♪ >> this is dw news live from berlin, sri lanka's worst marine environmental disaster gets worse. a container ship carrying chemicals and plastics that burned for days and spilled its cargo is now sinking. tugboats have tried to tug it further out to sea but the oil spill is now a possibility. also on the program, russian opposition figure jailed and investigated after being taken off a plane in st. petersburg on monday and why it was still on

the runway. we hear from a supporter. the world's biggest meat packer gets back to business after a cyberattack disrupted production in australia and north america. the white house says the company received a ransom demand from a crime group based in russia. and oonents of the israeli prime minister raised a formal coalition to end regimen netanyahu's 12-year-old before tonight night -- regimen netanyahu's 12 year rule before tonight's midnight deadline. i am phil gayle. welcome to the program. authorities in sri lanka say a burned-out cargo ship carrying tons of chemicals off the port of colombo has partly sunk. they expressed -- it had been on fire for nearly two weeks with much of the dangerous cargo falling overboard.

flames were extinguished monday but as the ship was towed out to sea, things got worse. it is being called sri lanka's worst marine disaster. >> carrying tons of chemicals and plastics, the mv express pilot sinking into the sea. the singapore registered cargo ship was anchored up sri lanka's west coast when it caught fire on may 20. now, with the blaze finally under control, salvage crews try to tow the ship into deeper water, away from precious issue grounds, but the burned-out vessel is already sinking. >> this is a big problem for the oil shipments. of course, they can go to the sea and do their work because of the situation. >> the government has banned fishing along and 80 kilometers stretch of coast. over 5000 fishing boats have been affect did -- affected.

the ship has dealt the death blow to our lives. we cannot go to sea which means we cannot make a living. tons of plastic pallets have coated nearby beaches and the navy is preparing for an oil spill. with toxic cargo still on board, the sinking ship has caused one of the country's worst environmental disasters. phil: we have an update on the situation from the deputy editor of "the daily mirror"n the sr lanka capital. >> what we have from colombo is that the towing operations have come to a standstill because the rear end of the vessel has hit the seabed, and while the ship is now half sunk, the salvage

company is trying its best to prevent it from sinking any further. operations, which started in the morning, to tour the best -- to tow the vessel into the deep sea has come to a complete standstill, raising fears that the ship can sink even overnight. right now, discussions are going on between the government authorities and the salvage company to see how they can prevent a major catastrophe from happening because there are fears that if sink ships -- ship sinks, it will be a mess. the navy said a little while ago that they are prepared for a possible oil leak, and if it happens, they will try to contain it within limited space because they don't have the facilities. where towing is concerned, that is where we have the latest that it half sunk and operations have come to a standstill. we have not seen any oil spills

as of yet, but there is the threat that it might happen within minutes or hours, so that is being closelyonitored by the auorities. hopefullthat should be contained within a limited area, a little bit closer to the ship. and where the marine environment is concerned, that disaster has already happened because as often now, as i speak to you now, there is a fishing ban in place from the southern coast, all the way up to the western coast. and, you know, sri lanka being an island country, the fishery sector brings in a lot of fine exchange and cash. now this has come to a standstill. also, beaches along the southern and western coast have been completely damaged and destroyed. as you know, this was carrying chemicals and plastics that has washed ashore. what authorities now fear is that these plastic pebbles might

break into smaller pebbles in the coming days. this is going to be a huge disaster on the marine life. already we have seen the disaster happening because a lot of marine life has died and is being washed ashore. phil: we will take a look at more of the stories making the news around the world. massive fires have broken out at an oil refinery in tehran. a leak in the liquefied gas line triggered an explosion. there are no reports of casualties. columbia has started -- colombia has gradually started reopening its border with venezuela after a 14 month closure to stop the spread of coronavirus. colombia has been the country were venezuelans have been fleeing and the countries do not have economic and diplomatic ties -- have diplomatic ties. dozens of children kidnapped by gunmen over the weekend.

more than 100 two were taken from an islamic school. authorities say they are negotiating to bring the children back. and to russia, where concern is mounting over authorities widening crackdowns against dissenting voices ahead of parliamentary elecons in seember. a top activist appeared in court in a southern city, where a judge ruled he will face upo two months in jail pending an investigation. he is a former director of the disbanded pro-democracy group open russia. he was pulled from a plane just before it took off from poland on monday. we are joined by someone who witnessed him being pulled from the plane. what was it like to be in court

and hear that decision? >> you know, it really was very emotional, and emotional day. i can say that he is doing great. he is smiling, so he is absolutely fine, but the first time i am feeling worried about him and during the next months that he will spend in jail. but i think everything will be fine, and he will be fre soon. phil: why do you think he was targeted for arrest? >> because thereas the election in september and our kremlin does not wt anybody, any opposition candidates to be the selections, so that is why they decided to aest, and that is why theyecided to arrest

him and other oppositio leaders. almost all of them, some are arrested, but nobody was home. phil: no doubt in your mind the arrest was entirely political? >> for sure. phil: because the open russia group, which was dissolved a day earlier, had been designated and an undesirable innovation. -- undesirable organization. >> yeah, the kremlin once to close all structures, so it is easier for them tolose all dependent parties, all people who work together, so that is why it is easier for them to close russia or some other groups of people. phil: what is andre pivovarov's

next step, if there is one? >> we will have court in the next few weeks. maybe somethi will change. hope so. maybe he will not be in jail and at home arrest. i hope so. phil: he is in jail at the moment. you must be concerned about your own position. >> no, i am trying not to think about it. of course i would like to support are, and do not want to leave the country, and one to help him -- and i want to help him to have this time as a more easier and comfortable way, so i am here to help him. phil: right, and i do not know if you have been watching what is going on in belarus, but the parallels are uncanny with the way the opposition is being dealt with there what is happening in russia. >> you are right. i do not like it at all.

of course, when we were wating last summer, it was really frightening, and it was extraordinary. now i am pretty sure something like this could be in moscow before the summer for the election for the parliament. phil: we wish you well, thank you for joining us, tatyana usmanov. >> thank you. phil: the world's biggest meat processing company jbs is getting back online after ransomware attack's. u.s. president joe biden signal today that he is considering retaliating against russia. the attack on jbs came weeks after a similar incident shut down the colonial oil pipeline. the white house said earlier that the jbs attack originated from a criminal organization likely based in russi >> production is on hold at this

factory in nebraska. the employee parking lot empty. the meat processing plant is highly automated. animal slaughter, invoicing, everything relies on a centralized computer system. without that system, production is tapped to shut down at one of the biggest meat production companies in the world. jbs accounts for one quarter of all beef and 1/5 of all work produced mystically in the uned states. >> in grand island alone, that is 5000 head each day. the stores, the restaurants that they supply, that is their supplier. >> the biden administration says jbs believes the ransomware attack originated from a criminal organization most likely based in russia. many gangs develop and use software to encrypt victim's files on demand payment for the cryption. >> we are not taking any options off the table in terms of how we may respond, but, of course,

there is an internal policy review process to consider. we are also in touch with the russians, as well, to convey our concerns about these reports. >> the fbi says it is now investigating. in the usa, companies and federal agencies are fighting a waiver of ransomware attack's. a few weeks ago, cyber criminals crippled the largest fuel pipeline in the united states. its operator, colonial, is said to have paid a million euros in ransom to the attackers -- paid 3 million euros in ransom to the attackers. many cyber experts believe it is just the beginning. >> a big part of this is you have to make sure you have visibility into the threat. a lot of organizations are not able to find and fix different vulnerabilities faster than the adversaries they are fighting. phil: meanwhile -- >> meanwhile, jbs has restored parts of its computer system. nevertheless, experts believe the closure of the plants will most likely lead to higher meat prices. phil: let's get more from dw

correspondence in washington. welcome. we heard that this looks like it was carried out by a criminal gang in russia, so what role does president biden think that russia has played in this, and what is his evidence? >> loaded question. well, the biden administration indicates that there are indications that this comes from russia, and when they say this comes from russia, that means what you said, that the biden administration believes they have a role to play and what role do they play? they are harboring those criminal gangs, says the u.s., or a conglomerate of freelance hackers protected by russian intelligence and security agencies, says the americans. the biden administration thinks it is the responsibility of mr. putin and the russian administration terrain in those

activities -- to reign in those activities. you bet this will be a topic when president biden and mr. putin, president putin meet in a weeks time. phil: jbs is resuming its operations. do we presume from that that ransom was paid? well, >> -- stefan: well, i would love to give you a hard answer but the white house cannot confirm, and i cannot either. there are no reports indicating they paid, but the truth is most companies, which we do not even hear about, can get attacked and pay ransom money to those hackers because they do not want the pr, they do not want to appear weak, and they also basically do not want to say, yes, we are vulnerable, who wants to give it a shot next time and try to attack us? this goes under the table, so to

speak. they are quiet about it. and if, and hefully seek the assistance of professional cybersecurity companies and the u.s. government, who was willing to help those companies in securing their cyber essence -- cyber assets. phil: how big a problem is this in the u.s.? stefan: it is huge. again, we just hear now jbs or a few weeks back with the colonial hack, this pipeline and gas this tribute or, this is the tip of the iceberg. -- -- distributor, this is the tip of the iceberg. there are attacks all over the world every day, big, small companies@@ and cities and municipalities, hospitals, and all kinds of institutions who have to face it and prepare for this. the u.s. cyber security

infrastructure is pleading with companies and institutions, public or private, to really put their money where their mouth is and up their game in terms of cybersecurity. phil: thank you, stefan simons in washington. now to afghanistan, where the government is most often seem to be in conflict with the taliban. there are times when kabul needs to cooperate with the militants. one example of the complicated relationship is one of the country's most important hydroelectric dams. the dam provides power to more than 3 million people in the country's south, and is run by government forces, even though it is in taliban territory. it is an example of how the decades long conflict plays out in extraordinary ways. >> flying in to a vital source of energy and iome. the dam on the hellman river is under sees, controlled by the afghan government but surrounded

by rebels. forces can get here is by air, a perilous journey. the taliban has attacked this area with heavy weapons metimes. they have shut down two military helicopters close to the dam. the hydroelectric plant provides energy to millions, many beyond the government's controlled areas. the electricity of this power project is distributed to all of the district. it is clear there is a threat from the taliban and other charges, so the government cannot collect electricity fee there. it is the taliban that taxes electricity in areas it controls, using about 1/5 of t plant capacity. the blurred boundary between

co-op and cooperation is something workers experience every day to reach the facility. they need two permits, a government id and papers issued by the rebels. we face dangers othe way home and back to the dam. we are crossing the line between government and taliban. several times when we were crossing, the fighting started and we were caught inhe conflict in the area. the taliban may tolerate the hydroelectric plant staff -- plant staffers but give no respite to the government forces logging it from there often lonely and exposed outposts. we are surrounded. we do not have a way out by land. we have to fly first to kinda hard and then some soldiers go to kabul, and other areas.

a conflict with compromises, as foreign troops prepared to leave afghanistan, perhaps the country will see more sharing of not just electrical power. phil: opposition parties in israel appear to be closing in on a last-minute deal to form a government to oust benjamin netanyahu, now that arab-israeli politicians have given their support. a centrist is trying to assemble a coalition of seven parties across the political spectrum, including pro-settler nationalists and arab israelis. he has until midnight local time, just under one hour. let's go to dw's middle east correspondent tania kramer. welcome. the deadline iapproaching. what are you hearing? tania: well, it is interesting.

there have been major developments in the pa hour or so the arab partyas signed on in a first for suc party onto the coalition deal and onto the erging government and also new hope by former netanyahu allies who have also signed on. most of the parties are now with this new coalition government, there is confusion about the next prime minister, according to the deals, so there is confusion on if they have signed on or not. we have to wait for the official confirmation. it would mean all the parties would support him. he has the mandate, and he has less than 40 minutes to present the israeli president and show him he has the support of all

the parties who want to go into a coalition together. phil: this is all about displacing israel's longest-serving prime minister. will benjamin netanyahu be missed if he is replaced? tania: well, that is certainly on the minds of people here, as well, but at the moment, i think everybody is focusing on whether this unity government o change coalition, as it is also sometimes called, will be formed and whether there will be an alternative and looking ahead to whether this coalition, a broad spectrum of parties from across the political spectrum, will actually last and and this long cycle of election campaigns in the past two years, but there are some young israelis and i asked them about what they think about the potential end of the era of benjamin netanyahu. >> change is good. he was in the job for many years.

we want something new. we rlly needt, as well. >> i do not want him to stay foreve i think you needed to be replaced, but not right now in the current situation. a lot of israelis voted for him. i wanted him to stay. i think he is good for the state. i think he was the best prime minister there has ever been and will be. >> finally, will go. it does not matter whether he was a good or bad prime minister. it was not healthy for somebody to hold power for such a long time. that corrupts people. we need a change. we need new people, and maybe this is that change. phil: tania kramer, what happens if the parties cannot reach agreement in the next hour? tania: well, then the man tasked to form t coaliti government wouldave to give back the mandate to the

president, who then has the choice to task another lawmaker to try and form a coalition that most likely would then actually see a new election sometime soon. phil: thank you, tania kramer, in jerusalem. it has been called the longest distance migration of world elephants ever recorded in china. a herd of 15 wandering animals have embarked on a 500 kilometer journey after straying from a nature reserve in the southwest of china. now on the outskirts of a major city where authorities are trying to steer them clear of populated areas. >> an epic trek through southwestern china, deination unknown. no one is certain why this herd of 50 wild asian elephants straight from a peaceful nature reserve. one theory is that their leader

lacks experience and led the group astray. other experts say the journey is the result of human development, and that the elephants are searching for new habitats. whatever the reason, there trek has been the longest distance migration of wild elephants ever recorded in china. this is the first time in history that we have seen anything like this. it has never happened before, so everyone is trying to figure out why it is happening. we need to observe elephants further and study their movements. the group set out with 16 animals but two turned around, and went home, and a baby was born during the track. the herd has moved through villages, broken into barns, trampled crops, and caused more than $1 million of losses. now, the elephants are approaching a city of 7 million people. and while chinese social media

is full of posts and videos of siding, a task force of 360 people and nine drones is busy tracking the herd, desperately trying to keep them away from the most populated areas. phil: ok, that isn't the only animal story. there is a girl in california who got a little closer to nature than probably advisable. she tackled a bear in her garden. we have surveillance video showing a mother bear taking her cubs for a walk on a garn wall in a los angeles suburb. that did not go down well with the family dogs. in steps 17-year-old haley to separate the animals. haley says she was only thinking about saving her dogs. although she escaped with just a scrape and sprai or advice is, do not do this at home -- her advice is, do not do this at home.

before we go, quick reminder of our top story, a small container ship that has spilled some of its chemical cargo and plastics off of the coast of sri lanka has partially sunk. it is the country's worst ever marine disaster and now a big oil spill is a possibility. that is it. you're up-to-date. more world news at the top of the hour. i will be back in a moment with today, tracing another cyber hike in the united states. stay with me -- cyberattack in united states. stay with me. have a good day. ♪

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>> welcome to "live from paris," world news analysis from france 24. we are hearing from army radio sources in israel that a new prime minister candidate has completed partnership deals to