Exit polls: Narendra Modi to sweep Gujarat, Congress ahead in Himachal

NEW DELHI: Exit and opinion polls on television channels at the end of voting in Gujarat on Sunday projected BJP to perform a hat-trick in the state while Congress is predicted to have an edge in BJP-ruled Himachal Pradesh.

Exit poll carried out by C-Voter for Times Now predicted 119 to 129 seats for BJP while Congress is projected to win between 49 and 59 seats out of the total 182 seats.

News 24 showed that BJP is likely to get 140 against 117 seats it had won in 2007 assembly polls as the party is expected to get 46 per cent of the total vote share. The poll carried out by Chanakya for the channel projected Congress to get 40 seats, 19 short of 59 it won in 2007 polls.

Headlines Today projected BJP to get between 118 and 128 seats while Congress is likely to win in 50 to 56 seats with 37 per cent vote share.

The ABP News predicted BJP to win in 116 seats and Congress in 60 constituencies.

C-Voter predicted a vote share of 46 per cent for BJP against 37 per cent for Congress while Chanakya said BJP is likely to get 50 per cent vote share against 35 per cent of Congress.

In Himachal Pradesh, C-Voter predicted 30 to 38 seats for Congress while BJP is likely to get 27 to 35 seats in the 68-member assembly.

Chanakya predicted Congress to win in 40 seats while they said BJP is likely to win in 23 seats. Others may win in five seats.

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Grave Obstacle to Chinese Construction Boom

A.R. Williams

China's construction boom waits for no one, dead or alive. In the city of Taiyuan (map) that means a multistory residential complex is taking shape around a lone grave, which now sits atop a tower of mud about 30 feet (10 meters) above the building's excavated foundations.

The family of the deceased—buried there in 2004—has refused an offer of 1,000,000 yuan (about $160,000) to compensate them for the land. Chinese news reports say they can't understand why the developer chose this particular spot and have asked for an explanation. Meanwhile, the construction crew is sticking to their schedule, working toward an April 2013 completion date.

In similar situations around the country, people sometimes resist vacating their homes to make way for large-scale projects such as hotels, factories, and shopping malls. Typically, a developer will start work anyway, turning the home into what's known as a "nail house"—a single building that sticks up in the middle of a construction site like a stubborn nail in a board.

The homeowner may hang on for a time, even with the electricity and water turned off, but eventually the developer offers enough money, takes possession of the house, and tears it down. In a widely reported recent case, an elderly duck farmer and his wife refused to move from their home in the village of Xiayangzhang (map) to make way for a road. After four lanes of asphalt were laid down around the building, the owners accepted a payment of 260,000 yuan ($41,000) and a plot of land for a new house. Their old home was demolished on December 1.

(Related: "European Man Found in Ancient Chinese Tomb, Study Finds")

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Newtown Couple Vow to Live for Dead Daughter

The parents of Jessica Rekos, a 6-year-old girl who died during the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., said they are committed to keeping their daughter's memory alive despite their pain.

"We will talk about her every day, we will live for her," Krista Rekos told ABC News. "We will make sure her brother knows what an amazing person she was."

Richard and Krista Rekos say that talking about Jessica, who loved horseback riding and whom they called the CEO of their family, brings tiny moments of comfort.

CLICK HERE for full coverage of the massacre at the elementary school.

"Jessica loved writing, and she would often leave us little notes all over the house," Rekos said. "They would just say, 'I love you so much.'

"She was a ball of fire, she ruled the roost," Krista Rekos said.

When the call came Friday morning that Sandy Hook Elementary was on lockdown, Krista Rekos rushed in disbelief through the town where she and her husband were raised, a place they had always felt safe.

"I was running, and I kept thinking, 'I'm coming for you honey, I'm coming,'" she said, choking up.

CLICK HERE to read about the "hero teacher," the principal and 20 children who lost their lives.

First Sandy Hook Shooting Victims to Be Buried Watch Video

Adam Lanza: Who Was Elementary School Shooter? Watch Video

Richard Rekos said they initially had little information on what had happened.

"We had no idea at that point," he said. "We thought, OK, the reports are that one or two people may have been injured and taken to hospitals. There was still hope, that the children were hiding, there was still so much hope at that point."

The couple said that they walked around the firehouse, thinking that maybe Jessica had been taken there.

"I knew exactly what she was wearing, and I was hoping to see her little ponytail run around the corner, and her jacket and her black glittery Uggs that she had on that morning," Krista Rekos said.

Finally, around 1:15 p.m., everyone was asked to sit down, and a police officer said 20 children had been killed.

"We couldn't get a straight answer," Richard Rekos said. "There's so much panic and confusion when that announcement was made, the life was just sucked out of the room. And you know, I just point-blank found a state trooper and said, 'Are you telling me that standing here as a parent that my daughter is gone?' And he said, 'Yes.'"

The Rekoses were asked to stay at the firehouse to identify their daughter's body but, overcome with grief, they left in disbelief. The couple went home, and got into their daughter's bed, staying there until about 1 a.m., they said.

At that point there was a knock on the door and a police officer said that Jessica was dead.

"It just confirmed the nightmare, it's not real," Krista Rekos said. "It's still not real that my little girl who's so full of life and wants a horse so badly, and who was going to get cowboy boots for Christmas, isn't coming home."

The couple said the pain is just settling in. But equally strong is their commitment to keeping their daughter's memory alive.

The parents said that their 6-year old family powerhouse, with an enormous heart, will forever be their angel who left behind love notes that are still being found.

"This morning I found a little journal, and it was exactly what I needed, because it says, 'I love you so much momma, love Jessica,'" her mother said.

"It was like she was telling me she was watching us and she knows how hard this must be for us, and she wants us to know she loved us, and she knows how much she was loved."

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Football: Corinthians clinch Club World Cup title

YOKOHAMA, Japan: Brazilian giants Corinthians won the Club World Cup in Japan on Sunday, overcoming European champions Chelsea 1-0 in a closely-fought encounter.

Striker Paolo Guerrero got the goal as the Sao Paulo club secured their second intercontinental title -- they won the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship -- and became the first side from outside Europe to win the title since 2006.

"We played a high quality match," a delighted Corinthians coach Tite said afterwards.

"Everything went well. Each player performed their own role and were able to do well in their position. I'm very happy."

But interim Chelsea boss Rafael Benitez felt his team were unlucky to lose, ruing several missed chances.

"We knew it would be a tough game against a good team. I think they had one (clear cut) chance and they scored and we didn't take our chances. That was the difference."

Benitez made three changes to the team that thrashed Mexican side Monterrey 3-1 in the semi-final -- replacing Oscar, John Obi Mikel and Cesar Azpilicueta with Frank Lampard, Ramires and Victor Moses.

Tite changed just one player from the side that scraped to a 1-0 last-four win over Egypt's Al Ahly, bringing in Jorge Henrique for Douglas.

The match at the almost-full 68,000-capacity International Stadium in Yokohama was frenetic right from the first whistle as play swung from end to end.

Chelsea came closest to taking the lead after eight minutes when Corinthians goalkeeper Cassio fumbled a Gary Cahill effort from a corner, before gathering the ball just short of the goal-line as Victor Moses looked to pounce.

On 25 minutes, the referee waved away a penalty appeal by Corinthians when centre-forward Guerrero went down softly under a challenge by Cahill.

Emerson should have scored three minutes later after Cahill let the ball slip under his foot. But the Corinthians forward blazed his shot over the bar from the edge of the penalty box with just Petr Cech to beat.

Guerrero then had a shot blocked shortly afterwards before striker Fernando Torres was similarly denied at the other end.

The Spaniard should have done better on 37 minutes however, expertly controlling a long-range pass from Lampard that split the Corinthians' defence. But a weak shot at Cassio meant the Brazilians breathed a sigh of relief.

Moses did better two minutes later, cutting in from the left and curling a shot that Cassio did well to tip round his left-hand post.

The Corinthians goalkeeper -- later named player of the tournament -- was proving tough to beat, holding onto a long-range shot from Juan Mata shortly afterwards, and the teams entered the break goalless.

The second half started as quick as the first, with Eden Hazard causing problems for the Corinthians defence before midfielder Paulinho gave Cech a fright with a shot that narrowly went wide on 64 minutes.

There was finally a breakthrough five minutes later when Guerrero headed in from close range after Danilo's shot was blocked.

Benitez brought Oscar on for Moses almost straightaway. But it was Torres who missed the best chance to equalise when he shot straight at the goalkeeper from the edge of the six-yard box with only four minutes to go.

Cahill was sent off shortly afterwards, believed to be for lashing out at Emerson, but Chelsea managed one last chance in injury time.

Torres headed the ball in the net, however it was ruled offside and Corinthians held on.

CONCACAF champions Monterrey took third place earlier Sunday, defeating Al Ahly 2-0 through goals from Jesus Corona and Cesar Delgado.

- AFP/fa

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US-made Apache choppers will be for the Air Force, chief NAK Browne says

NEW DELHI: 22 Apache helicopters, which are in process of being acquired from the US, will be for the IAF, Air Force chief NAK Browne said.

"The Apaches are going to be with us only as it is an ongoing acquisition process," Air Chief Marshal Browne told PTI here on the sidelines of a 1971 Indo-Pak war anniversary function.

The defence ministry had recently allowed the Army to have combat choppers and said that all future acquisitions will be for it.

"The government has decided to let the Army to have its own heavy duty attack helicopters.

"The decision to vest the future inductions of attack helicopters with the Army has been taken keeping in view the operational requirements in the field," defence minister AK Antony had told Parliament.

He had also said that the IAF was procuring 22 AH-64D Block-III Apache helicopters from Boeing company of USA.

Browne said the Apaches are not just for taking out enemy tanks or for air-to-ground operations but they can be used for multiple tasks such as taking out enemy radar stations and for air-to-air missions.

The Army had said recently that it was planning to send a proposal to the defence ministry for seeking transfer of attack helicopters from the Air Force at the earliest.

Sources said the Army had also suggested that the proposal would also include transfer of the Apache helicopters which are being procured.

The IAF and the Army in the recent past have been involved in a battle of sorts for controlling the attack helicopter fleet and the Defence Ministry has decided in favour of the Army.

The Army already has an aviation wing but the Defence Minister has approved a long-pending demand of the 1.3 million-strong force for attack helicopters, overruling stiff opposition from the Air Force.

The Army had been demanding attack helicopters, saying these are mainly used for operations by it.

The IAF had been strongly resisting it, with Browne saying the country cannot afford to have "small air forces".

The IAF is in final stages of completing the acquisition process of 22 Apache choppers from the US after the American machine edged out the Russian Mi-28 Havoc in the tender.

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Space Pictures This Week: Frosty Mars, Mini Nile, More

Photograph by Mike Theiss, National Geographic

The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, illuminates the Arctic sky in a recent picture by National Geographic photographer Mike Theiss.

A storm chaser by trade, Theiss is in the Arctic Circle on an expedition to photograph auroras, which result from collisions between charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere and gaseous particles in Earth's atmosphere.

After one particularly amazing show, he wrote on YouTube, "The lights were dancing, rolling, and twisting, and at times looked like they were close enough to touch!" (Watch his time-lapse video of the northern lights.)

Published December 14, 2012

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Conn. Community Mourns Victims of Massacre

President Obama will visit Newtown, Conn. today to meet with the grieving families and thank the first responders from Friday's school shooting, as the community begins the long process of healing.

The pictures of the young victims killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School emerged Saturday, along with a remarkable story of survival.

Twenty children and six adults were killed at the school when shooter Adam Lanza went on a shooting rampage.

Later this evening, the community will gather for an interfaith vigil, where the president is scheduled to address mourners, some from out of state who came to offer help and others, who knew the young victims or their families.

Addressing the nation on Friday, Obama mourned the children who "had their entire lives ahead of them -- birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own."

Story of Survival

READ: Complete List of Sandy Hook Victims

The lone survivor of her class tricked the gunman by playing dead, the girl's pastor told ABC News, before running out of the school covered in the blood of her classmates.

"She ran out of the school building covered from head to toe with blood and the first thing she said to her mom was, 'Mommy, I'm OK but all my friends are dead,'" said Pastor Jim Solomon. "Somehow in that moment, by God's grace, [she] was able to act as she was already deceased."

Five first graders in another class were also killed, along with six staff members.

Connecticut Shooting: Churches Services Honor Victims Watch Video

Connecticut Shooting: Pastor Explains How Girl Played Dead to Survive Watch Video

"The mom told me, and I thought this was very insightful, that she was suffering from what she felt was survivor's guilt because so many of her friends no longer have their children but she has hers," the pastor said.

Click Here for full coverage of the tragedy at the elementary school.

Remembering the Victims of the Sandy Hook Shooting

There was Emilie Parker, the little girl with the blond hair and bright blue eyes, who would have been one of the first to comfort her classmates at Sandy Hook Elementary School, had a gunman's bullets not claimed her life, her father said.

Noah Pozner and his twin sister had just celebrated their sixth birthdays. His twin sister survived the shooting, but Noah did not.

Six-year-old Jesse Lewis went to school on Friday, excited to make gingerbread houses. He died, along with his teacher, Victoria Soto, 27, whose family said was shielding some of her first graders when she was hit by bullets.

As the community mourns and families bear the pain of planning 26 funerals before Christmas, school board members hope to get students back to a familiar routine.

"Well, all the mental health experts we've talked to...tell us that the best thing we can do is to get back to normal operations as soon as possible," said Bill Hart, a member of the Newtown Board of Education.

"We know some teachers won't be prepared to come back, he said. "We are going to be prepared with substitutes. We've got counseling for all. We're prepared to do whatever we have to do to help all of our community."

READ: Police Seek Motive in Shooting

Students who attend Sandy Hook Elementary School will be moved to another location that has yet to be announced, Hart said. He said officials did not yet know what would become of the building that was turned into a slaughterhouse on Friday.

"I think trying to understand what we are going to do with that is a long process and we're not in any way prepared to make those decisions now," he said.

ABC News' Lara Spencer and Dan Harris contributed reporting.

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China's longest high-speed railway to start on December 26

BEIJING: The world's longest high-speed rail route, running from the Chinese capital Beijing to Guangzhou in the south, will open for business on December 26, state media said on Saturday.

Travelling at an average speed of 300 kilometres per hour, the line will slash journey times linking Beijing in the north with the country's southern economic hub from 22 hours to eight hours, the China Daily newspaper said.

The December opening means the 2,298-kilometre route, with 35 stops including major cities Zhengzhou, Wuhan and Changsha, will be operational for China's Lunar New Year holiday period, in which hundreds of millions of people travel across the country in the world's largest annual migration.

The specific date was chosen to commemorate the birth of Chinese leader Mao Zedong, state media said.

China's high-speed rail network is booming. Only established in 2007, it has quickly become the largest in the world, with 8,358 kilometres of track at the end of 2010 and expected to almost double to 16,000 kilometres by 2020.

The network, however, has been plagued by graft and safety scandals following its rapid expansion, with a deadly bullet train collision in July 2011 killing 40 people and sparking a public outcry.

The accident - China's worst rail disaster since 2008 - triggered a flood of criticism of the government and accusations that the authorities had compromised safety in its rush to expand.

- AFP/de

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Now, Lord Balaji devotees can send offerings by mobile phone

TIRUPATI: Devotees of Lord Venkateswara of the famous hill shrine at nearby Tirumala can soon make their cash offerings using their mobile phones.

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which manages the cash-rich temple, is all set to introduce a 'mobile phone Hundi' that would enable the devotees to send their offerings using the balance in their pre-paid account, top TTD officials told reporters here.

Under the system, to be implemented in association with a private company and a nationalised bank, the amount offered to the Lord would be debited from the balance available in the devotee's pre-paid account and credited to TTD Mobile Phone Hundi bank account, TTD Board Chairman K Bapiraju and Executive Officer L V Subrahmanyam said.

The procedure for making the cash offering would be announced later, they said.

The temple has an 'e-hundi' facility already through which online donations can be made by devotees by accessing the TTD web portal.

The Lord Venkateswara temple nets an annual income of over Rs 2,000 crore from various sources, including sale of darshan tickets, offerings of cash and precious articles made by millions of devotees in the hundi and the interest on deposits with the nationalised banks.

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Space Pictures This Week: Frosty Mars, Mini Nile, More

Photograph by Mike Theiss, National Geographic

The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, illuminates the Arctic sky in a recent picture by National Geographic photographer Mike Theiss.

A storm chaser by trade, Theiss is in the Arctic Circle on an expedition to photograph auroras, which result from collisions between charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere and gaseous particles in Earth's atmosphere.

After one particularly amazing show, he wrote on YouTube, "The lights were dancing, rolling, and twisting, and at times looked like they were close enough to touch!" (Watch his time-lapse video of the northern lights.)

Published December 14, 2012

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