rch for flight mh370. french investigators say a break off piece of debris is very likely part of the aircraft. a major rescue mission is under way in the mediterranean. a boat carrying up to 700 migrants capsized today off the

coast of libya. the italian coast guard says dozens are dead. and with one year to go before the olympic games in rio, concerns about conditions for water sports. will pollution make the athletes sick? i'm terry martin. good to have you with us. it looks like the first i'll include into what happened to flight mh370. french authorities have said there's a very high probability that debris washed up on the island every union came from the missing plane. malaysia said it was convinced it was concrete proof of mh370's fate. it disappeared from radar screens in march last year. reporter: it was the moment the

world had been waiting for -- the malaysian prime minister announced that the wing piece found on reunion did come from the missing plane. >> today 515 days since the plane disappeared, it is with a very heavy heart that i must tell you that an international team of experts have conclusively confirmed that they have -- that the debris found on reunion island is indeed from mh370. reporter: relatives of those on board the flight added for the announcement. they say this will not bring them full closure. >> it is not the end although they found something. they still lead to find the plane. we still want them back.

reporter: now they hope for the discovery of more of the plane and more information about the fate of their loved ones. terry: our aviation expert is following the story from sydney, australia. the malaysian prime minister in his statement left no doubt that the plane fragment was from missing flight 370, but the french prosecutor has since made a statement in which he was much more cautious about the origins of that piece of plane. can you clear this up for us? reporter: i think it is just a question of time. the people of france were trying to be quick to find out where this piece of debris comes from, and what they could not do was in-depth research. they will do that within the next couple of days, and it will take a couple of days until they tell us it is really a piece of mh370.

so far, they are just cautious. terry: assuming for now the fragment is actually from the missing plane, what can we conclude from that? >> unfortunately not very much. we still know that the plane went down into the water off the coast of australia about 4000 kilometers to the east of the place where this wing flap has been found now. the search is going on. that is what australia is confirming, but the search is going on in the same area. they are afraid in australia that the search area has to be extended again because pieces of the plane can be almost everywhere between australia and the coast of africa. terry: of course, what investigators really want to get their hands on his own box, the data recorders, and it could be

in a huge area of the ocean. this is not really made that search effort any easier, has it? reporter: absolutely not, and it will be difficult to find flight data recorder because the ocean is very deep in some areas especially the area where they are searching now. maybe all these things are already buried deep. terry: thank you very much for that update. today's other big developing story, another migrant boat has gone down off the coast of libya. according to the italian coast guard, 25 people are can armed dead, and several hundred people have rescued. rescue crews are still searching for survivors along with the italian coast guard, the irish navy and aid organization doctors without borders are

helping with the rescue operation. we have pictures here of some of the survivors. there are fears more migrants could have gone down with the ship but no one knows just how many are missing. these survivors are on board a doctors without orders ship. they provided the few images we have of this disaster. will turner is an emergency coordinator with msf. he described what his colleagues saw when they arrived on the scene. will: what they found when they got there was unfortunately, they had arrived too late. many people were in the water so they immediately deployed rescue boats to go around collect people out of the water put them into rafts and start triaging people who needed the most urgent and most necessary medical assistance, and then in

coordination with the overall rescue effort the very sad and tragic process of starting to collect bodies from the scene. terry: our correspondent is following the story for us from rome. philip, what is the latest? philip: i see the irish navy says their ship has picked up 367 people, and they confirm 29 bodies have been recovered. they say 13 of the people rescued our children, and i also understand that a number of people who were in serious condition were taken to the hospital by helicopter. the search effort is continuing and will apparently continue through the night to see if there are any other people who survived, but the most likely

thing is that a large number were in the hall of the fishing boat, and they had their chance to escape. terry: thank you very much for that. i just want to remind our viewers that you will find plenty of coverage on europe's migrant crisis on our website at dw.com. days of heavy monsoon rains have caused every station elsewhere in southern asia. myanmar has been especially hard-hit. around 70 people have died in flooding there, and around 250,000 have been affected. monsoons are also wreaking havoc in parts of india. more than 20 people died when flash flooding caused two express trains to derail on the bridge. reporter: the aftermath of the accident becomes clear in the full light of day. during the night, two express

trains came off the tracks and crashed into a river. the twin accidents on the same stretch of train tracks were in central india. the outdated rail line was no match for flash floods that all of heavy monsoon rains. indian officials say water had weakened the tracks. >> the track it caved in because of the heavy rains and because of the wet soft soil it became because of the rains. reporter: india's railway minister says the families of the victims will receive compensation. families of those who died will receive 2900 euro. those whose loved ones were injured will also receive compensation. last year, train accidents

killed over 25,000 people across india. critics say this tragedy could have been prevented if the tracks were better maintained. india has the fourth largest railway system in the world carrying some 23 million passengers a day. terry: there has been a new development and long-running dispute in that south china sea. beijing says it has halted its controversial land reclamation project in the area. china claims sovereignty over most of the sea, but it's claim is disputed right other countries, including the philippines and malaysia. critics say the construction and the sea was designed to tighten beijing's grip on the disputed waters. the issue has overshadowed a meeting of the association of southeast asian nations. reporter: in a surprise

announcement china's foreign minister says china has stopped the reclamation of land in the out china sea. china has been reinfocing its disputed claims in the area by building artificial islands and with military maneuvers. this has created widespread uneasiness around smaller nations in the region. meanwhile, talks with u.s. secretary of state john kerry on the sidelines of the gathering ended on a surprisingly positive note. the foreign minister said that they had a great talk and had enhanced mutual understanding and that the u.s. welcomes china pass a reaffirmation of solving the current south china sea issue through peaceful negotiations. china and the association of southeast asian nations have also agreed to speed up the negotiations on a code of conduct for the area. in the meeting with asian

foreign ministers, john kerry said washington shared the desire to preserve peace and stability in the south china sea. terry: let's look at some of the other stories making news around the world this evening. civilian casualties have had a record highest conflict grinds on afghanistan. united nations figures from the first half of the year show that women and children are most likely to be victims of violence. this comes as afghan forces face their first number combating taliban militants without full nato support. france and russia have resolved a dispute over the sale of two helicopter carriers. rance had declined to deliver the warships because of moscow's role in the ukraine crisis. under the settlement, france will reimburse russia and keep the undelivered ships. and one of the world's top free divers is feared dead when she failed to return from a dive off the spanish island on sunday.

the search for the diver has now been called off. here in germany, a new crisis is brewing for chancellor angela merkel's government. it involves accusations of treason, the leaking of statepegrets and claims of government overreach. the opposition have piled into the conflict after the justice minister on tuesday fired the country's chief prosecutor. he wanted to bring charges against two political journalists, leading to an outcry over press freedom. reporter: germany's justice minister only needed a few minutes to end the career of the chief federal prosecutor on tuesday. another turning point in the power play between the judiciary and the government. >> i've informed the federal prosecutor that my trust in the way he conducts his office has been permanently damaged and

that i'm requesting his retirement by the federal president. reporter: he had opened an investigation into two journalists. the political bloggers published documents from the german secret service online. the agency filed the complaint accusing the journalists of sharing state secrets. news caused a public outcry. in an interview, a former interior minister said this opened more questions. >> why have both ministers distanced themselves only now and not earlier? why did they even let the investigation begin? reporter: the domestic security agency is also being criticized. the opposition wants the chief to explain why the journalists were being investigated at all. >> we demand an end to the

investigation. all related documents must be made available to parliament. meanwhile, support from the very top, a spokeswoman for chancellor angela merkel said the justice minister has merkel's full consent. terry: still to come, the rubbish in rio. the international olympic committee says it is confident the city can tackle its pollution problem before water sport competitions next year, but others are not so sure. more news in just a minute. they with us. -- stay with us.

terry: welcome back. our top stories -- malaysia says it believes airplane wreckage found a week ago on reunion is from missing malaysia airlines flight mh370. french authorities urge caution but said there was a very high probability that the debris came from the vanished boeing 777. a massive operation is under way

in the mediterranean after a boat carrying up to 700 migrants capsized off the coast of libya. the italian coast guard says 25 bodies have been recovered so far. business news now and then is going to tell us that the darling of the dow has disappointed traders. ben: it's a set story isn't it? shares in walt disney slumped. the entertainment giant's stock held by 9%. the story starts off bright and cheery for mickey mouse and company. record profits announced overnight, but read on the little, and you will discover revenue, which has come in lower than expected. also pointed out a decrease in cable subscribers, which could hamper future profits. reporter: the reaction on wall

street definitely was sharp. disney lost more than 9% in value, and it was said it has been the worst day on record for the media company. what investors are talking about is the traditional tv business walt disney is running on the sports network espn, and there is evidence more and more people are using the internet and not necessarily the classical form of cable television, so this is some concern and also the stronger dollar or we go to -- weaker euro on the other side's impact and the business, but it was an extremely sharp reaction here on wall street. reporter: a very different story over at time warner, another big layer in the media sector, but it seems to be making a gain of it. >> pretty strong quarter for time warner, but basically, same

story here. the stock dropped a good eight percent. that is massive for companies like walt disney. there is also the fear that the internet is stealing business from the cable companies, so definitely not a good day for the media industry. terry: one of the globe's largest entertainment events open in the german city of cologne, the games con convention attacks about -- attracts about 800 exhibitors from around the globe. i have to admit i occasionally play a game or two on my smartphone just to get me away from this place but that's exactly what it is about -- escapism. >> plunging for a few moments into a different world with new technology that is not even for

sale yet. that's what people can experience in cologne right now. >> a very important trend is virtual reality. players can delve much further into the gaming world than they used to in the past now with the virtual reality glasses. reporter: the border between computer gaming and reality is gradually dissolving. computers keep getting more and more powerful and images on the screen more and more lifelike. >> you are inside the game with these glasses, and when you turn your head, you remain in the game world. i also have these things happening behind me and beside me. if i play a car racing game, i can look around, in the side mirror. you are in marston the game.

reporter: games for smartphones and tablets are also in demand. last year, over 300,000 people flocked to the trade fair. this year, regular day tickets sold out long ago. terry: a big win for environmentalists today. the project was set to become one of the world's largest coal mines. it had been given the go-ahead until this little guy got in the way. >> this rare native creature that stopped the 11 billion euro coal mine from opening in australia. the decision came after environmentalists warned of the mine's impact on the great barrier reef. the world heritage list waters known as one of the world's most diverse areas. endless numbers of species live along the reef.

environmentalists say the region is already under threat. australia is the world's biggest coal exporter, and the industry is still growing. ports like this, built only a few kilometers away from the reef, already pollute the local environment. that is why conservationists are campaigning against coal extraction and its deadly consequences. many species here would suffer from the proposed indian mine project, which would include an almost 200 kilometer rail link as well as massive coal ships moving through the barrier reef. despite the court decision to block the project, the indian coal company says it will pursue plans to build the mine. terry: the international monetary fund has told china to

hold its horses after trying to get its benchmark yuan added to the benchmark currency basket. a reporter recommends delaying any move until after september next year. it says although the you want is increasingly used internationally and heavily traded in asia it rarely trades in north america. that to terry and the count on to the next olympics. terry: that's right. it's just a year from now when it is supposed to happen, the opening ceremony of the games in rio de janeiro. most of the venues are due to be completed this year, but there are still concerned about the cleanliness of the water where water sports will take leis. the ioc says it is confident the water will be clean enough, but others are not so sure. reporter: the stench of the sludge is overpowering. where surrounded by trash. a biologist has brought us here

to show us the state of the bay in the north of rio. four kinds of waste in debt. . >> you can find anything here. look -- a toy. some styrofoam. reporter: officials promised to reduce waste of a book mario says barely anything has been done. he has been demanding action for 25 years. mario: the authorities are investing a lot of energy in keeping up the appearance that everything is going smoothly and that there are no problems. they are concealing the reality the extent of the pollution is well known. but there was never a real interest in honoring the olympics' environmental commitments. >> an estimated 9 million people live near the bay. more than have to not have access to modern sewage systems

which means the waste of more than a million people is flowing unfiltered into the day. reporter: conditions are squalid here, but what about elsewhere in rio? the nature reserve boasts countless species of birds as well as crocodiles, but locals fear it, too, could be on the path to destruction. they say building work is destroying this environmental haven. this nature reserve has incredible potential, and it was simply destroyed. i'm really sad and i'm calling for an investigation. this is a case for the police. this site will become real's third olympic golf course. there are also plans to build large-scale luxury properties. the main investor happens to be a major supporter of the city's mayor. many people believe that's no coincidence. and are campaigning for an official investigation to take place.

construction permits were awarded on the basis of forged documents. that is also how the golf course got built. the legacy of the olympic games belongs to these companies. but as well as a financial cost, there is an environmental toll as well, and that will be felt most acutely by ordinary people. authorities have responded to mounting pressure and announced a cleanup for the bay but it's not due to be completed until 2030, a full 14 years after the games have finished. terry: moving on to some cleaner waters, it's halftime at the swimming championships in russia, and so far, it has been teen of young guns making waves. the 18 you will american sees a dramatic victory in the women's 200 meter freestyle wednesday to claim her third gold of the competition. in the men's, it was another 18-year-old making headlines.

britain's adam pt one the 15 meter breaststroke to claim his second gold. an hour later, he claimed his third after helping great britain to gold in the relay and that in world record time. just a reminder of our top stories we are following for you this hour -- a team of experts in france say the airport -- airplane part found on the island of reunion is highly likely part of missing malaysian airlines light -- flight mh370 which disappeared more than a year ago with nearly 300 people on board. a massive rescue operation is under way in the mediterranean after a boat carrying 700 migrants capsized off the coast of libya. 25 hotties have recovered so far according to the italian coast guard. you are watching dw news from berlin. you will find more on our website, dw.com.

thanks for watching. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

le 15 columbus off the coast of libya. the count down to rio 2016 begins. olympic officials say everything is on track ahead of the world greatest sporting event, but major concerns persist about dirty water and rampant crime.