it was on its way to singapore.rbid, if something's happened to this where any wreckage would be found, this is probably the indonesian authorities under the treaties that will have the duty of investigating it. that's just off the top of my head, without actually seeing where the plane might or might not have come down. >> all right. and richard, let me ask you this. as you led cnn's coverage of malaysia airlines 370, if i can get the words out, forgive me. we talked a great deal about tracking devices, satellite, radar, all the rest of it. we talked about steps that needed to be taken, change that need to be made. between now and then were any changes made to track systems on aircraft? >> well, that's -- there's certainly been no official -- there's certainly been no new rules come into it. the body looking into it is still debating what rules. we're still waiting for -- we're still waiting for hayarta to come out with their tracking principles. but most airlines have dramatically improved their reporting, the so-

that a live look at singapore airport right now. we're being told there is a crisis center that has been set up by the airline. we're also told that there is a number. there's a telephone number that people can call in the hope of getting more information but once again, it is important to stress at this point in time that we do not know what has happened to flight 8501 that was on its way from indonesia to singapore. we do not know at this point in time. it has been confirmed by the air line that the pilot requested deviation in the route because of bad weather. that is what we know. we also know there was bad weather in the region at the time. so the pilot requested a change in the route because of those conditions. it is also worth qualifying that statement with the fact that planes are built to withstand turbulence. so we don't quite know what happened. we don't have those details yet. of course we are staying on this story for you here at cnn. let's go to paula who joins us from seoul. you are there closely following the situat

it was on its way to singapore.oth countries have launched a joint search and rescue operation but there is no word yet on the plane's whereabouts. airasia released a statement saying the crew asked for a change in flight path to avoid some rough weather. the flight left surabaya at 5:35 local time indonesia air traffic controllers lost contact with that plane at 7:24 a.m. flight was scheduled to land in singapore an hour later at 8:30 a.m. local time. airasia is a regional low cost carrier with presence in several southeast asian countries. joining me now, former ntsb investigat investigator. greg joins me on the phone. let's talk about possibilities here based on what we know and the fact the pilot asked for a deviation from the flight plan due to weather. you know what? i'm just getting word that greg has just dropped out. we'll try to hook back up with him in the control booth and get him back on. we should let you know that this, of course, everyone is the third incident this year involving a malaysian flight t

it was set to land in singapore. as the message on the board says, "go to info counter" because it never landed. it has been missing for some eight hours now. more now about the type of airplane we're talking about that's missing. it was made by airbus. and earlier my colleague aisha sesay spoke with cnn's regulation and government regulation correspondent renee marsh who's been in contact with the company that makes the plane. >> i just got off the phone a short while ago with airbus. they're very careful at this hour. they're not speculating, that's their words. they say they're in the process of continuing to gather information, their wording. they're assessing the situation. that's as far as airbus is going. but they're aware there is an event, and they are monitoring it. of course at this point i show you know it raises the question of fuel. we know this was a pretty short flight. an hour 50 minutes, two hours. an aircraft usually has more fuel than it actually needs. but again, we're talking about this plane wa

singapore pompton $4 billion.o ensure people are well the reason why foreign companies come to singapore, invest in the country, because the people are well skilled. investorsreason why flock to the countries because singapore managed to be in .nventive it had not a single drop of oil to its name yet. it has oil related sectors. two companies in particular come to mind. they control 70% of the market. they make oil rigs for the rest of the world. [no audio] singapore does not have a drop of oil. >> joining us live from singapore, thank you so much. you want to find out more about the world's most successful economic startups, it is in a special edition of bloomberg businessweek. it includes several other innovators, as ideas have changed our world. if you use twitter it is even easier to stay in touch with us. you can also follow my colleagues. checking survivors is making todlines around the world, say to the south china sea. disputes put china in conflict with vietnam. moving ahead, former security from the expe

there may be a singapore person onboard. there may be three koreans onboard but at this point as i say, it's not 100% confirmed so we're waiting for that information from the company itself but it does appear at this point the vast majority well over 150, 145, i should say are indonesians themselves. that is the source of this flight. it started in oiindonesia so th vast majority appear to be indonesian. this flight should have taken less than two hours. about an hour and 50 minutes. a fairly well travelled route. certainly not isolated. just a flight that would be heading north/northwest up to singapore and should have landed as i say at 8:30 a.m. loc 8:20 time. that was five hours ago. concerns are increasing. >> we appreciate the reporting. stand by for us. we want to recap for our viewers. there's an air asia flight to singapore is missing. a transport official says it lost contact with air traffic controllers at 7:24 a.m. that they lost contact with air traffic controllers. you heard paula say this was a flight that was

ironically singapore has just provided a platform for other people's politics.rom the middle east attending the city's art fair have been displaying work that would cause offense back home dealing with resent events. >> there is one outside the country to show and to make a listen of what has happened and other possibility to express and say usually people in the streets cannot say. >> reporter: unexpected message for singapore visitors to take away with them, robert in singapore. >>> a doctor who contracted ebola treating patients in sierra leone returned home and he spent 16 days in a hospital where he received experimental treatment and now free of the virus and one of 256 cuban doctors and nurses who traveled to west africa. now the preservation of the rain forest is considered central in the battle against global warming but in peru where the climate change conference is held illegal logging is continuing at unprecedented rates and nick reports from the peru amazon. >> reporter: illegal logging is so commonplace in the rain forest he doesn't care about us f

the singapore success story.tore, is in a special edition of bloomberg businessweek n/a his stance as of today including several other innovators whose ideas have changed our world. more coming up. a look of what is going on with the chinese economy and trade data on its way. ♪ >> coming to live from hong kong. high forecasts. hi levy's deep in the recession before elections in japan. when an orderly city shake things up, singapore -- the destructivor. we will be live in singapore. of course, we are live right here in hong kong, and we will find out what is happening market wise. we are 30 minutes into the training session in shanghai. is up substantially. for the shanghai composite, we have reversed some of the earlier weakness. let's take a look at the shanghai composite -- this is one of the areas, they are really on the back of this map. i think the last piece of data 370,000 -- that is what shanghai looks like at this point in time. we are looking at oil and gas. that is also at play. mistaken, china and ope

singapore is also asia's biggest oil trading hub.t has been able to invent and reinvent itself based on what the world needs, and the people have benefited. the people's per capita is higher than the u.s. it has the most number of millionaires per capita in the world. 1-6 householded here have a million in cash savings. quite a feat for a little country with no natural resources. >> yeah, --, that's great news for the lion city there. when you talk about singapore, there is careful government planning there. how does that work against the spirit of business and entrepreneurship? >> well, it hasn't, really. singapore is driven by carefully crafted policies, but back in 2001, the government commission and e.r.c., economic review committee, to see how it can encourage innovation. it needed entrepreneurs to ensure growth in the future. 10 years after that initiative, more than 20% of sinaporans said they will start a business in three years. that's double the number earlier. nearly a quaretter of those between 35 and 34 said they will pl

robert mcbride, al jazeera, singapore. can keep up-to-date with all of the stories we have been covering in this program and throughout the day on our website. the address for that is aljazeera.com. there, you will find comment, analysis, individual quo on demand as well as belongs from our reporters. do check it out. aljazeera.com.

one is from singapore. one from malaysia. and one from france. and we know of the passengers on board there were 16 children and one infant. >>> a little more on the airline airasia. on its website the airline describes itself as no frills. constantly looking for advancements that will lead to lower costs but not at the expense of safety. our paula hancocks reported to us from seoul that it is known as a budget airline with a good record. its fleet is made up entirely of airbus a-320 aircraft. the airline flies to more than 100 destinations across 22 countries with its main hub and headquarters in malaysia's capital, kuala lumpur. and this is interesting to us. airasia quickly updated their company pages on social media. both their facebook and twitter page logos, previously just a short while ago they were red. now you can see that circle is gray. there have been no further updates posted on those pages but we'll continue to track any information. we'll take a quick break. more on this mystery from asia in just a moment. >>> welcome back to cnn

you're in singapore now. what is the mood there in singapore? to bed in quite anxious. >> there is a special area for the relatives. now the security people at the airport wouldn't tell us how many people were waiting at the airport. but otherwise, the mood in singapore is he is real. you look at the airport, planes are coming and going. it's almost strange that hasn't had more of an impact than it has. we just had this horrible tragic aberration. and that's, of course -- sounds like we lost greg there. >> thanks to you, managing editor of flight global. we'll get back to you as soon as we can reconnect with you there in singapore. greg, thank you so much. we're learning more about the search. indonesian officials, the air force there has deployed three planes including a surveillance plane to search for 8501. we also learning that singapore has joined this search with two c-130s although the planes have been grounded for the night. the search included, singapore resources, singapore resources and indonesian resources. we're learning more about

singapore added a c-130.en involved giving an ap 3 c orion air patrol aircraft. they searched all day yesterday. they searched all day today. they stopped for the nighttime. they're going to stop once it gets dark and so far they see no sign of the plane and weather conditions are becoming a factor. it is cloudy now which means visibility is less than ideal and they expect it to rain tomorrow and for the next few days which means that it will be even harder to spot any wreckage if there is any on the surface of the water. weather could have been a factor which contributed to the plane disappearing. while it was in the air, about 45 minutes into the flight pilots called air traffic control and said they wanted to change in altitude to avoid some weather. that was the last that anyone heard of this plane. now, indonesian officials are preparing for the worst, saying that from their coordinates, from the beth edst educated guess at the moment they believe it is at the bottom of the java sea but that's unconfirme

singapore involved as scott mentioned. life is about to get - just go down, so it won't be possible to continue for. much longer. it is a long and grim wait here in singapore. >> thank you for getting us up to date. veronica pedrosa there reporting to us from singapore's changi airport >>> in other news three al jazeera journalists have been gaoled for a full year. our colleagues peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed were arrested on december 29th, 2013. and they were falsely accused and convicted of aiding the outlawed muslim brotherhood, and damaging egypt's reputation abroad abroad. andrew simmonds reports. >> reporter: newsrooms across the world start to mark an anniversary people find hard to absorb. it's a year since an al jazeera team was arrested in cairo, a whole 12 months behind bars for doing their jobs. peter greste mohamed fadel fahmy, and producer baher mohamed were all convicted in june. it was a trial that had no compelling evidence against them. peter's parents spent christmas day in egypt ge

lots of families headed to singapore for a short vacation. a british passport holder with his 2-year-old daughter. a position their couple from south korea and their 1-year-old girl. in all, 17 children among the 162 people on board. some family members say they are praying for a miracle. for all of them, an agonizing few days and hours ahead as they wait to find out what happened. >> thank you for the latest from london. there was a lot of stormy weather in the area at the time the plane vanished. kelly mentioned that. mark elliot here to give us a closer look at what was happening there. mark? >> good afternoon, richard. we continue to follow the weather situation surrounding that air asia flight 8501. on the screen now is the flight path through the java are sea from indonesia up toward singapore was the planned path. it does appear the weather played a big role in what happened with this flight. the colors you see on the screen. this is our enhanced infrared imagery. looking down on the earth at the clouds, the brighter thor colors, yello

malaysia, australia and singapore all joining indonesia in his search. the u.s. is sending the uss sampson. and south korea and china are expected to join in tomorrow. there's at least 18 ships, and 29 aircraft. two sets of underwater locator beacon used to scour the seabed. while so much of what happened to this plane is shrouded in mystery, here's what we do know. on sunday morning, the jet takes off. as it soars at 32,000 feet the plane encounters severe weather over the java sea. the pilot radios in, requesting to change its altitude to 38,000 feet. air traffic control tells him not to but he appears to climb anyway. >> the captain is like a captain of the ship. he is directly responsible for the safety of that aircraft and the passengers on board. so, if he needs to move that airplane and put that airplane somewhere, he is not going to ask permission. he is going to do it. >> reporter: then, air traffic control suddenly loses communications and by 6:18 the plane was no longer visible on the radar. vanished into thin air, 162 people mostly indonesian, all gon

the alternate airports are near the path of going towards singapore.ular airport that i am referring to is one which has an airport on that island which is not too far from the planned flight path for that aircraft. so that -- and the search and rescue personnel i am sure will be checking there for see if perhaps the aircraft possibly land the there that's part what have they are will be doing for the search and rescue mission. >> mike, it's great to have you on the show. thank you so much. mike daniel managing director of aviation insight and former air crash investigator. >>> two greek firefighters ships have been sent to help a ferry has on fire in the adriatic sea. it is carrying over 450 passengers. it was heading towards the italian coast. over 200 vehicles are also on board. people are being transferred to nearby boats. >>> nato's combat mission to afghanistan is coming to an end after 13 years this year has been the worst for casualties. more than 4,000 afghan soldiers and police have been killed. jennifer glasse is in kabul. >> reporter: at th

local time bound for singapore. and the indonesia air traffic control say that the pilot requested to climb because of storms. almost the entire time the plane is e over water eover water. the family is desperate for what happened. almost all of the passengers were indonesian nationals. there were no americans on. the u.s. is available for assistance if that request comes in. this is ten months after malaysian flight hm-370 is still ongoing ark and there is no trace of that aircraft or the 239 people on board. and rosa is joining us now and you are tracking the social media, and i can imagine what people are saying regarding this flight. >> well, thoughts and prayers are pouring in from all over the world in every corner. people want to express thoughts because of the reminder of mh-360 and people say, i can't believe we lost another a plane in this day and age. we are seeing a number of things marty, but people are going to social media to assimilate information and hopefully to help. i want to show you this statem

the airbus a- -- it was bound for singapore.ian officials say at one point the captain asked to climb higher to avoid heavy storms. the plane disappeared from radar while flying at 38,000 feet. almost the entire flight path was over water. families are desperate for any sign of what could have happened at the aircraft. there were no americans on board. the ntsb is monitoring the situation from here in the u.s. and says it is prepared to assist if a request comes in. almost all the passengers on board indonesians, including 18 children. all of this comes less than ten months after malaysian airlines flight 370 went missing en route to beijing. a massive international search effort has still not found any trace of that aircraft or the 239 people who were on board. what do western about air az wra itself? julian bray -- it's been flying since the early 1990s. let me start off by just asking how is the safety record for the airline? >> well, it's got a very good almost impeccable safety record. i think this is the very first inciden

it vanished from radar on its way to singapore.e final time air traffic control heard from the pilot of that airplane was when he asked to avoid clouds by turning left and going to a higher altitude at 34,000 feet. one minute later officials say the plane disappeared.

families have gathered in indonesia and singapore desperately awaiting any new details on the fate of the plane and their loved ones. >> we are very surprised and very sad, our grandchild was going to singapore for a holiday, but the accident happened. you know it's a plane accident, i only ask god for a miracle. i hope not only my family will be saved, but everyone on board. >> david picher is live in bangkok thailand with the very latest. david, what is the latest? >> reporter: yes, well as you can see, dawn has broken monday morning here in asia we are 12 hours ahead of new york city, and as expected, the air search has are resumed now, it was suspended overnight because of bad weather but we understand that planes have gone out, also from malaysia and singapore to try to look for the plane. overnight boats were out in the area of the java sea also looking for planes, but they found no trace. they're looking on an island it's called belly tongue, it's about halfway between surabaya where the plane originated on its way to singapore, that is the area at this time where they're focus

it left surabaya bound for singapore.asked to deviate from the flight plan due to bad weather. we have andrew in surabaya and what have you been hearing from the ceo and the families? >> well, it is herding to 1:00 in the morning and there hasn't been any new information coming from the airport, but we have heard from the vice president of indonesia in the last couple of hours, dana, and he is saying that it does look like in his words an accident and tragic accident and the search when it resumes tomorrow at first light will be joined by three ships from malaysia, and a plane from singapore, including of course the indonesiiana ianiana ianian assets to make their way to see roughly between singapore and indonesia. and such sad and heart rendering moments here as we saw two teenaged girls chaperone edd in from the representatives of their school. now they'd flown down from singapore, and they have been waiting at the singapore airport for their girls. they are friends and not related, and both sets of parents were on that

we begin in singapore with nbc's katy tur. katy, what's the latest on the search? >> reporter: hi there, lester. it is morning here in singapore. the start of day three with still no sign of this plane. the search has resumed for the morning, but there are concerns that bad weather could interfere with the effort. ships, helicopters and planes scoured the sea halfway between surabaya indonesia, and singapore, for any sign of the missing plane. flight 8501 took off sunday morning bound for singapore but abruptly dropped from radar after only 42 minutes in the air. there was no distress call. >> right now we don't have a lot of good data to pinpoint the actual location of the wreckage. >> reporter: pilots had asked to change altitude to avoid bad weather. a request that was denied because of air traffic. the weather channel's carl parker. >> we know this flight was traveling about 32,000 feet, we also know there was a very tall thunderstorm ahead of the flight which they did try to get around but were not cleared to. and it's possible that they encountered very stron

from java to singapore. particularly given the holiday season now. what we know also is that air traffic controller lost contact. we choose. it was unknown for more than three hours. it should have lobbed in singapore at 8:30 local time. the plane had asked before it lost contact. and reports showed that it was poor. that's what we have so far. >> 155 passengers and crew were on board. we are trying to get more information. we understand that the air released a statement. i want to get to that. this is a statement released on the facebook page saying: search and rescue was progressing, it's believed to have lost contact. air traffic control - they are believed to have lost contact with the plane, that has not been confirmed. flight qz85 headed from surabaya to singapore reported missing more than three hours ago. we talked to an aviation expert that told us what is in store for the next several hours from now, and that's basically a search operation to find missing aircraft. >> all right. shortly ago malaysia transport minister took to twitter to dis

it's not just indonesia that's involved, because it was going to singapore, and singapore has a veryrol center too, and they were trying to contact the aircraft as well so it will be a multinational effort. >> what about other aircraft whether they be enlisted to say, if you see anything can you call? >> absolutely. i think pilots when they're flying they've got a view in their cockpit of the other aircraft around them so they will be aware as well they will be asked to become involved. but probably not to the extent of actually to look for it but can you see anything on your radar screen is there anything you can help us with? a lot of things happen very very quickly and obviously there are drills that take place. but -- so is it gets a chance for everybody to become involved it hasn't happened in this case. >> what about an automatic distress call when an aircraft touches down and hits the water? >> that too will have -- we haven't heard from the authorities what has been act vatd but if it did go down in the water, it would be activated, but we wouldn't know that until some later

it is 10:30 here in singapore right now. they had a good 14 15 hours of daylight to look for that plane. it disappeared around 7:30 local time somewhere over the sea. officials know where and when it went off radar. so they should have a good idea of where it potentially is in that vicinity. but so far they have not seen any sign of the plane. it is an air bus 300. air asia qz501. 162 passengers onboard, five crew members and two pilots. now, indonesian -- air asia officials say pilots asked to change paths in the middle of the flight. they asked to go to 38,000 feet to avoid some weather. and there was, indeed, a line of thunderstorms in the area. that is the last they heard of that plane before it went off radar. now, it was supposed to land here at 8:30 in the morning at singapore airport. we saw a few family members and friends come here looking for answers. a lot of them have flown in indonesia because the vast majority of the passengers are indonesian. so the ceo of air asia has flown down there to try to give them any

it was on its way from singapore. from the airport in sync poresingapore where the plane was supposed to land some 14 hours ago. what can you tell us? what's the latest? >> reporter: singapore air force has just confirmed that they have been involved in the search. they went over the java sea, searched for two hours before heading back when indonesian officials called off the search. it's 10:30 here right now. they've had a good 14 15 hours to look for that plane. it disappeared around 7:30 local time somewhere over the java sea. officials know where and when it went off radar so they should know where it is in that vicinity. so far, they have not seen any sign of that plane. it's an airasia a-320, flight qz8501. officials say that pilots asked to change paths in the middle of the flight. they asked to go to 38,000 feet to avoid some weather. and there was, indeed a line of thunderstorms in the area. that is the last they heard of that plane before it went off radar. now, it was supposed to land here at 8:30 in the mo

singapore agreed - sorry, there has been agreement between indonesia and singapore that they'd use underwater surveillance equipment from singapore. that's been unveiled and goes with the head of the search and rescue operation. they believe most of the evidence is pointing - the aircraft is under water. most things is when there's new, it's not that deep not like the searching going on for mh370, the malaysia airliners jet that went down. they are looking at focussing on those two areas. family and friends of those on board are waiting for any kind of information. they are still here. >> let's talk about the family and friend no doubt distraught at the moment waiting for any information. what help is being provided for them at the moment? >> well, tony fernandes is the c.e.o. and said whatever has to be done - he's willing to put them up in hotels. more family and friend are coming from singapore. we have to focus that 149 out of 162 people on board the aircraft crew and passengers were from indonesia. 77 were from this community specifically. so this is going to be the focal point. this is

veronica pedrosa live for us at that airport in singapore. thank you so much for being with us this morning and keeping us updated. meanwhile, this has been a difficult time for south-east asia malaysia's government is pledging 142 million to help those displaced by flooding. up to s are under water after days of rain. thailand declaredate provinces disaster zones and officials are warping people to prepare for more rain fall. 180,000 people have been forced from their home and 30 killed in malaysia and thailand. as mentioned weather may have played a significant role in the disappearance. meteorologist nicole mitchell who plies into hurricanes is here to give us more light on this. >> in is tropical weather. you can see the moisture through the area. the tip of sing for - this time of year the intertropical convergens zone lifting into the atmosphere we have seen areas of rain and any flight nose it may be dealing with the weather. it's predominant as we get into january. then you look at the plans. they fly na different types of weather, th

we see the same pictures now in singapore. the board, with the flight number and it says "go to the information counter." it's just it's heart-wrenching and a feeling that people here in china know all too well two kuala lumpur-based carriers have seen planes crash this year and there was another crash that didn't make a ton of news but the transasia crash as well where more than 40 people died. this has been a very painful year for air travel this thisin this part of the world. >> and were you telling us that people in china have just been able to fly more and have access to fly more. and now we have three planes disasters, associated with this region. and how familiar are you as a correspondent who flies all over the region for cnn, how familiar are you with airasia? have you ever flown it? >> reporter: well i, yeah, i can tell you, reporting in kuala lumpur in the months after mh 370 i did a story about the fact mh 370 was facing very intense competition from budget carriers in asia like airasia. that was the number one com

let's go to nbc katie tur a little bit delay live from singapore singapore. singapore. >> the latest are what you said. it's been a sad day across southeast asia. three days of searching and they spotted debris off the coast. confirming relative's worst fears when they saw the debris. they saw the bodies about 40 so for a. they're going to continue working through the night to recover as much as they can possibly can. as you were talking about they had a news conference to report all of this. in the news conference, they showed these bodies floating in the water. there were relatives there at the time. many of them not expecting to see that collapsing screaming out, and now they're bringing out more body bags. it is a heck tech scene right now as people try to wrap their heads around what happened. there's no confrimirmation there are any survivors. no confirmation there are not any survivors. they're going to keep looking until they are 100% sure they found everything. they see a dark shadow underneath the water. it's the java sea. the so the recovery proces

in indonesia and singapore relatives scoured passenger lists hoping for good news.his woman was waiting in singapore for her fiancee. >> he was supposed to be there last vacation before us got married. >> tony fernandez is the malaysian businessman who started the low cost carrier. the captain of the air asia plane was experienced with more than 20,000 flying hours and the plane itself had made over 13,600 trips. >> indonesia says it doesn't have proper technology for undersea searching but will be getting help from three countries, the united states, great britain and france. we should also say that the u.s. seventh fleet is not yet officially involved in the search but is ready to assess anytime. this is a very different scenario to the loss of malaysian air 9mh370 in marsh. that disappeared without trace over the indian ocean. this one, they have a very narrow search area. they pretty much know where it is. >> still people are waking up saying again. >> absolutely, and another asian airlines. it's a problem for them. >> most of the passengers onboard the flight a

. >> the airbus a3200 left indonesia at 5:30 eastern last night bound for singapore. indonesian officials say in about 45 minutes later the captain asked to climb above 38,000 feet because of torrential weather. minutes later the plane disappeared from radar. now airline officials say they lost contact at 7:24 eastern, though indonesian authorities say they actually monitored the jet for another half hour before losing contact. now the flight was due to land at 8:30 eastern last night. now families desperate as you can imagine for any sign of what might have happened to this plane and this is all unfolding. as you know, less than ten months after malaysia airlines flight 370 went missing enout from kuala lumpur to beijing and despite a massive international search effort there is still no trace of that aircraft or the 239 people on board. joining us on the phone aviation correspondent richard quest. richard, we've been talking all morning about the potential, the possibility of what went wrong with this plane and this flight and we have heard from multiple sources tha

ten of them ten, were supposed to fly here to singapore for new year's eve.all arrived late at the airport. here they are holding their itineraries. and they missed the flight. my mother can't stop crying one texted us, adding this is a special christmas gift from god that we missed the flight." on facebook, prayers of gratitude from chandra, supposed to fly with his wife and three kids but they canceled when his father fell ill. "thank you, jesus," he posted in indonesian, "your plan is so beautiful. our family avoided awful danger." for those who give thanks and for those who wait here these long hours are really about life about how precious it is. every moment. and how fragile. >> our thanks to terry moran in singapore. >>> next, luke bryan is ready to rock. tonight we're there as he takes his number one hits on the world ♪ - ♪ change the world ♪ ♪ i would be the sunlight in your universe ♪ ♪ you would think my love was really something good ♪ ♪ baby, if i could ♪ ♪ change... ♪ ( woman speaks ) ♪ the world... ♪ a message from the foundation for a better l

the plane was on a flight from indonesia to singapore.ion was a request to change altitude because of weather. searchers spent the day over java sea. indonesia's transportation ministry say ships will use search lights to spot signs of wreckage. stunned relatives of the passenger are in a waiting area. the plane carried 155 passengers including 17 children and a crew of seven. vast majority of those aboard are indonesian. others are from south korea, malaysia singapore, the united kingdom and france. as we continue with our breaking news coverage we're jind by aviation expert julian gray and cnn aviation analyst mary schiavo. let's start with the weather and our meteorologist karen mcginnis who has the latest on the weather now and what search-and-rescue officials have to deal with there. >> what we're looking at right now is what we call a future radar. what they can expect as far as precipitation or thunderstorms, looking ahead in time. this goes for monday and into tuesday. this is the java sea. that's where the last transmission was o

singapore tend to be gutsy. it's not necessarily put us off. it means we have to press for change. >> the debate about censorship comes as singapore celebrates independence. opponents of censorship, re-examining the past with openness. the surge in patriotism may not be conducive to greater freedoms. >> it's 15 years since singapore got in the speaker's corner. meant to encourage freedom of express. it is just as likely to be used for cultural events as anything political. singapore has provided a platform for other people's politics. artists displaying turbulent events from back home. >> they are the only one to go outside the country to show what has happened and express and say what people in the streets cannots say. an unexpected message for singaporeans to take away with them. >>> coming up on al jazeera america, a car manufacturer you may not have heard of. more of a romanian company becoming one of the fastest growing automakers in europe. that's ahead. >>> welcome back. let's get a check on the forecast.

passengers and crew on board it disappeared off radar a little less than halfway on its route to singapore, and the pilot made one transmission too air traffic control asking to change the flight plan due to clouds. family and friends of passengers are desperately awaiting any new details on the fate of the plane and their loved ones. >> our grandchild was going to singapore for a holiday, but the accident happened. you know it's a plane accident i only ask god for a miracle. i hope not only my family will be saved, but everyone on board. >> david piper is live in bangkok tie land with the very latest. so david what is the latest? >> reporter: as you can see, dawn has broken monday morning here in asia, we are 12 hours ahead of new york and as expected, the air search has resumed now, it was suspended overnight because of bad weather, but we understand from indonesian transport ministry that the planes have gone out, also from malaysia and singapore, to try to look for the plane. overnight, boats were out in the area of the java sea, but they found no trace. they're looking and they're loo

it's just after 6:00 in the evening in singapore right now. it has been missing now for some nine hours since 7:24 this morning is when they lost contact with that plane. so that's how long this mystery has been ongoing. search and rescue operations are under way. it is airasia flight 8501. again, this happened early sunday morning, local time. the plane was flying from surabaya indonesia city there in the south. it left at 5:30 in the morning, as we were just discussing with our guest, heavy thunderstorms were in this area at the time the airplane lost contact with air traffic controllers. the pilot had just recently asked to change altitude for a die diversion in the route because of weather in the area. soon after that request was made, all contact was lost with the plane. that graphic is showing you about the area where contact was lost with this airplane. most of the plane's flight path took it over open water. we also have been showing you a picture of the actual plane. it's an airbus a-320. there were 162 people listed on the flight and

singapore singapore, australia and indonesia all helping with the search.ilots asked to fly at higher altitude. >> the weather conditions were not good. we don't want to speculate anything more. obviously, there was storm clouds and the pilot had made a request to change altitude. that's as far as we know. we don't want to speculate as to weather was a contributor. we really don't know. let's find the aircraft and then do the proper investigation. >> for more now on how the weather could have played a role in this incident meteorologist pedram joins us. >> the storm developed just literally out of the blue in the path of this night and eventually collapsed on itself within a matter of a few hours. 20,000 to 30,000 feet in height. this particular storm got up to 53,000 feet in the vicinity of the flight path. the pilot asked to go from 32,000 to 38,000 feet. of course you don't want to be climbing up in a thunderstorm of this altitude. you'll be getting into icing problems. updrafts back behind the storm system as well. but want to show you this complex of t

indonesia. 155 passengers seven crewmembers, it was supposed to be a short hop, a two-hour flight to singapore, just like every other morning, every other day. but the airplane disappeared just a short time after -- hoping for any information, in the warm stormy waters of the java sea, they're searching for any sign of the aircraft the search has been halted until daylight. unfortunately no new facts. but let me redo this statement from the airline's ceo. he says we will deeply shocked and saddened by this incident. we're cooperating with the authorities to the fullest extent to determine the cause of this incident. but meanwhile our main focus is keeping our families informed. let's begin with cnn's aviation correspondent richard quest, he joins me now, and i believe we have andrew stevens up. he's at the airport and he's been there for a few hours now. andrew how are officials and families dealing with what's happened? >> reporter: it's a very very tough situation as you can imagine, brian, the families have been gathering here. we understand that they have been taken to a hotel nearby. they

north korea says it could have been the work of supporters of the country >>> the 25th singapore film festival is currently under way, show-casing works from around the world. organizers say the event will help to develop the local film industry, coming amid a controversy over the banning of one local film. rob mcbride reports from singapore. >> this is all something that when they first come to this country. this is the film that caused offense. this is a documentary featuring leftists from the 1950s, and '60s, allegedly ex-island abroad. -- ex-island abroad. the the government refused a germ release saying it gave an unbalance the view. >> they took the view it was self serving and was inconvenience. the director is one of those who objected to the ban, preparing to open this year's film festival, he is no stranger to singapore's senses. >> i'm indian. >> one of his earlier films, a key scene removed for allegedly being racist. >> i think the artists in singapore tend to be gutsy. censorship doesn't necessarily pit us off. it means we have to keep pressing for change. >> the censors

>> nbc's katy tur in singapore. thank you. >>> for more now on the weather conditions surrounding the missing airasia flight the weather channel's carl parker is in atlanta. >> joy, we want -- go ahead. well, we want to talk about what the pilots might have been facing as they were flying into that thunderstorm. we know the flight was at 32,000 feet and they requested to get up to 38,000. the thunderstorm in this case may have been as high as 50,000 feet. there's an awful lot going on in that towering cloud. for one thing, you've got very strong upward and downward motion. these velocities can easily be 60, 80 miles per hour. they're not as strong over water as they are over land. nonetheless, they can be very strong. that could have been part of the issue. another concern is hail. you don't see as much in the way of hail-producing storms over the oceans as compared to land but certainly if there was any hail and is it got sucked into those jet turbines that could have been a problem. another concern is the presence

flight 85 on 1 left indonesia at 5:30 in the morning local time bound for singapore. jet had 162 people on board, including 18 children with a crew of seven. officials have left some ships in the water to comb the area off indonesia for that plane. officials say seven ships and two helicopters will search for the plane. heavy storms had been reported in the area just when that jet vanished. indonesian officials say the pilot requested to fly at higher altitude because of bad weather. the incident comes just ten months after air flight 370 vanished on its way to beijing with 239 people on board. joining me by skype our aviation correspondent richard quest. r than life. he is gregarious charming wit where i. is he everything you really expect from an airline ceo. i think what you see in the last few hours is how he has risen to that. his concern -- he said quite clearly, it's not what happened, it's for the next of kin for those on board, for the crew members' family and he said specifically i will be there for you. here we have a ceo. you know very much in the same mol

it was headed to indonesia from singapore.ne's final communication, the pilot asked for a higher altitude due to bad wegsather. early indications the plane is at the bottom of the sea. still, ships, planes and helicopters are searching. and families of those on board are anxiously awaiting answers. >>> we are following another breaking news. a rescue from a burning ferry off the coast of italy. nearly 300 passengers taken to safety. 150 others still on board that smoldering ship. rough weather has slowed the rescue efforts here. cnn's elinda labropoulou is here with us. we are talking freezing cold temperatures and very difficult as they try to choreography of helicopters to pluck people off the burning ferry two by two. it is taking a long time. >> reporter: choreography is pretty good way to explain it. the fire broke out 30 hours ago. the first ships trying to approach not long after that. it has been so difficult because of the weather conditions in the area. the operations are underway. two-thirds of passengers have now b

>> this is a fox news alert, airasia from indonesia to singapore is missing. the families of the 162 passengers on board are waiting for any word of what has happened to loved ones. amazing this has happened. again. now the latest on the efforts. david? >>> yes, airasia chief executive tony fernandez is holding a news conference in indonesia, flying there immediately after the plane went miss saying at the news conference the pilot did radio in they were facing severe weather. he also said that the pilot had 20,000 hours flying experience, 6,000 with airasia. he did not have any news on the whereabouts of the plane. the search for the missing aircraft has been suspended at the moment because of the bad weather here in southeast asia. the region has been hard hit by heavy rains in recent days causing severe flooding in indonesia. air traffic control lost contact with the plane over 12 hours ago. the airasia was on the way from end deniro to singapore. it had 162 passengers on board. the vast majority were from indonesia. it disappeared three hours into the jour

. >>> 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 an

air transport authorities at singapore's airport say 47 next of kin approached them.y were provided with counselors and officials from various government departments as well as the indonesian an embassy. singapore authorities say they are going to be sending two additional aircraft as well as a c130 they sent on sunday morning as soon as that plane went missing. this is now become a massive international search operation. this is the first major incidents for the low-cost carrier whose parent company in malaysia has significant presence across southeast asia. but it trails two other other malaysian aviation tragedies both involving malaysia airlines in march mh370 disappeared with 239 people 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. air asia has never lost a plane before. veronica palos dos pedrosa. >>> scott is in the airport where the plane took off from. scott. 2:00 in the morning where irrelevant, so what is actually happening there right now? >> reporter: we

, 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 wi