. on al jazeera america . >> welcome to al jazeera. an explosion in an ukrainian mine. 16 are missing. smart watches hope to go overtake fitness bands as people take to wearable text to get them in shape.

>> the situation on the grouped in libya is deteriorating rapidly. the words of u.n.'s special envoy as he reports to the u.n. security council. the u.n. calling for an immediate cease-fire. they've called for the arms embargo to be lifted, and they say they were tarted by airstrikes by forces holy to their rival in tibruk. >> right now we're in the airport. as we head to the international meetings we were attacked, and these are plumes of smoke from the airstrikes.

this is an effort to sabotage the libyan government. i stress we're still going and we'll represent the government that will unite libya. >> meanwhile fighters affiliated with isil have attacked an oil field destroying all equipment at the site located in sirte. they launched a counterattack. there were no casualties as the oil field was set alight. we go to james bays from u.n. heat quarters in new york. it seems to be unraveling rather fast. >> if does. and i think they saw how difficult it's going to be to bring peace to libya after four years of turmoil. you have heard about the recent airstrikes. that was condemned by the u.n. as sun as unacceptable, reckless and uncalled for. the man who has to get both

sides together in a matter of hours the special representative for the united nations. he told the security tom the stakes were extremely high. >> the overall situation on the ground is deteriorating rapidly. libya can no longer afford to allow the political crisis and armed conflict that has gripped the country for much of the past year not to fester longer. >> moments later there was an explosive speech from the man who sits in libya's chair at the united nations. the ambassador now he's ally to the tibruk government, one of the two rival governments that are in libya and he was very critical of the other side that his team is supposed to be negotiating with in a matter of hours. this is what he had to say. >> i see very clearly that the

silence of the international community in the face of the terrorist organizations over taking the city of bengahzi has encouraged those organizations and their allies to take over the capitol. >> james, given all this what chances are there of any success from these talks then? >> well, the u.n. and the u.n. security council are putting all their faith in these talks. there includes some, the ambassador, the egyptians and some other arab countries who believe the best way forward is to give arms to the tibruk government, and end this in a military matter. for now the security council say no we need to get these two governments together, create a government of he also notes the

isil presence on the ground in libya. that's the way forward for now. but they're keeping all their options open. mr. lyon special representative with the u.n. mission in libya. in fact, the u.n. mission outside of lib y they're operating outside of the country because it's too dangerous. for thou they'll extend the mission for until the end of the month because things are is to fluid right now. >> james bays, thank you very much indeed. >> rescuers in ukraine are racing to save the lives of 32 miners trapped in a coal mine in donetsk. the gas explosion has left one dead and 14 injured. the conflict has seen production

fall by more than a fifth but they continue to supply coal to factories owned by ukraine's richest man. but naturally high levels are saying it's one of the world's most dangerous mines. in november 2007, 101 people were killed there. and 57 were killed in another incident a month later. do we have any more updates of the progress of the rescue mission? >> the mine here in donetsk is one of the largest in the country. that's why the casual rates can be quite high. this has been a very stressful date for families. first families were told that 30 people were killed. 70 interest trapped in the mine. and then they were told by the local separatist government that they could only verify that one person has been killed.

that death toll has toned to rise as the rescue effort has gone on. we spent a day outside that have mine with the mourners and the miners who are waiting there and this is what we found. after the blast came the confusion. >> suddenly there was dust everywhere. and people were groaning. >> outside of the mine things were difficult. >> there was an explosion. it's unknown where the people are, what condition they're in. no one knows so far. >> most of the 230 men who entered the mine were evacuated. some with horrific wounds. >> there was a bang, and it threw me so far. i threw three or four meters. the heat, the temperature rose, and here are the consequences, and then the temperatures became a little lower and we slowly started crawling out. >> for the families of those who didn't make it out, there was

wait and worry. >> he was supposed to retire next year. everyone is angry that they say on tv that 32 people died, but nobody tells us anything. >> the deadly blast left ukrainians call for help for the men left underground. they said that the mine denied entry to mine rescuers. >> i gave instructions to send six brigades, each composed of ten people. but the russian terrorists did not give the opportunity for the ukrainian mine rescue brigades to pull out people and to save lives. >> the separatist government said that those rescuers were not needed. >> there are military mountain

rescue. in the ukrainian territory there are only two complete ones. so we have more than enough people and equipment for saving people. we don't need any help for the moment. >> then there is the question what have caused the blast. the operatest government, the donetsk people's republic said that built up methane gas is to blame. >> it has happened often enough that they've created a tradition of burying the miners here. >> a gas explosion killed more than 100 people. it was the deadliest mine accident in ukrainian history. >> what is going on there? >> well, they have not been trading charges. they've been trading numbers. it was first the kiev government that said rather definitively early in the day that 32 people

had been killed in this explosion shortly after that the separatist government said, in fact, only one person could be confirmed killed, and then over the course of the day each government gave difficult numbers of who had been found dead up to that point in the day what has not changed several hours ago 198 people have been recovered alive. that number of those found alive has not changed. what has changed is the death toll which has risen steadily. that does not body well well for the now 16 people believed to be trapped underground there. whatever the case, this adds to a rather grim statistics. 6,000 people have been killed since the conflict began. >> thank you very much. mexican police are claiming another victory on the war on drugs after arresting the leader of one of the most dangerous

drug cartels. his detention comes less than a week after the arrest of the leader of the knights templar cartel. it goes back to the 1990s when they broke off to create their own criminal gang in 2012 it was weakened by the killer of its leader, and in 2013 when his successor was captured. let's get more from mexico city. it seems that they're dropping like nine pins, these drug lords. >> for sure, and the government would have us believe that that means that the territory that these people rule with, death and destruction is much safer. but what we have to take into account is the fact that this is not like any other criminal

organization in the world. it's what they call a franchise organization. this man who they arrested earlier on wednesday was the brother of the former leader who took over from someone who was killed just months before that in 2013 but they work through operations of cells. these cells have quite a lot of freedom in the territory that they operate. one thing that is consistent is the brutality with which they operate. so although this hierarchy has been taken out on some level it's yet to be seen what that means on the ground in areas where there is a raging turf battle so much that there have been dozens of people killed near the u.s. border. so we'll be seeing in coming days what else the government says about the impact of this arrest. but it's not so temple that you arrest these leaders and that means piece and tranquility arrives to these violent parts of the country. >> now waiting in the wings are other leaders who will pop in to

their places, is that what you're suggesting? >> well, yes this man was the brother of a former leader. there are also all these people who run in mexico what they call plaza. the area or the jurisdiction where different cells or different groups of criminal organizations operate. so clearly if you are a pretty ambitious, maybe low- or mid-level leader in one of their franchise operations, you want to move up, and something like this happening here in mexico allows for movement in the cartel we've been speaking to the drug enforcement administration this week on several issues, and one they like to point to is that the take down of these leaders means those who replace them aren't as experience. they don't have the contacts. but just like any corporation in the world whether legal or illegal, you can't stop a corporation because of a new boss. the new boss may be more or less talented than the one they took down, but they're not going to

stop today. >> thank you for that story thank you very much indeed. still to come in this half hour italy's coast guard and three cargo ships rescue migrants and refugees off the coast of libya. and as tsarnaev's trial gets under way he did tell the court he took part in the bombing. so what is the defense? dollars worth of drugs every day. i liked it. it's hard to believe that a friend would set you up. people don't get federal life sentences and beat them. >> they had been trafficking on behalf of the united states government. >> the cia admitted it. >> "freeway - crack in the system". only on al jazeera

>> the new al jazeera america primetime. get the real news you've been looking for. at 7:00, a thorough wrapup of the day's events. then at 8:00, john seigenthaler digs deeper into the stories of the day. and at 9:00, get a global perspective on the news. weeknights, on al jazeera america . >> we go to the top stories on al jazeera. 17 miners are confirmed dead

after a suspected gas explosion at one of ukraine's most dangerous mines. 16 others are still trapped. a leader of one of mexico's most dangerous drug cartel has been arrested. he is the second drug lord who has been arrested in a week. there are libya talks going on in morocco. it's success looks questionable after fighting continues on the ground. >> a rescue in the mediterranean mediterranean, just 24 hours italy's coast guard picked up

almost a thousand people but ten migrants died after their dinghy capsized about last year 3.5 million died but the flow of refugees is actually speeding up. >> the first two months of this year we have over 7,000 crossing the sea despite wintery conditions despite very rough sea, despite the fact that the waves can reach five meters high. you can imagine the desperation that takes people to these boats to find safety. >> they've heard pleaing for far more search and rescue operations. but leaders in brussels denies that italy is left to deal with the crisis on its own. >> we have put half million euro

euros in for management of italy, and we've come up with this operation. >> between october 2013 and october 2014, italy's search and rescue program saved an estimated 100,000 lives. the budget was around $10 million a month. but when italy said it couldn't cope the e.u. took over with its own operation triton, but it has been receiving a much maller budget of $3.2 million a month. >> they say cutting rescue might dissuade migrants coming to europe, others say that is not true. >> if we have in receiving countries humane policies and good rescue operations and so on that we're pulling irregular migrants in these societies when in fact, we know the principle issue here is one of push

factors. it is those issues of war and violence and abuse. >> in january and february of this year' loin, 370 people died trying to cross the mediterranean. italy has just resumeed it's naval exercises along the coast but it will take more than that to stop the deaths that occur every year. >> it's the third day of an iraqi offensive against the islamic state in iraq and the levant. thousands of shia military and tribal fighters are taking part in the campaign against the armed group. the iraqi military said that it's forces advancing on four fronts in the city of tikrit. they've retaken the oil field jane arraf has more. >> iraqi troops are moving slowly towards tikrit. slowly because they're facing isil suicide-bombers snipers and buildings rigged with explosive.

this iraqi defense video shows the biggest combat operation. it does not show the militia component to this fight. shia volunteers and militias, the most powerful link to iran, make up 20,000 of the 30,000 troops involved here. the government said that i was fighter are leaving and running for the mountains. they acknowledge that it will be a tough road ahead. >> we're in multiple faces of war. we're in the preparation phase for the real battle. the obstacles are expected, and in fact, we've taken much measures to avoid such difficulties. >> around mosul the united states continues it's attract. but it's on the side line of this militia-led battle of tikrit. >> in this case they did not ask

for our support in this particular operation, and i think that we need to be watchful. >> there are others, though, who are eager to join them. turkey's defense minister said that his country was ready to provide military help. this is a difficult battle with huge stakes. iraq needs to take back tikrit to push on to mosul. the militias need to show that they can operate in sunni territory. but it doesn't end there. they need to make sure that the city resident feel safe enough to come back. >> the u.n.'s envoy to yemen said that he's disappointed that houthi shia rebels have ignored demands. the security double had called on the houthi toss withdraw from government institutions.

speaking out in talks with president hadi in aden, they worn that no single group could impose control over the whole country. >> i want a security council that radical operatives are working towards undermining the ongoing negotiations. i informed the skirt council that no one side would be able to dominate by use of force. any party believing in military might is deluded and is turning for a conflict like that in u.s. and syria. >> there is still no debt on tehran's nuclear program. secretary of state john kerry said that some talks brought some agreement.

michael brown was shot by officer darren wilson in ferguson month m last year. it triggered months of violent protest. wilson was cleared of civil rights violations. michael brown's parents were saddened by the decision, but they would hold the police department for racial bias. the trial much of tsarnaev has begun. the attack killed three people and wounded hundreds of others. >> tsarnaev looks different now than the picture printed around the world. highways been sitting in court. it was expected to take three weeks. it's taken twice as long. it's weather has been answer issue.

finding fair jurors another. now he'll go on trial pling not guilty to 20 charge including the use of a weapon of mass destruction. >> it looked like an ied from afghanistan. there is one guy here with his leg blown off. another with his foot blown off. >> three days after the explosions the brothers from spotted. what happened was a gun battle. tamerlan died in that shoot out. search and rescue navy was eventually captured in a boat sitting in someone's backyard. >> there are still so many unanswered questions. among them, why did a young man who grew up and studied here as part of our community and our

country, resort to such violence. >> prosecutors say that ethnic chechen explains his reasons for the bombing. he said the act was retribution for action of u.s. soldiers against muslims. eric holder suggested death penalty. even if the jury found him guilty and supports the death penalty, it could be many years and many appeals before it's carried out. alan fisher, al jazeera. >> south sudan's leader said that u.s.-backed sanctions against his country would be

counter counterproductive. theytalks between the government and opposition fighters are under way in ethiopia with a thursday deadline for an agreement to be reached. russia's president has called for an end to what he calls shameful political killings after the killing of boris nemtsov on friday. vermont vladimirpresident vladimir putin rejects suggestions that he's involved. >> russia should be devoid of the kind of shame and tragedies like the one we have recently endured and seen. the murder, the audacious murder of boris nemtsov right in the center of the capitol. >> a double in europe said that laws in the country are unclear. french law forebids violence.

>> we take a look at how smart watching can help keep you healthy. >> where trackers have been immensely popular. 70million of these types of bands have been sold in the last year. they seem to appeal to people's desire to get healthier and fitter and use technology to do so. but we're seeing a number of smart phones hit the market that have sensors and trackers like the models. but competition with the smart watch sector will be fierce. analysts are saying 20 million smart watches will be sold in the next year. but for many people such a high

tech and expensive watch will remain a luxury item. it wasn't a smart watch or an activity tracking band that won this year's prize for innovation and health. instead, it was a project dealing with maternal health in morocco. the mobile ultrasound patrol took a low cost ultrasound machine. the pregnant woman in the village was scanned and the image was sent to dollars in the city for analysis. they were able to respond within hours with necessary treatment and follow up. the cost of these scans dropped from $80 to $2. meaning that these women for the first time could access life-changing technology that many in the world take for granted. >> people who live around the volcano in chile are returning home. it erupted earlier on thursday, forcing thousands into nearby

shelters. the volcano.ic activity calmed within several hours. perithey are now monitoring several communities. in this this this. >> it themselves equip and train people to document abuses. the renowned musician reflects on a life event that infliences his work now. >> i was bullied by a group of kids. they took my clothes out and