>> the search continues as officials say a plane with 162 people on board may have crashed at sea. >> welcome to al jazeera. coming up, journalists around the world show solidarity with al jazeera staff jailed in egypt for one year. greece heads to early elections after parliament failed to elect a president for a third time. and all the passengers on a ferry that caught fire off

italy's coast have now been rescued. we begin with a continuing search for missing air asia plane. it was on its way to singapore from the indonesia with 162 people on board. it is likely that the aircraft is at the bottom of the sea. we have the latest where the plane took off. >> reporter: another day of anxious waiting for relatives of the people on the missing air asia aircraft. early in the morning they had a private briefing where the plane took off with 162 people on board. but there is no evidence of what happened to the plane nor where it might be.

more aircraft and more ships were sent to the kilometer stretch of the java sea looking for any sign of the airplane. australia has now joined malaysia and singapore in the operation headed to indonesia. >> our coordinates that that we received suggest that it's undersea. >> reporter: they're looking at the profile of the passengers on board this aircraft, and looking at x-rays of the baggage and cargo before this plane took off and the maintenance records of this aircraft while they review air asia operations. operations.

a surveillance plane saw something in the sea. >> events are being held around the world in solidarity with three al jazeera journalist who is have been jailed in egypt for a full year. our colleagues mohamed fahmy, bader mohammed, and peter greste were arrested on december 29, 2013. they were falsely accused and convicted of aiding the outlawed muslim brotherhood. >> reporter: al jazeera's doha news center marking an anniversary staff that they find hard to report.

12 months behind bars for just doing their job. vigils are being held in newsrooms across the world in protest of the false charges against correspondent mohamed fahmy, bader mohammed, and peter greste. it was a trial with no evidence against them. peter's parents spent christmas day visiting theiren. >> it's been truly amazing the way he has been table draw upon his reserves of resilience, strengths and inspire us all in carry on. as we all know this has been a very long, long struggle. >> it has ban year that has seen protests spread around the world. the hashtag #free aj staff has

gone viral. >> we've been clear publicly and privately they should be released. >> al jazeera has maintained it's public campaign. >> we work in so many different places and we should be taken as professional constitution, not part of a political ideology or any other establishment. >> egypt's president al sisi insisted it was an issue for the courts. what's going on behind the scenes is less clear. president sisi suggested he would have preferred that the journalists have been deported. this is seen as a sign he know

what damage this has been. >> if youas you can imagine this has had plenty of traction online. >> i have found support. it's gone now into 2:00 in the afternoon in london, across europe, 3:00. there is a lot more traction with the free aj staff hashtag. i just want to take you around the world with some of these pictures. that's the al jazeera newsroom in turkey. in istanbul where they've had solidarity there. this is in sarajevo. what else have we got? the netherlands, the hague. there has been quite a few protests in the hague.

and this one is london. some of our staff you'll recognize outside of the egyptian embassy in london as well. one more if i can find it here. sitting on a plane using the wi-fi on the plane to hashtag free aj staff. what does it all mean. let me skip to the map. the hashtag map showing us where it is trending, and it is here. very strong in europe at the moment. strong through the middle east. australia is still very strong, which is good. it's nighttime there but with links to peter greste, it's very strong. this is a graph of what has been happening over the last few hours. 4:30 p.m. we were looking at 218 tweets per minute with free aj staff.

our average was 9.5000 per week. the worrying part is that it's starting to drop off. if you're near area tablet, phone, hop on and use the hashtag free aj staff. this just takes you back right through january, february, everything that has happened. the first court case there. all these events have led to us unfortunately still being here today one year on. if you're online you can have a look at that. go on youtube and find "standing in solidarity." it's very powerful, and you will see why this is so important to the people who work in this newsroom. al jazeera.com. that's the free aj staff. have a look at everything and the reports.

reports called in to question. see if you think there is anything wrong with them. you can look at our activitiers and tweets. my twitter feed has been overrun with free aj staff. it's great to have all your support. >> the greek prime minister called snap elections failed for a third time. the preferred candidate fell to 180 votes needed to be head of state. we have been covering the story for us and say that they're disappointed with the results. >> well, the prime minister has declared himself confident that the center right coalition has failed.

>> you it's extremely unfortunate that has the opposition that has added votes with the golden done. at the same time the greeks did not want the elections in the overwhelming majority. now we're going to go into elections, and i very strongly believe that the pro european forces and those forces who have been for the necessary structural changes in this country will prevail. >> you have to hope that greeks who vote the majority of whom said they don't want an election now will prefer stability under his continued leadership. they don't have a plan of how they'll turn things around in the country. in the meantime the financial

markets will be watching. they don't like uncertainty one little bit and the eurozone as a whole may be braces themselves for a return to crisis in the new year. >> stranded passengers have been rescued from a greek ferry that caught fire on sunday. some of the passengers have been taken to the eye the italian potter. >> all the passengers have been successfully taken off the stricken ferry. 478 people on board including the crew at the time the fire started on this ferry, it's not clear whether a skeleton crew has been left on board to handle what will now be the complex task of towing the ferry to a safe port. we think in italy. it's not clear which harbor it

will be towed to. but now the concern for all passenger and crew, they have been distributed among a number of different vessels mainly italian naval vessels but cargo vessels who have been taking these people in as they have been rescued from the ferry. they will be brought to italy to be processed for further medical checkups before they're sent on and repatriated to various counties. as you can see behind me this is extremely windy still. the seas are running very high, and it is extremely cold. it is difficult to stress how cold it has been over the last 24 hours. i'm sure one of the principles concerns tending these vessels will be the extent they have

exposeed themselves. it's hardly surprising given our terrible the conditions have been. in conclusion everyone rescued. we're confirming the five deaths we have heard about now from the italian navy on board. four fatalities where their bodies from found below deck where the fires burned furiously. >> cameroon uses military jets for the first time in fight boko haram. and bad for business, russia's ruble is on the slide which means tough times ahead in china.

>> the man in charge of indonesia's search for malaysian aircraft say it is probably at the bottom of the sea. three al jazeera journalists have been jailed for an entire year. falsely accused and convicted of aiding the outlawed muslim brotherhood. they failed to win 180 votes needed to become head of state.

the court in pakistan has suspended the the trials of a man mastermind of an attack. the pakistan government is likely to appeal the decision to release him in supreme court. >> it is not just an internal situation and internal problem but a problem with india because this man has been held with six other aused india of being hyped the attack in mum by, and india asked for him to be handed over and pakistan refuse to hand him over. they say they'll keep him in jail until india produces evidence against him. this has not happened 37 but they're still in jail and the situation is controversial. the public opinion and it's now a situation a case of

.

>> soldiers fired warning shots in the air to discourage palestinians. the group didn't stop so soldiers fired at them. the i want will be investigated. for the first time cameroon's military has launched airstrikes against boko haram. the strikes came after fighters after the armed group attacked five separate villages and a military camp in cameroon. nigeriawe go to nigeria where they explain some of boko haram movements. >> we've seen in the last three or four months boko haram has launched several attacks and

attempted to seize and control some areas. now it could also be a pay back for cameroon in the fight against boko haram in northeastern nigeria. cameroon has contributed significantly to try to dislodge boko haram in that part of the country. in the northeastern part of nigeria, and these attacks may be like a retaliation. but of course boko haram is over ambitious. counties like chad niger and cameroon, this is an attempt to keep boko haram into cameroon? this is not certain. places like this has supporters where boko haram fighters have been known to operate for the last three or four years. these attempts to actively participate or commit more resources to try to dislodge

boko haram from its territory as they do theory own part their own part in boko haram. they are in areas that are being controlled by the insurgents. there are also other areas currently under their control. places like yorba state. >> suicide-bombers killed 21 shia pilgrims in iraq. it happened north of baghdad. the bomber detonated inside a tempt offering drinks and food in to those headed to a shrine next week. 45 others have been injured, 14 people have been reported to be killed in yemen in fighting between tribesman and mouth rebels. it happened north of sanaa. they say tribal members resisted when houthi stormed a home of a

tribal chief. >> these houses belong to members of a yemeni tribe. the houthi accused them of having close ties with the party. the people said they had to fight back to defend themselves. angry residents say all through the district there has been heavy shelling, tribal leaders have been targeted and their homes have been destroyed and looted. their describes have earlier announced that they will not take part of armed conflicts. yemen neigh anies are also angry at the government and the army for failing to protect them. and the struggling government has been trying to regain control. the president has made changes in the military. some of the appointments like that of shia officers as deputy

chief of staff after promoting him as a general has come as a surprise even to the military. >> this suggests that the presidency has succumb to the houthi desires and womens. >> the army has been criticized for not stopping the houthi take over. now some in the military are critical of the president who is trying to resolve the crisis by negotiating with the houthi. the rebels who began the protest against inflation and corruption are now presenting themselves as an alternative to state authority. promising to disarm after demands have been met but that did not happen. the leader of the houthi reaffirmed his expansion plans by saying the houthi people are determined to resume its revolution and stop corruption and they plan to put an end to political tyranny.

afterafter the promise of peace the people are only seeing violence. >> the disputed region of crimea annexed by russia is facing isolation. electrical black outs are increasing, credit card companies are suspending services and trains have stopped. >> back in march russian president vladimir putin annexed crimea. it was an audacious move and warmly welcomed by the majority of the population. they were delighted to be back in the warm embrace of mother russia again. 95% of them voted in a referendum in favor of joining russia. but that was nine months ago. now the noose is starting to tighten in this peninsula in the black sea. ukraine has severed it's rail

links and bus links. and there is economic isolation too. visa and mastercard have suspended businesses here in compliance with u.s. sanctions. and the e.u. is waiting for sanctions of its own. it's banned cruise liners from stopping in the ports on the crimea cutting off valuable supplies of foreign currency, especially during the summer months. and last week the lights went out. ukraine pulled the plug. it said that it's coal supplies were being interrupted by the rebels, they could not get to the generators, and they pulled the plugs. that strengthens the sense of isolation among the people here a feeling that they're out there on their own. what is the result then? how are people responding to these continual blows?

i spoke to one man and he put it like this. he said just look across the border into ukraine. the fighting has been going on since march. 470,000 people dead. here in crimea we have peace. as long as we have peace then they can do what they want. >> the western sanctions on russia it's effects begin to take hold, the russian ruble has fallen 45%. the chinese line should be used to settle trade. this fits in neatly with beijing's ambition to increase currency. the chinese minister of commerce in these sector also remain uneffected by financial crisis. the two countries were able to achieve their 2014 trade targets

of $100 billion. but as reported the weakened russian economy is bad news. it relies heavily on the trade. >> the russian influence in this town is very much apparent. the buildings have gild a more european appearance and the restaurant have menus in menus in chinese and inter. much of the exports from russia into china pass through there town. and heavy machinery crops textiles, that's is brought through this hub. but demand is drying up and slowing down because of the weaker ruble. this is supposed to be one of the busiest shopping streets in

town. it's usually filled with russian tourists. but it's been quiet since the ruble collapsed. they have been selling fur coats for years. he doesn't remember business ever being this bad. >> during the good times i could sell 20 to 30 coats. but i haven't sold anything lately. >> a popular shopping destination because the goods here are cheaper than in russia. the businesses here cater more to russian customers and you can see the shop signs are not just chinese characters but sir real lick script. and the stores and accessories it's one of the few towns in china where people can pay in rubles. shop keepers say they still accept the currency but they don't take chances. converting it to local money immediately. on the other side of town there is little activity at this warehouse.

this man runs an import/expert trading company say that several russian customers have canceled their contracts. but at least his business can rely on chinese di . >> and i'm not too worried because china's economy will be better next year. the russians will take steps to stabilize the ruble. i'll be looking forward to next year. >> reporter: of course not every business is suffering. those who can rely on chinese customers are still doing all right. for example, timber processing plants because there is demand from china for wood materials. but to those businesses that rely mainly on russian customers, for example, the shopkeeper who sells fur coats 90% of his customers are

russian. if the russian economy is bad there is nothing they can do about it. they'll have to sit it out wait and hope that it turns better. >> there is a lot of stuff going on around the world. if you want to find out more about what is happening you should go to the website www.aljazeera.com. 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