this is bbc america, and now live from london "bbc world news." >> hello, i'm lucy hockings with "bbc world news." our top stories. objects are spotted in the sea by rescue teams searching for the missing air asia plane, but it's not yet known if they're from the aircraft. the italian navy says all people onboard a ferry that caught fire in the adriatic sea should be rescued by night fall. the greek parliament fails to elect a new president. and it's a year since they were arrested in egypt. we speak to the parents of the jailed al jazeera journalists.

the search teams looking for the missing air asia passenger plane say they have spotted the first potential signs of wreckage. an indonesian helicopter has seen two oily spots in the search area and an australian search plane has spotted objects hundreds of miles away, but it is still too early to know whether either sighting is connected to the missing air kraftd. the search is centered here in the java sea.craft. the search is centered here in the java sea. these boxes you can see here is the total search area divided into several sections. the plane was flying from surabaya airport in indonesia to singapore, a flight which should have taken just two hours. in the last hour we were given this update. >> there are ship operations in

this area and of course on operation in the sea. our people to do the best and fast and no lead to finds. >> the indonesian authorities have held some briefings for those who had relatives or friends on flight 8501. the bbc has spoken to the father of the plane's pilot and he explained that he only saw his son a week ago at the funeral of another of his children. >> translator: i want my son to come back alive and well but if that's not meant to be if god

doesn't want that it's in the hands of fate. my son, he's not alone on the plane. if this is god's will then so be it. >> let's take you live to our correspondent. what is happening in terms of the search operation? >> well lucy just in the last hour we've had an indonesian service reporter of the bbc's indonesian service onboard an indonesian military aircraft that was scouring the java seas earlier today for any sign of that missing airline, that missing airplane. what she was able to tell us about the time that she spent on this aircraft is that search and rescue teams spotted two oil slicks in the area where it's thought the pilot last had contact with air traffic control in jakarta.

this is just off the coast. as of yet, it's unconfirmed whether these oil slicks have anything to do with the missing airplane. we heard from the indonesian vice president just a few moments ago. he he was talking about there is a huge effort to try and find any sign of this airplane. he also added, in fact in a later briefing that they're trying to mobilize as many people on the ground in the area to get as much information as they can. they've even asked fishermen in the area to come back and report any details about what they might have seen during the last 36 hours that this plane has been missing. we understand that the indonesian president joko widodo is here in central jakarta and he is due to make some sort of press briefing or press

announcement we understand. it's not clear what he's going to say, but what we do know is authorities in indonesia are not sparing any efforts to find out what has happened to this missingmiss ing airplane. >> thanks for the update. in light of what is feared to happen, you might be worried about how safe air travel is at the moment. despite several high profile losses of life many experts actually feel that we've been through the safest ever period in aviation history. although there have been 761 deaths in 2014 compared to 265 in 2013, that rise comes after a long downward trend. malaysia airlines suffered two disasters. you'll remember in march 2013 when mh-370 disappeared en route from kuala lumpur to beijing. no trace of that plane has yet been found. it was in july that malaysia airlines flight 17 was shot down over ukraine, killing all 298

people onboard. in taiwan 48 out of the 58 people onboard died. a day later, all 116 people onboard air algerie flight were killed when it went down in bad weather. despite these grim statistics, air travel is still extremely safe. that is less than one accident for every four million flights. do you have a theory as to what has happened to this air asia flight? >> absolutely. you rightly said the aviation industry is quite a safe industry. and still there are accidents.

of course, this is a very tragic incident for the families, for the airlines, for the stake holders around this industry. so we have to wait and watch and see how the rescue and search team are beginning to react. >> do you think that this is a case of bad weather somehow affecting that flight? >> it would be completely speculation at this moment but considering the communication between the cockpit crew and the air traffic controller, it looks like this is a weather incident and we'll have to wait and watch until they find some evidence. >> is there any concern about air traffic control in the asia pacific region in southeast asia particularly? because there have been some concerns raised with mh-370 as well in terms of communication with those controllers.

>> not only air traffic control, but how black books can be virtually planted in the satellites and how to be fair across the passenger aircrafts flying around the globes but i don't think specific air traffic control is -- and they have all the trained air traffic controllers to manage the industry. >> and are you confident that everything is being done right now to look for the missing air asia flight that all resources have been deployed?airasia flight, that all resources have been deployed? >> the incidents are very different from last we have seen with mh370, but the government of indonesia is trying their

best to coordinate between different countries including singapore, malaysia singapore, to make sure that they find the evidence as soon as possible. at this moment the communication between the countries' leaderships and managing the passengers' families is good enough. >> thank you very much for joining us from singapore. >> we're going to take you live to jakarta. joko widodo the country's new president. he has been taking a very personal interest in what is happening with the airasia flight. this is him right now giving a press conference just talking about the government's involvement in the search operation, the government and the army as well and what is being done. a spokesman has told the bbc they're confident that all the passengers and crew still stranded on a smoldering ferry off the greek coast will be

rescued by nightfall. 340 people had already been rescued and 138 are still trapped onboard. it was traveling from western greece to the port of ancona in italy. >> reporter: rescued ferry passengers some with dehydration and hypothermia arrived overnight on dry land for their journey to hospital. this morning, a ship with 49 survivors, the first major group to reach land has docked. nearly 500 people were onboard the norman atlantic traveling from greece to italy when the fire began on the lower deck yesterday morning. the blaze spread fast. one passenger is confirmed to have died after jumping from the burning ship. one britain onboard is nicolas

channing williams who was thought to have been rescued with his greek fiancee. >> this morning we have learned that regina has been rescued and she is now in hospital being checked, but nicolas is absolutely still on the ship. so it's very very worrying because it has gone on for a long time. >> reporter: while hundreds of passengers are safe hundreds more are still on the norman atlantic having endured a second night of smoke and freezing temperatures, some 24 hours after their ordeal began, still waiting for help to arrive. we have some breaking news to bring you on that greek ferry. we have just heard from the coast guard, who says the death toll from the ferry fire has risen to five. so 138 people still trapped onboard. the death toll now stands at 5.

earlier i got the latest from athens. >> the latest news is that 345 people are now confirmed as rescued. we had an expert talking on one of the local channels this morning, and he has estimated at the speed the rescue is going, it's going to take around eight to nine hours. passengers coming off that boat. managed to speak to somebody who came off that boat after she was admitted to an italian hospital. scenes of chaos, very disorganized. her story is that they were actually supposed to travel with a different boat. the boat they're supposed to travel with is what she's familiar with. they were surprised, because they said it compared to the boat they were supposed to have traveled on. it was a lot schaap ierhabbier.

>> what stories are we hearing from this terrible night that they've endured? presumably now it's daylight. they'll be warmer, at least. >> the only change is that now some crew from the rescue teams have been dropped on to the ship. i'm hoping that means blankets water. no water, no electrics in the boat at all, so no way to heat the boat. we haven't had that much information from the people on the boat today. it's quite calm but that's also due to the fact that people are so tired now. >> and do we know what's going to happen to the boat now, where they'll actually take it to? >> yes, the boat is being towed to italy. that's still under way. we haven't had many updates about the towing operation.

there were some moments where it was dramatic the albanian authorities had prepared and the decision was made to take the boat somewhere else instead. >> now confirming that five people have been killed. do stay with us here on "bbc world news." still to come. we speak to the parents of the al jazeera journalists who were arrested in egypt a year ago. gon. no big deal... until your insurance company jacks up your rates. you freak out. what good is having insurance if you get punished for using it? hey insurance companies, news flash. nobody's perfect. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance.

m so glad we could be here for larry.

oily patches and objects in the sea have been spotted by rescue teams looking for the missing airasia plane. it's too early to say if the sightings are connected to the

aircraft. italian officials say all people onboard the ferry should be rescued by night fall. the greek coast guard says five people have now died. italy's prime minister matteo renzi is in rome right now. he is giving a planned end of year address to the media. it's likely he'll mention, of course, that operation in the adriatic. he has also been tweeting about it, talking about the helicopters bringing people to shore. let's have a listen. >> the italians who are saving people, and frankly, it's very impressive. and i look to the various messages and i was thinking of how dedicated these people were and also you know that there were other interventions at sea, and of course it's a very difficult and painful situation

and i'd like to express my concerns to the people. so our men really have carried out this work with a lot of passion and have managed to avoid an appalling situation. and i am very grateful and i'd like to express my gratitude in the name of all italians whatever their political opinion is. during the day, of course, more information will be given by the ministers, who have responsibility with regard to the military and the ports, so they were responsible for these rescue operations and they will have a press conference at the end of the afternoon to give you all the details with regards to the operation, so about 60

people on the list, on the embarkation list. perhaps there are discrepancies, that can happen from time to time there could be some other people, possibly some illegal immigrants as well. because otherwise you can't understand the difference, the differential. but anyway there will be a press conference that the ministers will hold. and i would just like to take this opportunity to express my condolences to the families of the victims, and at the same time to thank our people who really have carried out some extraordinary work. believe me when this evening, half past 2:00 there was the message came that we were in

contact with our people and they were talking about abandoning the ship. well our people have been extraordinarily dedicated, especially taking into consideration the situation. so my opinions -- i don't think will be of interest to you today. and i don't think that i should talk about, in fact my attitude as far as the senate is concerned at the moment but the senate respond in an extraordinary way. there are some extraordinary reforms taking place at the moment. thank you for allowing me to say

about the various acts and legislation. but i hope that you appreciate this gesture, and i believe however that the government that i am going to preside will have all the institutional desires and the political will to collaborate and to deal with you to see which reforms can actually be updated and what period of time. finally, i would just like to say that in 2014, i get the impression that there's a change which is really quite an extraordinary change. >> matteo renzi moving on to domestic issues there. but it was interesting, he was pointing out the coast guard's response to the greek ferry crisis. the greek authorities now saying the death toll from that ferry stranded in the adriatic after a fire broke out on sunday, has

now risen to five. matteo renzi just paying tribute to the italian coast guard who have been heavily involved in getting people off that ferry and back to land. we've heard in the past hour or so that greece is going to head to early elections in the new year after parliament failed to elect a new president. you can hear the applause. that break out as the result was being read out. the government's candidate failed to win the 180 votes needed to secure the vote in the third and final round. the government now has ten days to dissolve parliament and declare early elections. let's bring you some other news now, starting in south korea, which has offered to restart high-level talks with north korea next month. the south korean unification minister said he hoped pyongyang would respond to his offer to discuss mutual concerns including a reunion of families separated during the korean war more than 60 years ago.

37 children whose parents were killed in the recent israeli-gaza conflict have been stopped by hamas from visiting israel. the children aged between 12 and 15 were on a trip organized by peace activists. they returned back at the crossing. more than 2,000 people mostly palestinians, died in the 50-day conflict in july and august. this monday is the first anniversary of the arrest in egypt of three al jazeera journalists. they were charged with broadcasting false news and aiding a terrorist organization. the journalists deny these charges, saying they were only doing their job. >> a verdict that was shocking and painful to many people. the three men were given prison

sentences, ranging between seven and ten years. with the new year comes an appeal session that ushers in hope for the three journalists and their families. >> we are confident that the appeal will acknowledge the fact that peter and his colleagues have been entirely and wrongfully convicted and sentenced and jailed. >> we are now driving by the complex where the journalists are held. security measures are very tight, so we cannot film outside. there are hope that the three men may walk out of this notorious place sooner than expected after a recent reconciliation deal between egypt and qatar. earlier this month, he met with an envoy in cairo. saudi arabia was the mediator.

it appears to be that mediation efforts brought this. one of the channels known for its criticism of the egyptian regime. qatar is softening its tone. egypt may also make some changes. the family is cautiously optimistic. >> it's mixed feeling. hope and fear. fear because when we imagine about this seven years, which cannot be because innocent men, so why we keep thinking of seven years, we are dreaming that we can get him with us the next year. it was a very tough year on me and his parents and definitely on him. i believe that there is no reason for him to stay in prison any more. >> reporter: their future could

be decided by the judge. but politics may have the final word. >> don't forget you can get a hold of me on twitter. i'm @lucyhockingsbbc. do stay with us. these ally bank ira cds really do sound like a sure thing but i'm a

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hello, i'm lucy hockings with "bbc world news." our top stories. objects are spotted in the sea by rescue teams searching for the missing airasia plane, but it's not yet known if they're from the aircraft. the italian navy says all people onboard a ferry that caught fire in the adriatic sea should be rescued by night fall. the greek parliament fails to elect a new president, paving the way for a snap general election. and it's a year since they were arrested in egypt. we speak to the parents of the jailed al jazeera journalists.