u.s. president barack obama and his republican challenger, mitt romney, have begun their final round of campaigning in battleground states. romney is using a new strategy to win over voters ahead of tuesday's election. the latest poll by abc news and the washington post suggests obama and romney both have support rates of 48%. romney is focusing on wisconsin, one of the swing states where obama is said to have a lead. >> the contacts made in

wisconsin over the last months have just blown everybody away, and i want to thank you for the work you're doing. that's going to help us get this victory. >> romney is likely to still have a chance of winning if he takes wisconsin, even if he loses another key state, ohio. the republican challenger is also running more tv ads in pennsylvania, michigan, and minnesota. obama is expected to win more votes from the electoral college made up of electors allocated to each state. >> if you are willing to work with me and knock on doors with me and make some phone calls with me and turn out with me and grab your friends and neighbors and co-workers and get them to the polls for me, we'll win wisconsin, we'll win this election. >> obama is gaining momentum after winning praise for his response to the massive storm that hit the u.s. east coast last week.

an adviser to mitt romney says the united states would take a firmer stance against china if the republican candidate wins next tuesday's election. princeton university professor aaron friedberg spoke to nhk in washington. friedberg is romney's adviser on asia-pacific policies. friedburg said the obama administration has been weak on the issue between japan and china over the senkaku islands. he also referred to the japan-u.s. security treaty. >> the best way of maintaining stability and deterring progression on the part of china is to make absolutely clear the american intention to uphold its treaty commitments. >> friedberg said the u.s. needs to do more to send its signal to the chinese. the advisor also said the obama administration does not pay sufficient attention to its allies. he said romney wants to work to strengthen ties with japan. >> i think he sees japan as

america's crucial ally in asia and a central point of our web of relationships with countries in east asia. >> friedberg said the two countries need to cooperate more closely to respond to china's military buildup. the asem meets in laos. the two-day meeting attended by the leaders of 49 countries. the discussions will focus on including three new members. the discussions will focus on regional security and ways to stop the european debt crisis from spreading. the laosian government built a new facility to host the meeting. with about $70 million in aid it received from china. many leaders, including japanese prime minister yoshihiko noda.

noda is expected to stress the need to peacefully resolve territorial maritime disputes in line with international law. relations are eroding between japan and china over the senkako islands issue. japan nationalized the islands that china and japan also claim. japan currently has only one operating nuclear plant. the country's nuclear regulatory body has put off a conclusion on whether a fissure under this plant is an active fault line. if the line is found to be active, the authority will ask the operator to shut down the plant. five experts conducted a survey on friday at the ohi plant. they examined the fissure that runs beneath the plant compound. a key pipeline that transports cooling water from the ocean to the reactors runs across the nearly one kilometer long seam. the nuclear regulation authority panel was supposed to reach a

conclusion on sunday, but their views were divided. a university professor said analysis of sediment above the fissure suggests it is active. >> translator: i've concluded that an active fault exists. i don't see any need for a more careful evaluation. >> but the university professor pointed out that landslides can create fissures in strata. >> translator: i can't decide at this point whether the slippage is a result of deep fault activity. making a hasty conclusion is dangerous. >> an nra member said landslides created the fish yur and that is all the group can say at the moment. they decided to meet again on wednesday to discuss the matter. the nuclear regulator will conduct on-site inspections at five other plants. new data shows that more

people in japan are using smart phones. domestic shipments for the april to september period were up more than 40% from a year earlier. the research institute says more than 14 million smart phones were shipped in japan in the first half of the fiscal year. over 20 million mobile phones were shipped during the same period. this was the third straight annual increase. but was only 1% higher than the figure for the same period last year. apple had the largest share with 22.3%. samsung electronics had more than 8%. the south korean firm shipped nearly 60% more smart phones than last year. while sharp and sony reported lower shipments. smart phones are one of the few strong performers for japanese electronic makers. sales of tvs, recording equipment and other digital consumer appliances are sluggish. the u.s. government has set

up a special unit to control false rumors circulating on twitter and other social networks in the wake of superstorm sandy. the federal emergency management agency set up the rumor control section on saturday. officials are working to dispel false information through its website and on an agency help line. according to one rumor, thieves wearing power company uniforms were at large on the street. another claimed that anyone who lost power could receive food stamps. such rumors circulated as restoration work got under way after sandy, which struck the u.s. east coast last week. false information also spread on social networks in japan in the days after last year's quake and tsunami disaster. the remains of a pigeon that may have carried secrets in world war ii was discovered in england.

the bird's skeleton was discovered at an old house in surrey began destroying the fireplace. a red capsule had been attached to one of the legs. it contained a thin piece of paper with 27 codes, each using combinations of five letters. british media reports say experts suspect the pigeon was a messenger for allied troops undertaking sabotage missions in nazi occupied areas. the coded message was probably dispatched by undercover agents in france to request air raids. experts are trying to decode the script to discover the details of this secret wartime mission. and here's your three-day world weather forecast.

and that concludes this edition of "newsline." thanks for joining us.

hello, i'm here in tokyo and you're watching "asia 7 days." thank you for joining us. here's this week's lineup. beijing police are in lockdown mode. the country's preparing for a change of leadership. party officials want to ensure it goes off without a hitch. and autonomy deal has paved the way for peace in the southern philippines, but will the deal hold? we'll take an in-depth look. a piece of cinema history has risen from the ashes. it wiped out cambodia's film industry.

a new documentary has rediscovered some forgotten classics. first, the main news. security's tight in beijing. the communist party is opening its national congress on thursday. the delegates will approve a group of leadership in charge of the world's most populous country for the next ten years. party delegates gather for the congress every five years, but the leadership change is a once in a decade event. preliminary meetings are already under way. members of the party's central committee assembled on thursday. their job, to prepare the reports to the national congress in a draft of party rules. analysts say those taking part are engaged in last-minute bargaining over who should be included in the leadership lineup. the most powerful posts are in the standing committee. socialists close to the party

say the number of members will be reduced to seven, down from the current nine. the change is meant to speed up decision making. vice president xi jingping is expected to uphold general secretary. analysts say li keqiang is likely to be on the standing committee. likely newcomers include zhang dejiang. the analysts also say president hu jintao may remain head of the central military commission after stepping down as party chief. beijing is tightening security. large numbers of police and traffic restrictions in place. police are also carrying out vehicle checks on highways and major roads leading into the city. some of the security measures verge on the bizarre.

authorities have instructed taxi drivers in beijing to remove the window cranks from passenger doors. they want to stop people from tossing anti-government leaflets. south korea holds a presidential election next month. the three main candidates are focusing their campaigns on the economy, and they are targeting a group of voters especially unhappy about the way it's been managed. it was the first time the three presidential hopefuls premiered at the same event. they spoke on plans for revitalizing the economy. in the audience, 3,000 small business owners.

all three nominees pledge to support small firms and all promised them more protection, calling for title controls on large corporations. opposite candidate moon jae-in is trailing in the polls. he's proposing a united front against the ruling party. independent cheol-soo said he

was too busy drawing up a policy manifesto. the talks are expected to go ahead once jah-in has announced his policies. the approval rating of the two candidates is almost level. south korea's current president, lee myung-bak is in another scandal. prosecutors questioned his older brother. they wanted to know more about irregularities in a project to build lee a retirement home. the brother is said to have loaned the president's son more than half a million dollars to buy land for the home. the president's son was questioned about the real estate deal last week. he is suspected of buying the land in his own name, which is against the law. prosecutors are also looking into suspicions the taxpayer's money was used to pay part of the cost.

the scandals have dealt a serious blow to president lee. it could also undermine the campaign of the ruling party candidate. the experts who keep watch on north korea knew that its government was spending big. they've seen the new statues glorifying the ruling in the gleaming new amusement park. now one group of experts has estimated the cost, $330 million. that figure comes from the director of south korea's national intelligence service. he briefed lawmakers on the spending spree. he said part of the money was spent on statues of north korea's founding father and his son, kim jung-il.

he said large sums went to build a new amusement park. kim jong-un took an active part in july. the government is squandering preciously needed funds. they say many north koreans are still going hungry. the $330 million could have bought 1.1 million tons of corn, enough to feed everyone in the country for three to four months. meanwhile, there's growing speculation that a younger kim is under way. by the look of things, she's pregnant. state-run television krt aired this footage tuesday of kim and his wife. they were attending a concert. the first lady is wearing a long beige coat.

her belly appears a little larger than the last time she was shown in public. that was in early september. the photos are not the only reason for the pregnancy rumors. officials have just announced that mother's day will be added to the official calendar this month. next, "in depth." the southern philippines has been a hot bed of conflict for decades. muslim separatists have waged war against the central government, but there are signs of a possible resolution. the two sides agreed last month to create an autonomous government by 2016, but many challenges remain. our in-depth report looks at the prospects for peace in mindanao. >> the deal was clenched in manila. the chief negotiators put pen to paper.

looking on was the president and the chairman of the liberation front. the agreement sets a clear goal and date set up an autonomous government on the island by 2016. >> much work remains to be done in order to fully reap the fruits of this framework agreement. we have commitments to fulfill, people to greet, dreams to achieve. >> today, we extend the hands of friendship and partnership to the president and the filipino people. we jointly embark object historic work to rebuild. >> the two sides will set up a joint committee to work out what powers the new authority will have. mindanao is the second largest island in the philippines, 20% of the population are muslim. the separatist groups first took

up arms more than 40 years ago. the islamic liberation front emerged in the late 1970s. it continued to fight, even after another islamic group agreed to a cease-fire in 1996. the m.i.l.f. held out for more autonomy. it finally agreed to a cease-fire in 2003, but violent clashes persisted. the decades of fighting have said to have killed more than 60,000 people. another causality is economic development. mindanao has lagged behind the rest of the country. a peace deal, if it holds, will allow its people to focus on a more positive fight, the one against poverty. we cross now to our manila bureau reporter. there now seems to be a serious effort in years of conflict between the government and muslim separatists.

how are local people responding to the peace initiative? >> expectations seem to be running high. people are hoping peace will come this time and that they'll have a better life. in many towns i visited, i saw banners that read "we support the agreement." and many people hang green flags on their houses, the traditional sign of welcome. but these are people who have suffered repeated wars. many of them are still not so sure. that's understandable, given the serious problems caused by 40 years of violence. >> what brought the two sides to the table after so many years? >> both have their own reasons to seek an agreement. on the government's side, the president took office two years ago, promising to get the

economy growing and to eradicate poverty. he notes stability is essential to achieve that, so he has taken positive steps for peace. as for the rebels, their leaders are getting old. many of them have been fighting for more than 30 years and are reaching their 60s. akino has shown sign of compromise, so the m.i.l.f. leaders probably decided to work for peace while he's still in office. >> more pragmatism on both sides, it seems. we'll come back to you in a moment. japan has been playing an important role in monitoring the cease-fire, but the peace is still fragile. an outside help remains a key factor for putting the autonomy deal into effect. >> this is cotabato, a town in central mindanao.

this area was devastated four years ago. more than 10,000 people have yet to return to their homes. she is one of them. she's a muslim who fled from her village three kilometers away. now she earns her living selling palm leaves used to make roofs. she earned about $1 a day, a quarter of what she made in her village. with six children, she is barely able to make ends meet. but her hopes rest on the peace agreement, and there is still key issues dividing the two sides. security is one of them. the army has little control in this area.

armed rebels have patrolled here for many years. the rebels are demanding that the autonomous region have its own police force, but the manila administration says the m.i.l.f. must first disarm its fighters. another challenge is overcoming the religious divide. mistrust between the muslim majority and christian minority runs deep. christians have defended themselves by building barriers and shelters. outside help will be crucial to overcome the obstacles to peace. japan joined a five-nation cease-fire monitoring group in 2006. now he's on the international team.

he was sent here by the japanese international cooperation agency. he helped to rebuild an elementary school destroyed in the fighting, a project funded by japanese aid. now children from christian and muslim families study together. that brings the parents into contact and builds trust. but he feels more support is needed to achieve peace.

some muslim groups are still strongly opposed to peace. many people are expressing doubts about the feasibility of disarmament. in such a volatile situation, the international community will need to stay involved to ensure stability returns. let's get back to manila again. the government and muslim separatists have filed peace agreements in the past, but the fighting always resumed. what are the chances this will happen again? >> there is no doubt many challenges remain. both sides have agreed on substantial autonomy for muslims, but the devil is in the detail. they still have to negotiate how revenue will be allocated and the scope of the new government's jurisdiction. these talks will be difficult. some muslim elements are strongly opposed to the agreement. and the m.i.l.f. is standing

firm on its demand for an autonomous police force. the deal signed in manila called for the rebels to disarm, so it is not clear how this will be carried out. there will be many twists and turns on the road to autonomy. in this situation, the role of the international communities is becoming even more important. japan has been actively supporting the peace process, and japanese monitors have earned trust on both sides, but there is still a long way to go. lasting peace in the philippines will only be achieved with real commitment from all parties, local and foreign. >> thank you very much. and that was our "in-depth" report on the week. coming up next, kaleidoscope.

cambodia's capital was once a film hub of southeast asia. for 15 years, the films coming out of the city entertained movie goers throughout the region, but that all changed in 1975. the regime burned films and killed many of the filmmakers. an entire industry erased and forgotten. almost forgotten. a documentary maker has resurrected this golden age of cambodian cinema. his work was shown at this year's tokyo international film festival. >> the documentary is called "golden slumbers." it explores the lost era of

cambodian films with filmmakers that survived the regime. only a handful of artists from that time are still alive. david chuo directed the film. he's a french cambodian and grandson of a legendary film producer. >> started thinking something like a family research but very quickly it turned to be the story of the surviving people, because i found making research in cambodia three survivors and one actress at the time. there was this world which was like golden, which means glory and glorious. some people tried to kill this world, but for me, it was not dead, it was just sleeping. so how to reawake these glorious golden story, so "golden

slumbers." >> cambodia won its independence from france in 1953. the country's leader was a big fan of cinema. under his patronage, the film industry blossomed. he even produced several films of his own. >> the only way for me to image in those films was to ask the former audience how it looked like, what kind of films it was, and then they told me about this legendary films with giants, princesses, gods, always about kind of impossible romance stories. always a love story in the middle of the film. the fantasy, imaginary based on the photos in cambodia, but also in asia in general. >> even when civil war raged in the country in the 1970s, the movie theaters remained open, but they had their eye on the

capital, each day drawing closer. >> at the time, film was so important for them, because they couldn't go anywhere else. sometime some terrorists were putting some rockets and bombs in the theater, because it was first the place where many people gathered, but it was also a symbol of kind of entertainment that it wanted to destroy as a sign of i will say western influence. even if it was to go to movies, they would tell me they'd go. >> they stormed in april 1975. the executions began within days. the fanatical regime purged the wealthy, teachers, and artists. films were burned. film studios and theaters, destroyed.

2 million city dwellers were sent to rural villages to work as slaves. they were regarded as enemies of the revolution and executed many. some survivors told chuo memories of the films and soundtracks helped survive the horror. >> movies kept them survive. they were thinking about their favorite films all day during the four years. it was forbidden to sing during the regime. if they would listen to you singing songs or even your neighbor, you'd be killed. >> between 1960 and 1975, cambodian filmmakers produced around 400 films. only 30 of them remain. two of the surviving works were shown at this year's tokyo international film festival.

the director himself had smuggled his films out of the country when he fled cambodia in 1970. >> exactly the point of my film. it's not so much a documentary about cambodia cinema history, but about the memories of the cinema and how the films, even though they were wanted to destroy, still exist. it's something you can't destroy, it's something many people dream. >> david chuo's documentary has been screened at 46 film festivals worldwide. it garnered in france and philippines and citations at many other events. "golden slumbers" will be shown in the u.s. next to fast news. >> a tropical storm dropped a torrent of rain on southern india and sri lanka. it claimed the lives of at least six people in the two countries. by thursday, 160,000 people have

been displaced. low-lying areas were heavily flooded. an oil tanker ran aground just before the storm hit. one of the crew was reported drowned when a life boat capsized. coast guard officials say 32 crew members were rescued. they are still searching for the five missing. people continue to flee violence in myanmar. the united nations says more than 28,000 people have been forced out of their homes in the latest wave of fighting. the conflict in the western state of rakine is pitting muslims. at least 84 people have died in the last two weeks, with more than 4,600 houses destroyed. u.n. workers are distributing food and emergency supplies in the area, but that job gets

harder by the day as refugees stream into overcrowded camps. >> it's clearly urgent that law and order be restored so access is facilitated for aid to be delivered to those in need. china's second stealth fighter has made its maiden fight. chinese media reports say the jet took off on wednesday from the northeastern city, they are calling it a success. stealth planes are designed to evade radar detecting. chinese version is still under development. an expert says it will take seven to eight years before the jet is ready for battle. stealth number two got airborne just before this week's communist party congress. a final feather in the cap for president hu jintao has he prepares to step down.

angry demonstrators in eastern china. plans to expand a petrochemical plant brought these residents out on the streets. massing in front of the city hall, they said the plant emits harmful chemicals dangerous for the environment. police detained some of the protesters. the local government later backed down, announcing it had withdrawn the construction plans. analysts say local authorities were probably under pressure from beijing ahead of the national congress. a pakistani girl shot by islamic militants last month is now able to talk with her family. she arrived at this hospital in the uk in critical condition. the 15-year-old was targeted for speaking out. she wrote a blog on girls' rights to education. ministers of the british and

pakistani governments met with her family. they pledged support for those who defend the rights of women. >> they have shown the solidarity to pakistan, a country which is becoming the victim of war. >> i believe that what has happened to her and her strength in dealing with this and the strength of her family will be a continuing example for years to come and help us to defeat such mindless violence. that will do it for this week. place your bets. we close with a racing event in thailand, but it's not your typical derby. water buffalo racing. this charge through the dirt is a cultural tradition. the jockeys ride bare back. it's their job to turn a farm animal into a winner. thank you for watching. see you again next week on "asia see you again next week on "asia 7 days."

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