rld. >> infectious diseases are a major threat to health. >> "the week ahead". sunday 8:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. night. wonderful morning, i look wonderful morning, i look o indonesia calls off on overnight plane for an airasia with 152 people on board. you're watching al jazeera. efforts continue to rescue more than 400 people trapped on a burning ferry in the adriatic sea. 13 years on n.a.t.o.'s mission in afghanistan comes to an end. we look at what has changed on the ground.

plus helping expecting mothers, a phone app giving women a direct line to expert advice. let's start in asia where a passenger jet carrying 162 people has disappeared somewhere over the java sea. the search and rescue operation is suspended for the night and will resume on monday morning. airasia flight qz8501 left indonesia's international airport at 5:20am en route to singapore. it lost contact with the ground control, 42 minutes after take off, and there's been no information about the plane, more than 12 hours after it was due in singapore. gerald tan has the latest from the air and at sea, an intense search for mying flight

airasia qz8501. the air bus a 320 was carrying 162 passengers and crew from the indonesian city to singapore. 32 minutes after takeoff it lost communication with air traffic control. >> i hoped for a miracle, may god save them all. i should have been with them. i cancelled two weeks ago as i had something to do i had two on board, five family members. >> those with relatives have been demanding answers. indonesia's disasters management authorities set up a crisis center at the airport as offers of help from foreign countries pour in. >> translation: the national search and rescue agency the air force and navy have orders we have deployed the fullest extent of resources to find the missing aircraft. >> reporter: there's little information. the plane lost contact as it flew over the java sea, the area

was cloudy. airasia said the pilot requested to change course because of bad weather. this is the first major incident for the low-cost carrier whose parent company in malaysia has significant presence across south-east asia. it trails two tragedies this year both involving the national carrier, malaysia airlines. in march mh370 disappeared from kuala lumpur to beijing, with 239 on board. that plane was never found. then in july mh17 from amsterdam to kuala lumpur was shot down over ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. airasia has never lost a plane before well earlier we spoke to independent aviation analyst chris yates. >> i think with the passage of

time from the aircraft losing communication with air traffic control to now, there's zero chance that the aircraft could still possibly be flying. and now it's a search operation perhaps also a rescue operation, we don't know for sure whether the aircraft broke up on hitting the surface of the water. it seems likely it has. and it seems likely that there is great loss of life. but having said that they will then be looking for the transponders, for the aircraft. a full search will continue for as long as it takes to identify where those pieces of wreckage are. and then lift those pieces of wreckage to the surface and read off the data the information

that they contain. >> two greek firefighting ships have been sent to help a ferry on fire in the adriatic sea. it's carrying 466 papers, and 55 crew members from greece. it was heading towards ancola in italy. eight have been wounded, including three children, 111 people have been rescued so far. >> translation: we are doing everything we can to save those on board and no one, no one will be left helpless in this tough situation. it is one of the most complicated rescue operations that we have done and assistance from multiple forces is needed. the fleet nearby is sufficient to make it optimistic that we have enough to save everyone on board. >> in malaysia 10 were killed and 160,000 displaced from areas worst hit by the floods. up to s are under water, and

relieve workers are struggling to help those in need. we have this report from one of the worst-affected areas. this is all that is left of a stream. five years ago this woman and her husband poured their life savings into this internet cafe. today it is waist deep in water along with the family home. they fear the business will never recover. >> i didn't have enough money to rebuild my job, but i really hope there is a way. >> many in malaysia's nearby peninsula are worried as floods engulf the eight states. torrential rains are forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes and seek shelter in relief camps like this high school. they walked 2km with a 12-day

old baby and long son after the home became submerged in a matter of hours. >> the government should play a role to this critical situation. this should concentrate on mothers that have given birth like me. there's a look of drinking water. >> many asians say the government has been slow to respond to the disaster. >> many are distributing food for drinking water and even money. clinics are being set up. >> usually we are worried about contagious disease. they were due to inadequate hygiene, due to inadequate water, and cleanliness, it is a great hazard actually. while urban areas do have access to relief supplies remote

communities are facing shortages. the government are promising 150 million to help flood victims rebuild their lies. many are stranded in their homes, cut off from emergency aid. >> sri lanka has been hit hard by heavy monsoon rains, nine were killed in landslides and 10 others are missing. heavy rainfall was destroyed, more than 3,000 homes, and 60,000 displaced. >> to afghanistan, where a ceremony was held marking the end of nato's combat mission. let's look at how things would change on the ground. from january the 1st u.s. led forces will be replacement this means foreign troops assist the afghan army. 2014 is one of the worst years

for casualties as more than 4,600 were killed. civilians hit a high this year with more than 3,000 people killed by the end of november. jennifer glasse is in kabul, and we should warn you that you may find some images. n.a.t.o. had 140 forces in afghanistan across the country as they draw down and the afghan security forces filled the void and there's heavy fighting in the winter months and in the south. >> helmand is the deadliest province, in provincial capitals where security is tighter, the people are nervous. >> fighting is raging around this man's home in the north. he says thousands of families fled. >> fighting meant we lost the

first harvest and the second. farmers lost their cattle and their homes. people have been targeted by road side bombs and faced threats from insecurity. his wife is the victim of the war. intense fighting kept her from getting to a doctor. she died of her illness. the lucky ones end up here. like most afghans, they have one name lost a leg, and doctors are fighting to save the other one. in the operating room next door the painstaking search for shrapnel in the gunshot victim. the hospital accepts anyone no questions asked. >> he has been serving four years, and the fighting in helmand has never been this bad. sankin is a dangerous area there are thousands of taliban there, all of sankin is with taliban, the government only controls the roads, none of the

villages. another district of heavy fighting. i'm worried about the future but have four brothers. they are with the government. as long as we are alive i'll fight for the country. proof that the fight is hard a record number of wounded here. the wards are full the fighting slows at this time of year. there has been so many casualties, the hospital turned the pharmacy and the mosque and children's playroom into patient's wards. it was busy and use out door tents to triage a rare attack in lashkar gar killed seven. the fire fight lasted hours. those from the villages and the countryside say civilians are caught in the middle between taliban fighters and government forces that don't care who they work. civilian casualties are at a

record high. the fighting is not limited to the south. there's battles with the taliban going on in the east particularly kunar province it's not just security. n.a.t.o. is hoping that by now there would be an established government. the new president took office three months ago, but he and the chief executive officer failed to come to an great on a cabinet, and so afghans are as worried about security as they are about political instability. the nato ceremony may not mark the end of missions. there are 10,600 forces in the country. 4,500 of them are part of the n.a.t.o.'s trading and assist mission. the rest are 5,100 forces part of the unilateral counterterrorism mission, whose scope has been widened. u.s. president obama reportedly

allowed them to deploy jets bombers and ground forces against the taliban. still ahead - we report from russia's far east as it tries to strengthen business ties from china. >> i'm tom ackerman in pennsylvania where bird researchers study how to improve the animal's survival against a big killer - window pains.

welcome back let's recap the headlines. search and rescue operations for

a missing airasia flight has been called off. it will resume monday morning. the flight was carrying 162 people on the way from the indonesian city. two greek firefighting ships have been sent to help a ferry on fire in the adriatic sea. it's carrying over 470 passengers and grew from greece to italy a ceremony is being held in the afghan capital kabul. 2014 is the deadliest of the war. soldiers and police have been kill. >> the iraqi army has been taking towns. security officials say it cleared some areas, says the army but they have a large

presence in the province. >> the militia fighters are celebrating. they are celebrating the vens against fightser. dozens were reportedly killed. they say they are in control of both towns. >> this is a town that was invested with fightsers. they are ready to fight back. this is in front of us. we are the brigade. >> battles are continuing they are important. less than.

these towns were controlled by i.s.i.l. they are pushed i.s.i.l. out. security forces consider it a gain in the battle to take part in the other parts of the province. >> they carried out more than a dozen air strikes. iraq's military launched the offensive backed by the shia forces, and under air cover by iraqi and international forces. i.s.i.l. fighters continued their attacks, and say the anti-aircraft capabilities forced others to leave. up north, the situation is tense, as kurdish peshmerga forces advance deeper into the mountains. fighting intensified. iraqi armed forces managed to cut i.s.i.l. control lines. they want to take more areas.

as the fighting continues, more iraqi civilians become victims and houses vacant. >> as 2014 draws to a close, al jazeera is reflecting on the ear through the eyes of four families. in the second part of our series, jane arraf meets a family in baghdad that has been displaced by fighting after surviving more than a decade of chaos in iraq. >> this man has 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 tried to move forward from unimaginable tragedy. 10 years ago his wife five daughters, a son and his nephew were killed when an american

tank opened fire. the soldiers said they thought they were insurgents. his youngest child was nine, the eldest 23. in between was a girl who wrote she dreamed of a peaceful world. that day he lost his family. he feared he lost his country. it is from the province. shi'a militias pushed back i.s.i.l. residents paid a high price. here in baghdad she's another of the displaced. >> i lost my house. it was two stories fully furnished. i had two shops. all the property is gone. some of it was burnt, some bombed. it was looted. >> for 50 years she said she and

her neighbours lived in piece. >> traditional melodies from mosul all the way to the south of the country here in baghdad. he built the house with small hands. he says he's forgiven the soldiers who forgave his family. he believed it's part of the price for a better iraq. >> reporter: he has paid a heavy price. while tragedy comes and goes love ep durs. with part of the family gone he hoped the country will survive.

we are proposing a grim anniversary. three al jazeera journalists would imprisoned for a full year. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed were arrested on december 29th, 2013 they were accused and sentenced of aiding the outlawed muslim brotherhood. and damaging egypt's reputation abroad. the strained relationship with the ukraine is pushing it to tighter ties with china. if they are to make the most of opportunities. rory challands reports. the first restaurant set up in russia is getting a repo vasion. these days the chinese woman commands a local empire of eateries and construction projects. now we feel russia and china have good relations. in the last six months many want

to invest money in russia but they are cautious. they are studying the market. there are opportunities, and it's profitable to invest in russia now. >> this is one of the more successful members of a chinese community that decided that it is a place where money can be made. they haven't had to come far. the mighty waterway formed a long stretch. >> apart from a hiatus the two nationalities will be mingling trading and competing. as you might expect. as we might expect. the two empires haven't been cordial. 1900s, during the boxer rebellion. chinese forces shelled, and in

retaliation the russians forced 4,000 residents into the river to drown. >> but long held fears of an invasion of immigrant across the borders. for the moment at least it's more myth and reality, the two cities are part of a zone allowing temporary visa free travel. crossing the border for business is as easy as taking a hovercraft across the ice. >> translation: if you look at the every day stuff, renting an apartment is cheaper, food is less. if you want opportunities, there's more here than in russia china is a fast growing economy, it can give you what you want. you need to know what to wish for. >> russia's geopolitical cosy alliance with china is a recent phase of an old complex

relationship. sometimes friends, sometimes rivals always looking for fresh opportunities. typical neighbours one of the mill epium goals is to reduce maternal mortality by 75% much south africa has been slow to reach the goal but a mobile phone app aims to change that. >> waiting in line when you are 8 months pregnant is something many dread. this woman uses the time to learn something new, information that is potentially lifesaving. using a mobile phone, she sends an s.m.s. to a designate number in seconds, she'll make an application. it's a free government service where she can ask questions and

receive information on what to do. it's like having a clinic next to you. many women can't go for a check up. there's no transportation, there's no clinic in the area. if i'm worried about complications i send an s.m.s. south africa made progress reducing the deaths of women and babies. many are dying. it is a radical approach to save lives. to women living in remote areas, especially those who are far from the clinic. they do feel that they can access information to talk through the phone. they ask for information. and when to go to the clinic

women register. it aims to register 1 million women. this is the nerve center where some of the data is processed. >> this is a bazooka in every woman's hand. i love it it's empowering women, with information that they need to have a healthy pregnancy a new report says that more than half of north america's bird species could be gone by the middle of the century because of climate change. one of the biggest cause of death is crashing into class

windows. so giving the birds is fighting chance and what is being explored. >> naturalist luke de groot is trapping birds before dawn. trapping them in mesh net. they are identified banded and soon therefore released. here in the woods the birds needn't fear a killer - glass panes. every year 300 million to a billion die in north america by crashing into windows. >> the majority of the birds are night migrating song birds. once they migrated and come out of the sky, they have to find food. near the glass windows. >> the birds come from the banding lab. using the tunnel the american bird conservancy is working to lessen the threat. >> with fly birds this end of the tunnel, and record which way

they go do they tend to go towards the clear pain or go towards the pain with the treatment on it. some are ultra viability. so they reflect light and have a pattern on it. >> the bigger a new building, the more reflected panes they are likely to contain. >> this lies along a big migration fly ways on the continent. local activists are fighting to change the design and reduce the threat. the city of san francisco adopted bird safe standards. modest adjustments to existing homes can help the birds. these are simply ways to minimise bird solutions. window strips or hanging cords. >> there's no need to have transparent glass, you could have a horizontal strike an effective way of stopping birds. >> giving them better prospects

of survival instead of relying on a wing and a prayer. let's just remind you keep up to date with all the stories you have been talking about if you head to the website. it's aljazeera.com, see the front page with the lead story. communities thousands of years old. christians in lebanon, syria and egypt, jews samaritans and the yazidis an off shoot from the religious minorities. isil and the suffering of the yazidis. that's "inside story." >> hello, i'm ray suarez.