Jackson's death ruled a homicide

Coroner says singer received a lethal combination of drugs, tightening focus on his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray.

• Related
• Family members found marijuana in Jackson's bedroom
• Jackson pleaded with doctor for powerful anesthetic, records show
• Propofol dosage reported in Michael Jackson case is low,

The Los Angeles County Coroner's office said Friday that it had officially ruled Michael Jackson's death a homicide and determined that a surgical anesthetic combined with other medication killed him.

In a one-page statement, officials listed the cause of Jackson's June 25 death as "acute propofol intoxication" with the additional factor of "benzodiazepine effect."

Three different sedatives that fall into the benzodiazepine drug class were in Jackson's system, but only the anti-anxiety medication lorazepam, often known by the brand name Ativan, was cited alongside propofol as "the primary drugs responsible for Mr. Jackson's death."

Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, has acknowledged administering both medications to Jackson in the hours leading up to his death, according to search warrant affidavits.

The cardiologist told detectives that in an effort to get the insomniac singer to sleep on the morning of his death he administered the sedatives lorazepam, midazolam and diazepam, and that when they proved ineffective, he complied with Jackson's request for propofol, a powerful anesthetic intended for use in operating rooms, the affidavits state.

Toxicology tests also detected two other medications, the local anesthetic lidocaine and ephedrine, commonly used as a stimulant, according to the coroner's statement.

The complete toxicology results and the final coroner's report were not made public at the request of the LAPD and the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, the coroner's office said.

The coroner's classification of homicide -- the killing of one person by another -- does not always translate into criminal charges, and those close to the investigation have said Jackson's history of drug use and health problems could complicate any prosecution.

But the designation was additional confirmation that Murray, already identified in search warrant documents as the target of a manslaughter investigation, remained the focus of the ongoing, multi-agency inquiry into the entertainer's sudden death.

A law enforcement source told The Times on Friday that toxicology reports have led investigators to suspect that Murray gave Jackson more propofol than he told police. Murray's attorney answered that allegation by calling on authorities to release the entire report so independent experts could examine the results.

"Come clean with it and let's get on with the process," said lawyer Edward Chernoff.

He said a forensic pathologist working in Murray's defense has been hamstrung by the limited information in the coroner's statement, which the lawyer dismissed as "nothing new."

While cautioning that the absence of public lab results made it impossible to analyze the coroner's conclusions, toxicology experts said that the coroner's identification of benzodiazepine as a contributing factor suggested the sedative lorazepam might have intensified the effect of the propofol.

Forensic toxicologist Robert Middleberg, laboratory director at Pennsylvania's private NMS Labs, said both drugs depress the central nervous system and can have an additive effect when used together.

"When you combine them, it's not just one plus one equals two anymore. It's one plus one equals three, four, five, six, seven or some other number," he said.

Brain activity can slow to the point that breathing stops altogether, he said.

In a statement from their publicist, Jackson's family commended investigators for their work and said his relatives were looking "forward to the day that justice can be served."

Also on Friday, California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown announced that at the request of the LAPD, his office would launch an independent investigation into several doctors who may have treated Jackson in recent months.

richard.winton@latimes.com

harriet.ryan@latimes.com

Times staff writer Kimi Yoshino contributed to this report.

Pakistan urges Britain to do more

LONDON: Interior Minister Rehman Malik pressed Britain to do more to help the fight against extremism on Friday as the two countries’ leaders held talks in London. “Now we say: do more for us. Do more to fight terrorism in the world because we think the terrorists do not have any religion or any boundary,” said Malik after the talks at Brown’s Downing Street office. Malik was present as Brown and Zardari held their first meeting since May, at which the president stressed the fight against the Taliban would be a long-term struggle. A Downing Street spokesman said, “Our highest priority is to work with Pakistan to tackle the threat of violent extremism.” reuters

Political luminaries pay tribute to Kennedy

By BOB SALSBERG and DENISE LAVOIE (AP)

BOSTON — In death as in life, Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy on Friday brought together political rivals — this time to celebrate his life and half-century of service to his country.

A who's who of politics gathered at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston for the private service featuring music, laughter and calls to continue to fight for Kennedy's last political wish — health coverage for all Americans.

The speakers, many of whom worked for years with Kennedy in the Senate, shared stories of his congeniality and knack for compromise as they recalled his congressional successes and the ones he had yet to achieve when he died this week of a brain tumor at age 77, most notably the struggle for health care reform.

His closest friend in the Senate, Democrat Christopher Dodd, of Connecticut, noted Republicans Orrin Hatch and John McCain, who were also invited by Kennedy's family to speak at the private service.

"It is to their great credit that they so often supported Teddy's efforts. And, I say in some jest, it is to Teddy's great credit that he so rarely supported theirs," Dodd said to an eruption of laughter.

The "Celebration of Life," contrasted with the solemnity of the motorcade that carried Kennedy's body from Cape Cod to Boston a day earlier and the sobriety of the public viewing, where an estimated 50,000 people filed past the senator's flag-draped coffin at the presidential library named for one of his slain brothers.

Kennedy's nephew and former U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy, son of Robert F. Kennedy, called on people there to dedicate themselves to causes his Uncle Teddy had championed throughout his 47 years in the Senate. And he recalled a lesson he learned from his uncle one time when it appeared certain they were destined to lose a sailing race.

"He was telling me, never, ever, ever, ever give up. You stay in the race. And if people don't have health care, you stay in the race. If people don't have adequate housing, you stay in the race. If people aren't being treated properly you stay in the race," he said.

Other speakers were to include Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. John Kerry and niece Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy.

The health care bill on which Kennedy took the lead has been among the most controversial pieces of legislation considered by Congress in recent years. Protests have erupted around the country, and opponents have called it a nationalized — even socialized — program.

Anyone addressing the health care bill at the service would tread a fine line between taste and politics, especially since conservative commentators have already objected to proposals to name the measure The Kennedy Bill.

Dodd, who has taken over Kennedy's key role on Capitol Hill on the health care bill, said Kennedy had called him two weeks ago when he was coming out of surgery for prostate cancer.

"'Well,' he roared, 'between going through prostate cancer surgery and doing town hall meetings, you made the right choice!'" Dodd recalled. "And though he was dying, and I was hurting, believe me, he had me howling with laughter in the recovery room as he made a few choice comments, I cannot repeat, about catheters."

At moments, the event took on the feel of an Irish wake, though it always returned to Kennedy's commitment to family and country.

"He suffered from the constant pain of a shattered back, and he bore more hurt and heartache than most human beings are ever asked to endure, but at every opportunity he brought hope and joy and optimism to more people than we will ever know," said longtime friend Paul Kirk Jr., chairman of the library's foundation.

In a tender family moment, Joe Kennedy thanked his cousins — Kennedy's children — for sharing him with so many, particularly after the assassinations of Kennedy's brothers.

"Every single one of my brothers and sisters needed a father, and we gained one through Uncle Teddy. Caroline and John were no different," he said. "The truth of the matter is that for so many of us, we just needed someone to hang onto, and Teddy was always there to hang onto. He had such a big heart, and he shared that heart with all of us."

The private memorial, which was nationally televised, came hours after officials ended the two-day public viewing of the flag-draped casket at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Maureen Conte, 44, rode her bike 40 minutes to the library and was one of the last people allowed in the viewing.

"I did it for my parents," Conte said. "My mom called me and was so sad. She said, 'It's the end of an era.' I came to pay homage to Ted for all he's done for our country."

Greeting visitors were members of the Kennedy family, including daughter Kara Kennedy Allen, nephew Tim Shriver and the senator's sister and the last surviving Kennedy sibling, 81-year-old Jean Kennedy Smith.

Smith, the former U.S. ambassador to Ireland, choked back tears.

"This is a hard time for me," she said when asked to talk about her brother.

A five-person military honor guard stood at attention around the casket in a high-ceilinged room with a spectacular view of Boston Harbor. Large photos greeted mourners on their way into the room, including one of Kennedy as a boy with his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, and a 1960s-era shot of Kennedy with his slain brothers, John and Robert.

A funeral Mass is scheduled for The Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, better known as the Mission Church, in Boston on Saturday. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and tenor Placido Domingo will perform, and President Barack Obama is delivering the eulogy.

All the living former presidents are expected to attend except for George H.W. Bush. Spokesman Jim McGrath said Friday that the 85-year-old Bush feels his son's presence will "amply and well represent" the family.

Kennedy will be buried Saturday evening near his brothers at Arlington National Cemetery in northern Virginia.

Associated Press writer Glen Johnson contributed to this report.

Map

Japan's election

Braced for changed

Japan prepares for political upheaval after Sunday’s general election

• IN A land of volcanoes and earthquakes the seismic shift is all too common. But for decades Japan’s political landscape has not reflected the country’s geological uncertainty. A general election on Sunday August 30th should change all that. Opinion polls suggest that when voters go to the polls for the powerful lower house of the Diet (parliament), the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), will trounce the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), thus ending over 50 years of nearly continuous rule.
• The magnitude of the defeat facing Taro Aso, the prime minister and LDP leader, is startling. A poll in Thursday's Asahi Shimbun suggests that the LDP’s representation in the Diet could be more than halved to about 100 seats. The DPJ could take as many as 320 of the chamber’s 480 seats.

Japan’s political fault-lines have opened up despite an election campaign that has hardly caused tremors. As it got under way nearly two weeks ago, there was something quaintly old-fashioned in the absence of television hoopla. Even the two main candidates for prime minister, Mr Aso and Yukio Hatoyama of the DPJ, have resisted tearing into each other. And in a country otherwise obsessed by mass-media, a ban on internet campaigning also recalled a bygone era. But if the LDP thought that keeping politics off the web would thwart the opposition, which enjoys more support from younger, wired voters, as some DPJ politicians claim, it seems to have failed.

In a recent survey, support for the DPJ was more than twice that for the LDP among the young. But strikingly, an even bigger share of voters—a whopping 38%—said they were undecided. These flighty voters, referred to as yawarakai hoshu-so, or “flexible conservatives”, are the kingmakers of Japanese politics. Typically in their 30s, they are university-educated, middle-class, prefer stability to big changes and do not care much about politics. But they tend to vote as a block, and can sway the outcome of elections. They played a large part both in the landslide victory in 2005 of Junichiro Koizumi, a former prime minister, and the LDP’s upper-house defeat two years later.

Their opinions fluctuate wildly, but they can be decisive. The lesson for the 2009 election is that winning the “flexicons” is crucial. To this end, the DPJ has put forward youthful, telegenic candidates; typical LDP candidates are in their late 60s and have little to say on matters affecting younger voters. Mr Hatoyama has also borrowed Barack Obama’s successful appeal for “change”. The DPJ says evicting the ruling party will break the stranglehold on the budget held by mandarins, giving it freedom to cope with Japan’s ageing population, the low birth-rate and a dangerously lopsided, export-oriented economy.

Mr Aso has questioned the DPJ’s ability to pay for expensive campaign promises, such as a ¥26,000 ($280) a month child allowance to push up the birth rate, heavily subsidised schooling, dropping road tolls and income support to farmers. But these counter-attacks may not be enough to quell voters’ dissatisfaction with the long rule of the LDP and the leadership of gaffe-prone Mr Aso as economic conditions remain difficult. Although Japan’s economy has started to grow again, figures released on Friday showed that unemployment had crept up to 5.7%, the highest level since the second world war.

Whether the DPJ, an unknown quantity, can make a better fist of running the economy is open to question. Mr Hatoyama railed against American-led “market fundamentalism” preferring a woolly-sounding concept, that he calls fraternity. He says it means that activities such as agriculture—already heavily protected—will not be left “at the mercy of the tides of globalism”. Businessmen fear the noises coming from the DPJ that seem to promise more worker-friendly policies such as banning the use of temporary labour in manufacturing and raising the minimum wage. The DPJ has also promised to loosen Japan’s close ties to American foreign policy. So if Sunday’s election produces the political earthquake predicted the next question will be whether the DPJ is capable of delivering a series of aftershocks too.

The Road Home From Afghanistan

Why a flexible timetable to withdraw U.S. troops will best advance our national security interests.

By RUSS FEINGOLD

After nearly eight long years, we seem to be no closer to the end of the war in Afghanistan. In fact, given the current buildup of U.S. troops and the possibility that even more may be deploying soon, many Americans, and many Afghans, wonder what we hope to achieve—and when our service members will start to come home.

We went into Afghanistan with a clear mission: to destroy those who helped to perpetrate the horrific 9/11 attacks. I voted to authorize sending our forces there because it was vital to our national security, and I strongly criticized the previous administration for shortchanging that mission in favor of a misguided war in Iraq.

President Barack Obama is rightly focusing on this critical part of the world. But I cannot support an open-ended commitment to an escalating war in Afghanistan when the al Qaeda operatives we sought have largely been captured or killed or crossed the border to Pakistan.

Ending al Qaeda's safe haven in Pakistan is a top national security priority. Yet our operations in Afghanistan will not do so, and they could actually contribute to further destabilization of Pakistan. Meanwhile, we've become embroiled in a nation-building experiment that may distract us from combating al Qaeda and its affiliates, not just in Pakistan, but in Yemen, the Horn of Africa and other terrorist sanctuaries.

We need to start discussing a flexible timetable to bring our brave troops out of Afghanistan. Proposing a timetable doesn't mean giving up our ability to go after al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. Far from it: We should continue a more focused military mission that includes targeted strikes on Taliban and al Qaeda leaders, and we should step up our long-term civilian efforts to deal with the corruption in the Afghan government that has helped the Taliban to thrive. But we must recognize that our troop presence contributes to resentment in some quarters and hinders our ability to achieve our broader national security goals.

Some may argue that if we leave now, the Taliban will expand its control over parts of Afghanistan and provide a wider safe haven for al Qaeda. But dedicating a disproportionate amount of our resources to the military occupation of one country is not the most effective way to combat the terrorist threat we face. Even if we invest billions more dollars annually for the next 10 years and sacrifice hundreds more American lives, we are unlikely to get a credible government capable of governing all Afghan territory.

Instead, we should seek to deny al Qaeda a safe haven in Afghanistan in the long term with a civilian-led strategy discouraging any support for the Taliban by Pakistani security forces, and offer assistance to improve Afghanistan's economy while fighting corruption in its government. This should be coupled with targeted military operations and a diplomatic strategy that incorporates all the countries in the region. We will never relent in our pursuit of al Qaeda, nor will we "walk away" from Afghanistan. But our massive military presence there is driving our enemies together and may well be counterproductive.

There is a very real possibility that our military presence in Afghanistan will drive militant extremists south and east into Pakistan, al Qaeda's primary sanctuary. Pakistan is a nuclear power beset by poverty, sectarian conflict, ineffectual government, instability and an inconsistent record of fighting militancy. It is a witch's brew of threats to our national security that we cannot afford to further destabilize. Yet we may unwittingly do just that. Especially before Pakistan's government has demonstrated a firm commitment to denying sanctuary to Taliban leadership it has long harbored, further destabilization could undermine our own security.

I'm not alone in being troubled by the prospect of destabilizing Pakistan. During hearings in May at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I asked the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, and Special Representative Richard Holbrooke, whether our troop increases might worsen instability in Pakistan. Adm. Mullen candidly said he shared that concern.

Mr. Holbrooke went even further. "You're absolutely correct," he said, "that an additional amount of American troops, and particularly if they're successful in Helmand and Kandahar, could end up creating a pressure in Pakistan which would add to the instability."

There were even more candid answers to questions about the length of the mission in Afghanistan and the metrics we should use to measure its success. Mr. Holbrooke was asked at the Center for American Progress on Aug. 13 how we will know we have succeeded in Afghanistan. "We'll know it when we see it," he replied. On the same day, Defense Secretary Robert Gates gave a similar answer at a Pentagon briefing when asked how long U.S. forces would be fighting in Afghanistan, likening it to a mystery with too many variables to predict. But we must have much more concrete measures, and a much clearer strategy, when we are committing so many American lives and dollars to this cause.

We also ignore the lessons of history by pursuing a drawn-out military mission in Afghanistan. The experiences of the Soviets and the British make it painfully clear just how elusive a military victory in Afghanistan can be. That alone should give us reason to rethink an open-ended military presence in Afghanistan.

In light of their country's history with great powers, it should come as no surprise that Afghans are increasingly skeptical of our military presence. A 2007 poll (conducted by ABC News, the BBC and ARD German TV) showed most Afghans in the Southwest no longer support the presence of foreign troops, and a poll this year (conducted ABC News and the BBC) found that nationwide a plurality of Afghans want troop levels reduced, not increased.

Announcing a flexible timetable for when our massive military presence will end would be one of the best things we could do to advance our national security interests in Afghanistan. By doing so, we would undercut the misperception of the U.S. as an occupying force that has propped up a weak, corrupt and unpopular government, while at the same time removing a tremendous strain on our troops and our economy.

While we have many important goals in Afghanistan, we must be realistic about our limited ability to quickly change the fundamental political realities on the ground. The recent presidential election shows there will be no easy solution to the sectarianism, corruption and warlordism that plague that country. We should seriously question putting so many American lives at risk to expand, through military force, the reach of a government that has failed to win the support of its own people.

Instead of increasing troop levels in Afghanistan, we should start talking about a flexible timetable to begin drawing those levels down. It is time to ask the hard questions—and accept the candid answers—about how our military presence in Afghanistan may be undermining our national security.

Mr. Feingold is a Democratic senator from Wisconsin.

Sky-watcher Beware: Mars Email a "Spectacular" Hoax

Andrew Fazekas
for National Geographic News
An email promising a "Mars spectacular" on August 27 has astronomers seeing red, as scientists try to counter a seemingly unending Mars hoax. The anonymous message from an unknown part of the globe says that the red planet " … will look as large as the full moon" in the night sky, and that "no one alive today will ever see this again."

The claim has been bombarding people's inboxes worldwide every summer for five years. Today the Mars hoax has grown into a kind of cyber legend—one that astronomers are still struggling to debunk.

"The possibility of seeing Mars as large as the moon strikes the imagination," said Marc Jobin, staff astronomer at the Montréal Planetarium in Quebec.

"The sad reality is that a lot of people have little comprehension of astronomy and are unable to call the hoax."

(Get the facts behind claims that the Apollo 11 moon landing was a hoax.)

Thread of Truth

In fact, there is a thread of truth that inspired the prank several years ago.

Planets are not on perfectly circular orbits, and during their elliptical paths around the sun, planets can vary in their exact distances to each other over time.

For example, Mars's orbit means that its distance from Earth can range from 34.6 million miles (55.7 million kilometers) to almost 250 million miles (401.3 million kilometers).

On August 27, 2003, Mars made a historically tight approach to Earth, coming about 34.7 million miles (56 million kilometers) away.

Such a near pass hadn't happened in nearly 60,000 years, and it won't happen again until August 28, 2287.

In 2003 planetariums had sent out notices alerting stargazers of the real astronomical event.

"At the time, through the telescope [Mars] looked as large as the full moon would with the naked eye," explained Geza Gyuk, astronomer at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, Illinois.

Through a backyard telescope with a high-power eyepiece, viewers could even make out many surface features on Mars's disk.

"An email was circulated with this information, but unfortunately the part about the telescope was dropped off and people only passed on the 'size of moon' part."

With the naked eye, Mars still appeared as nothing more than a brilliant orange-colored star in the sky. Still, an email hoax was born.

Earth Doomed?

Luckily for us, Mars won't really loom so large in our skies.

If the red planet actually did appear as huge as purported in the Mars hoax email, the planet would be just 466,000 miles (750,000 kilometers) from Earth, or about twice as far away as the moon.

At that distance, the Montréal Planetarium's Jobin said, life on Earth would likely be doomed.

Given the interplay of gravity between the planets and the sun, a much closer Mars "would have extreme consequences on the shape of the Earth's orbit, with our planet swinging much closer and much farther away from the sun," he said.

"In turn, this would make our planet's climate radically different from what we know, with extreme cold and hot weather, making for very complicated living conditions—not exactly hospitable for higher life forms."

Nokia N86 8MP

By Jasmine Osada

Nokia N86 8MP camera phone

» Price: $808 (without operator subsidy) » Available: from authorised dealers

With higher resolutions and better imaging technology, camera phones are getting better than ever and are all the rage.

For those wanting to take casual but camera-quality party pictures, high resolution camera phones like the Nokia N86 8MP offer users the convenience of an imaging-capable device.

At 8 megapixels, the N86 isn't the highest resolution camera phone out there. But unless you want to print your photos in sizes larger than A4, the resolution the N86 offers is more than enough. Looks-wise, the N86 isn't that much of a departure from its predecessor, the N85.

The glossy finish gives the phone a pretty defined and classy look, and successfully manages to avoid looking too plastic. A two-way slider, the phone allows users to access its various features and functions easily.

For its size, I didn't find it too heavy. Photos taken with this phone are clear and sharp, and the camera works surprisingly quickly.

Press the shutter button and the N86 takes a shot, versus the one or two second pause some other phones will take before an image is captured. At 8 megapixels, the N86 goes back into camera mode with the tap of a button.

This eliminates the need to wait for images to be processed and saved, meaning that you won't lose precious moments while waiting for the phone to be camera-ready again. Fitted with Carl Zeiss optics, the N86 features a wide-angle lens.

This is a good choice, as most people using their camera phones are likely to capture portraits of friends and other people shots, versus images of landscapes and such.

In camera mode, the Nokia offers users several scene modes (automatic, user defined, close-up, portrait, landscape, sport and night), as well as capture modes (still, sequence, self-timer, video and panorama).

While I would have liked more scene modes - kids, food and pets would have been good - I did find myself quite fascinated by the N86's panorama capture mode.

While it probably isn't the best camera to capture panoramic scenes with, the panorama mode was very easy to use and is definitely worth a try. The usual basic camera settings are there, such as flash, white balance and colour tone.

What I would really have liked to see is an exposure compensation setting, which will come in handy at places where the N86 is likely to be used, such as in restaurants and indoors places with low light.

With a dedicated camera button, taking pictures is easy, but tweaking camera setting might take a little getting used to.

As a phone, the N86 offers GPS features, convenient for those on the road. The feature also geo-tags your shots, so you will know where you snapped them.

Browsing the web was a tad tricky, since the N86 isn't a touch screen phone. I found the keys on this two-way slider not the most optimal for surfing, though it might again be a matter of getting used to.

The Verdict

If you're looking for a high resolution camera phone good enough to take print-quality pictures, this one will offer that plus a few useful camera features for better shots.

Oil prices hover near $73 in Asia

BANGKOK — Oil prices rose moderately Friday in Asia, hovering near $73 as investors nurtured doubts about a sustainable recovery in the world's biggest economy.

Benchmark crude for October delivery was up 32 cents to $72.81 a barrel by late morning Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract Thursday added $1.06 to settle at $72.49 after tumbling from near $75 earlier in the week.

Reflecting the dire state of energy demand, natural gas prices slumped to their lowest level in seven years Thursday after the U.S. government reported that salt caverns, aquifers and other underground areas where it is stored are filling up. Levels of natural gas have been building because power-intense industries like manufacturing have cut back severely on production.

Crude posted gains because of a fall in the dollar which means investors can get more crude for less money.

Yet some analysts say the oil price is bound to fall in coming weeks as earlier euphoria about the global economy emerging from recession gives way to doubts about how sustainable the recovery is.

Existing weakness in demand will also be exacerbated by the seasonal drop in gasoline consumption when the U.S. summer driving season ends in a few weeks time.

"We have seen this strength (in the oil price) which reflected renewed confidence in the economy," said John Vautrain, energy analyst at consultancy Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. "But in the last week or so people are starting to say that the stock market is overbought and the data is not that good."

In other Nymex trading, gasoline for September delivery was up 0.46 cent at $2.036 a gallon and heating oil rose 0.2 cent to $1.8612 a gallon.

In London, Brent crude was up 17 cents at $72.50.

Letters: Timor Leste and Kashmir

This refers to an article in The Jakarta Post Aug. 25 titled "Timor Leste a model for Kashmir".

It appears to be a little incongruous to compare the two situations. Kashmir was acceded to India through the Treaty of Accession, a legally valid document.

While King Hari Singh of Kashmir was still undecided about signing the treaty, Pakistan chose to send armed tribal forces to invade Kashmir.

At that point, the treaty of accession was signed in Kashmir and India sent its army to prevent further invasion. Kashmir has remained divided ever since across what is called the Line of Control between the two countries.

The act of aggression by Pakistan before the treaty was signed was a malicious act aimed at subverting the agreed process. It was India who wanted a peaceful resolution and took the matter to the UN Security Council, where a resolution was passed calling on Pakistan to withdraw the armed forces, Pakistani citizens and militant tribesmen, and then asking to hold the plebiscite to ascertain the wishes of Kashmiris. The forces were never withdrawn by Pakistan and hence, the plebiscite for a united Kashmir could not be held.

Pakistan was formed on a two-nation theory, carving out the areas with a Muslim majority from India. Unlike in India, right from the inception there was no stable government or democracy in Pakistan.

In 1971, an election in (East and West) Pakistan resulted in an overall majority for an East Pakistani party, which is ethnically mainly Bengali.

The Pakistani military refused to allow the parliament to convene. East Pakistanis demanded autonomy, then independence, in the face of brutal repression by the Pakistani military.

Guerilla warfare ensued. About 10 million refugees streamed into India from East Pakistan, at which time India took the issue to the world forum.

Pakistan attacked airfields in India and Indian-controlled Kashmir. India retaliated in West Pakistan and also intervened in the East, on the side of the Bangladeshis.

In the 14-day war that followed, Pakistan lost the war on both fronts and Bangladesh became independent. Ninety thousand Pakistani soldiers surrendered to the Indian Army in Dhaka, and Pakistan lost its entire eastern territory and a new nation - Bangladesh - was born.

It was a war lost by an aggressor nation to a defending nation, which is a seldom the case in history.

The Simla agreement was signed between India and Pakistan in 1972, according to which both sides agreed "to settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations or by any other peaceful means mutually agreed upon between them." Both countries agreed they would not unilaterally try to alter the Line of Control in Kashmir.

This Simla agreement is the last political and diplomatic document and forms the basis for any dispute resolution with regard to Kashmir.

First, a conducive and peaceful environment needs to exist on both sides, followed by free trade between Kashmiris and the two countries and then to an open-borders situation, which will make the dispute itself irrelevant.

The model of Indonesian society is relevant to Kashmir and in the larger subcontinent. Indonesia is a showcase to the world of a peaceful, modern, progressive and tolerant society standing on the foundation of Islam.

The rest of the world would be a better place to live if they learned this from our society.

Ajay Shastry
Jakarta post

Pakistani court: Lift curbs on nuclear scientist

By MUNIR AHMAD (AP)

ISLAMABAD — A Pakistani court on Friday ordered the government to lift any remaining restrictions on a scientist alleged to have spread nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya, his lawyer said.

The interim instruction came in response to a petition filed by scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan and could stir alarm in the United States, which still regards him as a proliferation risk.

Khan's lawyer, Ali Zafar, said the Lahore High Court observed that "nobody can restrict the movement of A.Q. Khan given a court ruling earlier this year that declared him a "free citizen"

He said notices had been issued to the police and government asking them to explain at the next hearing why they were continuing to do so.

"It is excellent and heart warming and very gratifying," Khan told reporters gathered at his house. "I think the people who have been involved in playing mischief with me will get the message and allow me live a peaceful, private life as a citizen."

It was unclear whether authorities would obey the instruction.

Judges adjourned the case until Sept. 4 when police and government officials would explain their position, said Usman Anwar, the additional secretary of the provincial interior ministry.

Khan was detained in December 2003 and admitted on television in early 2004 sole responsibility for operating a network that spread nuclear weapons technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya. He has since repeatedly retracted that statement.

He was pardoned by then President Pervez Musharraf, but immediately placed under de facto house arrest.

In February, the Islamabad High Court announced he was a "free citizen," subject to a confidential accord struck with the government.

Since then, he has had to tell authorities of his travel plans, get permission for guests to visit him at home and intelligence and agents and security officials have maintained a heavy presence outside his house, prompting him to launch a fresh petition.

The government says the restrictions are necessary for his own safety.

While reviled in the West, Khan is regarded as hero by many in Pakistan because he led the country's efforts to produce a nuclear weapon.

The Lahore High Court is hearing the case because the Islamabad court has been disba

Saudi Terror Czar Escapes Assassination Attempt

By MARGARET COKER

DUBAI -- A suicide bomber slightly injured a Saudi Arabian royal family member in charge of antiterrorism efforts, the first significant retaliation by extremists against the kingdom's recent crackdown.

According to a statement issued by the Saudi Royal Court, the bombing took place at 11.30 p.m. Thursday, while Prince Muhammad bin Nayef was receiving guests during a traditional Ramadan gathering at his house in Jeddah, a commercial hub on the Red Sea.

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Bilal Qabalan/AFP/Getty Images

The statement said that the bomber was killed in the blast, but had been identified and was on Saudi Arabia's most-wanted list. The statement, carried on Saudi's state news agency, said the man had previously expressed his desire to surrender himself to Prince Mohammad.

Prince Mohammad is the son of Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdelaziz, who is third in line to the throne. Prince Mohammad, who was educated in the U.S., functions as a deputy to his father and is seen as having day-to-day control of antiterrorism operations. He works closely with U.S. officials on terrorism intelligence issues.

Prince Nayef, the interior minister, came under heavy criticism from Washington in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks for his perceived lack of action against al Qaeda militancy and the group's network of financiers. Saudi Arabia's track record on fighting terrorism has improved as Prince Mohammad has taken more control over the ministry's work, according to U.S. officials.

Earlier this month, Saudi officials announced the arrest of 44 suspected militants alleged to be linked to al Qaeda. Last month, officials said they convicted 330 al Qaeda militants, but gave few details about the convictions.

Human-rights organizations have criticized the methods that the interior ministry has used in its efforts to crackdown on militants, saying that security sweeps often net political dissidents as well as people who allegedly have links to militant groups. Those arrested by the authorities rarely have access to lawyers, and in many cases families aren't told the reason for their detention, critics allege.

Saudi Arabia has denied systemic problems, saying allegations of human-rights abuses are investigated and dealt with on an individual basis.

Thursday's bombing -- an extremely rare assassination attempt that came so close to such a high-profile royal target -- could represent a setback in the program.

Saudi television broadcast Saudi Arabian King Abdullah visiting Prince Mohammad, who is the king's nephew, in the hospital. The king commended his services to the country, state media reported. But in what could be interpreted as a mild rebuke, the king also asked how the bomber had been allowed so close to him without more rigorous security screening.

"It was a mistake," Prince Mohammad replied, according to state television.

Al-Arabiya, the Saudi-owned news channel, reported Friday that the bomb had been fixed to the assassin's body, and the blast was triggered when the man received a cellular phone call.

The government statement said that Prince Mohammad's injuries were slight, and he didn't spend the night in the hospital. No one else was injured in the blast, it said.

—Summer Said in Dubai contributed to this article.

Write to Margaret Coker at margaret.coker@wsj.com

First look / Smartphones

Nokia E75
The E75 is the current flagship of Nokia’s E-series. The E-series is Nokia’s range of corporate smartphones that aim to make mobile messaging as easy as 1, 2, 3. The killer app for the E75 is obviously messaging. To this end the handset, as do all E series phones, comes with Nokia Messaging and Mail for Exchange, IMAP and POP3 support. That’s the software end of things. From the hardware perspective the E75 has a slide out QWERTY keyboard. The screen however is the typical 2.4 inch QVGA that you find on many Nokia smartphones. For storage, you have a 4 GB SD Card. At 139 grams the E75 is no lightweight but the extra weight is on account of the metal back and the phone is sleek and stylish. A standard 3.5 inch headphone jack is a welcome addition.

While it is not a multimedia behemoth, the E75 can hold its own with a 3.2 megapixel camera. It can shoot VGA video at 30 fps, the same as most N series smartphones. Like most Nokia smartphones it supports both 3G and Wi-Fi.

Screen	2.4 inch display with a 320 x 240 resolution
Connectivity	Bluetooth, GPRS, EDGE, 3G, Wi-Fi
Storage	4 GB microSD HC memory card included and support up to 16 GB
Software	Mokia Messaging, Mail for Exchange, IMAP, POP3
Camera	3.2 megapixel
Weight	139 grams
Dimensions	111.8 x 50/80 x 14.4 mm
Price	Rs 23,999
E-mail	communications.india@nokia.com
Web site	www.nokia.com

NASA delays shuttle Discovery launch

(AFP)
CANAVERAL, Florida — NASA on Thursday delayed the launch of the space shuttle Discovery until 0359 GMT Saturday so mission specialists could review tests on a faulty valve, the US space agency said.

The decision to make the launch attempt nearly 24 hours later than planned was issued after experts reviewed tests on a liquid hydrogen fill-and-drain valve that malfunctioned earlier in the week in Discovery's main propulsion system.

"It was announced at today's mission management team meeting that the teams need another 24 hours to review data from yesterday's fill-and-drain test before pressing forward with launch of space shuttle Discovery," NASA said.

"Liftoff now is targeted for 11:59 pm (Friday, 0359 GMT Saturday).

NASA earlier Thursday had begun the countdown to launch Discovery on Friday at 12:22 am (0422 GMT) with astronauts preparing for a 13-day mission to supply and repair the International Space Station (ISS).

The hydrogen fuel tank valve functioned normally in tests conducted by NASA engineers, who now believe that problems encountered when filling the shuttle's external fuel tank were due to false readings, NASA said.

But NASA then put back the launch almost 24 hours after a review of the results to give teams extra time "to work on options in case the problem with the valve occurred again," said Allard Beutel, a NASA spokesman.

The launch, if it goes ahead, would be NASA's fourth scheduled attempt after lift-off was also delayed Wednesday and thunderstorms led NASA officials to scrub the first bid early Tuesday.

At the space station, a key task during the three scheduled spacewalks on Discovery's mission will be to replace an old liquid ammonia coolant tank, which will be substituted with a new, 1,760-pound (800-kilogram) replacement.

The new freezer will store samples of blood, urine and other materials that will eventually be taken back for studies on the effects of zero-gravity.

The astronauts were also to retrieve experimental equipment from outside the ISS and return it to Earth for processing.

They will also be delivering a treadmill named after popular US comedy talk show host Stephen Colbert -- the second aboard the ISS. Exercise is important for astronauts spending long periods of time in space, because zero-gravity can result in muscle atrophy.

The Discovery will bring astronaut Nicole Stott to take the place aboard the ISS of Tim Kopra, who will ride the shuttle back to Earth.

The shuttle commander is to be veteran astronaut Rick "C.J." Sturckow. Other astronauts on the crew include pilot Kevin Ford and mission specialists Patrick Forrester, Jose Hernandez, John "Danny" Olivas, and Christer Fuglesang of Sweden.

Once the Discovery mission is complete, just six more shuttle flights remain before NASA's three shuttles are retired in September 2010.

The ISS is a project jointly run by 16 countries at a cost of 100 billion dollars -- largely financed by the United States.

Oil bounces back above $72 as Wall Street reverses

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices pulled out of a two-day slump on Thursday, supported by a rebound on Wall Street and losses in the dollar.

U.S. crude for October rose $1.06 to settle at $72.49 a barrel, after dipping as low as $69.83 earlier in the day on worries about high commercial crude inventories and weak demand. In London, Brent crude rose 86 cents to $72.51.

"As things stand, the underlying influence of equities and the dollar remain in place," said Tom Knight, trader at Truman Arnold in Texarkana, Texas.

Wall Street stocks pushed higher, bolstered by news that plane maker Boeing expects the first flight of its long-delayed 787 Dreamliner by the end of the year and some better-than-expected GDP and jobs data.

The U.S. dollar, meanwhile, dipped against the euro -- a factor that can enhance the purchasing power of commodity buyers using other currencies.

Oil's gains ended a steep slide since Tuesday, when prices touched a 10-month high of $75 a barrel. That slide had been tied to back-to-back reports showing a surprise increase in U.S. oil inventories.

Analysts said oil prices were unlikely to push much higher in the near term, after surging around 120 percent since February.

"The market would need a strong reason to break $75," said Petromatrix analyst Olivier Jakob. "It would need continuous support from equities and the dollar and further support from the statistics."

Oil also has not received much support from the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season.

Tropical Storm Danny was expected to slowly become the season's second hurricane over the next couple of days, but it posed no foreseeable threat to the Gulf of Mexico oil area and was expected to stay well out in the Atlantic Ocean, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

(Additional reporting by Emma Farge in London)

Times poll: 61% think al-Megrahi release was about oil, not compassion

Gordon Brown’s Government faces widespread public suspicion that the release of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, had more to do with oil than his terminal cancer.

A special Populus poll for The Times, conducted on Wednesday, reveals widespread public criticism of the release and scepticism about the reasons, with much of the blame falling on the Prime Minister.

The poll followed the public defence of the release by Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Minister, on Monday and Mr Brown’s comments the following day.

Questions were solely about this issue and did not include voting intentions.

Three fifths of those questioned (61 per cent) disagreed with the decision to return al-Megrahi to Libya on the ground of compassion, with 27 per cent agreeing.

The continuing controversy over the background to the decision, with reports of meetings between British ministers and members of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s family and the Libyan Government, have made people suspicious. Nearly half (45 per cent) thought it had more to do with oil than al-Megrahi’s terminal illness — 24 per cent disagreed.

Mr Brown’s attempt to distance himself from the move, saying that it was a decision for the Scottish government, has not gone down well, with 56 per cent saying that has handled the matter badly, and 23 per cent thinking that he had done well.

In the ranking of disapproval, Mr Brown was second only to Colonel Gaddafi. Some 63 per cent thought that the Libyans had handled the affair badly, while 15 per cent approved of their actions.

Everyone is tarnished to some extent though David Cameron and the American Government have suffered least. After the strong attacks from Washington on the release, a third said that the Americans had handled the issue well, although 45 per cent disagreed.

Respondents in Britain as a whole thought that both Mr MacAskill and the SNP Administration had handled the affair badly rather than well, by roughly two to one. But people in Scotland took a sharply different attitude on some of the questions.

The number of respondents from Scotland was far too small (at 45 out of a total sample of 515) to place great weight on the exact numbers. But there are indications that Scots disagreed with al-Megrahi’s release more narrowly than elsewhere in Britain.

Moreover, they appeared to be more personally sympathetic with Mr MacAskill’s predicament, more thinking he had handled the issue well rather than badly, the reverse of the view throughout Britain.

The Scottish public appeared annoyed with the strong criticisms of the decision by President Obama and other American leaders. Respondents from north of the Border thought that the US had handled the issue about as badly as Colonel Gaddafi and the Libyan Government.

In Britain as a whole, women were more opposed to al-Megrahi’s release than men (66 per cent against 56 per cent) and more likely to be opposed to early release in principle (72 per cent against 65 per cent). Women were also less critical of the handling of the issue by Mr Brown and the White House.

Only 22 per cent of all those questioned thought that al-Megrahi had been wrongly convicted in the first place, with 41 per cent disagreeing.

— Populus interviewed a random sample of 515 adults aged over 18 by telephone on August 26. Interviews were conducted across the countrsy and the results have been weighted to be representative of all adults.

Japan on Brink of Change

TOKYO -- In the midst of its worst economic malaise of the postwar era, Japan is preparing to oust its longtime ruling party in favor of new leaders with ambitious ideas but an untested ability to get things done.

A Dynasty on the Brink

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Trace the recent history of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Polls show voters in Sunday's election heavily favor the Democratic Party of Japan, an 11-year-old collection of market reformers, union leaders and consumer activists that has never held full political power. A landslide would give the group broad powers to enact an agenda that includes an elaborate domestic spending plan, tough new climate-change rules, an overhaul of Japan's bloated government bureaucracy, and a reassessment of the nation's longtime ties to the U.S.

A landslide also would mark a sound rejection of Prime Minister Taro Aso and the Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled Japan almost continuously since 1955 but has been hobbled by a weak economy and a series of scandals. Its cozy relationships with business, bureaucracy and the U.S. have become liabilities as incomes have fallen and more Japanese begin to question the nation's direction.

It's unclear how far a victorious DPJ can go. Japan's massive debt could hobble its social-spending plans. Many of its members will have to learn the ropes as they take powerful government positions. Others are longtime political veterans who defected to the DPJ when the LDP began to struggle and may be reluctant to endorse big changes.

A DPJ victory also would test Japan's appetite for change. Young, urban voters in particular are attracted to a platform that endorses change in a number of areas, including allowing married women to keep their original names. But many of Japan's older voters favor only jettisoning the LDP and may balk at bigger changes.

"There is an irresponsible stance of 'I don't care what, I just want a change,"' said Fumio Kyuma, a 68-year-old LDP veteran, nine-time incumbent and twice former defense minister, who represents the area around the city of Nagasaki in Parliament. "People are looking for a leadership change just for the sake of leadership change."

His challenger: Eriko Fukuda, a 28-year-old political novice who became a national figure after battling the government over a coverup of information about tainted blood products -- the cause of her contraction of hepatitis C as an infant.

"This election is a battle for the survival of those who are disadvantaged and we must not fail," said Ms. Fukuda at a recent rally. In local polls she leads Mr. Kyuma, who has repeatedly apologized for a verbal gaffe two years ago in which he said the 1945 atomic bombing of the city by the U.S. "could not be helped."

Taking a page from U.S. President Barack Obama's campaign book, the DPJ has made "Change" the slogan for its campaign, and unleashed a pack of candidates this is distinctively younger and has more females than the old guard of the LDP. No longer able to count on the party machine to drum up the necessary votes to win, many LDP heavyweights have been forced to leave their offices and slug it out on campaign trails for the first time in many years.

To woo Japanese voters discouraged by nearly two decades of an economic slump and worried about the increasing burden of a rapidly aging society, the DPJ has put forth bold proposals aimed at propping up people's livelihoods. Families are promised an allowance of $3,300 a year for every child age 15 and under, free high-school education and the elimination of highway tolls.

Businesses, already reeling from the most serious recession in decades, are asked to boost wages while forgoing the hiring of temporary workers on factory floors. While both parties are proposing similar measures, the union-favored DPJ's policies are even more worker-friendly. The DPJ also is proposing stricter rules on greenhouse-gas emissions, a step corporate executives say will restrict growth in Japanese manufacturing.

To pay for its expensive social programs and accelerate policy shifts, the DPJ wants to implement a sweeping change in the administrative branch. That means eliminating jobs and curtailing the influence of bureaucrats in Tokyo, who have loyally assisted the LDP's rule in exchange for job protection. Following the example of the British system, the DPJ wants to strengthen the role of the prime minister and cabinet, and send 100 lawmakers to ministries to instruct and oversee bureaucrats.

"Bureaucrats can't make dynamic policy changes because they are always burdened by past policy precedents," says Kazuya Mimura, a 33-year-old DPJ candidate who left his own bureaucratic position in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry last year. "They have to be made by politicians."

Reflecting its main support base of city dwellers and younger voters, the DPJ adopts more liberal stances on social issues such as the participation of women and foreigners in society. If the DPJ keeps its word, working women will be allowed to keep their maiden names, while stay-at-home wives will lose their tax-exemption status.

In international relations, it wants to loosen ties with the U.S. and shake off the bitterness left among Asian neighbors since World War II. To do so, it is willing to discontinue controversial visits by political leaders to a shrine commemorating Japan's war dead, even at the risk of angering politically active groups of veterans and war widows.

The changes are aimed at half a century of political stagnation. "When one party stays in power for five decades, various evil side effects naturally emerge," says Mitsuo Ohashi, chairman of Showa Denko KK, a big chemical company, who says he opposes the DPJ's initiatives but believes the LDP is responsible for some of its own problems. "Now sensing the possibility of a change in administration, people are suddenly full of expectations."

Whether the DPJ can really implement these changes may depend on how far Japan itself is willing to challenge some of the fabric of its society.

Unlike in the heyday of the LDP's rule in the 1970s and 1980s, when Japan was united in the pursuit of economic growth, the nation today is divided.

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Associated Press

Supporters on Thursday listen to a speech by Prime Minister Taro Aso, leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, during a campaign rally in Yokohama, near Tokyo.

Corporate executives are looking to cut costs and shift operations abroad as their traditional strength in exports faces greater competition. Japan's share of world exports is an estimated 4.1% this year, roughly half the level of 15 years ago.

Meanwhile, ordinary workers have seen their income and job security slip. As retirees try to lock in generous pension and health benefits as a reward for their past work, the young feel the burden of paying for such expenses and worry whether anything will be left when their generation gets old. Japan's per-capita GDP made it No. 4 in the world 20 years ago. Today, it is no longer in the top 10.

Yumiko Kosugi lost her job as a temporary worker in January when the Tokyo travel agency where she worked began suffering from falling sales to its main client, Toyota Motor Corp. The 31-year-old mother of an infant girl must go back to work soon to supplement the income of her husband, but worries she may not be able to find day care.

"Politicians always give us sweet talk before elections," Ms. Kosugi said. "I don't expect anything to change no matter who becomes prime minister or which party takes power."

Others are skeptical about the DPJ's ability to turn its promises into action.

The party itself encompasses both activists and political insiders who may not reach agreement. DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama -- widely assumed to be Japan's next prime minister -- and Secretary-General Katsuya Okada both hail from wealthy families with powerful business connections, while Azuma Koshiishi, an acting president, is a former union leader. One top leader, Ichiro Ozawa, is a former LDP heavyweight known for his behind-the-scenes political maneuvering.

The DPJ's desire to eliminate jobs for bureaucrats, for example, could be compromised by its needs to please an important constituency: labor unions of government workers.

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Associated Press

Posters for parliamentary candidates in Tokyo last week

How to fund its hugely expensive social programs also remains vague. Even without added expenses, Japan already sits on a huge fiscal deficit. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Japan's financial liabilities could approach 190% of gross domestic product this year. Still, fearing a voter revolt, the DPJ rules out raising the consumption tax for at least four years, closing the most effective way to raise tax revenues.

The DPJ estimates its programs to help households, including the child allowance and eliminating expressway tolls, will cost a total of 16.8 trillion yen ($177 billion) when they are fully implemented in the fiscal year beginning 2013, but says the amount can be covered by cost savings through government overhaul and mobilizing untapped financial reserves.

"Their policies seem to focus on giving lots of money to lots of people," says Hiroyuki Hosoda, the LDP's secretary-general.

The party also wants companies to boost the minimum wage to 800 yen an hour from the current range between 618 yen to 739 yen, and eventually raise it to 1,000 yen. Companies also are asked to turn as many temporary jobs as possible into permanent positions, and stop hiring temp workers altogether on factory floors.

Business executives say these steps will erode the competitiveness of Japanese companies against their global competitors, and eventually pull down Japan's economic growth rate.

"They say 'People's Lives First' but without economic growth, people are not going to feel better off," says Mr. Ohashi, the chemical-company chairman.

Mr. Ohashi, who heads the political committee of Nippon Keidanren, or Japan Business Federation, a powerful business lobby, says that instead of reducing temp workers, Japan needs steps to help its economy compete globally and attract foreign investments. The most effective, he says, will be a sharp cut in the corporate tax rate to below 30% from the current level of 40%, among the highest in the world.

The DPJ's hefty fiscal spending could help the economy, "but whether these measures will be able to lift growth in the long term is questionable," says Kathy Matsui, chief Japan strategist for Goldman Sachs. After contracting for five quarters, Japan's GDP grew by an annualized pace of 3.7% in the April-June quarter.

Despite the difference in economic policies, the main difference between the DPJ and LDP may lie in their willingness to challenge traditional social customs, such as seniority-based organizations, and low participation of women and foreigners in the society and workplace, which is often blamed as a root cause of the stagnation in the economy. While the DPJ is still dominated by a number of traditional insiders, the party has twice as many women running in Sunday's elections, and the average age of its candidates is about six years younger than the LDP ballot.

The DPJ says it will seek to revise a law so married couples can use separate last names, instead of forcing one -- usually the woman -- to change her name. It also plans to eliminate a tax exemption for stay-at-home spouses, a measure that has kept many women from going back to work after childbirths and drawn criticism from working women as unfair.

"These things have been sucking energy out of women in this country as we try to work hard on our jobs and contemplate starting families," says Fumie Furukawa, a 36-year-old college history instructor from Gifu prefecture near Nagoya. She and her husband, a hospital administrator, have lived as a married couple for five years but legally remained single so Ms. Furukawa could keep her name. If the law is changed, she says, they will probably finally tie the knot.

"I might even consider having a child," she adds.

Mobilizing younger voters would be a feat in Japan. In the last lower-house elections in 2005, only 46% of voters in their 20s cast their ballots, compared with 83% for those in their 60s, a disparity many younger voters blame for labor and pension rules that they believe hurt them at the expense of the older population. People in their 20s and 30s make up a majority of the temp worker population.

The DPJ is courting the dissatisfaction of younger voters like Kensuke Harada, a junior at the University of Tokyo, who formed a nonpartisan group called ivote last year to get people in their 20s to vote. His group has thrown parties at pubs that bring together students and young politicians, and has solicited online pledges to vote in Sunday's elections. As of Thursday, it received 1,140 pledges.

"Everyone knows Japan's pension system has a problem and we all wonder what will happen when we reach our 50s and 60s," the 23-year-old Mr. Harada said. "But politicians don't pay attention because the population of young people is so small and we don't even vote."

Last Sunday, Mr. Harada led a parade of several dozen students through the streets of Shibuya, a Tokyo neighborhood with trendy boutiques and popular student watering holes. Playing on a Japanese pun on the words for "politics" and "festival," many wore the traditional robed garb of a summer festival. Others wore Santa Claus hats, while one marched wearing the full-body costume of the local election committee's mascot, a grinning yellow cat with wings.

"It's the biggest festival of the year," they chanted as they passed out leaflets telling young people to vote. "Join the fun and change our future!"

The parade attracted a few amused onlookers. Saya Takasaki, 25, watched the parade in Shibuya while bicycle-riding with her boyfriend. She said she wasn't really interested in politics before, but this time she planned to vote. "I feel we have to make Japan a much better place to live," she said, adding that she hasn't yet decided how she will vote.

Write to Yuka Hayashi at yuka.hayashi@wsj.com, Daisuke Wakabayashi at Daisuke.Wakabayashi@wsj.com, Miho Inada at miho.inada@wsj.com and Alison Tudor at alison.tudor@wsj.com

In southern Afghan city, fears of Taliban takeover

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Southern Afghanistan's largest city, Kandahar, is slipping back under Taliban control as overstretched U.S. troops focus on clearing insurgents from the countryside — a potentially alarming setback for President Barack Obama's war strategy.

Afghan authorities promise a counteroffensive against the militants in Kandahar — a pledge that appears aimed primarily at boosting public morale after a devastating bombing killed 43 people on Tuesday.

Losing Kandahar, a city of nearly 1 million and the Taliban's former headquarters, would be a huge symbolic blow because it is effectively the capital of the ethnic Pashtun-dominated south, the main battlefield of the Afghan war.

It is difficult to measure the extent of Taliban control, and NATO officials publicly discount the possibility that Kandahar is about to fall to the militants.

Thousands of U.S. and Canadian troops are deployed throughout the province and around the city, which includes a major NATO base. NATO officials say the U.S. troop buildup in Afghanistan will enable them to send more troops into Kandahar.

"Because there's one bombing, it doesn't mean the situation is going down the tubes," said Maj. Mario Couture, a spokesman for NATO in Kandahar province.

Nevertheless, many Afghans believe more Taliban forces are operating clandestinely in the city, while the Islamist movement tightens its grip on districts just outside the urban center.

As guerrillas, the Taliban doubtless don't want to capture and run the city. Instead their goal is probably to wield enough influence to block any government efforts to expand services, prevent international relief agencies from operating there, force merchants to pay protection money and undermine the government's image in one of the country's major cities.

"The Taliban are inside the city. They are very active. They can do anything they want," said an Afghan employee of an international aid organization who requested anonymity because he feared reprisals from the militants.

The Taliban's resurgence in Kandahar city, the movement's main power base during the 1990s, has been slow and gradual over the past four years, said an international security official who is familiar with the area.

These days, the Taliban control many of the city's streets at night, the official said. Residents who spoke to The Associated Press also said militants were active at night, though they did not describe them as being in control.

The security official also pointed to a number of attacks, aside from Tuesday's bombing, that indicate the Taliban want to take over the city. One was last year's brazen bomb and rocket attack on a major prison that freed hundreds of militants and other prisoners.

The militants have targeted tribal elders in surrounding districts, and have a notable presence in the city's north, south and west, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

A chilling indicator of the militant presence are fliers posted in the city.

Haji Tooryalai, a 45-year-old Kandahar resident, said he'd seen some of the so-called shabnamas, or "night letters," ahead of the Aug. 20 elections warning people not to vote. No voting figures have been released from Kandahar but turnout appears to have been low.

"Poor men, rich men — everyone is worried about their security," Tooryalai said. "A few months ago, business was good, but now we are just sitting in our shops and there are just not that many customers."

Tuesday's explosion was especially unnerving.

It struck near a Japanese construction company involved in reconstruction efforts. The Taliban denied responsibility, as they typically do when attacks kill many civilians.

Since the blast, people talk of little else.

A radio announcement asking for blood donations for the wounded spurred a huge response. Early Thursday, about 200 men gathered to sacrifice seven cows and pray for the victims.

Farid Ahmad, a real estate worker who appeared to be in his 50s, said people feel hopeless.

"Everybody can't afford security guards, and if you are hiring security guards it means you are an important person and that will make you a target," Ahmad said.

Kandahar province Gov. Tooryalai Wesa said authorities planned to review the security of the city as part of their investigation of the attack, a report likely to be finished in the next three or four days.

Gen. Sher Mohammad Zazai, the Afghan National Army commander in Kandahar, said security forces were planning to launch an operation in the city.

He would not give a date for the crackdown or detail its size and scope, but said it would be "soon" and spearheaded by Afghan security forces. NATO forces will be offering backup, but in districts surrounding the city, he said.

NATO officials would not comment on any planned operation.

The U.S. is sending additional 21,000 U.S. troops this year to turn the tide against the Taliban, part of Obama's effort to shift the focus of the fight against terrorism away from Iraq and toward the Pakistan-Afghanistan region.

The American military effort so far, however, has focused primarily on the countryside. U.S. military officials have not explained their strategy publicly but it was believed they wanted to cut Taliban supply lines, interrupt poppy production and attack insurgent units in areas unlikely to produce significant civilian casualties. The Taliban have also set up Islamic courts in some rural communities.

U.S. Marines have launched operations in nearby Helmand province to wrest control of the Helmand River valley and the Now Zad district from Taliban fighters.

But some officials believe securing Kandahar and the surrounding areas is more important because of the large civilian populations and the city's role as the political and economic center of the south.

They would like to see more of the extra troops in Kandahar and not Helmand.

NATO spokesman Capt. Glen Parent, however, noted that over the past month 4,000 more U.S. troops were deployed to both Kandahar and Zabul provinces, including vast stretches around the city.

About 2,000 Canadian troops are based in and around Kandahar, said Couture, the other NATO spokesman.

He said it's been difficult for the Canadians to deal with the city because they lacked enough troops and were busy battling the militants in nearby Zhari and Panjwai districts.

"With the massive arrival of the Americans, that allows us to focus on Kandahar and surrounding areas of the city," he said.

Associated Press writers Heidi Vogt in Kabul and Kathy Gannon in New York contributed to this report.