i know here in moscow my name is kevin oh and first tonight heavy fighting in libya shows little sign of easing as ground forces maintain their offensive against a stronger duffey loyalist resistance there says the country's interim leaders struggle to form a cohesive cabinet to see through their ambitious plans for change the loyalists are making a last stand in several cities with civilians in the affected areas trapped in the crossfire meantime the rest of libya's reeling from months of civil war with some estimating the death toll in the tens of thousands ongoing nato airstrikes have also reportedly killed a number of civilians with some western leaders now facing possible legal action over their military campaign you may find some of the images coming up into your report mr. fringe explorer minister rowland to moore says he's ready to defend gadhafi in the international criminal court which is issued a warrant for his arrest but later will have to for him because first libya's deposed leader is it hiding for good reason. if they find him they'll kill him like

bill maher don't some states are now claiming the right to kill but against all international law. images like these are moving french lawyers to turn against the government because he faces lawsuits over the birth of ordinary people in libya lawyers here in france accuse the presence of committing crimes against humanity this lawyer calls the libyan war renew vietnam with the us sprayed tens of millions of liters of toxins on crops in the sixty's and seventy's causing brain disorders miscarriages and birth defects to this day. so they're using missiles with depleted uranium which causes cancer in tripoli i saw people crippled by nato attacks office workers who have nothing to do with the fighting that's why we're seeing president sarkozy for crimes against humanity nato first denied bombing this residence where thirteen civilians including four children died it then called the

place a military command center this journalist went to see what it really housed books videos spiderman toys and cultural and everything is nothing nothing military in another attack. wife or child the grandchildren were reportedly killed in their home nato is accused of deliberately waging a campaign of terror. their bombings targeted libya's electricity water and food supply after five months of deadly nato bombs and thousands of deaths people will stop supporting the regime because they simply cannot take it anymore. western leaders a poised for their first big legal challenge over libya if they stop the cases coming to court all together as chickadee it will prove once and for all that western justice really use run by politicians not the rule of law the new bush or r.t. paris. and also the latest twist of the libyan revolted to merge that colonel gadhafi

could have made his recent escape from tripoli in a state of the art armored vehicle. reports in britain's daily mail newspaper the mrs four by four was reportedly provided by the french government with nicolas sarkozy giving the green light for the deal back in two thousand and eight journalist and political analyst ron downie told me the news is a huge embarrassment for the french leadership. it's equipped with. command a system which allows colonel gadhafi to keep in touch with his forces but it's also equipped with an anti tracking system which makes it impossible for nato surveillance to pick up any signals and indeed to locate and target the car so it's indeed quite ironic any indeed embarrassing for the french government the deal was struck in two thousand and seven when president sarkozy was then interior minister before that before he became president a few months later and as soon as he became president he received

a colonel gadhafi himself in paris for a five day state visit presence or because he was able to sell him this armored vehicle the cd is called four by four and indeed part of the deal is a twenty five million plus package which also provides the libyan government with means to keep tabs on the opposition's by controlling the e-mail system of dissidents these revelations come in the way of a triumphant visit lately by president clinton in libya where he was very much depicted in the french press as deliberate of libya he was nicknamed sock cosey the libyan and his mood was nicknamed sarkozy who are he was portrayed as the savior of libya while at the same time of course his the one who did probably the most to get gadhafi in as anybody else so these are hugely embarrassing revelations for western countries involved in this military adventure in libya and however to look at it

it's very hard to believe that they're getting involved militarily out of the goodness of their hearts but of course as we've seen lately there was a press conference held where business interests were discussed and the whole purpose of that meeting was of course to make the military adventure worthwhile and to discuss business often tease involving the rebuilding of libya with energy companies from britain and france in a very good position to get very lucrative business deals in place gadhafi in libya . still to come this hour on r.t. angry demonstrators seal the northern crossing in serbia now the e.u. is weighing in to stop protesters sending in the conflict. and two russian cosmonauts returned to the capital after an alibi that mission where at moscow's star city with a detail short before the. next un of the world's key financial institutions say palestine is strong enough to function as an independent state palestinian

president mahmoud abbas is due to request full un membership at the general assembly on friday saying you'll submit a request letter after his speech there but the threat of an american veto still hangs in the air is more important explains the u.n. players position. if global politics were a sport. the united nations would be the grand arena. and september would be opening season nearly two hundred of the world's most powerful and not so powerful players descend on new york city gathering in one room for a week's worth of speeches and a chance to grandstand on the international stage that's nearly ten thousand delegates in two thousand journalists are in town for the general assembly debate but in reality five countries are the ones who really matter russia china france the us and britain the permanent security council members with veto power the real power in the united nations resides in the security council and it requires

a consensus among the five permanent members and as long as the want one or one or more of the permanent members won't go along with something the un's ability to act is limited no resolutions can succeed if opposed by any of the big five case in point the current palestinian campaigns for un membership and statehood and initiative the us publicly supported last year when we come back here next year we can have an agreement that will lead to a new member of the united nations an independent sovereign state of palestine living in peace with israel but this year it's the opposite with washington saying it will veto the palestinian un membership bid warning of additional collateral damage one of the things that i that i hope the palestinian leadership is consider considering is the day after what will happen when after whatever. show we have in the united nations is done. what will change in the real world for

the palestinian people. the answer is nothing that sadly ironically the majority of the general assembly supports palestinian un membership the assembly alone with two thirds majority can award nonmember observer status to the power. it's like the vatican enjoys and doesn't need security council approval to do so so no one can veto this decision some believe however the un is the wrong forum for resolving major international disputes it's a very dysfunctional situation and actually the un really isn't the one isn't really the venue even for this the un only gets the sort of hype aspects of these fights and and deals with them pretty badly to the israeli palestinian problem at the un is mostly theater and this is just one one particularly for a freakish example of it this global gathering attracts the security crowds and maybe even madness of a sports championship but when it comes to practical outcomes scoring more than

a symbolic victory could be unlikely even if there is a permanent member or two or three who believe that. palestine should not be a member of the un. they want it on record but the best majority of the people the world do believe that it's time the younger you enjoy a gathering all the more. yet many wonder if this more diplomatic strategy leads to anything more than the event itself. party. tensions in northern kosovo will be discussed this week in brussels as bowl grades top negotiator called for car merging all sides to seek a diplomatic solution the atmosphere in the region intensified after pristina backed by nato led forces placed customs officials on the two disputed border posts previously under control in response to ethnic serbs blocked all the roads leading to the crossings. more of this highly charged situation. as stand of

course of those thirty's with e.u. and nato forces on one side ethnic serbian protesters on the other keeping for us this is our land our territory it's refusing to accept the cost thing government's attempt to take control of two border crossings here in the north the protesters are standing firm at the barricades that they erect is the game of nerves and night side willing to back down i don't think anyone in the world can come to these people here in the north and tell them give up simply go home and accept that you are leaving independent cos they will not do it for the time being the protesters seem calm you don't have to look hard to see signs of the underlying tensions all along the roads here in the north you come across these makeshift roadblocks servian people using gravel rocks bits of wood whatever they can get their hands on really to disrupt the flow of traffic in this area protesters have vowed that

floats will remain in place till it dialogue begins about who man the border posts and what will happen with the revenue collected from the customs tax. not going to . solutions reached for both sides of the situation right now is unacceptable back in july violence erupted when the authorities tried to take control of the border posts after closer than prime minister but she wanted to trade balance serbia the conflict resulted in the death of the policeman and now neither side wants to take action for fear it could once again ignite tension considering the major events taking place right now considering the concerns of the. population living in the north. i would say of removing those barricades from from the streets and from the main highways it's not for it's not a priority of. security organizations and the funding criticisms that they preached

on each will position with regards to you lexis said that the monitoring of the customs bring much needed law and order to the north pristina says they acted within terms of an agreement a claim that belgrade strongly. this is a serious incident in a serious step back. a long road to formalisation off our relationship with prishtina second thing is that once you put a custom officers then you will put a flag then you will put the count of arms then you will put. laws and then people who live here will be circled by something that looks like. there's now talk among those. by past checkpoints because been authorities refused to leave the time being the border crossing remains bloke's and there are many obstacles that will need to be overcome on the road to finding a resolution sarah first cause. now for the news extended coverage don't forget

that was played in our web site r t v dot com few stories that you know you might be interested in this is the fear flagship and pride of the russian navy it's the value advent of cameras inside take a look you cannot look to see it in all its glory our minds like for us exclusively at our tea dot com. and also if you treat for russia to question france is a nation of horse and buggy driving championship help for the first time but are more about the increasingly popular sport really taking off to russia at r.t. dot com. let me take you through some other international news stories now briefly twenty people including a child reportedly killed by pro regime snipers firing from rooftops and yemeni capital sanaa hundreds more were treated for gunshot wounds and this comes a day after twenty six protesters were shot dead in renewed clashes between presidential noya liston opposition supporters in the bloodiest crackdown in weeks the big daily protests demanding the end of president saleh has ruled russia says

it wants both sides to enter talks saying it's the only way now out of the crisis. cash drug research been given an ultimatum to enforce deeper budget cuts if it was to avoid going bankrupt early next month the international monetary fund rounded on athens for falling behind on reform targets become three finance ministers pledge to speed them up and hold an emergency conference with creditors this comes as eurozone leaders choose to wait until october now before ruling on whether to release the next eight billion euro bailout package to greece. president obama has laid out a plan to cut the deficit revive the american economy with the wealthy expected to pay more he said there's a corporation is must pay higher taxes adding that everyone should pay a fair share rival republicans though have already refused to agree to the tax hikes as white house believes the public's on its side. police in bangladesh clashed with protesters demanding the release of senior members of the country's largest islam is party. activists many carrying sticks and throwing rocks fall was

riot officers and set several vehicles alight fifty people reportedly wounded and dozens of arrested now the five detained islamist party members were charged with crimes against humanity during the country's nine hundred seventy one war of independence with pakistan. two russian cosmonauts are back in moscow after an extended and eventful stay onboard the international space station their return to earth was delayed because of safety precautions after the failure of the progress and cargo ship back in august artist peter all of the reports now from moscow star city space center. the two russian cosmonauts the returned back to worth on friday have been talking about their experiences while on board the i.s.a.'s but they were up there for nearly six months so as you can imagine with only four days to get used to life back on earth it has taken some getting used to. i was afraid my first moves on earth would be clumsy and difficult but it turned out to be not the bird

controlling my body was challenging i wanted to turn a room but i could only walk straight despite my intentions it's much more stressful to land on earth than to leave orbit over the very eventful six months that they were on board the international space station there are three key incidents that occurred while they were up there they were they were course there for the progress module that crashed that was heading up to supply the i s s with water with oxygen and they talked about how that affected them on board we spoke a great length about it from here on the earth but they were saying is terms of food water and supplies too much however it did affect them in terms of their experiments that they were doing that was equipment was being carried on the progress module it was intended to help them conduct those experiments that are going on up in space to make our lives here on earth all that better unfortunately the loss of that equipment can get those experiments now they were also up there for the final docking all the nasa space shuttle in the station but lantus dropped

on the eighth of july and left on the joy a big part of the last time for it now the cosmonauts are saying that this was a very sad experience it was quite similar in their eyes to when the mir space station finally fell out of commission real end to a chapter in space exploration history now the main celebration of their time when the on board the international space station was of course you recent night the twelfth of april fifty years since you could go and set off to become the first man in space that was of course hugely celebrated on board the space station the internet. space station containing people from japan people from america of course russians as well during that celebration so they were and it was a real international affairs this is what they were the cause not to say. well it's especially nice to know that countries other than russia respect to this holiday we received lots of warm wishes and greetings like through russians we took pride the

duty to go in with our countrymen on our ship was called to go and so the flight was filled with a holiday spirit so well alexander some a good deal of underbody seeing to get used to life back here on earth they recognize the the celebration it was your car its first flight fifty years ago from star city peter all of our team. thanks stay with us tonight next hour we're hearing from one of the people making the call for palestinian statehood at the u.n. the administration's key politician explains why full member state as will finally hold israel to account over its actions in occupations.

archie's sitting down the way of award winning scholar and internationally recognized politician executive committee member of the palestine liberation organization dr hanan ashrawi thank you so much for joining us today thank you and if there's a smile close for dr shah e let's start with one of the most highlighted issues at this year's united nations general assembly gathering of course palestine's bid for recognize statehood we know that palestine is already recognized by over one hundred twenty countries why does this u.n. vote matter. it's very important because this is a turning point and sort of palestinian history and in the history of peacemaking in the region we do have as you said bilateral recognitions from different

countries we have by now one hundred twenty seven but at the same time we are we have been engaged in a peace process that has taken on over two decades. of prolongation and stalling with creating facts on the ground building settlements in a laterally acting from a position of power as an occupier and undermining the chances of peace and the objectives of the two state solution and so on so we are trying now to say that this is a new set a new era and say we are going to the international community to say that the palestinian question and the palestinian people have that i think certainly terminations and should be placed within this international context as the essence of multilateralism as the source of international global legislation and the palestinian question must be dissolved in accordance with international law unlike going through the security council going through the general assembly would mean a nonmember state status for palestine why would that be important that's very

important because although we are now we have observer status as the p.l.o. and we want to have. a nonmember state status which means there would be a recognition of statehood that would also declare the territory occupied territory not disputed territory and therefore up for grabs it would declare is to solemnize occupied not as the eternally unified capital of whatever number it would lay the foundations of any new solution based on international law so it's very important and we can also hold israel accountable which is something that is driving is the us absolutely insane when talking about accountability because they don't want any kind of accountability point isn't whether through you and human rights organization. like you on the council on human rights or international criminal court the international court of justice they just want to ensure that israel continues to act outside than above the law now if we look

a little bit at united states involvement in all of this we know that last year barack obama spoke at the general assembly saying that hopefully by this year two thousand and eleven palestine will be recognized as a member within the united nations now his administration is clearly opposed to this do you see this is a stab in the back i see this as a source of commander sled down in disappointment because he theys the expectations and i would i took ways starting with ending all settlement activities to acting decisively in peacemaking to basing all peacemaking on international law and multilateralism to building the palestinian state on the sixty seven mongers so having it in that dawn on most all these things he has created a sense of letdown among the palestinians the arabs even the world people of good conscience who expect. obama to live up to his promises to his values and principles rather than to not of self-interest right now. if he's seen as doing

israel's bidding trying to justify the occupation and trying to justify israeli policies and actually putting pressure on everybody starting with the palestinians who are of course the weakest part because we do not and the kind of weapons being so he'll be seen as sort of not just bullying the palestinians but he'll be seen as weighing in on the side of an illegal situation and he'll be undermining the standing and credibility and interests of the u.s. in the region and throughout the world what do you think americans and some european countries have been willing to welcome the arab spring and yet palestine's self determination is seen as something pretty much an acceptable by the united states in particular. it is ironic this double standard that they look at that ups plane as a way of vindication of the drive towards democracy and freedom and human rights

and human dignity and yet when it comes to the palestinians we are decontextualized . this is very selective precisely because i think out occupied israel. is a domestic issue in the us and has enormous influence on their careers. the fates of many politicians through elections through access to the media through the campaign funds and song has cost the exam also because of being part of the holocaust on that history and western guilt of what they did to the troops the palestinians were deprived of the protection of the law and was given the succession of treatment particularly because it has a powerful lobby also and that is a growing movement of solidarity with the palestinians and i hope that that would hold that own. countries accountable or systems of government and this is part of the arab spring where the arab spring has moved and relation to the user to the

social media and these global principles that do not apply just to the palestine on the west like to humanity as a whole and therefore the exemption of the palestinians from these values and the exemption from accountability for violating these values will no longer be tolerated. the americans may succeed in having that or not of interest on values and principles but not for long because they too will be held accountable by their own people dr hanan ashrawi thank you for your time with us today thank you very much and it's nice to meet you .

this was a city. of about one hundred ninety thousand people and we had eighty thousand people working for general motors. or a job that depended on general motors. general motors is if it's not relations you it might be your neighbor or somebody you knew so it's kind of a family run business you know myself i'm third generation my father was working there and you have a lot of two three and four generation families that are there first let's understand that it is this is if a man doesn't work. then he should not. it is gong to want a man to work with. i think for a long time this notion in america that bigger was better was simply an undisputed fact in the twenty first century smarter it's going to be better general motors

simply became too large for their own good and so many brands that they couldn't even keep up with they just basically became a dinosaur. let's . say. i've.

seen much.

this is our to your top story. to keeping up the fight in libya but the country's interim leaders are struggling to form a cow but meantime the french president could face a legal battle at home over his country's actions. the e.u. is calling for calm over the ethnic tension that erupted when kosovo seized two checkpoints on its northern border and it led to serious located in the approach roads meantime belgrade's top negotiator is urging all sides to seek diplomatic solution. and the palestinians are set to take center stage in new york on friday to try and secure statehood recognition although the wide support they getting could clash with a veto wielding u.s. the world's key financial institution said independent palestine would be strong enough to cope.