families fear the worst after an airasia flight on its way to singapore disappears over the java sea. from al jazeera's headquarters in doha, also ahead malaysia's government pledges millions for the victims of devastating floods. after afghanistan's occupation comes to an end we looks at what's ahead.

expert advice. we begin with the developing story out of asia where search and rescue mission is underway for a missing passengers plane. an airasia plane was due to land in singapore more than eight hours ago. missing plane qz8501, missing airbus 322 series. lost contact with air control over the java sea, from the indonesian city of surabaya. the pilot had asked to change the flight pattern because of bad weather. from 32,000 feet.

the a-320 took off indonesia juwanda international airport lost contact with air traffic control, 32 minutes later. ron bosch, thank you so much for speaking with us. explain how in your it unusual it is for a pilot to request a deviation from course which was the situation in this case? >> it's a not uncommon event. the aircraft was at its initial cruising altitude of 32,000 feet. the fact that it's in the tropics there where there's a lot of buildup of cloud and a lot of thunderstorms in that region. so the actual requesting a deviation from track is not uncommon. and as far as i understand, the pilot had indicated to air

traffic control that the request for deviation was as a result of weather on the direct track. so not an unusual occurrence. but these are modern aircraft and they are fully equipped to deal with this type of weather. >> and ron take us through the emergency procedure that would have usually taken place on board the plane in such a situation? >> look, the aircraft is an a-320, a very modern aircraft, i believe this particular aircraft was only six years pomed a old. a very established airline winning sky track's aircraft carrier of the year for the last three years in a row. very unusual if the crew had encountered bad weather did not

initiate some sort of radio call or perhaps a transponder code that indicated there was an emergency situation. i guess that's the most unusual aspect about it. the fact that there was no communication, which indicates probably a very graifer grave situation that the air craft was just unable to communicate because of obviously what may have occurred. >> and we do not know what has occurred but ron we do know that there is a search and rescue mission now underway over the java sea. take us through what the mission may be looking for. >> the situation obviously it's over sea and it happened during daylight hours. so if there had been a situation where the aircraft was in a position to be able to undertake a controlled ditching into the ocean, obviously, in daylight

hours, it's a lot more desirable undertaking. never -- never an undertaking that any pilot would want to go through. but the fact that there was no communication received since the last transmission of requesting to deviate is of utmost and of grave concern. the likely scenario and i should qualify this by saying it's very early stages in the situation is that there was a catastrophic situation arose and that's probably the reason why the crew was unable to either indicate the emergency transponder reading or give any radio contacts this they are in a grave situation. >> seems that whatever happened, may have happened suddenly, that's what you're saying. ron i've flown asia several times. it is a very popular budgetarily. talk to us about its safety

record though in the region. >> airasia has had an incredible rise to popularity and that popularity has been based on the fact that they had been operating very efficient and very safe services. certainly they're expanded very quickly. but there's no indication at this stage whatsoever, the pilots on board were i believe the pilot in command had over 6,000 hours and the co-pilot had over 2,000 hours. these are modern aircraft. they have the very latest radar. so the information on board and available to the flight crew would be the most accurate information. they had requested from the information i've received to date that they wanted a deviation from track and an increase in their cruise altitude from 32,000 up to 38,000 feet. so it indicates that they obviously, there was very bad

weather on -- available to them on the radar so they wanted to avoid it both from a deviation from track but also, to possibly climb over the weather at 38,000 feet. so the situation is very grave in the fact that we haven't heard anything today and obviously the fuel situation would be -- it could no longer be airborne with the amount of fuel it had on board. so we hope and pray i guess that the rescue efforts will be -- will not be in vein. >> all right ron it's been greatinggreatgetting your insight. for the aircraft company quantas quantas. for the latest go to aljazeera.com.

the malaysian government is pledging an extra $142 million to help tens of thousands of people displaced by floods. entire towns are underwater and rescue workers workers say this ising affected rescue efforts. floods have reached thailand, 13 people have been killed there. eight provinces disaster zones and warning people to prepare for more heavy rain. more than 184,000 households have been affected. in northern malaysia, there are three states have been affected there and five people have been killed. karishma villas is in and near

one of the worst affect areas. >> one of the worst affected regions in malaysia. this is the city center and as you can see behind me it is completely underwater. from the air i had a chance to survey the areas outside of the city and as far as the eye could see, the land was completely submerged in water, all you could see was the tops of trees as well as the roofs of many houses that are completely stranded now. no -- very few roads were visible from the area. the roads that were visibility were completely cut off from either side by water. rescue operations to take place they cannot reach the worst affected areas by road. difficult for helicopters to go in and drop supplies and evacuate people. >> nato's mission to afghanistan is coming to an end after 13

years. but this year has been the deadliest yet. more than 4,000 afghan soldiers and civilians have been killed. jennifer glasse joins us live in kabul. with the security situation in afghanistan still unstable give us an idea what the general mood is like at the end of nato's combat mission. >> i think afghans are concerned. at its height nato had 140,000 forces across the country. drawing down to a very small force now just around 14,000 forces here. the afghan forces have had to step up and they have been fighting very fierce battles usually whether the fighting dwindles. the fighting was the most serious in the south we were there last week.

helman is the most dangerous province. the people are nervous. said came to ashragali a month ago. he says thousands have fled. >> fighting when we lost the first harvest and now the second. farmers have lost their cattle. people have lost their homes. people have been targeted by road side bombs and they face many threats from this insecurity. >> his wife is the victim of the war, intense fighting kept her from getting to a doctor and she died from her illness. like most afghans who have only one leg doctors are fighting to safe the remaining one. searching for shrapnel in this gunshot women. the hospital accepts victims no

questions asked. >> translator: sanguin is a very dangerous area. all of sangin is with taliban government only controls the roads. >> another district with heavy fighting. >> i'm worried about the future. i have four brothers, they're all with the government. as long as we're alive we'll fight to our country. >> proof that the war is hard, the record number of injured here. fighting usually slows this time of year. there have been so many casualties here, the government has had to use these outdoor tents for triage. a rare attack in lashraga a few

weeks ago firefight lasted for hours. civilians are caught in the middle between taliban fighters and government forces who don't care who they hurt. civilian casualties are at a record high and the fighting continues. >> and jennifer as we understand it while nato's combat mission ends u.s. troops will still be engaging in combat. >> that's right. a nato force will remain behind resolute support we're expecting to see their new flag unfurled today. but just in the last couple of weeks president obama expanded what the forces can do here. really a reflect of how difficult the fighting is here and what afghan forces have lost. they don't have the air force the intelligence, under certain controlled conditions u.s. forces will be allowed to help the afghans support their combat

mission. >> thank you jennifer glasse, speaking to us from afghan capital kabul. ready to talk. syria's government says it's open to meeting the opposition to try to end the nearly four year civil war plus: >> i'm 96 spicer in berlin, now more than ever the go-to place for classical musicians.

interwelcome back. let's take a look at the top stories on al jazeera.

families are fearing the worst after an airasia flight headed from indonesia's surabaya airport to singapore. flight qz8501 last known location was over the java sea. the nato afghan military is coming to an end. s slowing aid efforts more heavy rains are expected. well sri lanka has not been spared from the heavy monsoon rains either.

at least 10 people have been killed by mudslides and thousands have been forced from their homes. >> main highway which connects colombo inundated by water. vehicles being sent in single file, very much the smaller vehicles trying to follow big buses like the one that just went past. it is very much the way to get past the areas pulled out of these floodwaters now basically, there are over a million people that have been affected by the bad weather. a majority of them affected by the floods. now, potentially even in this part there's something like 12,000 people who have been moved there in displacement sisters and even in other parts of the country a majority of sri lanka's districts have been

affected by bad weather. landslides and mudslides we have had the main amount of fatalities reported in mudslides in the central part of the country and essentially there are further warnings that there can be further mudslides. so people have been advised to be alert. there are areas where disaster management authorities have evacuated people and are keeping a close watch on the weather. the worst part for people around the country is that the weather forecast is not good. essentially more heavy rain for the foreseeable future. >> in syria, bashar al-assad's government says it's ready to talk to the opposition to try and end the almost four year long civil war. now this is in response to russia's proposal for dialogue after two rounds of peace talks failed earlier this year. the syrian government says it is open to preliminary consultations in moscow. russia is planning to host the talks between the assad

government and the opposition in late january but not sure who is going to take part. kimberly halkett is reporting. >> syrian government and its opposition will have peace talks but i can tell you this will be looked at with some skepticism in washington considering it's counter to u.s. policy. president obama has long maintained that president bashar al-assad the syrian president must go, he must step aside for the sake of the syrian people, that is his exact statement yet we see this discussion of peace talks. so there is this concern and this view in washington that as long as bashar al-assad remains in power that syria remains divided. there are also concerns about the objectivity of the russia to host these talks.

there has been a very strong historical tie in terms of tradings as well as support for the syrian president by the russian government. as far back as 2011 there was an effort by the international community to condemn the acts of syrian government, that was detoed byvetoed by russia. and referring syria to the international criminal court vetoed by russia. so there is this view here in washington that there is a lack of objectivity a lack of faishnessfairnzandfairness and a lack

of seriousness. >> without some kind of blueprint there is little to draw other groups to the table. >> there is no initiative so far. and russia does not have an initiative. what russia is calling for is a meeting and dialogue in moscow without any specific suggestions and this is the main issue we have with this invitation. >> while the syrian government appears to be considering negotiations fighting continues in the northern province of aleppo. air strikes have killed more than 50 people in the past few days including several children. areas under control of islamic state of iraq and the levant of abad and nearby city of kabasin. military officials say they have captured a member of al

shabaab, but he says he left the group and surrendered to the somali government. including improving maternal health reduced by 75%. searvehe south africasouth africa has been slow to adopt this. >> 1iewinie using her mobile phone she sends an s mfortsms to a designated number. this is a free government service where she can ask questions and receive valuable information on what to do at any stage of her pregnancy.

>> like having a clinic next to you. it's great. many women can't go for checkups, if there's no clinic in my area, if i'm worried i just send an sms. >> south africa has made progress reducing deaths of women and babies. but many are still dying. home connect is a radical idea to help save lives. >> especially those who are far from the clinics they do feel that they've got aresource where they can just access -- got a resource, which guides them what to do and when to go to the clinic if there are any warning signs regarding pregnancy. >> women register to use mom

connect, national program that aims to register 1 million pregnant women every year and this is the nursing center where some of the data is received, processed an sent back to mobile phone users. >> i love that because what it's really doing is it's empowering women, it's empowering women with the information they need to have a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby. >> soon to be mom winnie, her mobile phone is her personal clinic whenever and wherever she needs it. >> an ypt egyptian judge has find where former president mohamed morsi is also facing trial.

and al jazeera continues to call for the release of their journalists, 365 days imprisoned, peter greste, mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed are appealing against their convictions. thousands have attended the funeral of new york police officer rafael ramos he was one of two officers shot and killed while in a patrol car on december 20th. ramos casket was carried out with police giving him a final salute. police commissioner bill bratton have been posthumously been

. >> this is finest police department in the united states, they thearnd phrase. >> highlighted their anger towards the mayor nationwide protests officers had also turned their backs on mayor deblasio when they turned their back on him. on. >> young classical musicians from around the world. one of the main reasons is generous public subsidies. nick spicer reports. >> reporter: a mozart aria sung by rachel finland.

she has had some success at home but she moved to berlin. >> there's ten classical concerts to see every night of the week. as a performer the education side of that, the learning that i get from seeing these amazing performances every night is huge. >> this is the deutsche symphony orchestra, one of ten symphony orchestras in the capital. largely because of money that it's caught.to the sim symphonic halts. public subsidies keep germany flourishing, while other

countries have been the victim of austerity. east and west germany out-spending each other on concerts and orchestras. >> when germany was unified in 1990, the city was unified as well. all of a sudden there was basically two or sometimes even three if you look at the opera houses of everything. >> this woman's company promotes the careers of young artists who come to berlin. she says it's the ideal place for them to grow as musicians. >> you have the higher education and the possibility of still finding comparatively cheap places to live, comparing london paris or new york. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

>> rachel finland is hoping for a break through. the german capital is like what was said of new york. if you can make it here, you can probably make it anywhere. nick spicer, al jazeera berlin. >> hi, i'm lisa fletcher and you're in the stream. out of the box thinkers share their tool kit for racing smart successful well balanced kids. my co-host