>> hello, and welcome to al jazeera. dozens of dead after an attack at an upscale shopping maul in nairobi. >> obama: i will not allow anyone to harm this country's reputation or inflict harm on its people just to make an ideological point. >> reporter: president obama lashes out at republicans over the stands off.

>> good to have you with us. the seen is underway in a popular shopping mall in kenya with specialists working with kenyan forces to free hostages and end the crisis. it's all taking place in kenya's capital of nairobi. 39 people are dead and 150 are injured. some americans are among the wounded. al jazeera's andrew simmons has the latest. >> reporter: people have been taking a late morning coffee at the attack. an up market mall echoing with gunfire. it was packed with weekend shoppers when the gunmen attacked. hundreds were inside. mothers, children, kenyans, ex-patriots. they attempted to engage the

attackers inside while at the same time trying to evacuate the building. most of those getting out were traumatized. >> reporter: and it got worse. what was going on inside was carnage. a gun battle with police and soldiers. anyone with any kind of medical skill tried to help. the gunfire continued while the number of casualties grew. at first the police thought this was an amenned robbery but they gradually realized it was an attack with indiscriminate gunfire. people tried to hide where they could. >> we wish to assure the country that we're taking every

possible. >> reporter: the day's ma of the attack. >> the london based newspaper, an independent, was at the scene of the attack. he's joining us live. good to have you with us, daniel. what did you see at the mall as it happened? >> well, what we have seen is a trail of bloody people and terrified, in shock, pouring out of shopping mall where most people had gone just to grab lunch or to do a little bit of shopping on a saturday. >> what did you hear? did you hear gunfire, grenades? >> we heard heavy bursts of gunfire and those that resembl d

a s.w.a.t. team going in. and then we heard assault arms fired, and then helicopters circling the building, and large crowds gathering outside. it's been a day of high drama in the kenyan capital. >> what were witnesses or victims able to tell you, daniel? >> the most harrowing were the top of the shopping maul where they have been recording a popular cooking program which was for children. with dozens of parents with their kids up there when the gunmen attacked. i spoke to one man who hid his daughters under a 4 x 4 vehicle, and had a grenade thrown at them. the grenade was thrown three feet of his daughter, and he

said it was just a matter of luck that it didn't go off. he was able to escape, but when he returned his shirt was covered in blood. he had come to see how it end. >> are you hearing from families members who have loved ones inside. >> there are people trapped inside. this is the siege that continues. what remains to be seen is whether these gunmen have demands. certainly we have no decision of that of yet. what appears to be happening is something much more likely than the attack in 2008 where the last pockets of resistence have been cleaned out, and the pore unfortunate civilians caught in the way are in a situation that few of us could imagine. >> let's talk about the gunmen who claimed responsibility. is this an unusual target for the group? >> this is the target which

everyone excepted. as much as it's possible. many that i spoke to, once the initial shock had passed, they had in the back of their minds going into this shopping center on any given day that this might happen. the questions about whether or not this location was properly guarded and if proper measures have taken place. >> you were outside at the time. what can you tell us about security forces responding and the response time? >> there are different notion ns of response time. there were units very soon after. it was not immediately understand that there was a terrorist attack.

it was thought that it was an armed robbery. there was a bizarre point of the day when the army were on twitter and inside looking for information of who it was. that was not the high point of the day. but they were inside and they were making a good attempt taking the mall back. >> meantime in asia the most powerful typhoon of the year now heading towards hong kong. two people are dead and two others missing. the typhoon usagi is start to go slow down. and by the time it makes landfall is it's expect to down grade to the give went of a hurricane.

>> the biggest ship pulled out of hong kong's port a day ahead of schedule. it was an ominous sign of typhoon usagi. it's said to be the most powerful on the planet this year. it formed in the pacific earlier in the week, and has tracked west-northwest through the lausanne strait. fotorrential rain, crops were destroyed and villages damaged. flooding and landslides have forced thousands of people to loaf their homes. china's southern cows is preparing for the worst. 4,000 people have already left ahead of the storm and 3,000 3,0

fishing boats returned to port. 1979 was the last time that a storm made a direct hit. today airlines warned against traveling on sunday and said they would hold full flights in and out of hong kong. thousands of people are away this holiday weekend to celebrate the mid amen festival. and this storm could cause transport delays for those who return. they have raised the typhoon flag to signal the need for preparation and told the city to brace itself for what could be the worst storm to hit here in 34 years.

>> meteorologist: we're watching the forecast. this is the radar that comes from the taiwan central weather bureau. clearly seeing the radar. now the problem is these bands are going over the same area as they spin around the center of the storm. with the heavy rain like this going over the same area you're getting significant flooding in taiwan. now the storm is not nearly as intense as it was but it's still a very powerful typhoon. it's not seeing the center of the storm so it's not that well-defined. the wind still over 100 mild. the latest information 125 with the wind speed moving at 13 mph. that is a category three storm but it will continue to weaken but still maintain fairly significant wind speeds as it moves towards hong kong. the timing of this local time is 3:00 in the morning on monday. we'll watch this with the update

of the national forecast coming up. >> with just nine days with government funding a government shutdown seems increasingly likely. the house passed a measure to fund the measure, but with one exception president obama's health reform law. president obama blamed republicans, quote, for inflicting economic pain on millions of americans. >> some are willing to plunge america into default if they can't defund the affordable care act. think about that. they would actually plunge this country back in recession all to deny the basic security of healthcare to millions of americans. >> we'll go to randall pinkston who is joining us live. it looks like next week is paving the way for shut down show yes or no. >> we're looking at next week taking place with the following actions in the senate that

senate majority leader harry reed will strip the house resolution that defunds obamacare, and then send it back to the house just days before the deadline of the shutdown. house speaker boehner will have two choices. one, if he can get the majority of house republicans to join with democrats to approve the senate bill. or, he can suspend the rules. that would allow all of the democrats and the minority of republicans. given the opposition to obamacare it's unlikely that either one of those skies will take place, and the house will reject the senate bill and then we brace for an economic calamity for those who depend on government funds to survive.

>> urging both sides of congress to work together, what can you tell us about that effort? >> reporter: well, governor sandoval was selected by the republicans to respond to president obama. he has touted his ability to work with democrats to reduce spending, and also to increase jobs, and he was the person who urged problem to use some of the same kind bipartisan cooperation he has experienced in nevada. one point about governor sandoval. he is the first republican governor to support the healthcare act. he has put in place the health exchanges and expanded medicaid. notwithstanding the fact that the bit that he was supporting passed by the health of representatives. >> as we head into next week what do we expect from the democrats as far as political

maneuvering. >> we hear them talking not only sending their legislation back to the house without defunding of obamacare, but they want to increase government spending and get back some of the funs from the sequester. >> thank you. arch the possible shut down is sorted out congress will debate raising the debt ceiling. >> reporter: the 1700-mile keystone pipeline is just a line on a map but there have been rallies and protests where hundreds of people have been arrested. and it's been discussed for more hours than anybody wants to count. it has a keystone clock counting down from 2008 when transcanada,

the canadian giant behind the project, first made application to the u.s. government. it would carry crude oil from canada's tar sands to refinery on the u.s. gulf coast of mexico. it would run right through the country. the approval process has been as long as, well, the cost of the pipeline itself. they have a review that runs 2,000 pages. this summer president obama said he would approve keystone if and only if if it won't increase greenhouse gas emissions. >> our national interesting will be served only if this problem does not exacerbate the problem of carbon solution. the impact on our climate will be critical to determining whether this project is allowed to go forward. >> reporter: keystone opponents say it will be an environmental

disaster. now tar sand oil is not like anything bumpe pumped from well. it is sticky tough and it has to be heated up before it can be used. and that takes a ton of energy. transcanada is considering a reactor just to that's, and that will be creating more carbon emission. some say if it is approved it is game over for the climate when it comes to climb change. an oil spill would be disastrous for farmers, but others say that it would pour billions in the u.s. economy.

the argument goes that the u.s. should build the pipeline and benefit from it. but depending how that plays out that stage department won't be have you everred until september 30th so you're going hear about it for years to come. >> making sure that bashar al-assad follows through on his promise. >> and one of the most powerful womens battle for third term.

>> international investigators have begun deliberating over syria's chemical weapon arsenal after receiving detailed reports from damascus. damascus agreed to a joint russian-u.s. agreement. >> in the outskirts of damascus, part of the recent push to capture rebel positions meanwhile syria chemical weapon program that i not be be a safe secret. this is a crucial step in a deal brokered by u.s. and russia to scrap syria's chemical program. syria has about 1,000 tons of

chemical agents. brigadier general was in charge of the chemical weapons before joining the opposition h. he said the world may never know the whole truth about assad's chemical arsenal. >> i can tell that you we have more than 205,000 tons of chemical agents. the regime is hiding toxins in revote village and under heavy protection. >> serious full declaration of all chemical weapons is just the beginning. the entire arsenal must be eliminated by mid next year. the u.s. and russia have yet to agree on procedures to ensure syria won't hide any of its

weapons. but many say this is a deflection away from the core issue of the syrian tries. >> the whole issue is just a diversion of what's happening in syria. it's not chemical weapons. the objective is not to get rid of the checkcal weapons. the an text is to ret.v victims. the faces of dead children and their families moments after the attack the syrian government and it's applies, russia and iran, blame the reps from the attack. the u.s. britain and france accused bashar al-assad from

using chemical weapons on his own people. >> three n.a.t.o. soldiers all u.s. troops were shot dead in the latest inside attack in afghanistan. it happened in eastern afghanistan. an afghan soldier open fired on u.s. soldiers killing two on the spot. a third died later from his wounds. there have been seven insider attacks against coalition forces. to germany will voters head to the polls for an initial election tomorrow. the polls put anglega merkel in the lead. and she has major sway in final markets around the globe. amanda price has the story. >> eight years after th become

chancellor, angela merkel is still one of the most popular leaders in jeremy. she is a powerful leader in europe that is mostly run by men. she has outlasted her male counterparts in italy, france, and the u.k. a native of the former communist of east germa germany, her trais in physics. five years after the financial crisis germany is going strong with one of the world's lowest jobless rates. unlike grease an greece and spae unemployment is past 12%. >> people feel that she has done something wrong.

>> the decision german voters could have this weekend could have an enormous effect on the economy. her track record is among her strongest selling points. >> i think we can say looking at hour neighbors in jump tha eurot germany has had a good run. >> peer steinbrück complained that the chancellor is not paid enough and recently appeared on the cover of the national magazine making an obscene gesture. >> in a parliamentary campaign we're no longer able to fit satire into humor, if we can't be easy going then i don't have

any interest in that kind of campaign. >> several factors played into this resentment, and one is clearly the fact that there are memories in jesus of nazi germany, and there was reference to the nazi past. >> reporter: but merkel's handling of the crisis has won her admirers at home and could win her a third term at chancellor. >> michael eaves joins us about news of another law enforcement in the nfl. >> reporter: yes, former chicago

bears gail say years for health problems stemming from head injuries. he claimed the league failed to inform him of playing with head traumas. and stenson, if he can hang on to win, he'll guarantee himself a $10 million as winner of the fedex cup. all pro linebackerraer jaldn smith out on bail. i was arrested under suspicion of driving under the influence and suspicion of owning marijuana. that's a look at your sports headlines. i'll be back with more sports news in 20 minutes. >> the latest of the mall

massacre in kenya. the latest on this developing story coming up. that's all i have an real money. victoria azarenko [[voiceover]] no doubt about it,

>> welcome back to al jazeera. here's a look at your headlines at this hour. with just nine days before the government runs out of funding to pay its bills a government shutdown seems likely. president obama blamed republicans, quote, for economic pains on americans. the most powerful typhoon of the year, typhoon usagi tore through the philippines. two people are dead and two missing in the rain-soaked ring. it is now bearing down in hong kong. in an attack in m in nairob9 are dead, and american citizens are among the wounded. for more we're joined by al jazeera correspondent in nairobi. it's good to have you with us,

peter. what can you tell us about the latest inside the mall? >> we know that more are hol hod up inside. there are people inside the mall that security has not been able to reach this is a pretty good size complex. of course, because it's such a large public space they had no idea who was in there at the time. the police have no idea how many could still be hiding. i'll still be able to get things out. now the canyon security say

they've been able to contain area. >> are the gunmen making any demands at this hour? >> no, they're not this group carried it out are somali militants from neighboring somali who attack in retaliation for ten i can't's role inside somalia. so what they're saying this is about news. this is about retribution, crimes against the somali people. there are no demands beyond release, and it's hard to say how this is going tobledded end

any other way other than a very serious shootout. >> we understand that american forces are helping. what can you tell bee about the negotiations. >> they're trying to enthis scene. we don't have a great deal of information about which units are work with you, but we do know that they're an active roll. >> in nairobi, kenya, keeping us posted throughout the evening. we appreciate your reporting. thank you. it is perhaps the biggest political scandal in china in decades. a verdict in the trial of former chinese official bo xilai is do

you. >> each day bo xilai gave up a new sensational allegation, gu kailai, knew of of corruption. and another man's secret love for gu was behind his actions. but will it damage party authority or was it all part of a plan? >> bo xilai's trial was basically open and fair. even if in what happened was outside of the patriot's expectation it was still to the party's advantage. >> the charge were limiteed. amounts of money were small. no alleged human rights violation when in change of the city of chongching.

authorities were lining up people accused of spreading rumors about government officials. >> some rumors have been vicious. others first denied have been about dou the rumors. such decisions are first discussed and negotiated among the powerful. if the party is really serious about getting rid of corruption, why not list assets publicly? there are more than a hundred countries who have already done so. the party always said that china's not mature enough, but

it doesn't take maturity for that. >> the trial has contained more twisted and transparencies than anyone could have remembered. but it was always in his fate. al jazeera, beijing. >> the largist too fan of the yealargest typhoon of theyear hh philippines. it is expected to die down to a level one hurricane. those storms may soon very different but dave warren joining us right now, and they're not all that different. >> they sound different, they don't look that different. they are the same kind of storm. it depends on where they develop that determines what they're called.

>> typhoon usagi, bringing down anything that they encounter. both storms caused this same sort of damage, torrential rain and wind. but they're called two different things. the names are the only thing different about these two storms. hurricanes are storms that developed over the warm waters over the atlantic, caribbean and gulf of mexico plus the eastern pacific. once you cross the date line for the pacific, it's called a typhoon. when it reaches 111 mph. while 150 mph what we call a hurricane-4 in the atlantic is call a typhoon. names are given to track each individual storm because you can have more than one at the same

time. >> we appreciate it. certainly. they're going through so much arounaroundaround the world deah these different storms. appreciate the insight. the dramatic increase in the use of private security contractor sparked criticism here and around the world. on thursday, an voluntary code of conduct for workers. an oversight mechanism for the industry. signatories to treat people humanely, and contractors take steps to avoid force. it does not apply to security personnel. as of march 2011, 80% of contractors in iraq were not doing security work. 61% were base support meaning they run dining halls, construction. other non-violent jobs.

while many think this voluntary code of conduct is a step in the right direction, our next guest disagrees. good to have you with us. >> that let's talk first about why you are against this code of conduct. >> well, we think it's really important to look at what this industry means in practice. this is an individual, private military companies of modern equivalents of mercenary groups fighting in complex situations.

for us it's saying yes to the privatization of war. that's incredibly dangerous. >> do you have concerns about private security priders a provs well? >> that's absolutely right. we didn't feel it would be right to privatize these efforts of force. instead of chain of command you would have private company providing lethal services and responsible for human rights violations. we don't want to have an involuntary code of conduct in which the is it left to lead itself. >> some would say these forces are properly trained with prior military experiences as well as the companies they work for. >> that's completely correct. a lot of them are former

military personnel. but in iraq, afghanistan, libya and now syria, these people operating outside of any county ability. theirthey're acting like mercen. >> it would have a negative impact on future contracts, would it not? >> a very weak restriction on their activities. you have seen the number of companies signed up with this voluntary code. it includes some of the worst names of the past. the group responsible for the massacre in iraq has changed it's name twice and has signed up for this new form of conduct

in iraq as if nothing has happened and it's quite clear. >> we certainly appreciate your time, thank you, we'll talk with someone who believes the code of conduct is a step in the right direction. still ahead on al jazeera, ice is making a comeback in the arctic. more on this year's friend straight head. seeking restorm.

>> welcome back. you know those date labels stamped on your carton of milk

or cereal. if you think those are expiration dates you're wrong. a new study causes confusion of those labels causes machines to throw away thousands of pounds of good food. >> we're talking about 40% of 160 billion pounds of good food gets toasted in the trash. according to a new study, the key cause, date labels. the dates that say used by this date, stamped on a carton of eggs. that confuses consumers to think that the food is only good up until that day. aside from baby formula, the federal government does not regulate date labels for food. that's done at the state level.

so labels can mean different things in different states and the food can be perfectly find beyond the date stamp. still if you have eggs beyond the dates of use by, would you still use them? >> probable any not. >> the solution, make the coats invisible. >> this year the extent of the ice cover is almost 50% more than last year. al jazeera investigates. >> reporter: for all the talk of global warming and melting ice caps it seems for once a glimmer of good news sea ice in the arctic had hit it's lowest point of the year and it's considerably higher than it was

in 2012. sea highs is frozen ocean water that melts in the summer and then refreeses every winter. scientists measure the seasonal variation a as a tell tale tell. >> there was an alarm when it tumbled to its record low. this year' event higher, and has gun its seasonal growth. but the over all trend is still down compare these levels to the 30-year average as indicated by the orange line. >> the ice diminish as the temperatures rise. ice dropped to its lowest level on record but it's still being described as a welcome recovery.

on the other end of the world, sea ice and sea arctic has maintained an upward trend. matching the record high in 2012 environment scientist versus given air around the globe that has caused increase in ice cover at both poles, but the overall message remains of caution, we're still not out of the danger zone, and the summer of ice-free summers in the art i cans could be just years away pap. >> the thin ice can melt quickly and they say long-term recovery is unlikely. >> michael joining us with sports, a and there is a big payday waiting for one lucky

golfer in atlanta. >> reporter: there are some coming kids who think they should be getting spade well. one of the most discussed topics of the season are whether players should receive pay. if there is one united faction on the subject are the players themselves. some of the players wrote apu on their gear. the acronym stands for all players united. a campaign organized by the national college association, a group advocating for reform. the ncaa president said that players continue to draw effort to their compensation. unmatched and overall florida international.

teddy bridge water through four touchdown passes including two to devonte parker. the cardinals post a blow out win. in columbus, fourth rank ohio state. and they had no chance in this game either. six touchdown passes all coming in the first half. the buc buckeyes most lopsided victory since 1969. >> setting a new school record for longest touchdown pass, but the mean green stayed in this

game. after georgia scored to go up 24-7, all they did it was take it back to the house. 99 yards on the kick off return. and then after forcing georgia three out of the first position of the second half, they would block the punt and zach winfield would recover and then georgia with 24 unanswered points. speaking of the fcc the game down south. the ball would take the early lead, and returning 62 yards for the touchdown. two weeks ago he sprained his ankle on this play, and he would not return. but file furry for a scoring in.

>> sayers is the latest to sue the league. he now suffers from frequent headaches and short term memory loss. in august the league reached a settlement over concussion-related brain injuries with 18,000 retired players. to recompensate players. but sayers files separately as he unspecified damages. the final leg of the fedex cup which carries a $10 million purse, there was an early start of the day due to poor weather

conditions in the atlanta area. two late birdies and two solid pars to a 67 today that put him in sunday's final wearing. where he will play along side stinson, who has been scorching the course all weekend. he started the day with a fou four-point lead. and when he returned today that lead had increased to nine strokes over the field and he's right back where he started today, with a four-stroke cushion. stinson, winning $1.4 million for winning the chore championship. even if he finished third he would be in good shape to win

that $10 million. tiger woods carded 1 under 69, the first time he has broken par all week. he sits at a tie for 26th. now to baseball. 11 hours after completing an 11 inning game the rays and the ordinals were back with both teams play fo playing for theirf futures. jennings would drive in four runs and alex cobb strikes out 12, and the rays would win it, 5-1. baltimore getting slimmer by the day. the orioles with just eight games to play, and october modness willing here very soon. and it had should b it should be

have more in baseball. >> it's not over until it's over. a swedish acrobatic team performed stunts 1800 feet in the air. check it out. the three-day airshow features three performance teams from more than 20 country including france, britain, and the u.s. your weekend forecast is coming up with dave warren. coming up next on al jazeera. buil

>> meteorologist: i'm meteorology dave warren. we're looking at a big change across the country, and it's all with this area of rain. this is colder air coming in from the north. and these showers and storms are pushing east. flooding a big problem there, and if you're ahead of these showers it will feel fairly warm out. but get ready for rain and cooler temperatures. look at how these numbers drop. here is the cooler air, minneapolis, 64. it will be dropping in the northeast as the colder air

moves in. but it doesn't stick around for long. billings, at 85 degrees, so we're going right back up. this is chicago. 64 on monday. and then temperatures climb in the 70s, tuesday, wins, up to 80 degrees there on thursday. showers and storms across the gulf coast states are leading to flooding. there is some flash flooding in louisiana moving east to the panhandle of florida. heavy rain is coming down, and that is leading to flash flooding. here are the flash flood watches going into the panhandle of florida. quick rain could lead to flooding there, but then the showers push off to the north. heavy rain is possible along the gulf coast state, and that's where the rain is headed.

up across the northeast there is rain across ohio and pennsylvania, but these showers and storms will move through new jersey, and up into new england. so the rain is coming in over the next 24 hours. as far as where it is now, in western pennsylvania, and these showers and storms will push off to the east, and that will lead to cooler temperatures coming across new england and the philadelphia area. temperatures here, 72 tomorrow. that's where we'll see the showers and rain close out. 72 degrees on tuesday, and wednesday, thursday, we are back up to 76. so the cooldown is here but it's one day of dry weather and warmer temperatures coming in tuesday and wednesday. stay tune, headlines are coming up in just a bit.