Pope readies for final audience on resignation eve

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI will hold the last audience of his pontificate in St Peter's Square on Wednesday on the eve of his historic resignation as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

Tens of thousands of pilgrims are expected at the Vatican to bid a final farewell to an 85-year-old pope who abruptly cut short his pontificate by declaring he was too weak in body and mind to keep up with the modern world.

The Vatican says 50,000 people have obtained tickets for the event but many more may come and city authorities are preparing for 200,000, installing metal detectors in the area, deploying snipers and setting up field clinics.

No parking has been allowed in the zone since 10:00 pm Tuesday, and cars were to be barred entirely from 7:00 am on Wednesday.

The weekly audience, which is exceptionally being held in St Peter's Square because of the numbers expected, is to begin at around 10:30 am (0930 GMT) and usually lasts around an hour with a mixture of prayers and religious instruction from the pope.

Benedict will be the first pope to step down since the Middle Ages -- a break with Catholic tradition that has worried conservatives but kindled the hopes of Catholics around the world who want a breath of new life in the Church.

Rome has been gripped by speculation over what prompted Benedict to resign and who the leading candidates might be to replace him.

Rumours and counter-rumours in the Italian media suggest cut-throat behind-the-scenes lobbying, prompting the Vatican to condemn what it has called "unacceptable pressure" to influence the papal election.

Campaign groups have also lobbied the Vatican to exclude two cardinals accused of covering up child sex abuse from the upcoming election conclave.

The Vatican has said Benedict will receive the title of "Roman pontiff emeritus" and can still be addressed as "Your Holiness" and wear the white papal cassock after he officially steps down at 1900 GMT on Thursday.

Just before that time, the Vatican said Benedict will be whisked off by helicopter to the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo near Rome where he will begin a life out of the public eye.

Benedict will wave from the residence's balcony one last time before retreating to a private chapel and, as he has said, a life "hidden from the world".

On the hour he formally loses his powers as sovereign pontiff, the liveried Swiss Guard that traditionally protects popes will leave the residence.

The shock of the resignation and its unprecedented nature in the Church's modern history has left the Vatican sometimes struggling to explain the implications and Benedict's future status -- from the banal to the theological.

Some Catholics find it hard to come to terms with the idea that someone who was elected in a supposedly divinely inspired vote could simply resign.

The Vatican has said Benedict will lose his power of divine infallibility -- a sort of supreme authority in doctrinal matters -- as soon as he steps down.

The Vatican has also explained that the personalised gold Fisherman's Ring traditionally used to seal papal documents -- a key symbol of the office -- will be destroyed by a special cardinal, as is customary in Catholic tradition.

Benedict has also chosen to swap his trademark red shoes for a brown pair given to him by artisans in Mexico during a trip last year.

Starting next week, cardinals from around the world will begin a series of meetings to decide what the priorities for the Catholic Church should be, set a start date for the conclave and consider possible candidates for pope.

The conclave -- a centuries-old tradition with an elaborate ritual -- is supposed to be held within 15 to 20 days of the death of the pope, but Benedict has given special dispensation for the cardinals to bring that date forward.

Cardinals have been flying in from around the world including US prelate Roger Mahony, a former archbishop of Los Angeles stripped of all church duties for mishandling and covering up sex abuse claims against dozens of priests.

A total of 115 "cardinal electors" are scheduled to take part after another voter, British cardinal Keith O'Brien said he would not be taking part after allegations emerged that he made unwanted advances towards priests in the 1980s.

- AFP/ck

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Tech companies: gay marriage ban is bad for business

Apple is one of the companies signing up to support gay marriage.

(Credit:
Apple)

Some big name tech companies are adding their support for same-sex marriage and making the case that banning these unions deters employee recruitment efforts.

Dozens of companies, including Apple, Facebook, eBay and Intel, will file an amicus brief -- a court document field by an interested, group that is not actually a party to the case -- on Thursday to delcare their support, Fortune reported today.

The companies will file the brief for the Hollingsworth v. Perry case, which will decide whether or not the Fourteenth amendment prohibits California from defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states from denying any person equal protection of the law.

The companies argue that a ban would make it harder for companies in California to hire potential employees if those employees think they will receive better treatment and benefits in another state, or another country, according to the draft brief obtained by Fortune.

The tech companies join dozens of others, as well as top Republicans, including HP's Meg Whitman, who think the state should not ban gay marriage.

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Debate over Voting Rights Act changes in Ala.

(CBS News) -- On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. Both sides agree the south have changed in the past half-century. At issue is, has it changed enough?

In Shelby County, Alabama, the question is whether the state's racist past must forever define it.

(Watch: Voting Rights Act challengers take aim at "Section 5", below)

Fifty years ago, Alabama was the cradle of the civil rights movement, where protestors endured fire hoses, arrests and bombings in the fight for equality. One result was the Voting Rights Act.

One provision of the Act, Section 5, still requires all or part of 16 states, mostly in the south, to get approval from the Justice Department before changing voting procedures or electoral maps.

"Section five, which is what we are attacking, was never intended by congress to be permanent," said Frank Ellis, a Shelby County lawyer who is at the center of the battle to eliminate Section 5, and force the federal government to treat Alabama and other covered states like the rest of the country.

"They are still using the same criteria to determine whether these 16 states that are covered, they are still using the same test that they used in 1965," Ellis said.

"Things have changed in the South," he said. "This is a dynamic society."

But Ernest Montgomery says things have not changed enough. He was on the city council in Calera, Alabama when city officials, facing a population boom, redrew his district map. He lost the election to a white candidate. Under Section 5, the Justice Department ordered a new election and Montgomery won.

The minority representation in his district under the old map was about 67% African American, according to Montgomery. With the new map, that number dropped to about 28%.

Voting Rights Act faces Supreme Court challenge

Voting Rights Act Section 5 "not the only tool" to protect voting rights, Obama says

VIDEO: SCOTUS to hear challenge to Voting Rights Act

Shelby County Pastor Harry Jones calls it discrimination.

"I think it was designed to dilute the power of the minority community," Jones said. "It did just that."

Opponents like Ellis say they are not attacking the entire Voting Rights Act. If there's intentional discrimination, people can sue, just like they do in Michigan, Ohio and other states that aren't by Section Five.

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Arias Liked Some Kinky Sex, She Admits

Though accused murderer Jodi Arias said she sometimes felt "like a prostitute" at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander, she admitted today that she often enjoyed their sex life and even suggested sex acts they could try.

Prosecutor Juan Martinez, after a day of aggressive questioning and bickering with Arias, asked her about her own suggestions for her sex life with Alexander, including a phone conversation in which she suggested using sexual lubricant.

Arias, 32, is accused of killing Alexander, but claims it was in self-defense.
Timeline of the Jodi Arias Trial

"You introduced KY Jelly into the relationship to make it more sexually enjoyable, right? When we're talking about the level of experimentation, it looks like both of you were experimenting together sexually. So when we hear things like, 'I felt like a prostitute,' that's not exactly true, is it?" Martinez said.

"It was often mutual," Arias said. "I didn't feel like a prostitute during, just after."

Jodi Arias Admits to Killing Man, Lying to Police Watch Video

Jodi Arias Testimony: Prosecution's Cross-Examination Watch Video

Martinez showed the jury a text message Arias sent offering to perform oral sex on Alexander, comparing it to a statement she made on direct testimony saying that she once felt like a prostitute when Alexander tossed a piece of chocolate at her and walked away without a word after she performed oral sex.

"How is it you can say you 'felt like a prostitute' when you're moving the relationship ahead like this?" Martinez asked. "The act itself is the same thing, and here you're requesting it. The geography is different, but that aside, isn't it the same act? And you're requesting it?"

"When he (ejaculated) and left afterward I felt like a prostitute. When we mutually went through things together I didn't," she said.

Arias also admitted that she sent Alexander a topless photo of herself after he sent her photos of his penis, and that she only did it after she had her breasts enhanced surgically.

Catching Up on the Trial? Check Out ABC News' Jodi Arias Trial Coverage

The testimony came as Martinez continued his efforts to discredit Arias' testimony on the stand, including her statements that she often succumbed to Alexander's sexual fantasies so she wouldn't hurt his feelings. Martinez has focused on portraying Arias as a liar for much of his direct examination.

Arias is charged with murder for killing her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander at his home in Mesa, Ariz., in June 2008. She claims she killed him in self defense and that he had been increasingly violent and sexually demanding in the months before the confrontation. She also claimed he was interested in young boys.

The prosecution claims she killed him in a jealous rage. She could face the death penalty if convicted of first degree murder.

Jodi Arias Trial See Tempers Flare

Earlier in the day,tempers flared between Arias and prosecutor Martinez as the prosecutor tried to detail Arias' history of spying on her boyfriends, but Arias complained that his aggressive style of questioning made her "brain scramble."

Arias and Martinez, who have sparred throughout two prior days of cross-examination, spent more than 10 minutes bickering over Martinez's word choices and his apparent "anger."

The morning's testimony, and Martinez's points about Arias' alleged spying, were largely interrupted by the spats.

"Are you having trouble understanding me?" Martinez yelled.

"Yes because sometimes cause you go in circles," Arias answered.

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Motor Racing: Ecclestone wants Melbourne race for '50 years'

SYDNEY: Formula One ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone said Tuesday he would happily sign a contract for Melbourne to host the Grand Prix for 50 years, declaring "everybody loves Australia".

The sport has a contract with Melbourne until 2015 but beyond that it is up in the air, and other cities have expressed interest in snapping up the event which Ecclestone has previously said is the "least viable" on the F1 calendar.

Ecclestone said he hoped to travel to Melbourne for the season-opening 2013 race on March 17, in a year in which negotiations on a new contract are set to begin.

"Everybody loves Australia, loves Australian people and it's good to be there because it's the first race, it's nice, it's relaxed," he said in an official Australian Grand Prix podcast.

"We hope we're going to be in Melbourne forever, although I understand we do get a little bit of criticism and I don't know why.

"We're happy with Melbourne. I'd be happy to sign a 50-year contract. So we don't have a problem with Melbourne."

Ecclestone revealed that other Australian states had contacted him in attempts to poach the event from Victoria, but he indicated he was determined to keep the race in the southern state's capital.

"We get proposals from other parts, but we're happy in Melbourne," he said.

Ahead of the 2012 race Ecclestone floated the idea of a "divorce from our friends in Melbourne" and "walking away from Australia" when the contract expires.

"The race itself, from our point of view, is probably the least viable of all the races we have," he said then.

Ecclestone also said last year he was keen on a night race, which would fit better with European timezones, helping to sell TV rights there.

Such a move would likely be opposed by residents who live around Melbourne's Albert Park circuit, as well as costing the Victorian state government more to stage.

Last year's race cost taxpayers A$56.7 million (US$58.2 million) -- more than the revenue it generates -- with A$30 million of that reportedly going to Ecclestone for the right to host the race.

Ecclestone said the fee was "purely what the race cost" and included bringing six jumbo jets full of freight transportation to Australia.

Melbourne has hosted the Grand Prix since 1996.

- AFP/ck

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'Copyright Alert System' rolls out to catch illegal downloaders

The "Copyright Alert System," aka "six strikes," kicked off today with the cooperation of five major Internet service providers. The goal of the new campaign is to curb copyright infringement by going after consumers rather than pirates.

While the CAS seems like something that would raise the hackles of privacy and civil liberty groups, the plan isn't to arrest, sue, or fine people downloading illegal movies, games, or music. Instead, the group managing the program -- the Center for Copyright Information -- says its objective is to "educate" such downloaders that they are infringing on protected intellectual copyrights.

"Implementation marks the culmination of many months of work on this groundbreaking and collaborative effort to curb online piracy and promote the lawful use of digital music, movies and TV shows," executive director for the Center for Copyright Information Jill Lesser wrote in a blog post today. "The CAS marks a new way to reach consumers who may be engaging in peer-to-peer (P2P) piracy."

The Center for Copyright Information is a joint venture between Hollywood copyright holders and ISPs -- it is also backed by the White House. AT&T, Cablevision, Verizon, Time Warner Cable, and Comcast are the participating ISP members in the venture.

The CAS has been in the works since 2011 and was scheduled to go into effect last November. But after a series of delays, including reluctance from ISPs and effects of Hurricane Sandy, the Center for Copyright Information postponed its launch until this year.

Under graduated response, or six strikes, entertainment companies will notify a participating ISP that a customer has allegedly been pirating movies or TV shows illegally. The bandwidth provider will then send a notice intended to educate the customer about the consequences of downloading unauthorized content.

The ISP is then supposed to gradually ratcheting up the pressure on customers who ignore the warnings. Eventually, after six warnings, ISPs can choose to suspend service. Graduated response, however, does not include the termination of service. Customers wrongly accused can appeal to their company and take their case to an arbitration group for review. The plan doesn't protect Internet consumers from being sued by copyright owners, however.

Some ways that pirated material is shared on the Internet, such as cyberlockers, e-mail attachments, and Dropbox folders, are not included under six strikes.

Here's more on the CAS from Lesser's blog post:

We hope this cooperative, multi-stakeholder approach will serve as a model for addressing important issues facing all who participate in the digital entertainment ecosystem. From content creators and owners to distributors to consumers, we all benefit from a better understanding of the choices available and the rights and responsibilities that come with using digital content, thereby helping to drive investment in content creation and innovative services that offer exciting ways to enjoy music, video and all digital content.

Over the course of the next several days our participating ISPs will begin rolling out the system. Practically speaking, this means our content partners will begin sending notices of alleged P2P copyright infringement to ISPs, and the ISPs will begin forwarding those notices in the form of Copyright Alerts to consumers. Most consumers will never receive Alerts under the program. Consumers whose accounts have been used to share copyrighted content over P2P networks illegally (or without authority) will receive Alerts that are meant to educate rather than punish, and direct them to legal alternatives. And for those consumers who believe they received Alerts in error, an easy to use process will be in place for them to seek independent review of the Alerts they received.

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9/11 families upset over "Zero Dark Thirty" recordings

(CBS News) NEW CANAAN, Conn. - "Zero Dark Thirty" took just one minor award at the Oscars last night. There was a lot of debate about the way the film depicted torture during the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

Turns out that wasn't the only controversy.

The film starts with actual voices of victims of September 11, recorded as they made their last phone calls. For Mary and Frank Fetchet, it brings back painful memories. One of those voices was their son Brad, who worked on the 89th floor of the World Trade Center's South Tower.

Mary Fetchet

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CBS News

"When I arrived home I found Brad's message on our phone, and, of course, these were his last words in my view, because we never heard from him again," Mary said.

"Losing a loved one so horribly -- the ongoing anguish we've been going through -- it's a treasured remembrance, it's a treasured message. It's ours," Frank said.

They say that treasured remembrance was used in the film without their permission.

"My first thought was, 'isn't anything sacred anymore?'" Mary said.

The Fetchets used the recording in testimony for the September 11 Commission, and it has appeared in broadcast TV news reports. But the couple says this is different.

"I used it in situations where I wanted to convey Brad's story," Mary said. "None of those situations were used for promotional or professional or commercial endeavors."

Kathryn Bigelow defends "Zero Dark Thirty" torture scenes
Sony exec: "Zero Dark Thirty" does not advocate torture
Watch: "Zero Dark Thirty" director Kathryn Bigelow talks torture, art

The film has grossed more than $90 million worldwide. In a statement, the film distributor, Sony, and studio, Annapurna Pictures, say "Zero Dark Thirty" is a "tribute" to the victims of September 11 and "before the film's release, (they) initiated contact with a number of family members of the victims of the 9/11 attacks."

Frank said the statement wasn't enough. "To say they've reached out to families -- yeah, reached to say, 'come to the preview' after the film is already completed," he said.

Harry Ong

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CBS News

Harry Ong's sister Betty was a flight attendant who was killed on American Airline Flight 11.

"We were never given any notification or asked for permission to use Betty's voice, unlike many documentary companies," Ong said.

"We're asking that they apologize and that they recognize that they used Betty's voice and Brad's and others at liberty."

After the film was released, the Fetchets and Ongs asked Sony and Annapurna for donations to their September 11 charities in exchange for the use of their loved ones' voices. But the filmmakers had already decided to donate to the national 9/11 Memorial Museum.

"The real driver in all of this is getting this record set straight. I'm incensed by it," Frank Fetchet said. "Others run the risk of going through the same thing, so I think this should put a line in the sand that says, 'it's not right.'"

The Fetchets hope that by speaking out, they'll prevent other victims of tragedies from experiencing similar surprises.

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Arias Claims Innocence on Death Penalty Charge

Accused murderer Jodi Arias was confronted today with a barrage of lies she told after she killed her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, but she twice defiantly declared that she was innocent of first degree murder.

"It's the truth. I'm innocent of that charge," Arias said to prosecutor Juan Martinez, referring to the criminal charge that could carry the threat of the death sentence if she is found guilty.

Arias admitted on the stand that she lied for months and years after killing her ex-boyfriend, telling investigators and friends that she had nothing to do with Alexander's grisly death, in which he was stabbed 27 times, his throat was slashed, and he was shot in the head.

Eventually, Arias confessed to the killing, but claims it was in self-defense.

Today, prosecutors hammered Arias about her lying, getting her to admit to lies she told and playing video of her police interrogation and a TV interview in which she told stories that she has since conceded were not true.

See the Evidence in the Jodi Arias Murder Trial

In an interview with NBC's "48 Hours," Arias said she smiled for her mug shot partly because she knew she was innocent.

"You truly believe that you didn't do anything wrong here?" the prosecutor asked incredulously.

Jodi Arias Testimony: Prosecution's Cross-Examination Watch Video

Jodi Arias Remains Calm Under Cross-Examination Watch Video

Jodi Arias Doesn't Remember Stabbing Ex-Boyfriend Watch Video

"I believed that I knew that I was not guilty of first-degree murder and I did plan to be dead," she replied, a reference to her claim that she planned to commit suicide.

Catching Up on the Trial? Check Out ABC News' Jodi Arias Trial Coverage

During a day of contentious questions and answers between Martinez and Arias, the prosecutor used Arias' own diary entries and text messages to show contradictions of her claims that Alexander was abusive toward her, that he hit her and tried to choke her.

Arias said that in early 2008, Alexander hit her in the neck while they were riding in his car. Martinez showed a diary entry describing the day they rode in the car, and there was no mention of physical violence.

"This entry does not corroborate what you told us happened in the car," he said. "With regard to the (choking incident) you didn't call police. You didn't tell anyone about it. There is no corroboration anywhere in your journal. All we have is your word. Are there photos? Any other writings? Is there a police report? Is there a medical report?"

Arias said there was no evidence that the alleged abuse happened, except for her testimony in court.

"There's no evidence because it didn't happen, did it ma'am?" Martinez yelled.

Arias said that she had told one person about the abuse she claims she suffered at the hands of Alexander, and that it was another ex-boyfriend, Matthew McCartney. But when pressed for details about the conversation in which she told him, Arias became confused and changed her answers.

"I saw (Matt) a few days later, and he called me out on the bruises," Arias testified.

"Where?"

"Over the phone, just days after I think," she said.

"Isn't it true he wouldn't have been able to see your injuries because you were talking over the telephone?"

"No, I was in Yreka (California) by then. I stopped to see Matt after I left Arizona. Let's see, I believe it was two or three days after. I'm not saying there was no telephone call, (but) it was at his house. I went and saw Matt, and some make-up wore off, and he confronted me on (the bruises)."

Martinez said that McCartney has denied the conversation ever took place.

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Cuban leader Raul Castro says he will retire in 2018

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban President Raul Castro announced on Sunday he will step down from power after his second term ends in 2018, and the new parliament named a 52-year-old rising star to become his first vice president and most visible successor.

"This will be my last term," Castro, 81, said shortly after the National Assembly elected him to a second five-year term.

In a surprise move, the new parliament also named Miguel Diaz-Canel as first vice president, meaning he would take over if Castro cannot serve his full term.

Diaz-Canel is a member of the political bureau who rose through the Communist Party ranks in the provinces to become the most visible possible successor to Castro.

Raul Castro starts his second term immediately, leaving him free to retire in 2018, aged 86.

Former President Fidel Castro joined the National Assembly meeting on Sunday, in a rare public appearance. Since falling ill in 2006 and ceding the presidency to his brother, the elder Castro, 86, has given up official positions except as a deputy in the National Assembly.

The new government will almost certainly be the last headed up by the Castro brothers and their generation of leaders who have ruled Cuba since they swept down from the mountains in the 1959 revolution.

Cubans and foreign governments were keenly watching whether any new, younger faces appeared among the Council of State members, in particular its first vice president and five vice presidents.

Their hopes were partially fulfilled with Diaz-Canel's ascension. He replaces former first vice president, Jose Machado Ventura, 82, who will continue as one of five vice presidents.

Commander of the Revolution Ramiro Valdes, 80, and Gladys Bejerano, 66, the comptroller general, were also re-elected as vice presidents.

Two other newcomers, Mercedes Lopez Acea, 48, first secretary of the Havana communist party, and Salvador Valdes Mesa, 64, head of the official labor federation, also earned vice presidential slots.

Esteban Lazo, a 68-year-old former vice president and member of the political bureau of the Communist Party, left his post upon being named president of the National Assembly on Sunday. He replaced Ricardo Alarcon, who served in the job for 20 years.

Six of the Council's top seven members sit on the party's political bureau which is also lead by Castro.

The National Assembly meets for just a few weeks each year and delegates its legislative powers between sessions to the 31-member Council of State, which also functions as the executive through the Council of Ministers it appoints.

Eighty percent of the 612 deputies, who were elected in an uncontested vote February 3, were born after the revolution.

EFFORT TO PROMOTE YOUNGER GENERATION

Raul Castro, who officially replaced his ailing brother as president in 2008, has repeatedly said senior leaders should hold office for no more than two five-year terms.

"Although we kept on trying to promote young people to senior positions, life proved that we did not always make the best choice," Castro said at a Communist Party Congress in 2011.

"Today, we are faced with the consequences of not having a reserve of well-trained replacements ... It's really embarrassing that we have not solved this problem in more than half a century."

Speaking on Sunday, Castro hailed the composition of the new Council of State as an example of what he had said needed to be accomplished.

"Of the 31 members, 41.9 percent are women and 38.6 percent are black or of mixed race. The average age is 57 years and 61.3 percent were born after the triumph of the revolution," he said.

The 2011 party summit adopted a more than 300-point plan aimed at updating Cuba's Soviet-style economic system, designed to transform it from one based on collective production and consumption to one where individual effort and reward play a far more important role.

Across-the-board subsidies are being replaced by a comprehensive tax code and targeted welfare.

Raul Castro has encouraged small businesses and cooperatives in retail services, farming, minor manufacturing and retail, and given more autonomy to state companies which still dominate the economy.

The party plan also includes an opening to more foreign investment.

At the same time, Cuba continues to face a U.S. administration bent on restoring democracy and capitalism to the island and questions about the future largess of oil rich Venezuela with strategic ally Hugo Chavez battling cancer.

(Editing by Kieran Murray and Vicki Allen)

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Japan to nominate ADB president as BoJ chief

TOKYO: The Japanese government of Shinzo Abe is set to nominate Asian Development Bank president Haruhiko Kuroda as governor of the central bank, reports said on Monday, sending the dollar surging against the yen.

The greenback surged past 94 yen in early Asian trade from 93.37 yen in New York on Friday, with investors confident that there will be fresh aggressive easing steps by Abe's administration to boost the flagging economy.

The cabinet plans to submit his nomination to parliament this week, the Nikkei and other newspapers said. The appointment requires parliamentary approval.

If approved, the 68-year-old former finance ministry bureaucrat will succeed incumbent Bank of Japan (BoJ) governor Masaaki Shirakawa, who is stepping down on March 19, several weeks before the end of his term.

Abe has decided to pick Kuroda "as he backs Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's bold monetary easing policies while maintaining good links with the international financial industry," the Nikkei said.

Abe also plans to pick Tokyo's Gakushuin University economics professor Kikuo Iwata as one of the deputy governors, while BoJ executive-director Hiroshi Nakaso is the leading contender for the other deputy position, Nikkei reported.

Immediate confirmation of the reports was not available.

Abe told a news conference on Friday in Washington that his government would start picking nominees on Monday after concluding his US trip, during which he held talks with President Barack Obama.

Kuroda spent decades as a Japanese finance ministry bureaucrat. He was responsible for international affairs and foreign exchange policy between 1999 and 2003 before assuming the post of ADB president in 2005.

A former vice finance minister for international affairs, he is known as an advocate of aggressive monetary easing to overcome Japan's deflation, a stance in line with Abe's economic policy.

Abe had warned he could change a law guaranteeing the bank's independence if it did not follow his prescription of big spending and aggressive monetary easing to rescue the economy from decades of weak growth and deflation.

- AFP/ck

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