An AirAsia passenger jet carrying 162 people lost contact with Indonesian air traffic control early Sunday, gripping Southeast Asia with a second missing plane crisis in less than a year. The search operation for the missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501 has been halted for the night, but big ships won't return to shore and will leave their searchlights on, according to the Indonesian Transportation Ministry. Before communication was lost, one of the pilots asked to fly at a higher altitude because of bad weather, officials said. The aircraft, flying from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore, went missing as it flew at 38,000 feet over the Java Sea between the islands of Belitung and Borneo -- a heavily traveled shipping channel with shallow waters, according to Indonesian authorities, who are leading the search and rescue operations. AirAsia says it lost contact with the aircraft at 7:24 local time. Of the people on board the Airbus A320-200, 155 are Indonesian, three are South Korean, one is British, one is French, one is Malaysian and one is Singaporean, the airline said. Eighteen children, including one infant, are among the passengers, the carrier said. Seven of the people on board are crew members. At the airport in Surabaya, loved ones gathered and wept as they waited for any word on the passengers. Some took cell phone pictures of a flight manifest posted on a wall. The black-and-white papers showed every passenger's name and seat number, but not their fate. Others simply sat and dabbed tears from their eyes

An AirAsia passenger jet carrying 162 people lost contact with Indonesian air traffic control early Sunday, gripping Southeast Asia with a second missing plane crisis in less than a year. The search operation for the missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501 has been halted for the night, but big ships won't return to shore and will leave their searchlights on, according to the Indonesian Transportation Ministry. Before communication was lost, one of the pilots asked to fly at a higher altitude because of bad weather, officials said. The aircraft, flying from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore, went missing as it flew at 38,000 feet over the Java Sea between the islands of Belitung and Borneo -- a heavily traveled shipping channel with shallow waters, according to Indonesian authorities, who are leading the search and rescue operations. AirAsia says it lost contact with the aircraft at 7:24 local time. Of the people on board the Airbus A320-200, 155 are Indonesian, three are South Korean, one is British, one is French, one is Malaysian and one is Singaporean, the airline said. Eighteen children, including one infant, are among the passengers, the carrier said. Seven of the people on board are crew members. At the airport in Surabaya, loved ones gathered and wept as they waited for any word on the passengers. Some took cell phone pictures of a flight manifest posted on a wall. The black-and-white papers showed every passenger's name and seat number, but not their fate. Others simply sat and dabbed tears from their eyes

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Suspects in new Delhi rape to appear in court

Suspects in New Delhi rape to appear in court UPDATED: Jan 5, 2013 14:46 GMT The men accused in the gang rape and killing of an Indian woman have been summoned to appear in court Monday to hear charges against them, authorities said Saturday. The fatal attack of the 23-year-old woman last month in New Delhi promptedprotests over the country's treatment of women and handling of sexual attacks. It also stirred worldwide outrage. The suspects will appear in a so-called "fast-track" court in a southern New Delhi district, a Metropolitan Magistrates' Court said, according to CNN's sister network, CNN-IBN. Fast-track courts expedite cases in a court system bogged down by red tape. Five men were charged Thursday in a New Delhi court with murder, rape and kidnapping. Companion of rape victim: I begged attackers to stop Authorities were waiting for the outcome of a bone marrow test before deciding whether a sixth suspect in the attack will be charged asa juvenile or an adult. The trial will begin as soon as all of the evidence is gathered, said Suman Nalwa, deputy police commissioner of a unit for women and children. Indian rape debate: Why death penalty is no solution The case appears to have prompted changes in New Delhi law enforcement.

Venezuela assembly vote has a key implication

Venezuela assembly vote has key implications UPDATED: Jan 5, 2013 17:21 GMT Venezuelan lawmakers on Saturday will elect a president of the country's National Assembly, a vote with magnified importance because the winner could play a large role if PresidentHugo Chavez's health does not improve. Chavez loyalist Diosdado Cabello currently holds the national assembly presidency, and is expectedto be reelected. Chavez has said he wants to see Vice President Nicolas Maduro to be his successor, and there are reports of tensions among his allies between factions backing the Cabello and those backing Maduro. Cabello's fate in Saturday's vote will provide analysts tea leaves to read for signsof what political manauvering may come. Chavez, 58, has not been seen in public since arrivingin Cuba for his fourth canceroperation more than three weeks ago, which has fueledspeculation that his health isworse than the government is letting on. Maduro said Friday that Chavez is "fighting for his health." The president's illness has cast doubt on whether he will be able to be inaugurated next week for his fourth term. There is debate over what the constitution requires for a president to take the oath of office in this circumstance. If Chavez is unable to be sworn in before lawmakers on January 10 as scheduled, the constitution says Chavez can do so before the country's Supreme Court. But the wording of the constitution isn't clear on whether the inauguration before the Supreme Court must happen January 10, whether it must occur inside the country, and who should run Venezuela in the meantime. Maduro said the governmentbelieves that a swearing in before the Supreme Court can happen at a later date, and hinted that Chavez would remain president afterthe 10th because he was reelected in October. Chavez political opponents say a failure to swear in next weeks signifies that the president is permanentlyabsent from his post, and that the national assembly president should take interim control while new elections are called in 30 days