Missing AirAsia Jet QZ8501 Bound For Singapore

AirAsia Jet QZ8501 went missing after Indonesian air traffic controller lost contact from the said plane.  The last contact made by QZ8501 was when it requested permission to deviate from its flight plan due to bad weather. 

"The plane requested to the air traffic control to fly to the left side which was approved, but their request to fly to 38,000 feet level from 32,000 feet could not be approved at that time due to a traffic, there was a flight above, and five minutes later the flight disappeared from radar," said air transportation chief Djoko Murjatmodjo.

Search and rescue was launched by the Indonesian army together with Singapore and Malaysia but no updates are made as to what happen to AirAsia Jeth QZ8501.  Currently the search and rescue was suspended for the night.

WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR:

- AirAsia flight QZ8501 bound for Singapore from Surabaya, Indonesia and carrying 162 people on board went missing Sunday morning.

- Contact with the plane was lost around an hour after departure, somewhere over the Java Sea between Belitung island and Pontianak, on Indonesia's part of Kalimantan island.

For more detailed news visit YahooNews

Cardinal Tagle Has A Big Chance To Be The Next Global Catholic News Site

Cardinal Luis Tagle

Considered a darkhorse contender for Pope, Luis Cardinal Tagle has just received what virtually amounts to an endorsement by the world's leading Catholic news agency.

"He is one of the cardinals most frequently mentioned as a possible pope," declares the US-based Catholic News Service (CNS) in a newly posted glowing profile of the Filipino cardinal. "His youthful energy, his pastoral experience, his theological training and his communications skills impressed cardinals and bishops from around the world even before Pope Benedict XVI inducted him into the College of Cardinals last November."

The CNS's coverage of the Vatican is closely followed around the world. Its articles about religion are widely published by Catholic publications and presumably read by the cardinals who will be selecting the next Pope.

Continue at GMA News

Pope’s Final Public Blessing

Over 200,000 people gathered at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Sunday to hear Pope Benedict XVI final public blessing before he retires.

“The Lord is calling me to ‘climb the mountain,’ to devote myself to prayer and meditation,” the Pope told the crowd as he appeared at the window of his apartment overlooking the square.

“But this does not mean abandoning the Church. If God is asking me to do this, it is so because I can continue to serve the Church with the same dedication and the same love, with which I have done thus far, but in a way that is better suited to my age and my strength,” the Pope said.
“Thank you for your affection,” he added.

Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world earlier this month with the announcement he would step down as head of the Catholic Church on February 28 due to old age and failing health.


“I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant,” Vatican Radio quoted the Pope, who is 85, as saying in a declaration.

“After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry,” he said.

Read the rest of the story at Manila Bulletin

Violence Continues To Spark In Bahrain

Armed patrols prowled neighborhoods and tanks appeared in the streets for the first time Thursday after riot police with tear gas and clubs drove protesters from a main square where they had demanded sweeping political change in this tiny kingdom. Medical officials said four people were killed.


Police cars with flashing blue lights encircled Pearl Square, the site of anti-government rallies since Monday. Barbed wire was set up on streets leading to the square, where police cleaned up flattened protest tents and trampled banners. The Interior Ministry declared the protest camp "illegal" and warned Bahrainis to stay off the streets.

The island nation was effectively shut down since workers in the capital could not pass checkpoints or were too scared to venture out. Banks and other key institutions did not open.

The protesters' demands have two main objectives: force the ruling Sunni monarchy to give up its control over top government posts and all critical decisions, and address deep grievances held by the country's majority Shiites who claim they face systematic discrimination and are effectively blocked from key roles in public service and the military.

Read full news at Yahoo News