>> six soldiers are shot dead in ukraine, as the eu says the crisis is the biggest threat to european security since the cold war. ♪ >> hello, i'm jane dutton in doha, 21 are dead and hundreds more are trapped after an explosion at a mine in western turkey. nigeria's president asks parliament to extend the state of emergency by six months so he can take care of boko haram. and past the point of no return,

scientists warn of an irreversible and arctic thaw. ♪ we begin with some breaking news out of the united nations. the un and arbab league envoy is reportedly on the verge of resigning from his post at the end of may. he is due to address the media shortly. and we'll bring you that live as soon as it happens. ukraine's defense ministry says six soldiers have been killed in an ambush by separatists in the east. terrorists tired a grenade launcher here the city of kramatorsk. eight others are thought to be injured this let's go to paul beban live for us in donetsk. what have you been hearing about this? >> hello, jane. we have some details coming out

mainly on the defense ministry website, these details. it confirms there has been casualties as a result of contact between ukrainian army soldiers and rebel forces north of kramatorsk. now it happened around 1:00 and the details are as follows. it was about 20 kilometers from kramatorsk, there was two apc's just about to cross a bridge and they were contacted or there was an attack by what the defense ministry estimates to be some 30 pro-russian forces who were hiding in bushes along a river. there was a grenade launcher used unofficially. in the first contact two soldiers were killed three were wounded. the second apc tried to push the

first apc out of the way, and that's when more casualties were caused. what the defense ministry is saying is all the dead and wound have had now been evacuated. i also have to report that on the facebook side of the donetsk people's republic, they are claiming -- we have no way of a verifying this, but they are claiming that some 30 ukrainian soldiers died as a result of this contact. but like i say there is no of a verifying that. >> it confirms that this is the biggest security threat to europe since the cold war? >> it does, yes. the ukrainian interior ministry has been leading what he calls an anti terror operation in the east of ukraine for several days now, in fact well over a week with varying degrees of success.

the tempo seems to have changed towards dialogue in recent days. four main thrusts, including disarmament, national dialogue, and placing a huge amount of importance on the national elections, the presidential elections which are going to take place on may 25th. but as you can see from today's incident and other skirmishes, and battles that have been taking place in various other towns in recent days, at the same time as the diplomats are trying to de-escalate the situation, there are military and paramilitary contacts going on. and fights and deaths occurring. >> all right. paul beban. at least 21 people are dead in western turkey following a mine collapse. an explosion caused a fire, and at least 300 minors are expected to be trapped inside.

what are you hearing about this? >> reporter: what we have heard, the latest is by the [ inaudible ] who is the top authority on the matter, who is actually at the site of the disaster, he [ inaudible ] any figure, because he said it is very contradictory. but we are hearing different figures from different sources. one person we have heard is dead and that is likely to increase. we have also heard from the ruling party in the region that 20 are dead. but we should be cautious about the numbers. >> do we know what caused this? i'm hearing about an explosion that lead to a fire is that correct? >> that is correct. there was a power transmitter that exploded, and that caused fumes and people being trapped

there. it is between 200 to 300 minors that are trapped there. one is definitely and if i recally confirmed dead. but what they have done so far, they are pumping fresh air into the mine, and that is actually helping the situation we are told. however, they haven't reached the minors that are trapped there. >> i wanted to ask you about the rescue operation, because sadly there is rather common in turkey, isn't it? >> it is really common. [ inaudible ] what a surprise, we could say, it's a coal mine town. it's not one location we had many disasters. and there has been other rescue teams headed to the area to help out. some of the authorities in the field say that they are working hard at it, and that they expect to reach them. but so far we haven't heard good news. >> let's leave it there.

she was saying we're not yet clear how many people are dead or injured. let's quickly go to the un now. we are waiting for the possible resignation of syria's envoy. as soon as that happens we will speak to james bayes about the impact of that. in iraq at least 28 people have been killed in a series of explosions in the cap of bagdad. imran khan reports from the iraqi capitol. >> reporter: after a period of relative calm, once again bagdad burns. the iraqi government had ordered a massive security operation for the april 30th election, but as that wound down, the attacks go on. in total, seven car bombs exploded within hours of each other in areas of the city that are majority shiite muslim.

the force responsible for securing the city was quick to blame the [ inaudible ]. whoever is responsible the effects are always the same. people once again angry and frustrated. >> translator: so many explosions took place in the city and elsewhere, we don't know why such bombings are taking place. >> reporter: as the cars are removed it's a reminder that these bombs are set to go off in busy marketplaces. so far no one has claimed responsibility, but the iso did issue a statement on mommed threatening to once again -- >> let's go to new york and the un. ban ki-moon is now talking. >> this is a great regret that following consultations with arab league secretary general, i have decided to accept the request of mr. brahimi to relinquish his duties as a joint special representative of the

secretary general effective 31st of may, 2014. for nearly two years, joint especial event tiff brahimi has sought an end to the brutal and still worsening civil war in syria. he has faced almost impossible odds with the syrian nation, middle eastern region, and wider international community that have been hopelessly divided in their approaches to ending the conflict. he has persevered with the great patience and skill, because he knows that without efforts toward a new syria, the syrian people will be condemned to further suffering. i greatly appreciate mr. brahimi's diplomacy in organizing the geneva conference on syria, and for facilitating

the interim talks all year and this year. i regret that the parties, especially the government, have proven to reluctant to take advantage of that opportunity to end the country's profound misery. i renew my appeal to them to show the wisdom and sense of responsibility and that could allow a way out of this nightmare. i also reiterate my strong view that there must be accountability for the terrible crimes that have been and are being committed. such crimes include the deliberate starvation of communities by preventing humanitarian access. mr. brahimi has long been recognized as one of the world's most brilliant diplomat, as well as outstanding proponent of the

principles of the charter of the united nations; that the objective to which he applied his extraordinary talents has proven [ inaudible ] is a tragedy for the syrian people. that his efforts have now received effective support from the united nations body that is charged with upholding peace and security, and from countries with influence on the syrian situation, is a failure of all of us. mr. brahimi knows i will continue to count on his wisdom, advice and ukraine experience on other issues of concern to the united nations, but that is for tomorrow. he now deserves some rest. today i urge all involved, including those estates with influence over the parties to reflect deeply on what we should do at this moment to generate

hope of a better future for the people of syria. i thank you and i ask dr dr. brahimi to say a few words if you want. >> mr. secretary general i am truly humbled by your kindness, and the extremely generous words that you have had on this occasion, which is not very pleasant for me. it's very sad that i leave this position and leave syria behind in search of a bad state. but as you said as secretary general, i have absolutely no doubt that you will continue as you have to do everything that is humanly possible to work with the security council, with the neighbors of syria, and indeed with the syrian parties themselves to end this crisis.

i'm sure that the crisis will -- will end. the question is only -- and this -- everybody who has a responsibility and an influence in the situation have to remember that the question is how many more dead? how much more destruction that is going to be before syria becomes again the syria we have known. the new syria that will be different from the syria of the past, but it will be the syria we have loved and admired for many, many years. and i'm extremely grateful to you secretary general, and especially that -- i know you are traveling in a few minutes, but you have taken time to come down for this occasion personally. thank you very much. >> thank you for your great service. >> we'll take a few questions.

>> reporter: dr. brahimi and secretary general how much is the security council to blame? and the divisions in the security council in the fact that you have been unable to bring peace? >> i'm go be at the council at 3:00, so perhaps you can ask me this question after i speak to them. not before. >> reporter: mr. brahimi are you leaving the security council with a plan -- >> i'm going to speak to them at 3:00. after that you will see -- >> reporter: are you leaving your post with a plan behind, or are you just saying that mission as you perceived it has failed? >> i'll answer questions after -- >> reporter: but i'm sorry -- >> but i think -- [overlapping speakers] >> you will have a chance afterwards. thank you. >> reporter: mr. secretary general now do you have a plan -- we always talked about a

plan b. what would be the plan b, and who do you have really in mind to pursue with the same effort of mr. brahimi on that post? >> we have been working very hard during last three, four years -- three years to bring an end to this horrible tragedy. we are still working on plan a. you know, while we are regrettably letting ambassador brahimi leave this position, i'm sure that he will stay around us, and will always be ready to provide his experiences and expertise and then we will have to think what kind of course of action we'll have to take. very earously for sometime. and we may have an opportunity of discussing with you later.

>> reporter: thank you very much. mr. secretary general when do you expect to announce mr. brahimi's successor? and what specifically do you call on the syrian government and the opposition parties to do right now? >> that's quite a natural question. of course, you know, we will have to find his successor, but since this announcement is happening today, let me take some time to think of who should be the right person. as you know, we have had former secretary general kofi annan, and after him we had dr. brahimi. one of the most brilliant and experienced person, not only the region, the whole world. so he knows all of the people involved and with this

experience, i thought, and we thought, and there was an expectation that he would be able to deliver, and we would have been able to deliver all together, but somehow because of the division, because of the divided world here and there and within the united nations, and in the region, we have not been able to make any progress in the source of this three years. and many people have been killed, and many people have been displaced internally, and so to become refugees. almost 3 million people are now refugees, 2.8 million people, and half of the population are now affected. they need humanitarian assistance. we have been addressing this in four tracks as i explained

yesterday. except there's chemical weapons and some progress in humanitarian assistance, we have not been able to make the progress, particularly in a political solution. there is no military solution. no military option. we have been stating all the times that there must be a political dialogue, and to both parties syrian government and the opposition forces, i'm very sorry to say that they have failed. this is their country, their people. we are here to help them. they have such a long and very colorful, brilliant history and civilization, why do they have to destroy, completely this way? so i'm urging them again, think about their own future. this is their country, and your

country. then we will continue to be ready to work together with them for their future. >> reporter: are you thinking of maybe not naming a successor or what kind of attributes as you said -- both annan and brahimi have high qualifications. what kind of attributes can add to that? >> i never indicated i will not appoint a successor. we'll have to have somebody who will have to work after dr. brahimi left. but at this time, i'll have to think of who should be the right person at what time. yeah. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> and with that, he's done. dr. brahimi has resigned.

he said he was very sad and he was sure that the crisis will end. the question is how will it end. and he did raise a question of how many more will need to die and how much more destruction. ban ki-moon the un secretary general confirming that no successful has been named yet. joining us live from new york is ambassador richard murphy. what do you make of his resignation? what is your response to this? >> well, mr. brahimi himself predicted that the decision to hold an election in syria for the presidency would end the hope that he had that the united nations had of trying to carry out the goals, reach the goals of the geneva conference to develop negotiation to the point that a transitional regime would

be created. so in this sense, his resignation was very much expected. >> do you think he could have done more? could he have tackled the situation differently to bring about positive change? >> that's the question of the timing. i don't believe personally that either the government or the opposition have been prepared for serious talks, and there was nothing that even a brilliant mediator could do about that. the material were not at hand to work with. >> what does this say about the future of syria now? >> well, a future -- the most hopeful development that i -- i

foresee is a series of local ceasefires worked out by local councils, local authorities with opposition groups, with elements from the government. it doesn't seem to be time yet for a general ceasefire, but perhaps the tragedy, the agony can be contained, can be diminished around the country by these local agreements on a ceasefire. beyond that, i simply don't see any major break through. >> all right. knowing the situation, knowing the country, and knowing who is out there, who could possibly step into his shoes, who would you like to see take the job. difficult one. you wonder why anyone would want it. >> yeah, i don't have any favorite enemies to nominate for the job. it's a thankless one, and two of the best in the business have

not been able to make a go of it. so maybe it's -- it's time to take a breather, step back, and the secretary general has just said he needs some time. let's see. obviously, no one wants to see the -- the death -- the starvation rates go on as they have been. but no one seems to have the magic touch. the desire for revenge is alive, out there in the country. and the -- the government apparently is still confident it will prevail. it has not made any serious reform proposals to follow the election. perhaps they have something in find that will surprise us. >> all right. mr. murphy thank you very much

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>> announcer: we rejoin our program already in progress. >> more detailed i expect though. afterwards he has promised -- his team has promised he will come speak to the press one more time. so i suspect after he has told the security council a more detailed position on why he has quit, he'll come and tell us reporters. but already here, jane, names are swirling around the corridors of possible replacements. >> and who are they? >> yeah, let me give you the names around at the moment. the most prominent is the former australian prime minister and foreign minister kevin rudd, having said that i asked one prominent diplomat whether he was really a good fit, does he

know much about the area he doesn't speak arabic. but he is apparently actively seeking the job. and we have the former foreign minister of ta -- ta knee sha. and the former secretary of nato. he is on the list. he is known to be someone that the syrian government probably wouldn't object to because he had had good relationships with the assad family in the past. and the lady who is leading the mission to try to get chemical weapons out of syria. most diplomats believe she has been doing a good job in that

position. most of the chemical weapons have now been destroyed or removed. there is still some to be removed, but there is some suggestion that as that process has gone well, maybe she could be a candidate to take over for dr. brahimi. i'm sure there are many other names floating out there. i don't think any decision is forthcoming right now. and it was clear from ban ki-moon that we wants to consider this very carefully after this job has been done which two heavyweights and really they have gotten nowhere. >> now let's go live this beirut. what sort of impact do you think this is likely to have on the situation, on the fighting, on the humanitarian effort in syria? >> well, on the fighting itself, i don't think it will have an impact. because that's partly why he had failed to bring the settlement.

they were hoping that they would change things on the ground militarily. so they can come to the negotiating table with more leverage and power, and enforce their own settlement, and this has not happened. it took three years and both sides have not given up on that goal. and that's what has made brahimi's position impossible. he was frustrated. he knew the cost on syria was high, but he always said he cannot force the parties to settle if they don't want to. >> real concern, i should imagine that this could possibly give bashar al-assad even more confidence that his future is pretty secure in the country. >> well, we spoke to one syrian official who doesn't want to be named, but he did say that they

were not surprised by this resignation. that brahimi was responsible for his own failure. the syrian government always accused him on not being neutral. and this source said he was not realistic at reading the facts on the ground. and that is the code word to say that the government was winning the battles on the ground, and his offer should have reflected that. so they feel it was a de facto resignation, he hasn't been able to do much in the past few months and they were expecting it. he also was very frustrated from any side in the past two years who took unilateral actions that would undermine his efforts for a settlement. he was against president assad rerunning, and holding these presidential elections. he always said this was a bullet

in the efforts to bring settlement to syria. and local regional countries who provided weapons. he always said he needed both sides to stop supplying to the government and the opposition, and also expressed that he cannot do his job while there are parties -- ♪ hi, i'm lisa fletcher, and you are in "stream" , we're here to talk about why the global fight for one of the most intelligent animals isn't over year. and why are the u.s. and russia the only countries in the world who's militaries use dolphins? are questions of ethics changing as public expecta