizable percentage of men agree that women are treated unfairly because of their gender.

The most commonly encountered types of bias involve lingering stereotypes about women's abilities and commitment to work.

These deeply rooted prejudices can impact women's careers in a range of ways, from curtailed assignments to smaller salaries to penalties for taking maternity leave.

Women also have to fight cultural stereotypes that bar them from coveted assignments. More than half of the women surveyed are interested in international assignments, with most seeing them as critical to their career advancement.

Yet because it's assumed that a woman's responsibilities are to her home, and that her husband and children will take precedence over commitment to her career, she is often passed over in favor of a man.

Employers who wish to maximize their potential need to understand (women's) complicated career dynamics.
Sylvia Ann Hewlett

But assertiveness can be difficult for women brought up in cultures that place great value on women's submissiveness and reticence, as in India and China, or consider it a trait that detracts from women's essential femininity.

Many women surveyed felt crippled by this cultural bind, a sense further reinforced by the absence of senior female role models, mentors, sponsors and access to leadership training. Time and again, the women spoke of how hungry they are for more support from their employers and how much they would benefit from programs that would help them break out of their shells.

A nuanced understanding of the cultural and social influences is essential to doing business effectively anywhere, yet the "think global, act local" mantra that is the cornerstone of many successful business strategies rarely extends to managing talented women in emerging markets.

Employers who wish to maximize their potential need to understand their complicated career dynamics.

Only by creating policies and practices that enable ambitious, educated women to flourish will companies ensure that the tomorrow's leaders get the skills and support they need today.

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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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