Rebels Accused Of Taking Bodies From Wreckage

Pro-Russian separatists have been accused of removing 38 bodies from the Malaysia Airlines crash scene and attempting to destroy evidence at the site.

Ukraine emergency officials remove a body from the crash scene

The Ukraine government said "terrorists, with the help of Russia, are trying to destroy evidence of international crimes", adding it had obtained data which showed bodies had been taken to a morgue in Donetsk.

However, Sky's Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay, at the scene, said there were reports rebels had moved bodies on Friday, but body parts were now officially being removed by Ukraine emergency ministry staff.

Ukraine's Security Council said 18sq km of the 25sq km had been explored and 186 bodies found.

The fresh claims came amid discussions between the two factions over the creation of a "security zone" around the crash scene following allegations of looting and evidence being compromised, without a deal being reached.

Concerns have been raised by Malaysia about the investigation into the disaster as a team of international observers complained of being confronted by aggressive armed rebels, blocking their access to the crash site for a second consecutive day.

Ramsay said: "I know in the past shots have been fired as warnings."

Security monitors speak to a separatist at the crash scene

Critically, the monitors have been unable to speak to anyone about the whereabouts of the jet's two black box voice and data recorders.

Ukraine said they had not been handed over to Kiev and it had no information about them.

Alexander Borodai, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, denied rebels had shot down the plane, or found the black boxes, or removed bodies. But he said body parts which had fallen into people's properties had been taken away.

Russia's foreign ministry urged rebels to grant monitors access to the site, while Malaysia's transport minister Liow Tiong Lai on Saturday attacked the failure to preserve evidence a "betrayal of the lives lost"

The debris was scattered over a wide area

Reports of looting and valuables such as credit cards and cash being taken from victims' bodies and luggage were "gaining currency", said Sky's Michelle Clifford, in Donetsk.

"It may be part of a narrative to discredit the rebels," she said. "But, I have just spoken to a contact I trust and he said with his own eyes he saw the rebels taking money and valuables from luggage at the site."

Some 298 people, including 10 Britons and 80 children were killed when flight MH17, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was brought down near Grabovo, Donetsk, where Ukrainian forces have been battling separatists.

Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for the disaster.

A children's toy lies among the passengers' possessions

Hugh Dunleavy, Malaysia Airlines's commercial director, defended the aircraft's flightpath and told Sky News up until now there had been no incident involving a civilian plane flying over the war zone.

Reports suggested pro-Russian separatist commander Igor Strelkov had made bizarre claims bodies at the crash site had been there for days.

However, postings on his VK.com account, Russia's version of Facebook, showed he actually questioned this: "Version with a plane full of corpses, exciting, of course, but somehow can not (sic) see sense."

British victims Richard Mayne, Ben Pocock, Glenn Thomas and Liam Sweeney

:: The Foreign Office has set up a helpline for anyone concerned.  Text MH17 to +447860010026, or call 020 7008 1500. Malaysia Airlines's emergency line is 00 6 037 884 1234.

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Family Of Six Killed On Doomed Passenger Plane

A family of six are among the almost 300 victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, it has emerged.

Tambi Jiee, 49, his wife Ariza Ghazalee, 47, and their four children, Mohd Afif, 19, Mohd Afzal, 17, Marsha Azmeena, 15, and Mohd Afruz, 13, were travelling on the Boeing 777, Malaysia's The Star newspaper reported.

The Facebook page of Afruz Tambi, one of a family of six who died

The cover photo on 13-year-old Afruz's Facebook profile is a drawing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March.

The family were returning from Kazakhstan where Mr Tambi, who worked for Shell, had been based, the paper added.

Irene (L), Sherryl (C) and Darryl Gunawan were a family who were killed

Some of the greatest minds in the fight against HIV and Aids were also on the jet, which was shot down over Ukraine on Thursday.

They were on their way to the International Aids Society (IAS) summit in Melbourne, Australia.

One of those who is understood to have been on board was Dr Joep Lange, a well-known researcher from the Netherlands.

"If this is the case then the HIV/Aids movement has truly lost a giant," the IAS said.

Dr Lange is believed to have been with partner Jacqueline van Tongeren

Among the 283 passengers and 15 Malaysia Airlines cabin crew on board were 192 Dutch nationals, 44 Malaysians, 27 Australians, 12 Indonesians, ten Britons, four Germans, four Belgians, three Filipinos, one Canadian, one New Zealander, one American, one person from Hong Kong and an Irish national.

Tributes have been paid to US citizen Quinn Lucas Schansman. Pic: Facebook

In a bizarre twist of fate, flight attendant Sajid Singh 41, swapped flights to fly on MH17 - months after his wife swapped off the doomed MH370, his his father Jijar Singh told The Malaysian Insider.

Kaylene Mann, from Queensland, Australia, who lost her brother and sister-in-law in the flight which disappeared on March 8, 2014, is now mourning the loss of her stepdaughter Maree Rizk and her husband Albert, who were returning to their Melbourne home after a month-long European holiday.

Pim De Kuijer was on his way to the Aids conference. Pic: Facebook

Another of the victims is Karlijn Keijzer , a doctoral student at Indiana University in the US.

The Irish passenger was married mother-of-two Edel Mahady, according to Sky sources.

Ms Mahady was originally from Dublin but had been living in Australia for the last 20 years.

Albert Rizk and his wife Maree were returning from Europe. Pic: Facebook

She was returning to Australia via Kuala Lumpur after visiting faimly in Ireland.

The Star newspaper also reported that Malaysian PM Najib Razak's step-grandmother was among the passengers aboard the fateful flight.

Elaine Teoh was travelling with her boyfriend Emiel Mahler. Pic: Facebook

Sailor and businessman Nick Norris, 68, was also heading back from a break away in Europe with his three grandchildren, Milo Maslin, 12, Evie Maslin, 10, and Otis Maslin eight, Perth Now reported.

Nun Philomene Tiernan, from Sydney, was reported to be among the victims

The Australian media also reported a much-loved nun, Philomene Tiernan, from Sydney, Toorak college teacher Frankie Davison and her husband Liam, student Elaine Teoh and her Dutch boyfriend Emiel Mahler, Canberra mother-of-two Liliane Derden and security consultant Marco Grippeling, from Melbourne, among the victims.

Cor Pan posted a picture of the airliner on Facebook. Pic: Facebook

Young Dutchman Cor Pan, who is also believed to have died, posted a picture of the jetliner on Facebook, minutes before he boarded it, writing: "If it should disappear, this is what it looks like."

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World Leaders Wait For MH17 Smoking Gun

Ironically what the crisis needs now is a smoking gun - quite literally.

Whilst America has stopped short of specifically blaming Russia  for the loss of nearly 300 lives on flight MH17, it has accused Moscow of fomenting the turmoil in the region. 

President Obama and other world leaders are holding fire until they have absolute proof that separatists fired missiles given to them by President Putin.

And that's why this is so complex diplomatically. 

The separatists deny firing at the Malaysia Airlines plane and Russia says Ukraine is responsible for the tragedy by ramping up its attempts to wipe out the rebels in the east of the country.

And until there is real proof this crisis will remain a murky mess.

Unless the international community takes bold steps which go beyond sanctions against President Putin, convinced his hands have blood on them, there will be no justice.

It would seem that President Putin is playing the defiant innocent, he won't even admit backing the separatists of eastern Ukraine.

Russia is accused of supplying pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine

Weeks of strident anti-Ukraine propaganda have now been replaced now by unusual silence for one so bullish and vocal.

This is the biggest crisis between East and West since the end of the Cold War.

But if the West is to truly act decisively then it needs proof of who fired the missiles and that will come from a full investigation of the crime scene – and that appears to be being hampered by the rebels. 

Representatives from the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe) have been denied access to the crash sight. 

There are reports of looting and that raises question marks about whether it will be too late by the time international investigators are given full control of the scene.

The US says it will wait for the facts about what has happened, but it can't wait too long for fear of being accused of letting down the victims of and their families.   

The downing of a passenger jet – whether accidental or deliberate – is like a bad dream.  

But if Moscow's fingermarks are found on the missiles then what may follow is the stuff of nightmares. 

The question is whether Russia will step away from the rebels, settling instead for its gains in Crimea. If it does a serious diplomatic crisis can be averted.

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Israeli Troops Fight Hamas Militants On Border

Israeli troops have clashed with Hamas militants on the Gaza border, with reports of some heavy fighting inside Israeli territory.

The military wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al Qassam Brigades, said some of its fighters were "behind enemy lines" and were involved in gun battles with the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) near the Gaza border fence.

In a statement, it said: "The Qassam Brigades carried out an operation behind enemy lines.

"Heavy fighting is ongoing with the forces of the occupation."

Israeli soldiers were injured during firefights in the north of the Gaza Strip and security alerts were issued on parts of Highway Four in southern Israel on Saturday, according to Ynetnews.

A statement from the ISraeli military said two soldiers were treated in hospital.

"Earlier today, terrorists attempted to execute an attack against Israelis. The attack was foiled by an IDF force," it said.

"Several terrorists infiltrated into Israel from the central Gaza Strip through a tunnel.

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have continued into a 12th day

"They were aiming to carry out a lethal attack in one of the nearby communities when they came upon an IDF force patrolling the vicinity."

On Saturday, the Israeli military said troops discovered 13 tunnels into Israel in the first 24 hours of its ground operation in Gaza.

It also said it has hit 2,350 targets in Gaza, including 1,100 rocket launchers, in 12 days of fighting.

Engineers are concentrating on a 1.5-mile buffer zone and are looking to destroy tunnels dug since the last major fighting in 2012.

Spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner said: "We have struck hard on the two main strategic assets of Hamas: the rockets and these tunnels."

Ashraf al Kidra, Gaza Health Ministry spokesman, said airstrikes on Friday night raised the death toll in the offensive to more than 310 Palestinians.

One Israeli soldier and one civilian have also been killed over the past 12 days.

Israel began the ground operation on Thursday after rockets were fired into Israel. It has said the offensive could last for up to two weeks.

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius called for an "urgent" truce and renewed support for the Egyptian truce proposal.

The proposal was previously rejected by Hamas.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is due to leave for the Middle East later on Saturday to help mediate in the Gaza conflict.

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Ukraine-Russia Row Over Who 'Shot Down' Plane

Moscow has hit back after the Kiev government claimed pro-Russian separatists shot down a passenger plane, killing all 298 people on board, including 189 Dutch and nine Britons.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was heading from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur at an altitude of 33,000ft (10,000m) when contact was lost on Thursday afternoon in eastern Ukraine, close to the border with Russia.

It came down near the village of Grabovo, Donetsk in an area where Ukrainian forces have been fighting the rebels.

An emergency worker at the scene of the crash

An adviser to Kiev's interior ministry said the Boeing 777 was hit by a Buk ground-to-air missile and its president Petro Poroshenko called it an "act of terrorism".

But the Russian defence ministry reportedly pointed the finger at its neighbour, saying it picked up radar activity from a Ukrainian Buk missile system south of Donetsk when the airliner came down.

Glenn Thomas was among the victims of the tragedy

Sky's Katie Stallard said: "That doesn't correlate with the geography. This was a plane flying over territory that the Ukrainian government would perceive as friendly. Territory that they control.

"It is a slightly counterintuitive suggestion that they would perceive that aircraft as a threat when it is heading away from their friendly airspace and towards the Russian border."

Flames rise from wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines jet

Separatist leader Alexander Borodai said Ukrainian government forces were responsible, and Russian President Vladimir Putin said: "The state over whose territory this occurred bears responsibility."

However, a US official said Washington strongly suspected it was brought down by a surface-to-air missile fired by rebels.

And the Ukrainian security council claimed no missiles had been fired from the armouries of its armed forces.

Mr Putin has called for a ceasefire between the warring sides in the months-long conflict.

Among the British victims of the crash were Glenn Thomas and Richard Mayne. Newcastle United fans John Alder and Liam Sweeney, who were travelling to see their football team play in New Zealand, also died, according to reports.

Flight MH17 taking off at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands

British Prime Minister David Cameron called the catastrophe "an absolutely appalling, shocking, horrific incident" and if the jet was shot down, those responsible "must be brought to account".

The cockpit and one of the turbines were found over half a mile apart, and residents said the tail was six miles away, indicating the aircraft most likely broke up before hitting the ground.

Many of the bodies strewn across the fields were largely intact - some of them were still strapped into their plane seats. People who live in the area have described seeing bodies falling through the sky.

The last known location of flight MH17

Pro-Russian separatists said they found one of the "black box" recorders and rescue workers have recovered a second flight recorder.

There were 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. Among the victims were three infants.

Britain has joined the US and other countries in calling for an international probe into the disaster and American Vice-President Joe Biden said the jet appeared to have been deliberately "blown out of the sky".

Armed Russian separatists inspect the wreckage

Stallard said Igor Strelkov, the commander of the pro-Russian Donetsk People's Republic, appeared to have boasted about the incident on social media.

In one deleted message recovered by Sky News, he allegedly wrote: "We warned you not to fly over our sky."

The wreckage was scattered over a wide area

Ukraine's security service also released what it claimed was a recording of an intercepted phone call between two Russian military intelligence officers, discussing the downing of the plane.

Malaysia Airlines, still reeling from the loss of flight MH370, has said the route taken by flight MH17 had been declared safe by civil aviation authorities.

A distressed woman waits for information in Kuala Lumpur

However, it has offered all passengers booked on any route before July 26 a full refund if they do not want to travel.

:: Malaysia Airlines has set up an emergency line for worried relatives: 00 6 037 884 1234.

The Foreign Office helpline is 0207 008 1500.

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Israel Ready To Expand Gaza Ground Assault

Israel's military is ready for a "significant expansion" of the Gaza ground offensive that has already claimed at least 28 lives.

The offensive began on Thursday night with the aim of destroying the weapons arsenal, infrastructure and underground tunnels used by Hamas, Israeli officials claimed.

An Israeli soldier and at least 27 Palestinians - including a baby, two children and a 70-year-old woman - have already been killed in the operation, according to Palestinian officials.

An Israeli Apache attack helicopter shoots a missile over the Gaza Strip

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned: "My instructions are to prepare for the possibility of significantly widening the ground operation, and the military is preparing accordingly."

Mr Netanyahu said a ground assault was the only way to infiltrate Hamas' underground network.

The operation and killings prompted Pope Francis to phone both Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to call for an immediate ceasefire.

Smoke billows in Gaza after an air strike on Friday

On Friday lunchtime the Israeli Defence Forces reported they had "engaged and killed 17 terrorists".

Their tweet continued: "13 other terrorists surrendered to us and were taken for questioning.

"We have also targeted 21 rocket launchers & 4 tunnels. Our forces are continuing to operate with precision in order to achieve their goals."

Israel confirmed 20-year-old Sgt Eitan Barak had been "killed fighting Hamas terrorists". The country's media is investigating the possibility he was a victim of so-called friendly fire.

Sgt Eitan Barak, killed in fighting overnight. Pic: Israeli Defence Force

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called the ground offensive "foolish", adding that Israel would suffer "dreadful consequences".

"Netanyahu is killing our children and will pay the price," he said. "The ground invasion doesn't frighten us and the occupation army will sink in Gaza's mud."

Israel claimed 50 rockets were fired from Gaza overnight - 25 slamming into its territory.

Those injured in explosions and fighting are arriving at hospitals in Gaza

Israeli tanks and troops moved into Gaza following a 10-day campaign of more than 2,000 airstrikes that had failed to halt Hamas rocket fire on Israeli cities.

It is the first major Israeli ground offensive in Gaza in just over five years.

The army has confirmed that a draft of 18,000 additional reserve soldiers has been authorised by the government on top of the 30,000 already deployed.     

An Israeli mobile artillery unit fires towards the Gaza Strip

Mr Netanyahu's chief spokesman Mark Regev told Sky News the decision to launch the offensive had not been taken "lightly" but that action needed to be taken to "protect our citizens".

He said the chance of a truce is now very unlikely "because Hamas rejected the ceasefire proposal supported by Egypt".

The ground campaign followed a brief truce on Thursday in which Israel held fire to allow Gazans to stock up on food and other necessities.

Israel's anti-missile defence system in action on Friday

Some 264 Palestinians have been killed since fighting began 11 days ago, with another 2,000 injured, according to the health ministry in Gaza.

Figures provided by the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights show that civilians account for more than 80% of the victims of Israel's assault since July 8.

Israel has confirmed two of its citizens have died.

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Inside Gaza: Constant Airstrikes And Shelling

The sound of airstrikes from above and artillery fire from the sea is constant in the Gaza Strip after Israel launched a major ground offensive, Sky's Sherine Tadros reports from inside the Palestinian territory.

More than 100 targets were hit in the first 10 hours of the assault - which Israeli authorities say is aimed at Hamas and other groups who have been firing rockets at Israel - and Palestinians fear this could be "just the beginning of the ground assault".

Tadros said smokescreens were visible in northern Gaza, indicating that Israeli tanks could be as far inland as 3-4 miles (5-7km).

Israel stepped up its ground offensive in Gaza early on Friday

"We've also been seeing Palestinian rocket fire coming from the northern Gaza Strip towards Israel, so that is clearly also continuing," she said.

"Palestinian fighters are trying to make the point they are still here and they are still fighting."

The Israeli military spent the early hours of the assault moving through the buffer zone along the Israel-Gaza border, Tadros said.

Smoke rises following what witnesses said were Israeli air strikes in Gaza

The Israeli authorities said they were clearing tunnels that they claim Palestinian militants use to try to infiltrate Israel.

"Israel says it is targeting terror tunnels but Palestinians really don't know what that means," Tadros said.

Overnight, power outages across the Gaza Strip left many areas in darkness.

An Israeli soldier stands near a mobile artillery unit outside Gaza

"It started in the northern part about 20 minutes or so before we heard the ground operation was under way," Tadros said.

She said flares fired from the Israeli side of the border were used to light up parts of the territory - a move that was then followed by renewed artillery fire or guided missile strikes. 

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Double Malaysia Airlines Tragedy For Oz Family

A woman who lost her brother and sister-in-law in the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has discovered her stepdaughter was on the plane shot down over Ukraine.

Kaylene Mann's brother Rob Burrows was on board the aircraft with his wife when it went missing in March.

She has now learned that her stepdaughter Maree Rizk was killed along with 297 others on MH17, which crashed on Thursday.

US intelligence agencies believe it was shot down by a surface-to-air missile.

The aftermath of the Ukraine plane crash

Ms Mann's brother Greg said: "It's just brought everyone, everything back.

"It's just ripped our guts again.

"She (Ms Mann) just lost a brother and now a stepdaughter."

Investigations will try to determine who caused the plane to crash

Mr Burrows added he did not blame Malaysia Airlines: "Nobody could predict they were going to get shot down. That was out of their hands."

Maree Rizk was returning home after a four-week holiday in Europe with her husband Albert, who also died.

The family - from Melbourne, Australia - were heavily involved with local side Sunbury Football Club.

Club president Phil Lithgow said: "They were very lovely people.

"You wouldn't hear a bad word about them - very generous with their time in the community, very community-minded, and just really very entertaining people to be with."

Club members are due to wear black armbands and observe a short silence at their game on Saturday.

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Gaza Rockets Hits Israel As Ceasefire Ends

Rokets were allegedly fired into Israel from Gaza and struck the city of Ashkelon just moments after a five-hour ceasefire, as video emerged of Palestinian militants tunnelling under the border.

It came as both Israeli and Hamas officials were said to be considering a second ceasefire at 4am local time (2am UK time) during indirect talks in the Egyptian capital Cairo.

The fragile truce did not end without incident.

The mouth of the Hamas tunnel spotted by Israeli forces

Three mortar shells were allegedly fired into Israel from Gaza two hours into the lull.

Israel's military said the mortars landed in the southern Israeli region of Eshkol, but there were no reports of injuries or damage and it was unclear if Israel would retaliate.

The attacks came after Palestinian police said three civilians were killed when Israeli tank shells landed on a house in Gaza minutes before the truce got under way at 10am local time (8am UK time).

An Israeli cannon fires artillery shells into Gaza on Thursday morning

A further four people were wounded in the attack on the southern Gazan town of Rafah, according to medics, while the Israeli military said 15 rockets were fired into Israel this morning.

The truce came into force hours after Israel said it had foiled an attack by 13 Palestinian gunmen who tunnelled in from Gaza.

A spokesman said the Hamas fighters were identified some 250 metres inside Israel and were struck by aircraft.

A home Palestinians say was destroyed by an Israeli strike before the truce

He said at least one militant was killed and the remaining fighters returned to Gaza through the tunnel, which they had been digging for some time.

They were heading towards Sufa kibbutz, a small community about a mile away, when they were spotted. 

It is the second time Palestinian fighters are reported to have infiltrated Israel from Gaza. Last week four were killed as they attempted to enter from the sea.

Gaza City (foreground) and the Israeli city of Ashkelon (background)

Around 230 Palestinians have been killed during 10 days of fighting, while one Israeli has died.

They agreed to halt fighting for five hours on humanitarian grounds on Thursday to allow aid to get through and for people to shop for provisions.

Israel said it would stand by the agreement despite the infiltration - but warned the attempted attack "could have had devastating consequences" as the Palestinian fighters were armed with "extensive weapons", including rocket-propelled grenades.

Four children were killed in an Israeli strike on a Gaza beach on Wednesday

The brief truce comes after four Palestinian children from the same family, aged nine to 11, were killed on Wednesday when a shell landed on a beach they were playing on.

Gaza's health ministry described the attack as "cowardly", while the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) promised a full investigation and said the deaths appeared to have been a "tragic outcome" of a strike aimed at Hamas militants.

Tensions in the region have been inflamed following the kidnap and murder of three Israeli teenagers and the suspected revenge killing of a Palestinian teenager.

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Microsoft Cuts 18,000 Jobs In Nokia Cull

Microsoft has confirmed plans to "eliminate" up to 18,000 jobs worldwide as part of efforts to simplify the company's operations and cut costs.

The announcement was made in an email to staff entitled 'Starting to Evolve Our Organization and Culture' by new chief executive Satya Nadella, who is moving to reshape Microsoft into a cloud-computing and mobile-friendly software company.

The $7.2bn (£4.2bn) purchase of Nokia's mobile division - which is being integrated into Microsoft - was to account for the majority of the losses, Mr Nadella said, as overlaps were identified.

The deal, completed in April, added 28,000 positions to Microsoft's payroll.

The company, which now employs 127,104 people globally, has 3,500 staff in the UK but no announcement was made on exactly where the cuts would be made, apart from identifying 1,300 losses in Seattle.

It estimated costs of up to $1.6bn (£1bn) initially before any savings would be felt.

Mr Nadella told staff: "The first step to building the right organisation for our ambitions is to realign our workforce.

"With this in mind, we will begin to reduce the size of our overall workforce by up to 18,000 jobs in the next year.

"Of that total, our work toward synergies and strategic alignment on Nokia Devices and Services is expected to account for about 12,500 jobs, comprising both professional and factory workers.

"We are moving now to start reducing the first 13,000 positions, and the vast majority of employees whose jobs will be eliminated will be notified over the next six months.

"It's important to note that while we are eliminating roles in some areas, we are adding roles in certain other strategic areas.

"My promise to you is that we will go through this process in the most thoughtful and transparent way possible.

"We will offer severance to all employees impacted by these changes, as well as job transition help in many locations, and everyone can expect to be treated with the respect they deserve for their contributions to this company."

Microsoft's share price rose more than 1% in pre-market trading after news of the plan was confirmed.

The shake-up was seen as central to the company's shift from being software-focused to one that sells online services, apps and devices it hopes will make people and businesses more productive - challenging the dominance of firms like Samsung, Apple and Google.

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Putin: Sanctions Could Cause 'Serious Damage'

Vladimir Putin has warned a fresh wave of sanctions will take US relations with Russia to "a dead end" and damage America's business interests.

The US and the EU have stepped up measures over what is viewed as Russia's interference in Ukraine.

President Barack Obama has imposed the most wide-ranging sanctions yet, targeting major banks, energy and defence firms including Gazprombank and Rosneft Oil Co.

Steps are also being taken to prevent rebel groups and senior officials in Ukraine getting hold of funds.

"Sanctions have a boomerang effect and without any doubt they will push US-Russian relations into a dead end, and cause very serious damage," Mr Putin said.

Mr Obama announces fresh wave of sanctions

"And I am convinced that this will harm the national long-term interests of the American state, the American people."

Mr Obama said the US measures were "significant but targeted".

"I've repeatedly made it clear that Russia must halt the flow of weapons and fighters across the border into Ukraine.

"So far, Russia has failed to take any of the steps that I mentioned."

Meanwhile, EU leaders meeting in Brussels agreed a more limited package.

They agreed to impose asset freezes against around 11 more individuals but said measures will be expanded significantly at the end of July to cover "entities and persons" helping to undermine Ukraine's "sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence".

The European Commission will also "reassess and potentially suspend" co-operation programmes with Russia.

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Russian Jet 'Shoots Down Ukrainian Warplane'

Ukrainian Plane 'Likely Shot Down From Russia'

Updated: 11:46pm UK, Monday 14 July 2014

A Ukrainian transport aircraft was "probably" shot down from within Russian territory, Ukraine's defence ministry has claimed.

Ukrainian officials lost contact with the AN-26 transporter's crew near rebel-held Luhansk at lunchtime on Monday but all eight people on board managed to bail out safely.

A statement on the Ukrainian presidency website said only missiles "likely from the territory of the Russian Federation" would have been able to reach the aircraft at the altitude it was flying - 6,500 metres.

Pro-Russian rebels had previously claimed they had shot down the craft but their portable surface-to-air missiles work up to about 3,500 metres.

There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the plane.

Fighting has been intensifying around Luhansk as government forces stepped up efforts to disrupt rebel lines.

Warplanes inflicted heavy losses on the separatists during airstrikes overnight, Ukraine's military said.

Government troops retook several villages around Luhansk and reopened a corridor to the airport, it was claimed.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has accused the Russian military of sending officers to fight alongside the rebels in the east of the country.

He also claimed that a newly developed Russian missile system had been used against Ukrainian forces during the previous three days.

NATO said Russia had increased its forces along the border and now had 10,000-12,000 troops in the area.

But amid the heightened tensions, Russia said it had invited the OSCE security monitoring group to two of its border crossings with Ukraine as a sign of "goodwill".

At the weekend, Moscow claimed a man in Russia had been killed by a shell that had come from across the border.

But Ukraine's National and Security Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko accused rebel fighters of being behind the cross-border shelling.

He told journalists on Monday morning: "The (rebel) fighters systematically fire mortar and shoot into Russian territory which killed a Russian citizen."

On Sunday, Vladimir Putin met with Angela Merkel at the World Cup in Brazil. The German Chancellor urged the Russian President to use his influence over the separatists to help bring about an end to fighting.

In the last two weeks, the government has halved the amount of territory held by the pro-Russia fighters.

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Srebrenica: Dutch Liable For 300 Deaths

Srebrenica: Dutch Blamed For Three Deaths

Updated: 2:51pm UK, Wednesday 06 July 2011

An appeal court in the Netherlands has ruled the Dutch state is responsible for the deaths of three Muslim men during the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.

The ruling could pave the way for other compensation claims by victims who say their male relatives should have been protected by the Dutch UN peacekeepers in charge of the UN's "safe zone" near Srebrenica during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war.

The case was brought by Hasan Nuhanovic, an interpreter who lost his brother and father, and relatives of Rizo Mustafic, an electrician who was killed.

They argued that the men should have been protected by Dutch peacekeepers. Mustafic and Nuhanovic were employed by the Dutch peacekeepers, but Nuhanovic's father and brother were not.

One of the relatives, Damir Mustafic, said outside court that the ruling came just days before he was to bury his father's remains in a Srebrenica cemetery.

Some 600 bodies exhumed from mass graves around the town in the past year have been identified using DNA tests, and they will be interred on Monday as part of commemorations for the 16th anniversary of Europe's worst massacre since World War II.

"I am very happy, finally," Mr Mustafic said. "It has been a long case and it feels especially good because on the 11th, I have to bury my father."

The victims were among thousands of Muslims who took shelter in the UN compound as Bosnian Serb forces commanded by General Ratko Mladic invaded Srebrenica in what was to become the bloody climax to the 1992-95 Bosnian war that claimed 100,000 lives.

The outnumbered Dutch peacekeepers eventually gave in to pressure from Mladic's troops, forcing thousands of Muslim families out of the compound.

Bosnian Serb forces then sorted the Muslims by gender, taking the males away and executing some 8,000 Muslim men and boys.

In 2010, the same appeals court dismissed a class action suit filed by victims' families who belong to a group - The Mothers Of Srebrenica - ruling that UN peacekeepers had immunity from prosecution, as laid down in the UN charter.

But the latest ruling said that despite the fact the Dutch soldiers were operating under a UN mandate, in the confusion of the moment they were under the "effective control" of Dutch military and government officials in The Hague when they ordered the men out of the compound.

The three men were among the last to leave, and, the ruling said, the peacekeepers had already seen Bosnian Serb troops abusing Muslim men and boys and should have known what was in store for the men.

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Middle East: Old Formula For Peace Will Not Work

A Complex Web Of Friends And Enemies

Updated: 10:16am UK, Sunday 13 July 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

Rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel at dawn. The opening of a new front for Israel already engaged in an escalating air campaign in the Gaza Strip? No.

Neither the Israelis nor Hezbollah, which has an arsenal of 100,000 rockets and controls southern Lebanon, are that stupid.

The missile attack on Israel's north was an attempt by Sunni militants to spark a confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel that both know would be a zero sum.

Why would Sunnis, in all probability descendants of Palestinian refugees from what is now Israel, want to do that?

It's Hezbollah, a Shia movement, after all, that has been a major conduit of experts, funding and modern rockets to Hamas, a Sunni organisation, in Gaza. Hamas and Hezbollah are allies.

But only when it comes to fighting Israel.

In Syria, Hamas has condemned the Assad regime, which like Hezbollah is backed by Iran.

Sunnis of Palestinian descent are among volunteers who have joined rebel groups fighting Damascus, while Hezbollah has sent thousands of its best fighters to the frontlines to defend the regime of Bashar al Assad.

There is a logic at work here.

If Sunni groups in south Lebanon can sucker the Israelis into a war with Hezbollah they could enjoy the double whammy of reduced pressure on Gaza, and the use of Israel's devastating air power against Hezbollah, the Sunnis' enemies in Syria.

No better example of an attempt to kill two birds with one stone.

It won't happen because both Hezbollah and Israel, foes who have the greatest respect for one another, saw through the plot some time back. It's not the first time it has been tried.

But it does signal just how the Middle East's tectonic plates of conflict have shifted and can overlap.

The explosion of sectarian Muslim war between Sunni and Shia in Syria, which has spread into Iraq and has destabilised Lebanon, has become the defining clash in a new age of chaos.

Rival regional powers Saudi Arabia and Iran use proxies to vie for influence and control.

The Saudis have become increasingly nervous of the spread of a Shia crescent from Tehran through Baghdad to Damascus and south Lebanon.

But Tehran has also used enemy forces to bolster the positions of its allies.

According to intelligence sources Muhsin al Fadhli, once a senior al Qaeda figure based in Iraq, has taken up an operational role inside Syria - at the instigation of the Iranian government.

Why would Tehran release someone to fight a key client and ally in Damascus?

Because radical groups like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have fought harder against fellow rebel groups than they have against the Assad regime.

Tehran has split the rebels.

But now ISIS threatens Iran's client government in Baghdad showing that an enemy's enemy may be a friend from time to time, but will remain an enemy.

This may be complicated, but there is no excuse for stupidity in the Middle East. Failure to comprehend this can be fatal.

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Palestinians Urged To Leave Homes As Truce Fails

Israel's military has urged tens of thousands of Palestinians living in northern and eastern Gaza to leave their homes.

The move could signal more airstrikes are planned for those areas after Israel warned the ruling Hamas militant group would "pay the price" for rejecting a ceasefire plan.

Israel says it will "expand and intensify" its offensive as aerial assaults resumed on Tuesday after being briefly suspended following its acceptance of the Egypt-brokered truce.

Video footage showed thousands of leaflets urging Palestinians to evacuate being dropped in the skies above Gaza.

People carry their belongings among building debris in Gaza

Airstrikes on Wednesday reportedly targeted the homes of four senior leaders of Hamas.

Palestinian militants fired dozens of rockets in the first six hours of the ceasefire plan which led to Israel restarting its strikes in Gaza - that has a population of 1.7 million.

The fresh raids hit Gaza City, southern Khan Younis, Rafah and central Johr al Deeq, killing five people, reported the AFP news agency.

Leaflets were dropped warning of IDF strikes in Gaza

Israel has confirmed its first death of the week-long conflict - a man who was delivering food to soldiers suffered fatal wounds when a Hamas rocket struck the Erez crossing on the Gaza border.

The Israeli military has told residents of the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya and the Gaza City neighbourhoods of Shijaiyah and Zeitoun in automated telephone calls to leave their properties.

Sami Wadiya, a resident of one of the areas likely to be targeted, said he would not leave his home. "We know it's risky, but there are no secure places to go to."

Prior to the calls, the raids have already prompted around 17,000 people to flee their homes, particularly in northern Gaza, with many taking refuge in UN schools.

Hamas officials said they had not been consulted on the ceasefire proposal and would not halt violence without a fully-fledged deal including Israeli concessions.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

More than 190 Palestinians, including many civilians - some children - have been killed by the bombardment over the last week and the Israelis say the raids are designed to stop rocket fire from Gaza.

Since July 8, Gaza militants have fired more than 1,200 rockets at Israel - hundreds of which have been intercepted by the Iron Dome air defence system - while Israeli aircraft have struck close to 1,700 times.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "It would have been preferable to have solved this diplomatically, and this is what we tried to do when we accepted the Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire.

"But Hamas leaves us no choice but to expand and intensify the campaign against it."

He added: "Hamas chose to continue fighting and will pay the price for that decision. When there is no ceasefire, our answer is fire."

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the movement had not been consulted on the truce bid.

"We didn't get to see the Egyptian proposal except through the media," he said.

"The idea of halting fire before there is any agreement on the conditions laid out by the resistance is unacceptable and we reject it."

Hamas has said it wants the end of Israel's blockade of Gaza and the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt as part of a truce deal.

It also wants Israel to free Palestinians it re-arrested after releasing them in a 2011 exchange for an Israeli soldier held by Gaza militants for more than five years.

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Ten Dead As Typhoon Batters The Philippines

At least 10 people have been killed and thousands left without power after a typhoon ripped through central Philippines.

More than 370,000 people were forced to flee their homes

Typhoon Rammasun, which is also known locally as Glenda, battered the main island of Luzon with gusts of up to 115mph.

It was classified the the most powerful storm of the annual typhoon season.

Despite veering off-track south of the capital Manila, it still managed to leave a trail of destruction in the city - home to 12 million people.

A motorcyclist blown over by a gust of wind from the typhoon

Electricity poles, trees and roofs were damaged, with government offices and schools forced to close.

More than 370,000 people were moved from high-risk villages to emergency shelters in six provinces.

Hundreds of residents of one shanty town at the edge of Manila Bay fled when strong wind tore the tin roofs off their dwellings.

Trees were brought down across the capital Manila

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said: "It was like a drill - we hauled people away from dangerous seaside areas, whether they liked it or not."

More than three people were killed in rural provinces, while a trio of family members died when a wall collapsed on them in Lucena city.

An infant boy also died after a partial building collapse in Cavite province, near the capital.

Coastal shanty towns were particularly hard hit by Rammasun

Three fishermen have been reported missing in Catanduanes, near Albay province, where Rammasun made landfall late on Tuesday.

At least four provinces on Luzon declared, or planned to declare, a 'state of calamity', which allows regional governments to access emergency relief funds.

Many Filipinos feared the typhoon would be a repeat of 2013's Haiyan

Damage assessments are still to be carried out, due to continuing heavy rain and wind and the loss of telephone communications to many areas.

Although the typhoon brought strong winds and storm surges that hit shantytowns, not much flooding was reported as rainfall was not excessive.

In 2013, massive devastation and deaths occurred when Typhoon Haiyan hit southern parts of the country.

Haiyan's strong winds and tsunami-like storm surges flattened towns, leaving at least 6,300 people dead and more than 1,000 missing.

Rammasun, the Thai term for the god of thunder, is the seventh storm to batter the Philippines this year.

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