(CNN) -- Japan's prime minister conceded defeat in parliamentary elections Sunday, signaling the return to power of the Liberal Democratic Party and ending the brief rule of the disappointing upstart Democratic Party of Japan. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda pledged to step down as party president after exit polls showed a smashing loss in lower house voting. The party, once seen as a breath of fresh air in Japanese politics, came to be regarded as increasingly ineffective. "We got a regrettable result," Noda said. "The result is everything in the politics. The biggest responsibility lies on me. I will quit as the partly leader of DPJ." The move clears the way for the return to power of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the current leader of the conservative-leaning Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP. "The Japanese people will be keenly looking whether the LDP can meet with their expectations," Abe said in interviews after the polling. The LDP ruled the country almost continuously since its establishment in 1955 until it was forced from power three years ago by the DPJ. Public broadcaster NHK said the LDP and its coalition partner, the new Komei party, gained at least 302 seats in the 480-seat lower house. CNN's main affiliate, TV Asahi, reports the LDP/Komei coalition gained at least 312 seats. The official count is expected to be released Monday. The LDP is inheriting a struggling economy, regional tensions and questions over Japan's role in Asia. "The economy is at the bottom. It's our first mission to turn it around," Abe said.

What is the discrepancy between TV Asahi and Public broadcaster NHK as to how many seats the LDP/Komei coalition has gained so far?

(CNN) -- English club Chelsea have completed the signing of Oriol Romeu from Spanish and European champions Barcelona. The 19-year-old is currently playing for Spain at the World Under-20 Championships in Colombia and has signed a four-year deal with last season's Premier League runners-up. The deal is worth $7 million and includes a buy back clause, set at $14 million after the first year and $21 million after the second. Romeu started his career at Barcelona's city rivals Espanyol before joining the Camp Nou academy in 2004. The midfielder, who can also play in central defence, made his debut for Barcelona in last season's Spanish Supercup match with Seville and got his first taste of league action against Deportivo in May 2010. He has played 90 minutes in both of Spain's games at the World Under-20 Championships, when they beat Costa Rica and Ecuador. Chelsea official web site confirmed the signing and said Romeu is "renowned for his strength and his expansive passing ability." Another player leaving Barcelona is Jeffren Suarez after he agreed to join Sporting Lisbon. The Portuguese outfit have paid $5 million for the 23-year-old which, like the Romeu deal, includes a buy back option. Jeffren joined Barca from Tenerife in 2004 and made his debut for the Catalan club in the 2006-07 season.

What position did Romeu play when he started his career at Barcelona's city rivals Espanyol?

Hamilton argued that the natural faculties of blacks were as good as those of free whites, and he warned that the British would arm the slaves if the patriots did not. In his 21st-century biography, Chernow cites this incident as evidence that Hamilton and Laurens saw the Revolution and the struggle against slavery as inseparable. Hamilton attacked his political opponents as demanding freedom for themselves and refusing to allow it to blacks. In January 1785, Hamilton attended the second meeting of the New York Manumission Society (NYMS). John Jay was president and Hamilton was the first secretary and later became president. Chernow notes how the membership soon included many of Hamilton's friends and associates. Hamilton was a member of the committee of the society that petitioned the legislature to end the slave trade, and that succeeded in passing legislation banning the export of slaves from New York. In the same period, Hamilton felt bound by the rule of law of the time and his law practice facilitated the return of a fugitive slave to Henry Laurens of South Carolina. He opposed the compromise at the 1787 Constitutional Convention by which the federal government could not abolish the slave trade for 20 years, and was disappointed when he lost that argument. Hamilton never supported forced emigration for freed slaves. Horton has argued from this that he would be comfortable with a multiracial society, and that this distinguished him from his contemporaries. In international affairs, he supported Toussaint L'Ouverture's black government in Haiti after the revolt that overthrew French control, as he had supported aid to the slaveowners in 1791--both measures hurt France. Scant evidence has been interpreted by a few to indicate Hamilton may have owned household slaves, as did many wealthy New Yorkers (the evidence for this is indirect; McDonald interprets it as referring to paid employees).
Who was president of the NYMS before Hamilton?