News Headlines - 02 December 2012

▽Japan grapples with nuclear question - FT.com

Japanese voters hoping to use December’s election to cast a ballot for or against nuclear power – the most emotionally charged issue in the country since the Fukushima disaster – are getting little help from mainstream politicians. Over the weekend, Japanese lawmakers across the political spectrum suggested in televised debates that the leading parties had converged on something close to a consensus – but their comments left plenty of room for confusion.

▽7 missing in collapse of highway tunnel in Japan | CTV News

At least seven people were feared missing Sunday after about 150 concrete panels fell from the roof of a tunnel on the main highway linking Tokyo with central Japan. Efforts to rescue any survivors trapped inside the tunnel were hindered by heavy smoke after one vehicle caught fire inside the Sasago Tunnel, about 80 kilometres outside Tokyo.

▽North Korea plans new rocket launch as leader asserts power | Reuters

North Korea said it would carry out its second rocket launch of 2012 as its youthful leader Kim Jong-un flexes his muscles a year after his father's death, in a move that South Korea and the United States swiftly condemned as a provocation.

▽Britain to miss debt targets, George Osborne suggests - Telegraph

The Government is likely to miss its target of starting to pay down Britain's debt, Chancellor George Osborne has said.

▽BBC News - Tax: Starbucks in talks with UK's Revenue and Customs

Global coffee chain Starbucks has said it is in talks with HM Revenue and Customs and the Treasury over how much UK tax it pays.