edition of "newsline." it is tuesday september 27th. i'm catherine kobayashi. the u.n. security council has begun consultation on the bid for membership. the council had the first talks monday. mahmoud abbas submitted the application last friday. 15 members, including five permanent ones did not appear to have had detailed discussions

during the one hour meeting. security council president sala.m. said they will meet again wednesday. the security council is required to vote on whether or not to issue resolution recommending full membership for the palestinians. for it to go to general assembly, nine of 15 council members need to vote in favor. none of the five permanent members can exercise their veto. sources say china and russia are likely to vote for the palestinian bid as are india and brazil, but the united states has already threatened to veto the move. it insists peace can only be achieved through direct talks with israel. he told reporters he understands the procedures and that they take time but it should not take weeks. on a related matter, the

japanese government plans to push for direct peace talks between israel and the palestinians. state foreign secretary commented on the issue monday. >> translator: japan strongly hopes that peace will be achieved between israel and the palestinians through bilateral talks. japan will decide on its stance by closely watching the international trend. >> the government's position is that it understands the palestinians' wish to establish a state, but it's cautious as the u.s. is likely to veto the bid. the u.s. says it would block peace talks. japan is set to join the u.s., russia, and other countries in pressing for direct dialogue between israel and the palestinians soon. the chinese and north korean

premiers agreed to resume stalled talks on nuclear development. the talks had been suspended since december, 2008. north korean premier met with his counterpart on monday. he said china hopes the relevant countries will improve relations with the north through dialogue so the six party talks can start again soon. he said north korea would like a nuclear free peninsula through dialogue and cons you will tagss and six party talks should restart unconditionally. the two premiers confirmed their countries will cooperate to strengthen bilateral economic relations such as improving trade and infrastructure. the chinese government says it'll launch a module to practice docking at its future space station. china's central television reported the news on monday. space station module, heavenly

palace, scheduled to launch from on the edge of the desert on thursday and friday. it will serve as an orbital test bed for china to practice docking techniques. three test dockings are scheduled over the next two years, both man and unmanned craft. they plan it build their own space station by around 2020. in the interyags will community, china's space program could have military purpose. they advised broemd not to visit two years ago. the information was diplomatic cables from the u.s. embassy in tokyo to washington in september, 2009. the cables included exchanges between then japanese advice

foreign minister and a u.s. ambassador to japan regarding the president's visit scheduled for november that year. he reportedly said unless obama was going to apologize for the atomic bombing, public expectations should be tempered. the cables quoted him saying it would be premature to include such a program in obama's trip. in april, 2009, in prague, obama resolved to achieve a world without nuclear weapons. after the speech tlrks were growing expectations from the viefrs of the bombings that he would visit the cities. the japanese and u.s. governments explained later the president's visit would be shelved due to a scheduling conflict. the japanese foreign ministry said it is regrettable the documents were leaked illegally. it said it will not comment on nor confirm the documents.

now let's take a look at the market figures. the heat is on one of japan's most powerful politicians and the country's ruling democratic party. a tokyo part found three ex aides guilty in connection with a political funding scandal. the ruling exposed the cozy

relationship between his office and the general contractors vying for lucrative public works projects. lower house members were on trial for falsifying accounting reports for the fund management body. the case concerned a land purchase worth $5.2 million. the defendants denied the allegations. a tokyo district court presiding judge found all three guilty monday. he gave them suspended prison sentences of one to three years. the judge said general contractors rigged bids for public work projects in certain regions. he noted the lawmaker's office had decision making power regarding projects. the judge also said contractors thought instructions from the former aides represents the intentions of his office. the judge determined that two of

the defendants took about $1.3 million from a construction firm in return for helping it win the bid for a dam project. he said despite denials, evidence shows two former aides did in fact receive the money. earlier we talked about the court decision. >> what is your take on the ruling? >> he said again and again he and his former aides did nothing wrong. that the worst they did was make some minor mistakes on filing reports. still, the court recognized a construction company gave former aides illegal funds in connection with a public works project. it is a multi purpose dam being built. the prj will cost more than $3

billion and scheduled to be complete incompetent 2013. the firm allegedly paid $1.3 million to former aides, from the subcontractor. this court decision isn't just a blow for him, it is bad for the democratic party. by promising to change the politics culture. >> how will the judgment effect the case? >> could influence defense plan for trial which begins next week. the prosecutor's office didn't indict him. they based decision on

depositions and during interrogation. former aides admitted to prosecutors they told him about the content of the political filing reports. the judge in the trial of the former aides ruled the statements were inadd miss believe in evidence because of credibility. we are waiting to see if the judge for the trial will allow these statements to be admitted in evidence. many people in japan want to know if he was really involved in illegal political funding or if he is innocent, as he says he is. >> thanks for that perspective. a group of researchers at a japanese university say they have successfully used human ips cells to repair damaged spinal cords in mice.

they are induced plural potent stem cells and can develop into various tissues or organs. the group was led by this professor. they treated 31 mice, partially paralyzed from spiem injuries. they developed the human ips cells into nerve cells and transplanted them in the spinal cords of the mice nine days after they were injured. all of the mice showed improvement in mobility and could walk in four weeks. they determined the nerve cells were functioning as part of the central nervous system. >> translator: this is the first step in providing a whole new treatment for patients who have serious damage to their spinal cord.

japan's government has head is second seminar on the fukushima nuclear plant accident. china maintains a partial import ban on japanese food products and main chinese avoid traveling to japan. about 100 people, including chinese government officials, corporate representatives and journalists attended the seminar in beijing monday. an official from the nuclear safety talked about the safety

at the plant. he talked about them cooling the reactors and prevent spread of materials from the facility. they say conditions at the plant have been stabilized. a representative of agriculture mip psychiatry explained how japan monitors food products for radioactive materials and said products now in circulation are safe. >> the japanese government has dop well so far, but there may be a problem that hasn't been found yet. >> something is still unclear. i want more explanation in the future. >> ever since the march 11th earthquake and tsunami, many japanese have taken comfort from a poem that circulated worldwide since the september 11th attacks. here is a report on how that poem eases suffering. >> after the terrorist attacks, the pope tomorrow never comes became well known in the u.s.

if i knew it would be the last time that i'd see you fall asleep, i would tuck you in more tightly and pray the lord your soul to keep. if i knew it would be the last time that i see you walk out the door, i would give you a hug and kiss and call you back for one more. >> the poem was read at memorial services. many that lost their loved ones found the words healing. through e-mail, the poem spread around the globe. in 2007, it was translated into japanese and published. she was the translator. first time she read the poem was ten years ago when she lost her mother. she was a student in the u.s. she gave up her studies and came home to japan. >> i had so many regrets.

i thought i could have done more for my mother. i thought she wanted me to do certain things, but i never got around to doing them. >> an american friend e-mailed her the poem to lighten her grief. she says the poem saved her. >> it taught me that everybody despairs when they lose somebody close to them. i wasn't the only person suffering anguish. ever since the march 11th disaster, many japanese have read the poem and found it comforting. more people are buying the book and some stores even display it on a special shelf. she lived in tokyo since evacuation from fukushima. right after the earthquake, she deputy know where her three

children were. frantically, she ran to their school and to the emergency shelters looking for them. >> when i was trying it find them, i thought they could be dead. >> but they had survived. she found them at midnight. the moment she saw the three children, she was reminded of just how important family is. soon after that, she read the poem and one of the versus caught her attention. >> take time to say i'm sorry, please forgive me, or it's okay. before the earthquake, i was easily irritated by insignificant things my kids did. but now i can let that stuff go. instead, i am more understanding

and kind to my children. as it happens, matsumi is also an evacuee from fukushima. she now lives north of tokyo. before the disaster, she operated an english school but had to close it until things get better. now she can't be with her students whom she was very close to. >> whisper in their ear that you love them very much. >> once again, the poem is -- last month she started to teach english again in a town where she's living for the time being. >> i wanted to teach my students in fukushima a lot of things.

they did a lot for me. now i want my students here to benefit from my knowledge. next we go to our bureau in bangkok. we have the latest on what's making headlines. relations between pakistan and the united states took a turn for the worst over the weekend amidst the on-going fallout from a recent attack on the u.s. embassy in afghanistan. pakistani prime minister issued a passionate denial of american allegations that pakistan had provided support for the militants responsible for the attack. >> we strongly reject assertions

of complicity with hakani. the allegations are confusion and pop see disarray within the u.s. establishment on the way forward in afghanistan. >> earlier this month, insurgents attacked the u.s. embassy in kabul with rockets and gunfire. they also fired on the headquarters of nato led security forces, at least 16 people were killed. chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, admiral mike mullen on thursday accused pakistan's inter-services intelligence agency of providing support to the hakani network, the pakistan based militant group the u.s. says planned and conducted the assault. it was the first allegation of its kind in public by the most senior u.s. military officer. even so, the pakistani military declined to take action against the hakani network, citing the

group's alliances with other militant organizations and mastery of the rugged mountain terrain. meanwhile, in afghanistan, another shooting at a u.s. facility in kabul has been reported. two weeks after the attack on the embassy and nato headquarters. gunfire and a blast were heard sunday evening from part of the u.s. embassy compound. a u.s. government source has acknowledged that the building likely contains offices belonging to the cia. an embassy spokesperson said monday that an afghan employee killed one u.s. citizen and injured another. the afghan employee was also killed. the motivation for the attack is unknown. u.s. officials are still investigating what exactly happened in the heavily restricted area. and finally, asia's growing

obesity problem is no laughing matter, or maybe it is. in vietnam at least, having a laugh is the trendiest way to stay fit. as the sunrises over the capital, hundreds of fitness fanatics line up in a park for a funny sort of morning exercise. together they laugh apd chuckle for 45 minutes, even pulling faces to keep each other in the mood. >> laughing makes us become younger, relaxed, and comfortable. when i practice this, i forget all my sadness. it clears my mind, so i can come home to do my chores as usual. >> the exercise is known as laughter yoga, originally from india. the combination of unconditional laughter and yoga breathing is said to stretch muscles and

trigger endorphins, the chemical known for its feel good effect. >> laughter yoga makes people friend friendlier, creates a nice society where people have the habit of smiling at each other. >> sessions are free and held every day, come rain or shine. perhaps it proves the old saying that laughter really is the best medicine. that wraps up our bulletin. >> all right. in other news, kenyan nobel peace prize winner and environmental activist died in nairobi sunday after a long struggle with cancer. she was 71 years old. maathai founded the green belt movement in 1977 it taught impoverished women skills and tree planting projects as a way

of generating income and combatting deforest agency. she became the first african woman to be awarded the peace prize in 2004 for her contributions to advancement of women and environmental protection. she's well regarded by many people in japan for her promotion of the japanese expression, which roughly translates as wasteful, and is used to suggest that resources should not be squandered. she attached that word to her campaign to protect the environment and encourage recycling. welcome back to your weather update now for east asia, or rather southeast asia. we're watching several tropical storm systems. this is a strong typhoon, preparing to make landfall in the northern philippines. in the next couple hours likely.

it is already bringing strong winds to much of the northern half of the philippines today. it will stay stormy as it works across the island here before heading back to the south china sea. right now, wind speeds about 140 kilometers an hour. once it makes landfall, the winds should weaken slightly. still, it is expected to remain quite a bit of intensity through the day. brace for potentially very damaging winds. in the south china sea, we already have a separate one, tropical storm haitang. wind speeds about 65 kilometers an hour. it is just about to make landfall, here in the central vietnam. once it does, it is expected to rapidly weaken as well, but it will maintain that moisture likely as it crosses over through vietnam and towards laos and thailand. so the area is experiencing wet

weather. the philippines will have the heaviest, but across inched oh china peninsula, in and around central vietnam, be on the watch for the heavy falling today. dry picture for eastern china now, but a lot more rain coming on, looking to spread to the north here. the queen peninsula stays dry in japan. largely sunny, a little rain on the coast. 24 is the high in tokyo, expecting 28 in seoul, and 32 degrees in tie pang. we have hurricane hilary in the pacific, bringing as wells to the peninsula and southwestern mexico. may see more moisture with that as it heads northward the next few days. watching for potential flooding rains in the midwest as the rain continues today. up towards the pacific northwest, very unsettled,

especially for british columbia. winds and rain on the coastline. as you look to upper elevations, expect quite a bit of mountain snow as well. highs tuesday look like this. 17 in chicago, upper 20s on the eastern seaboard. apd finally a look at europe here. it stays windy and wet for the scandinavian peninsula today, especially for coastal norway. you want to watch for strong winds here. the british isles as well, otherwise dry for southern sections. continental europe, southern end of italy staying unsettled with a couple of thundershowers possible. overall, temperatures on the mild side. looking at mid to upper 20s. 24 in vienna, paris up to 26. london expecting 23 degrees. that's a look at your weather for now. here is the three day outlook.

that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us.