see you online. families fear the worst after an air asia flight on its way to singapore disappears over the java sea. from al jazerra's headquarters in doha, also ahead, 13 years on, nato's mission in afghanistan comes to an end. we look at what has changed on the ground. plus malaysia's government pledges more than $100 million to help the victims of devastating floods. and a heart nut to crack. but highly profitable. demand for argan oil or or began

began'smorocco's gold is threaten is the future of the product. ray search and rescue mission is underway for a missing passenger plane the air asia plane which is a malaysia-based budget airline took off from indonesia and was due to land in singapore more than seven hours ago. gerald tan has the latest. >> reporter: at the airport crisis center in indonesian, a people anxiously await news of their loved ones. 162 passengers and crew were on board air asia flight qz8501 to singapore. the plane and air butt 320 lost communications with air traffic control 42 minutes after taking off. >> translator: we have informed the coastal guards and all ships

in the area to be on stand by and to relay information of any signs of the missing plane. we will provide updates of any developments on an hourly basis. >> reporter: at singapore's airport, those waiting for the flight to be to arrive are being given the same scant information. the plane lost contact as it flew over the java sea. the area was cloudy. air asia said the pilot requested to change course due to weather. this is the first major incidents for the malaysia low-cost carrier which has significant presence across southeast asia. but it trails two other malaysian i've areas tragedies this year. both involving the national carrier malaysia airlines. in march mh370 disappeared for a flight from koala lumper to beijing, it's still missing. then in july. mh17 from amsterdam to kuala lumbar was shot down over

ukraine killing all 298 people aboard. air asia has never lost a plane before. and a search and rescue operation is going full swing many hope that remains so. gerald tan, al jazerra. >> let take closer look now at whether weather may have played a part in the disappearance of the play and we have weather bureau expert here richard with us. now, richard we know it's currently monsoon season in southeast asia, we have seen the floods in malaysia and thailand has well. but was it that bad to have contributed to the disappearance of this plane? >> i think the first thing you have to say neither you nouri nor an airline pilot if you are not in that situation you don't really know. having said that, if we look at the satellite picture that i have here and run it, you can see that great massive cloud which would have been on route for that pilot and if you look at it, it is just an absolute

massive storm system. not just a case of flying through one and zigzagging through, you have nothing but a huge line of thunderstorms and big thunderstorms at that. >> that being the case, richard one of the facts that has come out from this story the fact that the poll lie requested to change altitude from 32,000 feet up to 38,000 feet would that be enough to avoid the weather? you expect big cumulus him does clouds but the tops go up to 16,000 meters. so you are looking at 50,000 feet as an absolute ceiling limit to these storm systems and most commercial airlines do not fly at that height. going to 38 wouldn't have allowed them to be over the top. but maybe around clusters but when you have nothing but storm systems all the way through that stretch of ocean it must have been a very, very difficult situation indeed for the pilot. >> indeed. richard thank you so much. speaking us to in our doha

studio. let's get more on the situation and mike daniel is managing director of aviation inside and a former aircraft investigator. joining me now via skype from the honolulu on the u.s. island of hawaii. mike, thank you so much for being with us. now, what we do know is that the last known contact with the flight was 42 minutes in to the flight. given that there was bat weather, as we have just been speaking to. richard about just explain to us what would have been going through the pilot's mind or what procedures would he have been undertaking in 0rd to order to try to stabilize the plane in such a situation? >> let's first start with the a320 which is equipped with weather radar. so when the pilots are flying along at their cruise altitude and get indications of severe weather ahead of them. what they want to do is -- if

they are also experiencing turbulence is to request a deviation from the flight path either left or right in this kaza apparently they requested a deviation of altitude to flyover the tops, so to speak. if that's the scenario, then, i think what we could be looking at, we have to wait for that information to come in, is high altitude upset. i investigated one accident with a similar situation where the crew flew in to heavy major thunderstorms, and rather than circumnavigate around the storm they chose to flyover unfortunately it resulted in a high altitude flight upset which we won't know until we get more information on this aircraft. >> as you say we are waiting on more information on this, and at this stage we can only speculate as to what has happened to the flight. let's look at the facts here. the facts is the last known contact was 42 minutes in to the

flight. the facts is that the pilot had requested a fly deviation. now, take us through the emergency procedure on board the plane when the pilot or if the flight had lost contact with air traffic control and if he had found that the plane was indeed, in a bad situation in terms of the weather what then would have happened on the flight? >> okay, well, hopefully the pilots had enough time to alert the cabin crew to buckle up and anticipate the flight turbulence in anticipation of flying to nba to turbulence, if they get in to a situation where they fly in to high-air altitude and experience flight altitude upset it's hard to say what time they had to even communicate with air traffic because their first job is to fly the aircraft. that's what i would anticipate that they were trying to do if that was the case. high altitude flight upset.

so yes and when the weather this time of year is quite profound for heavy thunderstorms and high altitude, you know flying. so that would be the scenario that the pilots would typically follow. one area of clarification though, it's been reported this is air asia malaysia where actually this is air asia i want near iindonesia their operating certificate is granted by era. >> right now you i want to talk about the search and rescue mission currently underway over the java sea where it's believed that was the last known point of contact for this plane. you are a former air crash investigator. tell us what do you think this mission would be looking for? >> well, okay, search and rescue first is for exactly that, search and rescue. looking for survivors hopefully they are not too far from an

alternate airport actually and one of the things that they would be checking for is did they divert to this alternate airport. off the island of there. but so that would be one area that would look at. also they would dispatch search and rescue aircraft as well as navel vessel to his look for hopefully the aircraft and survivors. that's the first scenario. >> mike, just one last question to you, and this is something that you had referred to a little earlier on, you mentioned that this particular flight was operated by indonesia air asia. we do know that air asia is a budget airline. we also know that as budget airlines go, they tends to compromise in terms of comfort travel comfort. would they have compromised on safety? >> no. they are not allowed to even compromise on safety. there are strict international

standards for air operator certification, also stands for airstandard forsurvey ends of the aircraft. one points of interest is what did the airline dispatch know and what they were communicate with this aircraft and crew at or near the time when it was missing off the radar. >> great getting your insight. thank you. >> quite welcome. >> director of aviation insights. moving onto other stories now. nato's combat mission to afghanistan is coming to an end after 13 years. now, this year has been the deadliest yet with more than 4,000 afghan soldiers and police having been killed. jennifer glasse is in kabul. >> reporter: at the height of its mission nato had about 140 forces here in afghanistan across the country as they draw down to just about 13,000 forces the afghan security forces have had to fill that void and there is still heavy fighting even now in the winter

months, particularly in the south. we were there this week. afghanistan's deadliest province, even if the provincial capital where security is tighter. the people are nervous. he came here four months ago. fighting is raging around his home in the north. he says thousands of families have fled. >> translator: fighting meant we lost the first harvest and now the second. farmers have lost their cattle, people have lost their homes. people have been targeted by roadside bombs and face many threats from this insecurity. >> reporter: his wife is a victim of the war. intense fighting kept her from getting to a doctor, she died of her illness. the lucky ones end up here, an emergency hospital. like most afghans has only one name has lost a leg and doctors are fight to go save the other one. in the operating room next door, the painstaking search for

shrapnel in had gunshot victim. the hospital accepts anyone. no questions asked. a policeman, he has been serving four years and says the fighting has never been this bad. >> translator: it is a very dangerous area. now there are thousands of kinds of taliban there. it is all with taliban the government only controls the roads, none of the villages. >> reporter: a member of the intelligence forces, another district with heavy fighting. >> translator: i am worried about the future. i have four brothers, they are all with the government. as long as we are alive we'll fight for our country. >> reporter: proof that the fight is hard, the record number of wounded here and the wards are still full. even though the fighting usually slows at this time of year. there have been so many casualties here this year, the hospital has had to turn the pharmacy the mosque and the children's playroom in to patient wards. when it's really busy they use these outdoor tents for triage.

a rare attack a few weeks ago killed killed at least seven. the fire fight lasted hours. those from the villages in the countryside say civilians are caught in the middle between taliban fighters and government forces that don't care who they hurt. civilian casualties are at a record high and the fighting continues. and the fighting not limited to the south, there is also battles with the taliban going on in the east particularly in the last couple of weeks, it's not just security that's a concern for the afghans nato is hoping that by now there would be an established government. the president the new president took office just about three months ago but he and his chief executive officer have failed to come to an agreement on a cabinet. and so afghans are as worried about security as they are about political instability. much more to come here on al

jazerra. 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. ♪ ♪ >> not giving up hope. we'll bring you want story of an iraqi man who still believes in his country. despite suffering a personal loss. we have an ouportunity to really reach out and really talk to voices that we haven't heard before... i think al jazeera america is a watershed moment for american journalism >> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> its disgraceful... the only crime they really committed is journalism... >> they are truth seekers...

>> all they really wanna do is find out what's happening, so they can tell people... >> governments around the world all united to condemn this... >> as you can see, it's still a very much volatile situation... >> the government is prepared to carry out mass array... >> if you want free press in the new democracy let the journalists live.

welcome back. let's take a look at the top stories on al jazerra. families are fearing the worst after an air asia flight headed from indonesia airport to

singapore lost contact with air traffic control. flight number qz8501 was carrying 162 people including the crew. an indonesian airport spokesman says the last known location of the play plain was plane was over the java sea. it took off at 520 a.m. local time. and lost contact with air traffic control 42 minutes later later. in other news the nato combat mission to afghanistan is coming to an end after 13 years. 2014 has been the deadliest year of the conflict. more than 4,000 afghan soldiers and police have been killed. the that layer an malaysian government is presents being millions of dollars to help displaced people from floods. fuel shortages are slowing aid efforts. the prime minister has cut short his u.s. holdiday after being

accused of not doing enough for those affects. now, the floods have also hit thailand, nine have been killed there is. and the government has declared eight of its southern provinces disaster zones and warning people for prepare for more heavy rain. more than 180,000 households have been affected. >> reporter: we flew in this morning which is the capital of the state. one of the worst affected regions in malaysia. this is the city center and as you can see behind me, it's completely under water. now, from the arid 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 air. the roads that were visible were completely cut off from either side by flood waters. this is, of course, making it very difficult for rescue and relief operation to his take place. they cannot reach the worst effected areas by road. poor weather conditions are making it very difficult for even helicopters nothing and drop surprise and evacuate people. in sear syria bashar al-assad's government says it is ready to talk to try to end the four-yearlong civil war. in response to russia's. the syrian government says it's open to preliminary consultations in russia. how course is planning to host talks between the government and the divided opposition in last january. but still unclear as to who will officially be taking part. and the head of the opposition syrian national coalition says that without some kind of blueprint there is little to draw other groups to the table.

>> translator: there is no initiative so far and russia does not have an initiative. what rush is a calling for is a meeting and dialogue in moscow, without any specific suggestions. and this is the main issue that we have with this inning vacation. >> while the syrian government appears to be considering negotiations fighting continues in the northern province of aleppo. air strikes there have killed more than 50 people over the past three days, including seven children. syrian jets are targeting areas controlled by the islamic state of iraq and the levant: as 2014 draws to a close, al jazerra is reflect on the ground the year through the eyes of four families affected by major world events. in the second part of our series jayna meets a family in baghdad that's been displates it displace ed by recent fighting after surviving more than a decades of chaos in iraq. >> reporter: a family of chess

players, one of his two sons, now in the u.s., was an iraqi chess champion. his children from a second marriage, are eager to learn. here in baghdad he has rebuilt his life. he's tried to move forward from almost unmanageable tragedy. 10 years ago his wife, five daughters, a son and his nephew, were killed when an american tank opened fire on them at a checkpoint. the soldiers said they thought they were insurgents, his younger child was nine, the eldest 23. in between she wrote she dreamed of a more peaceful world world. that day he lost his family. now he fears he's losing his country. he is from the province where iraqi and kurdish forces forces and shia militias have pushed back

isil, but residents there have paid a high price. his sister was a shop owner here in baghdad, she's another of the displaced. >> translator: i lost my entire house. it was two-stories fully raymoured. i had two shops. all of the property including everything in it is gone, some of it was burned. some of it bombs now it's been looted. >> reporter: for 50 years she says she and her neighbors lived in peace. he says he still believes in iraq, he composes music incorporated traditional melodies from mosul all the the way to the south of the country. here in baghdad he built this small house with his own hands he says he's forgiven the soldiers who killed his family. he believes it's part of the price for a better iraq. >> we are dreaming to have democratic system.

the conditions in the war. they deserve to have this because they already pay the heavy price, but this is the life. >> reporter: he has paid the heaviest price he says he prize are tries to teach his children that all men are brothers and that while tragedy comes and goes, love en dues, with parts of his family gone, he hopes his country will survive. jayna wrath, al jazerra baghdad. in the third of our four-part series one year, four families, we'll meet a family in the gaza strip struggling to get back on its feet after israel's offensive earlier this year. that's on monday right here on al jazerra. the somali military says it has captured one of the leaders of the armed group al-shabab. military officials say that he was caught during a raid on saturday morning. but al-shabab says he left the

group two years ago and surrendered to the somali government. an egyptian judge has sentenced the head of the muslim brotherhood to six years in prison for insulting the judiciary. he was also fined about $2,800. now, the case was heard at the cairo criminal court where former president mohamed morrisey is also facing trial. and al jazerra continues to call for the lease of their three journalists who have been in prison for 365 days in he just a minute. peter greste, mohamed fahmy and bahar mohamed were falsely accused of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. all three are appealing against their convictions. russia's strained relationship with the west over the ukraine crisis has meant that it wants to deepen its ties with china. but the two countries will have to put years of mistrust behind them in order to make the most of new commercial opportunities. rory challands reports from russia's far east.

>> reporter: the first restaurants he set up in russia is getting a renovation. these days, the chinese business woman commands a local empire of seven eateries, and several construction projects. >> translator: now we feel russia and china have good relations. in the last six months, many people wanted to invest money in russia, but they are being cautious. they are studying the market. i have always told my colleagues there are many opportunities and it's very profitable to invest in russia now. >> reporter: one of the more successful members of a chinese community that's decided this is a place where money can be made. they haven't had to come far just across this frozen river is a chinese city. the mighty waterway as formed a long stretch of the russia-china border since 1858, and apart

from a hiatus during much of the soviet period the two nationalities have been mingling, trading and competing here for generations. now as you might expect relations between these two huge land empires haven't always been cordial, in 1900s during the boxer rah belgium chinese forces shelled and in retaliation the russians forced some 4,000 chinese residents in to the river to drowned. but long-held russian fears of an invasion of chinese immigrants across far eastern borders for the moment at least seem more myth than reality. the two cities are part of a special zone. allowing temporary visa-free travel. crossing the border for business is as easy as taking a hover craft across the ice so as well as chinese, there are russians making a life in china. >> translator: if you look at the every day stuff renting an

apartment is cheaper here. food costs less here too. if you want opportunities, there are more here than in russia. china is a fast-growing economy so it can give you anything that you want. you just need to know what to wish for. >> reporter: russia's new gio politically koez a cozy alliance with china just item most recent phase of a complex relationship. sometimes friends sometimes rivals, always looking for fresh opportunities, typical neighbors neighbors, rory challands russia's far east. or began oil is becoming one of morocco's most valuable commodities it's used in a number of high end cosmetics it's becoming so popular many of the people work to go extract it may be replaced by eye more efficient mode of extraction.

>> reporter: it's a tedious process, labor intensive and time-consuming. >> everything hurts. every part of our body, but we are grateful. if there is not argan, there is nothing, just sitting at home doing nothing. >> reporter: it's a hard nut to crack, but its seeds once grinded will produce argan oil which is also known at morocco's gold. for centuries it has been used by women in this region of southwest morocco. the fruit comes from the small thorny tree. there was a time which all of this was covered by a thick argan forest. but then worldwide demand for the plant and its wooden creased to the point that it's put it at risk of extinction. so the government stepped in with a regeneration program planting thousands of new trees every year. and the argan-growing region was designated by you necessary koas a bio sphere reserve. argan oil is now something of a consult product around the world. sold for its nutty flavor at

high-end food stored but its prop layer at this comes from its use ace cosmetic product. a market that international companies are increasingly taping in to. >> they buy it here and we package it abroad and sell it at a higher price. the means are greater but the land are trees are ours so we have to control the raw material. it's what protects us. >> reporter: local cooperative are mechanic nicing the process many women fear this will mean an end to their main source of income, more than 2 million people in this region liver on argan production. >> translator: if they bring the machine and we stop working there will nothing left for us, all the rest of the process is done by machine now evening pressing. >> reporter: but no machine so far has been able to crack the nut like the women. meaning this ancient skill passed on from generation to

generation will continues to provide steady work at least for now. al jazerra in southwest morocco. and a quick reminder that you can always keep up-to-date with all of the latest news and details on our website at aljazerra.com. >> the rwandan genocide began twenty years ago. in 100 days, almost one million people were killed. today, rwanda is thriving. as the president credited with stoping the slaughter and putting the country back together, paul kagame is also accused of brutally suppressing dissent. so is kagame a savior or a dictator? we sent journalist sorious samura to find out. >> for centuries the tribes of this country lived together without tribal atrocities, and