used today violence has once again flared up. these are the images we're seeing from the streets of canada. conflicting reports and confusion coming from libya with the public unsure of what is happening meanwhile dozens of people have been killed in fish fighting and hundreds more injured join me for an update in a few moments from the libyan border. gypped adjust to life after revolution officials say the shadow cast by the unrest is costing the country millions every month and last worst dollars. dictator or revered leader fifty eight years after his death josef stalin still divides opinion

archie takes a look at one of history's most controversial figures. and direct from our studios in central moscow this is r t we're glad to have you with us let's take a look at our top stories in libya opposition forces are locked in battle with government forces in zawiya a strategic city close to the capital tripoli reports say at least seventy people have been killed and around three hundred wounded in colonel qaddafi's a tent to regain control of the rebel stronghold okies policy or filed this report . on saturday the libyan leader moammar gadhafi launched a fresh military offensive he's trying to retake some of the towns he's lost in the past eighteen days of fighting there were some seventy people killed those are the latest reports we're receiving and more than three hundred people injured with

reports of strikes and live ammunition and growing fears that libya is descending into civil war most of the fighting is in the key towns of libya such as zawiya which is something kilometers from the capital tripoli and the oil rich port of rust in the north now in russia and of the latest reports there suggest that rebel leaders are in control slowly making their way towards the capital city of tripoli in zawiya itself at drawn the gadhafi forces launched an attack they fired mortar shells they used machine guns and throughout most of saturday if you fighting happened to their villages what we have from the rebel leaders themselves is there they remain in control inside of the town and we're hearing from government forces are very in control around the perimeter now this is an important town because it is so close to the capital and if the rebels are able to maintain a presence there they will have a better chance of attacking tripoli it is interesting though that some of the pictures we're showing you here on our t.v.

have actually been distributed by the gadhafi regime it's really trying hard to present its version of events it's using these pictures as proof that its forces are in control in most of these towns in the east it's very difficult to tell from these pictures in fact who is in control on the ground but it certainly is indicative that in addition to the fighting on the ground there certainly is a fight in the media and information war in terms of who is in control of what now many of the media in europe and in the united states has been supporting the rebels there have been editorials in major american and european newspapers actually calling on the ways to support the rebels and attack gadhafi the latest word we hearing is that the western media is trying to portray gadhafi is. forces as a losing and the opposition forces winning but as you can see from these pictures it certainly is not clear who has the upper hand there also analysts who are pushing forward in the opinion that the western media is so anti gadhafi because he

has taken such a strong stand in the past against western interference in developing countries the latest word from the british government is that it is confirming that it is considering and is on standby to deploy its forces within twenty four hours and says that these forces will be used for humanitarian and evacuation purposes and not for any kind of military intervention the latest word we have from the u.s. is that it's to the warships have left chris and according to state will be issued they are part of the military buildup around libya and we also know that two american planes have landed in they are reportedly here for humanitarian efforts we also know that france and the united kingdom are putting pressure on the united nations security council to make a decision on a no fly zone there certainly is something that libyans here do not support as i found out when i spoke to people around the border this is the road out of libya but it's also the road that lines the pockets of hundreds of libyans who make their

living selling fuel fourteen times the price they paid back. the libyan good half your work. and libya long. let him stay in power for life. and as much as some may support gadhafi other libyans despise the united states and the moment. the us will not enter libya what rights they have they don't have a ticket the government is libyan for days he's been trying to it's religion is inside the border to check up on his family who on the other side you know some of them have been injured the answer he says is not with foreign intervention where people live if they don't there was. another. three i mean like so much in the right in libya the foreign nations into giving a little concerned to what libyans themselves actually want a debate for a no fly zone is continuing and u.s.

warships are sailing not far from the libyan coast already come help libya not for libya based help libya for the road for was over this is a problem. if the u.s. mission and other countries case involved it will not be this time that seems like this i used to justify the vision that people here are against foreign involvement they know well the price is often paid for so-called humanitarian assistance. history has shown that humanitarian aid in any war zone is more often than not i need to skies military aid during the war in bosnia it was discarded trucks delivering aid when in fact transporting military equipment in afghanistan the very weapons america gave to the taliban in the early eighty's came back to haunt the u.s. army following its two thousand and one afghan invasion so it's no wonder libyans whether they support khadafi or not are united on one issue they want the world and america in particular to state the with policy and r.t.

lads else idea on the chin is the libyan border as the threat of u.s. intervention in libya looms closer some experts believe foreign action is now virtually imminent radio host stephen lindemann thinks washington is directing the crisis this so-called call him call all's. position for solutions i believe these are individuals groups wherever they listed but i america enlisted by a list of maybe by friends who are of the worst nations primarily the u. where's secondarily written to want us to put another one in four days and the libyan people i must say are a lot more savvy than americans because they know what you wish in an inch and meaningless being or you marriage theory and means where america says we only need to do this for you it has nothing to do with humanitarian aid nothing to do with

democracy nothing to do with being a critical is to colonize the exploited or steal your resources grew out is the people call or is the country better one means or another even if you regard the patient iraqis afghans no war. or set up a puppet government you controls and call it going to be our way but it's two weeks and wait let me. for more on the crisis gripping libya and the entire region so tuned for some opinions from the streets of the big apple of all places that's coming your way in just a few minutes. i was going to remove gadhafi this guy it was just a matter of time before these dictators were you know things change people want change and people were hurt people hurt we moved to action people were adrie they moved to action i believe it's more about power and the unfair distribution of

power than it is about real democracy. sticking with a northern africa and egypt now crowds are calling for the death penalty to be handed to their former interior minister as he stands trial for corruption in cairo the country one of the first to iraq in popular protest is still reeling from the uprising after president hosni mubarak was forced to step down in february and his arteries are kind of boyko reports life for many egyptians maybe even harder than before. loading on freedom after decades of protest abstinence egyptians are tasting their newly found liberties still unable to get enough of with. even the resignation of hosni mubarak's close associate as prime minister one of the key demands of the opposition didn't take the steam out of geoffrey squares

rally in fact been a number of times secure residence seems to be getting even higher now than he has been camping on the square for three weeks formerly a special needs educator she quit her job to be here and so far has no intention of looking for a new one we're going to stay here until all the demands are been met the demands are being met one by one but it's still the process is taking longer than expected the revolution is not yet over but it's already becoming a brand street vendors who paddled mubarak's portraits just two months ago have now switched to the revolution in more a billion. a lot of people love revolution everyone wants to be a part of the largest selling world. liberation in arabic i think the need for sport has become a focal point in anding mubarak's autocratic rule a few profiteering vendors notwithstanding the egyptian revolution comes at a high cost tucker squares back with protesters again only now instead of

resignation demands they're chanting celebrators slogans but this revolutionary intoxication about totally natural is costing aged millions of dollars every day branded as a symbol of free egypt cream squares stands in a stark contrast to another egyptian attraction the slave build pyramids their own crowds have scary their way visitors the lost revenues already exceeding one billion dollars usually just gets our military paid before is a problem. is. facebook's afters a problem. many people here don't believe that kyra protests will significantly alter their life prospects for them freedom comes for their beliefs to feed their families but for now it remains far from certain the business is growing very slow at the moment we have a must like five four seven percent of the clients and most of them are coming from

middle east none coming from europe it's not that they don't support their revolution they're just the first to discover it's bittersweet taste and to realize that revolutionary intoxication is almost always followed by had a that's not going to artsy cairo as the wave of anti-government revolt rocks the arab world it's unclear how and when the uprisings will end across the ocean our own resident in new york got a snapshot of opinion on the ongoing protests. in all the insurrections revolutions and uprisings in the middle east catch you off guard this week let's talk about that are you surprised i'm not surprised i am. one of the i'm going ramallah i was seven weeks ago and by the way. i reported.

the political situation in the middle east was very very unstable. one week after the whole thing call it in tunisia in egypt you know change was coming we all knew change was going to. work it off in the sky it was just a matter of time before these dictators were you know things change people wanted change people were hurt people hurt we moved to action people were avery they moved to action do you think that the world leaders are caught off guard by those. i think they're caught off guard in knowing what how to react because i believe they know the world is going to be more unstable but they have to support the idea of freedom so it's a mixed blessing for you all these are going to lead to more and raster more instability yes i believe it's more about power and the unfair distribution of power than it is about real democracy well i think it's you know does the time make

a leader does the leader make the time so that's always like an ongoing question when it comes to stuff like this and i think we have to wait and see if this is going to be a good test for everyone in power right now to see how they come out yes what do you think the effect is going to be around the world what i think it's really not going to make much difference. when different people come into power. start treating their people right and everybody in this world we will have the united states want to be a police country anymore all the social networking that's going on they can no longer hold their people and feet on the propaganda that they used to do you think this is something that could happen here or in europe or in other places definitely that's scary you know. you're prepared for it but i think. it's a little scary to know that people anyone can have so much influence now i don't want a leader giving me probably get it but it's

a little unnerving to know that anyone with a computer can have that kind of. power it's there you have to respond enough to know what to listen to and what to ignore whether or not you think anyone has any idea of what's to come next the bottom line is that there's no denying that the time of. a little later in the program argues that close up team shows you a different side to one of the oldest cities in russia. to find out how people spice things up in the winter and tell sports but jaroslaw on the map as one of the top tourist destinations in the country we have all the details coming up in just a few. now fifty eight leader excuse me fifty years after his death soviet leader joseph stalin remains one of the most controversial political figures in history adored and idolized by son he's despised and scorned by others style and

lead the country to victory in world war two but through the heroes who helped him do it into labor camps or his company as of a report on his legacy and of hitler. and mussolini joseph stalin some of history's most notorious dictators and for years were ignored by the people of their countries the cult of personality phenomenon has intrigued historians and psychologists alike but the simple sounding question of how one person exact such influence over millions still does not have a simple answer and is something that remind me of the stockholm syndrome in a way where. after you have been kidnapped. by some bad person. you start loving. the love is not

a true lot but it's a way to save yourself. to keep your balance ok the so-called people's father ruled the country with an iron fist and despite the terrors persecutions and executions he was almost worshipped. by the term the soviet union entered the second world war stalin's personality cult was at an all time high men and women all across the country were willing to lay down their lives for only believing that bravery and ultimately victory what guarantee them stalin's approval. was twenty three when he returned home from the battlefields having survived dozens of attacks partisan missions and months in captivity he was proud to be coming back alive proud to have accomplished what comrade stalin had asked of him. i remember the march for a small lottery and the local women were all standing on the street throwing things at our spinning and shouting stalin's bandits that's what they called for thousands

and i remember feeling then a sort of prime because being a leader is bandit so i'm hoping we're close to him and we all wanted that but i had that feeling for a long time until i set things straight. in one thousand forty eight if and yet there was accused of being a traitor and sentenced to twenty five years in a labor camp the charge was simple he survived captivity which to stan's mind meant he had sold out his country for his life and no proof was necessary after three months of torture and having it there was ready to sign any document whatsoever. with their i refused to sign those so-called confessions even after all the torture they put me through but then they said if you don't sign it will bring your parents here and i can let them go for this so i agreed a few months later i was on my way to the polar region in the real labor camp. eight years later the effort turned home and the new secretary general of the

soviet union denounced alan's personality called the man who had twice the named time magazine's person of the year had all his carefully sculpted glory taken away . to distaste alan of ochs mixed emotions with his actions still being debated ensuring in some respect his personality called still survives. catchin as our r.t. moscow. outside for other news making headlines around the globe. at least twenty five people have died and twenty injured when a tour bus and a lumber truck collided head on in the southern brazilian state of sunset according to officials the truck driver lost control of his vehicle on a bend and slammed into the bus which was carrying forty seven passengers twenty seven people died in similar accidents on the same stretch of road in two thousand and seven. israeli soldiers have used tear gas and smoke grenades

against the female palestinian protesters in an attempt to disperse them dozens of women along with international activists demonstrated in northern jerusalem calling for an end to the israeli occupation of the west bank the activists say they were inspired by calls for democracy that toppled autocratic leaders in egypt and tunisia. italian prime minister silvio berlusconi is back on trial facing corruption charges prosecutors claimed that mr berlusconi's media empire purchased television rights using offshore companies as part of a tax dodge this is one of four trials that the italian leader is currently linked to including allegations he paid an underage girl for sex and abuse of power he denies all the allegations. and amateur video has emerged showing that the brutality of the continuing political standoff in the ivory coast seven women were shot dead while many others were wounded on thursday pro-government forces opened

fire at a rally against the incumbent president. refusing to step down after november's election results the u.n. says that at least three hundred sixty five people have died since november. members of the main and backup crews to the international space station have been cleared for the next orbital mission six space men have excelled in their final exams at russia's cosmonauts training center in star city they are next scheduled to blast ah. from the baikonur launch pad in kazakhstan at the end of march the mission will be devoted to the fiftieth anniversary of the first man in space yuri gagarin the crew will spend one hundred seventy days on the us and will meet two u.s. shuttles and three russian cargo ships a spacewalk is also planned during their mission the latest in our special series of travels across russia heading your way next and this time with the focus is the historic city of yourself.

artie's a close up team journeyed some three hundred kilometers northeast of moscow to the millennium old city of jaroslava it's day three of our exploration there we have already seen its historic architecture and culture but one thing we haven't talked about yet is its fascination with sports when the friends want to check out how the region attracted winter sports fans from around the world. i everyone's going crazy for sports in the yaroslavl region of russia just ask the roster of professional athletes speeding through the international ski federation's cross country world cup dermont a center of winter sport and leisure situated on the banks of the volga river poland's olympic gold medalist just cast the other women the first day of the races

oh this is a. conditional is the fulfill the classic but if you split what's next was the men's phrase valentino cherished over herself the first female cosmonaut was blocking the finish. because you know it's a great event of course i want the women students to be even better than a tease but they did perform well we have a very glad for russia with over four hundred children in the world here termino offers the average middle class russian a chance to realize their dreams as a sportsman and offers the foreigner a chance to see this place what it really is. locals wanted to be the new winter destination one that will fill the surrounding restaurants and hotels business but in the school you go to this is a front desk of the city thousands of people come and spend their time here every year and with short we expand opportunities because this will inevitably affect the number of people who go into sports in general and influences sports in particular

. not far away and the historic merchants city of glitch festivities are just getting underway to celebrate the winter during a season when most cities are pretty quiet these people are making the party of it most divine yet of their all you know i've been i swimming for thirty years i love it there is no need for any of the home feel how is it a widespread nowadays. massive down on the volga river powered moscow with electricity throughout world war two a collection of churches greet tourist spots on their first stop from moscow from the church of john the baptist to the church of princeton the tree on blood built in commemoration of young prince dimitris gruesome death in fifty ninety one the place is steeped in tradition but it has a way of breaking out of it shout back at them and now between the skiing and the snowmobiling which they were kind enough to teach me they're waiting for

a good burn at the end of the world cup races a frightful wind storm the summer of two thousand and ten knocked down ninety percent of the surrounding forest locals retaliated by stacking a falling wood twenty two meters high and then registering it in the guinness book of world records they'll burn it into a massive bonfire after the final race now that is competitive sports and shit in the outer suburb region lindsey france r.t. . you can always find more stories online here's a taste of what it's there for you right now. morals or money washington debates which of course will effectively secure american interests abroad. ah job god. and find out what drove one american to sing the russian anthem in russian. and if you want to sing in russian too or just want to learn more about

the country make sure you visit our rusa p.d.f. hage at our two dot com. a nato service member has been killed in a bomb attack in afghanistan it brings the total number of alliance personnel killed since january to seventy bogged down in a grueling war with the taliban the coalition is losing more and more troops each year and as afghanistan's drug production spirals out of control the u.s. is also feeling the impact on home soil the american naval academy's been hit hard by a drug abuse scandal with expelled as part of an ongoing investigation party's military contributor thinks the u.s. could be secretly cashing in on the afghan drug trade. it's been almost

a year since their high seas has a totally new connotation for the u.s. navy in march two thousand it was the beginning of the corruption of the u.s. naval academy at annapolis my seat did it drugs since then dozens of navy chipman has been separated or expelled from day ten and unfortunately it was not an exception neither for the us navy north for other brain. she's told the u.s. armed forces so in their way the latest drug abuse investigation is only an a tip of the iceberg of the per knishes and negative influence of the american involvement in afghanistan indeed what could motivate future u.s. navy leaders to buy and tourists sale the drugs among their peers there it could be several reasons for such a reckless and criminal action the most of this is that the us navy are jealous of

the us marines who are enjoying the poppy fields in helmand and kandahar and as a result they just fall back on the artificial stuff situation of the organic murray who want to however a good legitimized old kinds of criminal activity it also legitimize the cult of impunity and profiteering and that is probably the hidden agenda of the us open ended commitment to afghanistan. from drugs it to jules coming soon martin andrews delves into the history of jewelry in russia and finds that diamonds are always a girl's best friend but first i'll be back with a recap of our top stories. is

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