>> the last few weeks have inflicted completely unnecessary damage on our economy. >> the shutdown ends, a birding and economic default. -- overcame an economic default. japanese authorities race against the atom. the fury over italy's new austerity budgets.

they take on the police with antigovernment rallies across the city. >> hunger strikes continue at guantánamo bay. rare access to the military facility. we look back at the top stories. american lawmakers gave the entire world a scare because the bickering over the new budget drove the country. temporary to pre-in the upcoming months. >> global market eyes were right -- were wide open.

>> at the 11th hour, congress struck a deal to deal with it later. >> temporary effects. >> the agreement reopened the government and funded it to january 15. it allows the u.s. to continue borrowing until february 7. america rarely avoided defaulting on almost $17 trillion in debt. >> america took a beating here. >> the shutdown halted the capital to a standstill, with hundreds of thousands of workers out of jobs and the economy on the verge of a recession. >> eventually, the market will say, we do not want to play this game anymore. >> it sparked a global reevaluation.

>> we have seen these political crisis appear in the u.s. you would think there would be more cause for trying to reduce dependency on america in the same way that america is trying to reduce dependency on the middle east for oil. >> it did not save money. it cost some $24 billion and credibility worldwide. >> whether it is coming from the world bank or the imf, whether the leading thinkers of the world are from china, this was really a spectacle following a series of spectacles that is downgraded america's image worldwide. >> some say the scare was just that. a way to come in and save the day at the last minute. >> this is the creation of a crisis atmosphere, wall street,

and the one percent are not going to allow the meltdown of the economy. >> they sure are full to me and millions of others. congress has more time to come up with a long-term budget solution before a new deadline comes rolling on the hill. they will also have to deal with damage control all while trying to solve a debt problem in just three months, something they could not do in the years leading up to the shutdown. reporting from washington. >> democrats and republicans have been blaming the deadlock on each other for weeks with president obama having the last word. >> probably nothing has done more damage to america's credibility in the world, our standing with other countries than the spectacle that we have seen these past several weeks. >> repeated brinkmanship causes the world to lose confidence in america and condemned what he called a self-inflicted crisis.

congress is set to revisit the debt ceiling a few months from now. >> america, and business model is unsustainable. united states would have to reveal the whole -- review the whole economic policy of fact. there was a crisis in 2008 and the next crisis really could be the last. the crisis of capitalism. and then we will get something completely different. what happened this past weekend with that editorial, calling for a de-americanized world. of course, this is not going to happen tomorrow or the next few years. it will happen by 2020, 2022.

which means the decline of the u.s. dollar, a convertible. as an international reserve, and now they are in fifth gear. >> japanese authorities are racing to expel the latest such. a storage tank has spilled highly contaminated water into a well from where it already may have seeped into the ocean. while the country's prime minister visited a nearby port, reports this trouble is not proving so easy to contain. >> 2.5 years to admit the painful truth. japan needs help. >> we are wide open to receive the most advanced knowledge

oversees to contain the problem. my country needs your knowledge and expertise. >> several workers have been exposed to radiation. the levels of which are reportedly at their highest since the accident in 2011. on top of that, there is the issue of leakage. this is the reactor. this is water used to cool it so does not burst into flames. that water obviously has to go somewhere so it goes into a special container where it is stored and then filtered. this is the ocean. at the problem with fukushima is there is a leak. from there, the water is flowing into the pacific ocean. >> sadly, russia has a lot of experience what it to wiping up remnants of a nuclear catastrophe. it has had its own less than a quarter of a century ago.

>> fukushima should be treated just like chernobyl. it must be retired. the problem is that they cannot decide whether they want to close it or to keep it going. >> closing the plant does not seem to be an option. the company operating the facility which many in japan blame on the failure of the crisis. it was shut down in 20s 07 -- 2007. the power china seems undeterred by the prospect of having to malfunctioning nuclear power stations on its hands. maybe hoping an international effort will solve both problems at the same time. >> fukushima's problems began when the earthquake and tsunami ruptured its cooling system in march 2011 causing multiple meltdowns. it took a whole year for the

japan government to admit the nuclear disaster was caused by the improper handling of the situation. they admitted the price -- the crisis could have been avoided if they had done a better job. more than two years after the disaster struck, a leak was discovered. when they finally admitted that spell, it admitted up to 300 tons of radioactive water was flowing into the ocean every day. the site is a serious health risk. >> this week had something in it that is a bone seeker. it causes leukemia. in huge quantities. when it gets to the pacific ocean, admittedly, it gets diluted in a bigger pond of water. it is truly frightening that we are releasing it into the pacific ocean. >> we also asked what could happen if another earthquake

were to strike. he says some of the radioactive material is barely contained. >> we have 1000 tanks and they are all held together with plastic pipes. if there is a moderate earthquake, the plastic pipes will fail and all that material will run across the ground surface, into the ocean. at the facilities themselves, th reactors that are most damaged, had serious explosions internally. it would not take an earthquake as big as the one they had 2.5 years ago to potentially really do a lot of serious damage there. >> you can head to our website for more updates. we have been closely following events since the initial disaster struck. extensive reports and eyewitness accounts all online.

government ilk things and italy's capital under attack. that is after tens of thousands marched through the city, announcing the budget with pace -- paves of way for more austerity. >> over 40% of unemployment and the worst recession since the second world war. the budget will not do enough to solve easily's economic problems. for three days, italians have been taking to the streets, protesting economic policies. some are bringing along tents saying they will not leave until that her voice is heard. previously on saturday, tens of thousands of protesters took part in a rally that started peaceful. it ended in clashes of when a group of young radical protesters started throwing eggs .

and a vapor bombs as they are called here, as the police. several were injured. arrests have also been made. tensions are high. so far, the protests have been peaceful. >> some demonstrators are now camped by the gates of rome. very different social groups all united by fury against the politicians. >> i want to mobilize the city. this is going on and will probably go on four different ways for a long time now. people from the employers to the trade unions to different political parties and now very strong protests from young people have said, we do not like the government and we do not like the budget. we want a recovery budget. this is what they are complaining about.

this is an unusual situation but that is what we have. it was way over budget. they have been spending far too much for far too long. >> you are watching the weekly here on rt. still ahead on the program this hour, kidnappings of journalists in syria. in investigation because deep into rebel country. if that report is coming up after this break.

>> more news today. violence has once again fled up. >> these are the images the world has been seen from the streets of canada. giant corporations rule the day.

>> in syria, a suicide bombing at an army checkpoint has claimed the lives of at least 30 people. the damage has intensified after a fuel tank. made it to one opposition stronghold. >> it is just 80 kilometers from the capital of damascus. it is like a state within a state. it has its own security forces. can see it everywhere. graffiti. three stars, that means free syrian army's control this area. >> it is the center of a launch mountain area. in 2011, local residents were among the first to support the anti-assad campaign.

>> i cover my head as all women here do because we are told this is an area under islamic law. >> we have civic and local councils. we have lawyers. they carry out justice. we run the town by ourselves. the army cannot enter and even if they try, we are ready to resist and defend our land. >> he calls this his land, but being born in kuwait, he only came here months before the syrian protest began. >> we will resist to the end. we have a plan and force us to make it happen. >> this is who he is talking about. the syrian army. these fighters do not work with other militants. they live in abandoned houses. sleep and pray together.

twice a week, they hear from a young man who everybody calls the shake. >> every monday and thursday we discussed the revolution, the latest military developments, as well as their routine. >> i asked them whether a group openly operate in syria. >> no. we have no relation. >> they are linked to the outside. they follow al qaeda or al qaeda's leader. we have no relations with them. >> we are supposed to meet with people, but when our armed guys learn of this, they do all they can to stop us.

they compete with each other, even for media attention. at one point, we are stopped by a group of gunmen, apparently from a hostile brigade. they ask about who we are. at least 19 journalists are held hostage in syria right now and the price of their lives of various. this area is supposedly run by opposition fighters and is in fact in separate brigades with different ideologies. they all need food and weaponry and these are locals who pay the bills. >> we as christians have to pay so-called duty. of this is our input into society. we go to church and pay it. we pay for internal security

gates. >> the situation is critical. a shortage of food and everything. we are besieged. >> trapped in their own country where more than two years of deadly conflict has only seen factions and goals. >> reports from fragmenting syrian territories. syria. >> on the website we have a report that says the reason edwards snowden managed to get hold of highly sensitive classified data is because the nsa felt to install anti-leak software at his former workplace. find the spy agency overlooked its hawaiian facility. also, is this what it would look like if machines could enjoy a dash or two?

scoring thousands of hits online. you can check it out on our website. >> lawyers for several detainees at guantanamo bay have filed a fresh appeal. a handful of chapters are still refusing food but being strapped into chairs and being chewed food daily. they had subsided against indefinite detention. >> after a few months of paperwork to get cleared to visit the base, i hop and skip from the big apple and from there, a short 1.5 hour flight with no indications of it on departure boards. the minute we land, we are

greeted by escorts who stay with us every step of our trip, the special guantanamo task force media team. one of them, far from the stereotypical face you might imagine working at a place like this controversial military base. as we send -- as we soon learned, the first of many surprises. >> this is a break from my military career and resume. the people i work with share the same idea and are proud to be here. >> she joined the military a decade ago with no money for college. at 20th, guantanamo is her second appointment. >> you hear about it in several movies, but it is just a place that people forget about. >> we wait for a ferry to take us apart -- across. when a handful of locations you would not expect here.

several marine residences but the main part of the naval base and detention camp over there and that is where we are headed now. >> guantanamo is not what we anticipated. >> as we approach the main area, it is interesting to note that the unsuspecting dash to the unsuspecting that this place is looks like another tropical island. you would never be able to tell that this is housing one of the notorious prisons. it is like any typical hotel with palm trees right out the window. first impression, this cannot be the place casting a shadow for over one decade. >> armor when i moved here i thought i would see people in orange jumpsuits everywhere. the families all stay on one side and the rest happens on another. >> a total of 700 719 -- a total

of 164 are now remaining at a whopping 100 $80,000 or year even though more than half of them have been cleared for release. >> we are in a remote location. that factors into the cost. what did doing it right means and what lays beyond a picture- perfect scenery. guantanamo bay, cuba. >> patients are -- after a massive hunger strike, -- >> we start ur world update

where police have arrested 55 students. the group ended up -- besieged. many students back him and his muslim brotherhood. amid the unrest there are at least two persons and eight injured. fire was opened at a christian ceremony. police are investigating the shooters motive. it did not stop a gay pride parade from becoming violent. participants have been jumping through the capital. police used tear gas.

the government has recently passed a bill against all forms of sexual discrimination as part of its bid for eu number ship. also on our world update this hour, around 50 people have been killed in a fresh attack leaving at least 38 dead and 40 injured. earlier in the day, a wave of assault claimed the lives of at least 12 across the country. iraq is experiencing some of its worst violence in years. almost 1000 were killed last month alone. thousands are demanding a ban on shale drilling.

on the other side of the atlantic,, young friends of the earth gathered in london. the system will always put profit before the environment. >> what you have is a situation where we know the example. we need to be leaving two thirds of known reserves in the ground. that being the case, the last thing we need to be doing. the only reason that is going ahead is because of the oil and gas industry has their claws into government around the world.

after the break, we investigate one of the worst oil spills in history. this is rt. >> it seems that politicians get away with anything. all while detroit moved headstrong. this is big news not because some mayor took rights, but

because he got punished. the judge who convicted and stated why this is such an important case. she's at the very least it will send a message that this will not be tolerated. sending a message. they do it they do because they feel they can get away with it. and you put the fear of god into them, they behave much better. the question is will they use conviction of the detroit's former manner -- mayor as an example? probably not. that is just my opinion. >> japanese culture has a long tradition of making woodcuts.

this is based on their publication. as for reasons of practicality, putting the color on with the same kinds of locks that they used to but the minds and. -- mines in. he looks back to the traditions. he is mostly a landscape artist. his style is quite different. unlike -- who lived in japan, he knows all about western art. studied in his use -- in his youth cater to japan and

incorporate that into the prince. -- prints. hello there. welcome to "newsline." it's monday, october 21st. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. workers at fukushima daiichi have another challenge on their hands. heavy rains over northeastern japan have caused more leaks of water from the nuclear plant. and some of it may have reached the pacific ocean. more than 100 millimeters of rain fell on sunday. the water b