conflicting reports and confusion coming from libya with the public i'm sure of what is happening meanwhile dozens of people have been killed in face fighting and hundreds more injured join me for an update in a few moments from the china sea and libyan border. he just adjusts to life after revolution officials say the shadow cast by the unrest is costing the country millions every month in lost tourist dollars. dictator or revered leader fifty eight years after his death josef stalin still divides opinion r.t.

takes a look at one of history's most controversial controversial figures. in broadcasting live from our studios in central moscow this is our t.v. we're certainly glad to have you with us 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 gadhafi is an attempt to regain control of the rebel stronghold 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 its 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 the weir which is some thirty kilometers from the capital tripoli and the oil rich port of ras north now in western north 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 a draw on the gadhafi forces launched an attack they fired a mortar shells they used machine guns and throughout most of saturday heavy fighting happened there the latest word we have from the rebel leaders themselves is that they remain in control inside of the town and we're hearing from government forces are bearing 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 inside who is in control on the ground but it certainly is indicative that in addition to the fighting on the ground is 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 waist to support the rebels and attack gadhafi the latest word we hearing is that the western media is trying to portray guffey's. forces as 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 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 relations

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 warships have a lift chris and according to a statement they 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 fans of the united kingdom are putting pressure on the united nations security council to make a decision on a no fly zone but 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 into newsier for ten times the price they paid back. the libyan

graph your work. more of libya long lived with him stay in power for life and as much as some may support gadhafi other libyans despise the united states. well the moment i called the u.s. will not answer libya what rights they have they don't have a good day other than it is libyan for days he's been trying to get each in his inside of the border to check up on his family who are on the other side he knows some of them have been injured beyond so he says is not with foreign intervention. people libyan people they don't want. another. three i mean like so much in libya but foreign nations seem to be giving a little concern 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 that really. help libya not sort

of really be based help libya. throw total goes over this is probably. if the u.s. question and other countries case involved in the nothing this time that seems like this i used just by the information that people here are against foreign involvement they know well the price that is often paid for so-called human material assistance. it's a many to me an eight in any war zone is more often than not thinly disguised military aid killing the war in bosnia it was discovered if you were in trucks delivering aid when in fact transporting military equipment in afghanistan the very weapons 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 with a support it i feel not are united on one issue they want the world and america in particular to state on something with policy r t why 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 infinite radio host stephen leatherman thinks washington is directing the crisis so cold call and call roles are called position force lose. the b.b.c. or individuals groups wherever they listed by america enlisted by written enlisted maybe by friends who know what it's nation's primarily do you where's secondarily written to one desperate to put another one in its place and the libyan people i must say are a lot more savvy. because they know what to do with an inch and meanness they know what humanitarian means where america's economy to do this for you here is nothing to do with humanitarian aid nothing to do with democracy nothing to do with being

the people it is the colonized exploit them steal your resources grew i was the. color is the country where one means or another even if you regard the patient but rarely use afghans no war. or set up with government you controls and call aggressively our way but it still works. for more on the crisis gripping libya and the entire region stay tuned for some opinions from the streets of the big apple that's coming our way in just a few minutes. she is going to come could offer you this guy it was just a matter of time before these dictators were you know things change people want change people were hurt people hurt we moved to action people were avery they moved to action i believe it's more about power and the unfair distribution of power than it is about real democracy.

meanwhile in egypt 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 erupt in popular protest is still reeling from the uprising after president hosni mubarak was forced to step down in february and his art he's out on the political 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 their position didn't take the steam out of geoffrey squares rally in fact been number of town city residents seems to be getting even higher nazmi 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 have 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 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 billionaire. a lot of people love revolution everyone wants to be a part of the largest selling world to one means liberation in arabic speaking the four square has become a focal point in anding mubarak's autocratic rule there are a few profiteering vendors notwithstanding the egyptian revolution comes at a high cost tucker squares back with protesters again only now instead of resignation demand they're chanting celebrators slogans against the revolutionary intoxication about totally natural is costing in chip millions of dollars every day

branded as a symbol of free egypt square stands in a stark contrast to another egyptian attraction the slave build pyramids they were going crowds has carried away visitors lost revenues already exceeding one billion dollars usually to speech on military 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 bam freedom costs for their ability to feed their families that for now remains far from certain the business is growing very slow at the moment we haven't missed like five forty 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 sort of like an artsy cairo as the wave of anti-government revolts 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. he told 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'm going ramallah i was seven weeks ago on my route. i reported to the board the political situation in the middle east was very very unstable unstable one week after the whole scene in tunisia in egypt you know change was coming we

all knew cheese was going to come. off this guy it was just a matter of time before these dictators were you know things change people want change people were hurt people hurt we moved to action people were aimed very 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 they 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 think 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 but what

do you think the effect is going to be around the world when i think it's really not going to make much difference. when different people come into power. they'll start treating people right and everybody in this world we will have the united states will have to be a police country anymore all the social networking that's going on they can no longer hold their people and feed them the propaganda that they used to do you think this is something that could happen here or in europe or in other places. that's scary you know. so you're prepared for it but i think it will definitely happen it's a little scary to know that he anyone can have so much influence now i don't want a leader giving me product and that 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 other not you think anyone has any idea

of what's to come next the bottom line is that there's no denying that at the time of statements. a little later in the program our g.'s a close up team shows you a different side to one of the oldest sings in russia. find out how people spice things up in the winter and how sports put jaroslav on the map as one of the top tourist destinations in the country we have all the details coming up and it's. now fifty eight years after his death that soviet leader joseph stalin remains one of the most controversial political figures in history adored idolized by some despised and scorned by others stalin led the country to victory in world war two but he threw the heroes who helped him do it into labor camps but he's got reports on his legacy and of hitler benito 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 law does not a true lot but it's a way to save yourself to keep your balance ok. 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 turn of the soviet union entered the second world war stalin's personality cult was an all time high men and women all across the country are 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 project accomplished what comrade stalin had asked of him. i remember being marched for a small lot into the local women were all standing on the street throwing things at our spinning and shouting stalin's bandits that's what they called words isms and i remember feeling them a sort of pride because being a leader is bend it somehow people are as close to him and we all wanted that i had that feeling for

a long time until i set them straight. in one hundred forty if 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 when he had sold out his country for his life and no proof was necessary after three months of torture yet and yet there was ready to sign any documents whatsoever. with him 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 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 to the real labor camp. eight years later yes returned home and the new secretary general of the soviet union denounced style and personality called the man who had twice time magazine's person of the year and all his carefully sculpted gouri taken away to the states

down evokes mixed emotions with his actions still being debated ensuring in some respect his personality cult still survives. cashew nuts are about r t not. now it's time for other news making headlines around the globe at least twenty five people have died and twenty injured when a tour bus and lumber truck collided head on in the southern brazilian state of santa catarina according to officials the truck driver lost control of his vehicle and burned 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 of grenades against female palestinian protesters in an attempt to disperse them dozens of women along with international activists demonstrated in northern truce i'm calling for an end to the israeli occupation of the west bank the activists say they were inspired by calls for the marker say that toppled autocratic leaders in egypt and

tunisia. we are telling prime minister silvio berlusconi is back on trial facing corruption charges prosecutors claim 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 of the allegations. when amateur video has emerged showing of 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 laurent gbagbo who's refusing to step down after november's election results the u.n. says 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 their next scheduled to blast off from the baikonur launch pad in kazakhstan at the end of march we mentioned will be devoted to the fiftieth anniversary of the first man in space yuri gagarin a crew will spend one hundred seventy days on the i s s and will meet two u.s. shuttles and three russian cargo ships spacewalk is also planned during their mission. now the latest in our special series of travels across russia is heading your way next this time the focus is the historic city of jaroslav. artie's a close up team a journey some three hundred kilometers northeast of moscow to the millennium old city of yachts level it's day three of our exploration there and we've already seen it's historic architecture and culture but one thing we didn't talk about it was

its fascination with sports when the friends went to check out how the region is tracked and 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 at germany a center of winter sport and leisure situated on the persisting banks of the volga river poland's olympic gold medalist just smoked past the other women the first day of the races well this is where the race. condition was lowered to fulfill the classic but if you split next was the men's race valentino tarrasque over herself the first female cosmonaut was welcoming the finish. because you know it's a great event of course i want to be mainstreamed 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 want it to be the new winter destination one that will fill the surrounding restaurants and hotels just as particular school this is a front desk of the city verizon's of people come and spend their time here every year and we're sure to expand opportunities because this will inevitably affect the number of people who go in for sports in general and in for winter sports in particular. not far away in the historic merchant's city of new pledge festivities are just getting underway to celebrate the winter during a season when most cities are pretty quiet these people are making a party of it not divine yet but girl you know i've been i swimming for thirty years i love it there is no need for any of the home feel how it is that are

widespread nowadays. and massive down on the volga river powered moscow with the tricity 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 prince dimitri on blood built in commemoration of young prince dimitris gruesome death in pitching 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 the fallen 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 sportsmanship in the

outer suburb region lindsey france our team and you can always find more of our stories online here's a taste of what we have for you there right now. morals or money washington debates which course will effectively secure. american interests abroad. find out what drove one american to sing at the russian anthem in russian. and of course if you want to sing in russian or want to learn more about the country and sure you can visit russia page on r.t. 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 american naval academy has been hit hard by drug abuse and scandal with eight cats expelled as part of an ongoing investigation okies 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 acquired a totally new connotation for the u.s. navy in march two thousand and ten it was the beginning of the corruption of the u.s. naval academy at annapolis by a synthetic drugs since then dozens of the navy midshipman has been separated or expelled from their cabin unfortunately it was not an exception neither for the u.s. navy north or other branches of the u.s. armed forces so in a way the latest drug abuse investigation is only in 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 to resale 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 it did legitimize all kinds of criminal activity and also legitimize the cult of intimidating and profiteering and that is probably the hidden agenda of the us open ended commitment to afghanistan. coming up in a couple of minutes our special report on former bosnian serb leader radovan corrodes which wanted internationally for genocide and crimes against humanity he

managed to avoid capture for almost thirteen years and find out what eventually gave him away but first i'll be back with a recap of our top stories. all .

this in the beast will be here with us and the b.b.c. radio in the end they have been in the sumo number both of our vehicles displayed in that i see the but most dangerous. radiation that they exist in the region. are from are the groups in the vicinity of known differentiated so the produce is so much the engine any changes in moving the pantsuit leukemia. my view of the damien says that. you don't have to have a college degree you know you have given a free education to understand if you spread radioactive materials all over somebody's backyard that you've got a problem.