Alleged Doctor Killer Had Anger Issues, Friend Says

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

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

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

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

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

Philadelphia Police Department/AP Photo

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

Philadelphia Doctor's Murder Leaves Police Baffled Watch Video

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Neanderthal cloning? Pure fantasy

A display of a reconstruction of a Neanderthal man and boy at the Museum for Prehistory in Eyzies-de-Tayac, France.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Arthur Caplan: It would be unethical to try and clone a Neanderthal baby


• Caplan: Downsides include a good chance of producing a baby that is seriously deformed


• He says the future belongs to what we can do to genetically engineer and control microbes


• Caplan: Microbes can make clean fuel, suck up carbon dioxide, clean fat out of arteries

Editor's note: Arthur Caplan is the Drs. William F and Virginia Connolly Mitty professor and director of the Division of Bioethics at New York University Langone Medical Center.

(CNN) -- So now we know -- there won't be a Neanderthal moving into your neighborhood.

Despite a lot of frenzied attention to the intentionally provocative suggestion by a renowned Harvard scientist that new genetic technology makes it possible to splice together a complete set of Neanderthal genes, find an adventurous surrogate mother and use cloning to gin up a Neanderthal baby -- it ain't gonna happen anytime soon.

Nor should it. But there are plenty of other things in the works involving genetic engineering that do merit serious ethical discussion at the national and international levels.

Arthur Caplan

Some thought that the Harvard scientist, George Church, was getting ready to put out an ad seeking volunteer surrogate moms to bear a 35,000-year-old, long-extinct Neanderthal baby. Church had to walk his comments back and note that he was just speculating, not incubating.

Still cloning carries so much mystery and Hollywood glamour thanks to movies such as "Jurassic Park," "The Boys From Brazil" and "Never Let Me Go" that a two-day eruption of the pros and cons of making Neanderthals ensued. That was not necessary. It would be unethical to try and clone a Neanderthal baby.

Why? Because there is no obvious reason to do so. There is no pressing need or remarkable benefit to undertaking such a project. At best it might shed some light on the biology and behavior of a distant ancestor. At worst it would be nothing more than the ultimate reality television show exploitation: An "Octomom"-like surrogate raises a caveman child -- tune in next week to see what her new boyfriend thinks when she tells him that there is a tiny addition in her life and he carries a small club and a tiny piece of flint to sleep with him.

The downsides of trying to clone a Neanderthal include a good chance of killing it, producing a baby that is seriously deformed, producing a baby that lacks immunity to infectious diseases and foods that we have gotten used to, an inability to know what environment to create to permit the child to flourish and a complete lack of understanding of what sort of behavior is "normal" or "appropriate" for such a long-extinct cousin hominid of ours.

When weighed against the risks and the harm that most likely would be done, it would take a mighty big guarantee of benefit to justify this cloning experiment. I am willing to venture that the possible benefit will never, ever reach the point where this list of horrible likely downsides could be overcome.

Even justifying trying to resurrect a woolly mammoth, or a mastodon, or the dodo bird or any other extinct animal gets ethically thorny. How many failures would be acceptable to get one viable mastodon? Where would the animal live? What would we feed it? Who would protect it from poachers, gawkers and treasure hunters? It is not so simple to take a long dead species, make enough of them so they don't die of isolation and lack of social stimulation and then find an environment that is close enough and safe enough compared with that which they once roamed.

In any event the most interesting aspects of genetic engineering do not involve making humans or Neanderthals or mammoths. They involve ginning up microbes to do things that we really need doing such as making clean fuel, sucking up carbon dioxide, cleaning fat out of our arteries, giving us a lot more immunity to nasty bacteria and viruses and helping us make plastics and chemicals more efficiently and cheaply.

In trying to make these kinds of microbes, you can kill all you want without fear of ethical condemnation. And if the new bug does not like the environment in which it has to exist to live well, that will be just too darn bad.

The ethical challenge of this kind of synthetic biology is that it can be used by bad guys for bad purposes. Biological weapons can be ginned up and microbes created that only infect people with certain genes that commonly associate with racial or ethnic groups.

Rather than worry about what will happen to real estate values should a new crop of "Flintstones" move in down the street, our public officials, religious groups and ethicists need to get serious about how much regulation the genetic engineering of microbes needs, how can we detect what terrorists might try to use, what sort of controls do we need to prevent accidents and who is going to pay if a bug turns out to cause more harm than good.

We love to think that the key to tomorrow lies in what humanity can be designed or empowered to do. Thus, the fascination with human cloning. In reality, at least for a long time to come, the future belongs to what we can do to design and control microbes. That is admittedly duller, but it is far better to follow a story that is true than one such as Neanderthal cloning that is pure, speculative fantasy.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Arthur Caplan.

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Private home prices expected to be relatively stable: analyst

SINGAPORE: Colliers International said private home prices are expected to remain relatively stable with marginal downside this year, thanks to the government's latest cooling measures imposed in January 2013.

In the face of mounting supply, rents are also expected to weaken this year.

According to a report by Colliers International, average monthly gross rents of luxury/super-luxury homes are expected to decline by up to a maximum of 10 per cent in 2013.

Meanwhile, Colliers said Singapore's residential property market saw a record breaking year in 2012.

This was despite noticeably subdued market activity in the fourth quarter of 2012, following recent property cooling measures.

Colliers said the home buying frenzy which started in January last year brought developers' sales volumes for 2012 to a record high as early as September.

This was boosted by a record number of new units released by developers as well.

4,283 new units were sold in the fourth quarter of last year, raising the primary sales volume to 22,127 units for the whole of 2012.

This breaks the previous record of 16,292 new units sold in 2010 by 35.8 per cent.

Meanwhile, developers launched a total of 21,511 new private homes last year, surpassing the previous highs of 17,710 units recorded in 2011 by 21.5 per cent.

But on a quarterly basis, developer launches and sales volumes dipped below 5,000 units last quarter due to the traditional year-end festive and holiday season and a weaker sentiment.

The number of new units released fell from an average of 6,023 units for the first three quarters to 3,441 in the last quarter of 2012.

Similarly, developer sales in the three months ending December 2012 fell 27.6 per cent on-quarter to 4,238 units from 5,916 units sold from July to September.

Meanwhile, mass market projects located in the Outside Central Region (OCR) dominated activities in the primary market in the last three months of 2012, contributing to 51.0 per cent of developer launches and 63.1 per cent of developer sales during this period.

Homes in the Rest of the Central region (RCR) contributed 31.5 per cent of island-wide launches and 22.8 per cent of developer sales in three months ending December 2012.

The Colliers report also stated that the narrowing price gap between mid-tier and mass market homes located in suburban areas saw home-buyers committing to 975 new units in 4Q2012, up 19.8 per cent on quarter from the 814 units sold in the third quarter of last year.

Launches and sales of new homes in the Core Central Region (CCR) meanwhile accounted for 17.5 per cent and 14.1 per cent of island-wide launch and sales volumes in 4Q2012.

Developer launches in that segment also slid 2.4 per cent from the third quarter while sales dropped 6.5 per cent on-quarter during the October to December period.

All three market regions (OCR, RCR and CCR) experienced higher rates of price growth in 2012, although the pace of price increase varied across the different regions.

- 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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North Korea planning "high-level" nuclear test

Updated at 7:15 a.m. Eastern

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

19 Photos

North Korea's long-range rocket launch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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.

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

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PM Lee says he is aware of childcare concerns

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has written on his Facebook page that he is aware many couples and parents are worried about childcare for their young children, especially when both adults are working.

He noted that they had raised their concerns and commented on this when he posted on the Marriage & Parenthood Package on Monday.

Mr Lee added that the government is increasing child and infant care subsidies, for families with a gross monthly income of up to S$7,500 and expanding the number of good quality and affordable childcare centres.

This will give parents with young children greater peace of mind, and hopefully encourage couples to have more children.

- CNA/xq

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British PM promises EU referendum

British Prime Minister David Cameron delivers his speech on the UK's relationship with the EU on Wednesday in London.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• France's foreign minister says a referendum risks being dangerous for Britain


• Cameron sets out options in a landmark speech on Britain's future in the European Union


• He wants a vote on Britain remaining in the EU on renegotiated terms -- or leaving


• But Cameron warns that quitting Europe would be a "one-way ticket"

London (CNN) -- British Prime Minister David Cameron promised Wednesday that a vote would be held on Britain's membership in the European Union, if his party wins the next election in 2015.

Should Britain stay in the EU? What would the impact be if it left? Send us your thoughts.

Cameron said the British people should have a choice about whether to remain in the EU on the basis of a renegotiated settlement -- or to leave.

The referendum should not be held until it's clear how changes made after the crisis in the eurozone work out, he said, while giving a landmark speech on Europe.

But, he said, it was important to ask "difficult questions" about the future now. Otherwise, British people could "drift towards the exit" if Europe fails.

The key problems Europe faces are instability in the eurozone, a "crisis of European competitiveness, as other nations across the world soar ahead," and a lack of democratic accountability, Cameron said.

"There is a gap between the EU and its citizens which has grown dramatically in recent years," he said.

As a result, "democratic consent for the EU in Britain is now wafer thin," he said, and public disillusionment is at an all-time high.

"It is time to settle this European question in British politics," he said. "I say to the British people: This will be your decision."

The British prime minister insisted that he is not an isolationist, saying he would like Britain to remain part of Europe on the right terms, with the single market and competitiveness at the heart of the relationship.

And he set out a vision for an "updated" European Union that is "more flexible, more adaptable, more open, fit for the challenges of the modern age" -- and said all options should be on the table to negotiate a new deal.

He also warned that leaving the European Union would be a "one-way ticket" with no option of return.

"Over the coming weeks, months and years, I will not rest until this debate is won -- for the future of my country, for the success of the European Union and the prosperity of our peoples for generations to come," he concluded.

Cameron promised a vote in the first half of the next parliament, if his party -- which is currently in a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats -- wins the general election due in 2015.

The prime minister has been under concerted pressure from some members of his party to hold a referendum on Europe. The so-called Eurosceptics want to see certain powers repatriated from the EU to Britain and a reduction in legislation they say holds back businesses.

However, others both in and outside the party warn that creating uncertainty about Britain's membership in the European Union risks undermining the confidence of businesses and industry at a critical time.

Fellow European nations may also be unwilling to renegotiate the terms of Britain's membership.

France and others have made it clear that Cameron cannot "cherry-pick" which elements of the European Union he signs up to, or risk unraveling the union to suit British interests.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told radio station France Info that the planned referendum "risks being dangerous for Britain itself because Britain outside of Europe, that will be difficult."

If Britain did decide to leave the European Union, France would roll out the red carpet for business leaders, Fabius added.

U.S. President Barack Obama last week told Cameron that "the United States values a strong UK in a strong European Union."

Markets across Europe were flat Wednesday morning after Cameron's speech, including in London.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said ahead of Cameron's address that it would "define him as a weak prime minister, being driven by his party, not by the national economic interest."

Miliband said Tuesday that Cameron had rejected the idea of an "in/out" referendum on Europe in October 2011 because of the doubts it would foster.

"The only thing that has changed since then is he has lost control of his party and is too weak to do what is right for the country," Miliband said.

"Everyone knows that the priority for Britain is the jobs and growth that we need. We have had warning after warning from British business about the dangers of creating years of uncertainty for Britain."

Daniel Wilsher, an expert in EU law at City University London, said Cameron will need to come up with "some convincing bargaining chips" if he wants to persuade other EU members to negotiate a new deal.

Cameron's threat to wield Britain's veto over treaty changes to deepen ties within the eurozone will not be enough, Wilsher said.

The British prime minister also focused on the importance of the single market, Wilsher said, but membership in this is tied to EU rules regarding workers' rights, consumer safety and environmental protection.

To opt out of certain laws, such as the EU directive on working hours, "is legally difficult and would disturb a premise of the single market," he said. "Overall, it would be very hard to change the fundamentals without allowing every country to pick on its own pet hates."

Cameron was due to give the speech on Europe last week but had to postpone its delivery because of the Algerian hostage crisis.

Should Britain stay in or leave the European Union? What would be the impact on you or your country if it left? Add your thoughts in the comments section below.

CNN's Claudia Rebaza contributed to this report.

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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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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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