i'm shery ahn. friday is a symbolic day for the palestinians. they fought for decades to be recognized as a nation state, and their leader, mahmoud abbas, has now applied for full membership of the united nations. >> translator: the support of the countries of the world for our endeavor is a victory for truth, freedom, justice, law, and international legitimacy,

and it provides tremendous support for the peace option and enhances the chances of success of the negotiations. [ applause ] >> abbas handed the membership application to u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon on friday. ban will pass it to the chairman of the u.n. security council. the u.s. government says it will veto the application in the security council. >> peace cannot be imposed on the parties, it has to be negotiated. actions in the united nations will achieve neither statehood nor determination for the palestinians. >> israeli prime minister has criticized the palestinian move. >> the palestinians should first make peace with israel and then

get their state. >> meanwhile, in palestine friday, tens of thousands of people in the west bank celebrated as abbas applied for full membership in the u.n. over 10,000 people packed the main square for a screen showing him addressing the u.n. general assembly. in the west bank, there were clashes between palestinians and israeli troops. a palestinian man in his 30s was shot dead friday. the situation may get worse if it fails to get enough votes at the security council. yemen's state-run television reported friday that president ali abdullah saleh returned to the country after three months of medical treatment in saudi arabia. there are fears his homecoming

will escalate tension and violence in the country. saleh left yemen in june after suffering serious injuries during a bomb attack on his presidential compound. this week, gunfights between saleh loyalists and anti-government forces, joined by military deserters, killed more than 100 people in the yemeni capital sanaa. protesters are calling for large rallies on friday after muslim prayers. the international terrorist network, al qaeda, is expanding its power in yemen by taking advantage of the country's political unrest. the united states and saudi arabia are aiming to resolve the situation through negotiations, but president saleh refuses to give up power. japanese prime minister yoesh noda plans to push to relocate a u.s. military base.

he made the comment thursday in a visit to new york for a series of u.n. meetings. he said he hopes to persuade the people of okinawa to accept a plan to move the u marine corps within the prefecture. the plan agreed by japan and the u.s. hasn't been put into action because of strong opposition in okinawa. noda says the plan will help reduce the burden on communities that host u.s. military facilities. he told u.s. president barack obama wednesday that the japanese government will do all it can to get people in okinawa to support the base relocation. day 13 of the grand sumo tournament is considered moving day. we find out who are the contenders for the title. he is enjoying ten victories,

gets his stiffest test yet. he wins the initial faceoff. kitataiki trying to get an inside grip. it turns into a grappling battle. back and forth they go. no question who is controlling the flow of this match. he finishes him off with a push down. still a fine effort by both men. the lower body stability shows. the georgian puts his weight advantage to work, but with upper rankers, technique and savvy can overcome. sure enough, he establishes a grip, despite his roly poly upper body. he gets a force out.

he was last seen grand canyon his elbow on the previous day. puts him in a bind. kotoshogitu has two previous meetings with him. this is a surprisingly one sided match. the result, force out and he gets an 11th victory. he needs just one more for his milestone promotion. so moving day has unexpectedly tightened the usual race. hakuho and kotoshogiku are tied. the two co-leaders hoping to spoil the fun on day 14.

it should be an exciting final weekend at the september tourney. and here is your extended weather forecast.

and before you go, a recap. symbolic day for palestinians who fought for decades to be recognized as the nation state. now their leader, mahmoud abbas

applied for full membership in the united nations>> translator: the support of the countries of the world is a victory for truth, freedom, justice, law and international legitimacy, and it provides tremendous support for the peace option and enhances chances of success of the negotiations.option and enhance success of the negotiations. [ applause ] >> they handed that membership application to general ban ki-moon. he will pass it to the chairman of the u.n. security council. the government said it would veto the application. >> peace cannot be imposed on the parties, has to be negotiated. one sided action by the united nations won't achieve that for them. >> benjamin netanyahu criticized

that move. >> the palestinians should first make peace with israel, and then get their state. >> and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm shery ahn. thank you for watching. ♪ what god are these people praying to? >> the tanuki deity. >> they're praying to the raccoon dog deity. >> translator: mysterious things happen. >> translator: god is here with us.

matsuyama city in ehime prefecture is home to about 510,000 people. near a street car station in the heart of the city, a red arch is just like the one at shrines dedicated to the fox deity. but instead of foxes, we find a raccoon dog tanuki. and in this small shrine is the gracious god named yatsumata-enoki-osode. she's known to transform herself into a lady clad in a long-sleeved kimono and is called osode-san.

many visitors from in and around the city come to honor the deity at the festival held every 8th day of the month. the number eight is said to be closely related to the tanuki. their prayers may be different, but they all hope that osode-san will answer them. >> translator: i'm praying for good business and safety for the family. i put my hands together when i pass the shrine, even when i'm driving. >> translator: they're not just tanuki. we call them o-tanuki-san. you should, too.

>> in fact, osode-san is a very high ranking tanuki. ♪ this document was compiled in 1963 and ranks all the tanuki deities worshipped in ehime prefecture. osode-san is special and is ranked apart from the tanuki grand champions and champions. belief in the tanuki god has a long history. they say the raccoon dog was already being worshiped 280 years ago. osode-san is ranked in a special category because people believe ta her answering prayers is stronger than other tanuki deities.

some people believe that they've been saved by her mysterious powers. shigemi noda says long ago when her father's shipyard was going under and he had trouble paying the workers, he asked osode-san to help him. suddenly a backer appeared and he was able to pull through. >> translator: when i'm in trouble, i pray for just one thing. if i do that, my wish will come true for sure. i've been helped by her. >> this woman runs a tea ceremony school in matsuyama

city. she also prayed to osode-san for help in opening a tea ceremony school. after a while, fortune smiled on her and her wish came true. >> translator: i feel secure when i pray to her. i always try to free myself from bad thoughts when i come here. >> they all believe in the mysterious powers of osode-san and come here to worship. when their wishes come true, they return to thank the tanuki deity. >> translator: i asked for good business. i need more luck. >> but why do the people here worship the raccoon dog?

from ancient time the japanese worshiped raccoon dogs and foxes as animals with special powers. foxes were thought to be messengers of the inari deity, the god of good harvest and business. about 30,000 small and large shrines could be found throughout japan. but there are hardly any inari shrines in shikoku. instead the island has over 100 shrines to the raccoon dog deity. why? well, actually, very few foxes ever inhabited shikoku island. but there were many tanuki, and people were familiar with the animal.

raccoon dogs are omnivorous and they often come down to the villages for food. the people of shikoku were accustomed to having tanuki wandering around, so they started to worship them. all over japan foxes are said to bewitch people. but in shikoku they say raccoon dogs bewitch people and bring good luck to business and life. >> translator: they look so gentle. when i'm with one of them, i get the impression that it's talking to me. >> translator: with foxes, i have to be careful not to be tricked.

[ howling ] ♪ >> compared with all the other tanuki ehime osode-san tanuki is very special. they say she used to wander about the prefecture. although she has settled down here, her friends from her rambling days visit her in the dark of the night. talking with old friends brings back fond memories. [ murmuring voices ] ♪ osode-san knows how people who

call upon her for help are making out. because her friends always keep an eye on them and report back to osode-san. for many years this woman has been taking care of osode-san's shrine. she's 88 years old. and is osode-san's closest ally. she brings treats. >> she likes dried fish like these. well, fish is her favorite. after all, osode-san is a raccoon dog.

>> tanaka has been visiting osode-san for more than 50 years. back when her father's restaurant was having trouble, she came to osode-san for help. then suddenly the sales increased five-fold. and she's been grateful ever since and kept on visiting the shrine. >> translator: she's clever and kind, her face shows it. please help everyone. >> but tanaka has one worry.

the osode-san's shrine does not have a resident priest. a devotee has been taking care of the shrine. tanaka worrieses about who will take care of the shrine after her. >> translator: i've only got two or three years left on earth. i know it myself. >> recently tanaka has found someone who is just right for the job. he lives here in matsuyama city. he came to the shrine today to change the sacred straw festoon which was damaged by heavy rain the day before. >> translator: well, somebody has to do it. the leaves have fallen, it's getting messy.

our deity needs to be properly tended. >> the company he was working for was hit hard by the recession. he lost his job 18 months ago. he couldn't find a new job and lived off his unemployment insurance for a while. one day he found out about osode-san, and visiting her helped him through the hard days. he's found a new job now, but he still visits osode-san on his way home from work and lends a hand. >> translator: are you in a hurry? why don't you come in? you want a smoke?

>> tanaka was at the shrine office later than usual because she wanted to have a talk with yamata. >> translator: i can see that osode-san likes you very much. i know it in my heart. >> tanaka feels she can trust yamata to take her place. she knows that yamata understands how she feels about osode-san. >> translator: i'll be candid with you. you're not a young boy of 18 or 19. you're old enough to know that i trust you and rely on you. >> translator: yeah, i know that. >> translator: i know that you're not sure if you will be coming here the rest of your life, but i'm really counting on you.

>> translator: you overestimate me. i have other things to do. i can't come every week on the same day at the same time. you know that. >> translator: i know you're busy. you have to think about yourself. >> everyone around here tries to show their gratitude to osode-san by doing what they can. tanuki have been respected by the people of shikoku for ages. their figures are loved and created in various images. we found out that osode-san's warm expression has a special meaning.

osode-san had a surprise visitor today. >> translator: this is it. this one. >> translator: you mean this one in the middle? >> translator: yes, this one. >> keiko ban came home from tokyo to participate in her mother's memorial service. >> i came to see the tanuki figure that my father made and offered to this shrine. >> a relative told her that her father's tanuki was here, so she stopped on her way back to see it. it has a special meaning for ban. >> translator: it's because of

lady tanuki made by my father that has my mother's features. this one has her hair down, but usually they have their hair up. >> keiko's father hiroshi was a master at creating tanuki figures. he's made over 500 figures in his lifetime. hiroshi and mitsuko his wife were very close. he made the figures look like mitsuko, so her smiling face would not be forgotten. >> translator: she looks so gentle. i can tell from her face that my father made this one. i'm sure of it. >> tanaka says that the expression changes depending on who was there.

she should know. she's been watching her for a long time. >> translator: oh, she's smiling. look. you can see her cheeks puffed up. yes, she's happy. i think she feels related to you. if she didn't like you, she wouldn't smile like that. i would love to see your father's other tanuki deity figures. are you going back to tokyo now? >> translator: yes. >> translator: i'm almost 90 years old. >> translator: you are? >> translator: i don't have so much time ahead of me, but it would have been nice if i can see you again. thank you for coming. >> the figure of osode-san was a

reminder of her father's action for mother. mother's love was what was embracing the people who came seeking help. >> translator: i'm glad she came. also look sod refined and was smiling all the way until she left. the lady was family to osode-san. it was a reunion and she looked so happy. >> yamata has the day off and came to visit the tanuki deity shrine. he feels that osode-san has always been looking out for him. he hopes to help her out as long as he can.

if i could be of any use, i'd like to help. i think it's a good thing to do. people come to this tanuki deity and discuss their troubles as if she were their family or friend. >> translator: human beings are weak. that's why they ask for help. god is like a parent. it accepts you unconditionally. it's a matter of faith. people say this shrine is good or that one is better, but they will always rely on god.