>> two blasts ripped through damascus. one targets a government tv station. a chemical removals weapons team is staying there. also, a moscow suburb becomes a scene of chaos after the killing of a local man. almost 400 are arrested. edward snowden raises his head. he makes his first public

appearance in months. cancer patients are denied care. workers lose patience. united states is just days away from a catastrophic default. with a look back at the past seven days, this is the weekly. to massive blasts ripped through damascus. reports from near the site of the blasts. >> to massive blasts have ripped the capital of damascus.

it is not far from the syrian state building as well as the hotel where foreign experts are now staying. they are investigating serious chemical weapons stockpile. in the last hour, the ambulances have been going forward and backwards. we can still smell those heavy explosives in the air. we are starting to see dramatic footage. at the same time, there was a massive fire. a lot of confusion. the crowds are gathering. this part of the city is in lockdown. all checkpoints have been closed. this is a hotspot. it just hours ago, there was a warning posted online, warning that they are going to target the syrian state tv building.

the foreign experts are staying. all of this comes just hours after syria's top opposition group announced its refusal. it is one of extreme nervousness, confusion, and trepidation. >> we hope to give -- get live reports. massive riots have shaken moscow . outraged by the recent killing of a young man. almost 400 people were killed before clashing with police. for testers claim that uncontrolled flow of immigrants have turned their neighborhood into one big crime scene. reports now from the troubled suburb.

>> we are in southern moscow. all available police had been called to this area. they stormed a shopping center. they also came here, broke up a vegetable stand. would you are seeing is massive damage. two cars completely flipped over. a group of young men had come here clashing with riot police. this was sparked by the murder of a young man. he was stabbed to death after a quarrel over his girlfriend by an unidentified assailant. the police have offered an award up to $35,000 for any information leading up to his arrest. >> starting tomorrow, i want you to intensify the work of bringing these storage

industrial areas to order. they're a constant source of tension, especially in the neighboring areas. >> there was massive tension from a neighborhood that was already seeing some problems between russia and some ethnic minorities over the past few months. reporting from southern moscow. >> to the u.s. now, where there are four days left until washington defaults on its debt. two weeks of deadlock will see hundreds of thousands waste on unpaid leave and a vast swathes of the government shutdown. even the world's inc. chief declared the situation desperate, warning of impending disaster. meanwhile, continuing standoff has led to protests. veterans are accompanied in the heart of washington. it was closed to visitors. the crowd broke through the metal barrier and then carried

pieces of the fence to the white house. the obama purchasers have made it a landmark, blaming them for the impasse in the budget negotiations. >> barack obama's signature health care legislation is supposed to provide millions of americans with the medical coverage they desperately need. but the political debates over obamacare has also ironically created a life or death situation for hundreds of citizens. for each week the shutdown continues, roughly 200 patients cannot be accepted for clinical treatment at the national institutes of health. that is nearly 406 americans desperately in need of medical treatment. they say among the patients being turned away includes roughly nearly 30 people with cancer and many of them being children. thousands of people have reportedly been furloughed

because of washington's shutdown. as a result, michelle lincoln was supposed to begin receiving medical treatment at the beginning of this month. until the october 1 shutdown forced them to temporarily turn her away. she is a new mother and started an online petition to put pressure on congress to reopen the government. the movement has garnered more than 100,000 signatures. in an interview, she said she has been able to restart her treatments after financial donations but says hundreds of other people in her position have been denied a chance to live because of washington's political partisanship. >> it is a matter of life and death. it is not inconvenience or an irritation. i have heard instances where they find that this is just the game between them. i would like to say it is not a matter of win or lose.

please listen to the people and know that it is affecting so many. >> u.s. leaders who have the power to change this have so far failed to agree on a urgent. a political deadlock, leaving their lives in limbo. >> we are now in the american, academic, political commentary. it is turned into a one-party state ruled by the business party. >> the history of parliamentary democracy. it is interesting to see what has happened. there have been significant economic changes. one of the effects of these changes is these programs. they are having the same kind of effects. they direct wealth.

the increase inequality. it has an immediate effect on politics in parliamentary democracy. it gets more concentrated. so, by now, elections are almost bought. both political parties -- the u.s. is one-party state, the business party. >> this hour, a global day of action against genetically modified crops faces a major backlash from consumers scared for their health. that is coming in about five minutes from now. but first, edward snowden has returned to the media spotlight this week wreaking his silence for the first time since july. he was in moscow where he was --

for integrity intelligence by a group of whistleblowers. >> for over two months, this footage was the only evidence that he is alive and well and in russia. afteretting in that cap, the only thing we were told about him is that he is somewhere in a safe place. this week, the most wanted man returned to the public eye. he appeared on camera with other officials turned whistleblowers. they went to give him an award. this time, he leads his personal view. >> it has led us to a point in our relationship with the government where we have an executive that is unwilling to prosecute high officials who like to congress and the country

on camera. but they will stop at nothing to persecute someone who told the truth. >> the whistleblowers awarded him and came to our studio as well. it was likely to have been the highlight of his week. >> i cannot speak for my son and the legal issues. i am his father. >> he was finally able to make it to moscow after months of being separated, watching his fate played out in headlines. >> i do not want to share my opinions at this point in time. i am simply thankful that my son is safe and free. >> free in russia but wanted at home. before arriving in moscow, the former nsa contractor leaked thousands of documents with details about how u.s. security services spy on officials and ordinary people all across the world. washington has been calling for

his extradition, accusing him of espionage but russia granted him temporary asylum. his father may not be the only family member since it is unclear if a former nsa contractor will ever be able to return to the u.s. again. >> the nsa leaker's fate has been the focus of our discussion in the studio last week. they were in moscow to give snowden the award. they discuss how the american footage -- fugitive is getting used to his life. >> doing remarkably well under the circumstances in which he came here. >> we obviously came to find out personally how is he. what does he look like these days. >> i thought he looked great. he seemed very centered and brilliant, smart, funny. i thought you looked very well. >> considering the amount of

pressure he is under, do you think that is taking any toll? >> i think it would an ordinary circumstances, but this is an extraordinary person. he has made his peace with what he did. he is convinced what he did was right. he has no regrets. he is going to face whatever the future holds for him. >> we discussed this integrity and intelligence issue quite instinctively. we talked about prior examples of great people who had been under this type of pressure. he is remarkably centered. i found that continuing pattern, the more secret the u.s. became and the more we grew into a surveillance state, the more people who are willing to do their job and tell the truth and obey ethics rules were getting in trouble. while i suffered, i was under criminal investigation and put on the no-fly list. things like that. very true county and.

-- drew conan. i would never imagine obama would be indicting people like thomas straight, edward snowden, bradley manning, and another of people under the espionage act which is the most serious charge you can level against an american. >> was was the reaction last night when you told him that he won this award? >> he arty new because we ordered it two months ago. the problem was getting it to him. it is our tradition that's we physically present this. it is sort of like an emmy or an oscar. it is a candlestick holder for someone who has shone bright light into dark corners. he knew he had achieved the award and that we were coming. the reception we got was heartwarming. it is a person who realizes he has very senior people, alumni,

who speak for a lot of people within these organizations and admire greatly what edward snowden has done. hopefully he will summon the courage. >> in an exclusive interview, the full interview is available on our website. will be back with war news. -- more news.

>> the weekly continues here. activists have held dozens of rallies against genetically modified foods.

organizers say 400 cities across the world, stretching from australia to europe were involved. they say crops grown from seeds can be dangerous to human health. some of the biggest rallies took place in the u.s. were people also accused the multinational company of aggressive lobbying and suppressing food safety search. we are in washington. >> many cities across the u.s. took part in this second organized march against the agricultural giant. protesters rallying against the use of genetically modified organisms and trying to raise awareness about the corporate practices. some protesters told us that even though the government is shut down, lobbyists are hard at work. here in washington, many passerby's came up to activists as we were standing there, holding signs and asked what is a gmo?

where this is in turns of genetically modified foods, let alone the dangers they cause. going into large grocery stores, trying to raise awareness about controversial in the suicides which affect the -- in pesticides which affect the nervous system. even young children and organic farmers, caterers, chefs. a wide range of people there. veterans showed up to talk about the dangers just outside the white house. they then began to march toward the imf and eventually to offices here in washington, d c other cities across the u.s., los angeles, portland, just to name a few held a similar demonstrations. also up in canada, there was quite large turnout in vancouver for their march.

organizers say this is just the beginning, that momentum will pick up and they will continue their fight. reporting from washington. >> police dispersed the protest against the family in the capital. started at the funeral of the detainee that died in the hospital. security forces reportedly used sand grenades, injuring several demonstrators. the head says that police are often targets. >> it is getting a common rectus. especially if the dead one is related to politics. that is commonly done.

if you know, it happens as a common practice. >> now a look at some other news . at least 110 pilgrims were killed. over 100 others were injured. reports that police used batons and had an even greater panic. the group claimed the bridge was about to collapse. in australia, a huge fire fueled by winds has forced people to evacuate from the site of the olympics held in 2000. it took 50 firefighters to bring the blaze under control. it is one of a number of fires in the last 24 hours.

having a $3 trillion war chest found just today that they are on the brink of a multibillion- dollar deal to snap up shares and not even iconic taxis are being shared the interest. >> this time last year, it looks like the iconic london cab would be consigned to the history books after its maker went into administration. the chinese manufacture stepped in and bought the company for 11 million pounds. the factory is now back in business. the shell of the taxi over there meets over here. it is a marriage between the chinese manufacture and the london taxi company that has managed to save a british icon from going out of production.

>> they will invest in me is this over the next five years, promising to create jobs and develop new engines. >> previously, when we were an independent company, we lacked the resources to develop the product we would like to. now the finances are sorted out. >> financial analysts have called it a win-win situation, coming back on the brink from extinction. a chinese manufacture gets to invest in an exciting new project. what does that say about the state of resist industry? >> vince called the chinese buy out a clear demonstration of the british car industry. it is just the latest in business is being sold off to foreign companies. it is now american and the

british airport authority is spanish. to some, it represents a hollowing out. >> i am happy it is not done under, but it shows that government policy has encouraged foreign policies to take over. this means our companies are not competitive across the globe. we are not putting in the right tax policies or dealing with regulation that hinders his company. in the long term, this takes away economic productivity. it means that staff and jobs are more reliable because there is an allegiance and their country rather than britain. >> he has been a cabbie for over 40 years and seen it go through several british owners. i hopped in for a ride and asked him how he feels about turning chinese. >> it is not owned by or just company, but it is better than going to the wall.

>> companies that are still british hope they will not be faced with any time soon. >> let's have a look at some of china's recent investments. as was just mentioned, the chinese carmaker flush with money decided it would be easier to buy out volvo then compete with it. one of germany's vermeer makers fell. that same month, they were snapped up by a company of a communist regime. sonny was taken over by a hong kong-based firm. he has found an economic strategy firm and believes that china's investment poses a threat. >> a lot of european countries are very nervous about accepting chinese cash.

many of them, i think you find this in southern europe, france, you find this in germany also. countries think they are threatened if china buys into their industrial base. my own view is that is entirely wrong. my own view is these will fail if you do not get investment into them if you do allow them to raise their product to the and raise their productivity of their products. it conflicted -- afflicted the africans earlier. they think by selling out their assets they undermine their capacity to undermine their economy in the future. i think they are wrong, but time will tell.

>> the four-month relay covering across russia, it was then taken by 200 strong cavalcade of bikers. president clinton lit it, kicking off the relay before setting off on its epic trip across russia. it will scale the tallest peak and even be taken for a spacewalk for the first time in history. it will finally end up there for the start of the games. you can see it over on our website. that is all from me today. mike always will be in the chair in the next hour.

before that, we send one of our own to go through rigorous training of russian paratroopers. that is coming up.

hello. it's monday, october 14th. emergency crews in central india are headed back to the site of the disaster. pilgrims at a festival panicked when they thought a bridge they were on was collapsing. their fears led to a stampede. thousands of worshippers gathered to -- many