Downing Of Flight MH17 'May Be War Crime'

The shooting down of the Malaysia Airlines plane killing all 298 people on board may amount to a war crime, according to the UN.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay condemned the "horrendous shooting down" of flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, and demanded a "thorough, effective, independent and impartial investigation".

She said in a statement: "This violation of international law, given the prevailing circumstances, may amount to a war crime.

"Every effort will be made to ensure that anyone committing serious violations of international law including war crimes will be brought to justice, no matter who they are."

More than 1,100 people have been killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine

Western countries blame rebels for shooting down the airliner with a missile, mistaking it for a Ukrainian plane, but the separatists deny any involvement.

The UN also said latest figures showed more than 1,100 people had been killed and nearly 3,500 wounded in fighting in eastern Ukraine since April, with both sides using heavy weapons in built-up areas, including artillery, tanks, rockets and missiles.

"Both sides must take great care to prevent more civilians from being killed or injured," Ms Pillay said.

A further 100,000 people have fled the violence.

The report also accused rebels of conducting a brutal "reign of terror" in the areas they controlled, including the abduction, torture and killing of civilians.

"These groups have taken control of Ukrainian territory and inflicted on the populations a reign of intimidation and terror to maintain their position of control," it said.

The UN's Navi Pillay is demanding a full inquiry into the plane attack

The report was published as at least eight civilians were killed by fighting in the cities of Luhansk and Donetsk, which are held by separatist militants.

And the US released satellite images that it claims show rockets have been fired at Ukraine from within Russia.

The images, which come from the US Director of National Intelligence and have not been independently verified, also purport to show that heavy artillery for pro-Russian separatists has crossed the border.

Their release appears to be a part of Barack Obama's push to hold Russia accountable for its activities in Ukraine - and persuade European allies to apply harsher sanctions on Moscow.

Officials say the images prove heavy weapons were fired between July 21 and July 26 - after the July 17 downing of the plane.

Moscow has denied allegations of involvement in eastern Ukraine, claiming the US is conducting "an unrelenting campaign of slander against Russia, ever more relying on open lies".

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) would be deployed at its border checkpoints with eastern Ukraine to see Moscow is not arming the rebels.

Meanwhile, a 49-strong team of Dutch and Australian police is making a fresh attempt to reach the MH17 crash site in rebel-held territory after fierce fighting halted a previous attempt.

Both sides accused each other of restricting access to the site.

Australia's Deputy Commissioner of National Security Andrew Colvin said evidence risked being lost if fighting continued, and the chances of finding the remains of all the dead grew slimmer as time went on.

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South Korea Ferry Survivors Describe Horror

Students who survived the South Korea ferry disaster have described how they were told to stay put and witnessed their friends being swept away.

There were 325 pupils from Dawon High School on board the Sewol, but only 75 survived when it sank in April this year.

The captain is among senior crew members on trial over the tragedy and could face the death penalty.

Testifying for the first time, one girl told the court in Ansan City, south of Seoul they had ignored the order to stay where they were on the ship until the boat had listed so badly the cabin door was above their head.

Families said the rescue and recovery effort was too slow

Another student, testifying via video link, described how the tannoy told them repeatedly to put on a life jacket and stay put.

"We were waiting and, when the water started coming in, the class rep told everyone to put on the life vests ... the door was above our heads, so she said we'll float and go through the door and that's how we came out," one of the teenagers said.

"Other kids who got out before us pulled us out."

Another girl said no crew came to their aid and described how she and some friends escaped by climbing horizontally along a staircase and through an escape hatch.

More than 200 pupils from Dawon High School died in the disaster

But - as she jumped out - a sea swell engulfed the corridor.

"There were many classmates in the corridor and most of them were swept back into the ship," said the girl.

Five of the six female students giving evidence on Monday did so in person at a special court session close to the school. Seventeen students have agreed to appear at the two-day session.

The coastguard also waited outside the ferry for people to swim out, rather than venturing in themselves, claimed one witness, while another student told the court there were more fishermen helping than rescuers.

"They (the coastguard) were outside," said the girl. "They pulled us (onto boats) but they didn't come inside to help. We said to ourselves, 'why aren't they coming in?'."

Many pupils sent messages to their loved ones as the ferry went down

The Sewol ferry, overloaded with cargo, sank off the southwest coast on April 16 on a routine journey from Incheon on the mainland to the southern holiday island of Jeju.

The students, who were on a school trip, made up the majority of the 476 people on board. The final death toll was 304, with 172 survivors.

Mobile phone footage emerged in the days after the tragedy which showed students struggling in the badly listing ferry and sending final messages to their loved ones.

Captain Lee Joon-seok was photographed hopping onto a rescue boat while hundreds remained on board - he and three senior crew members are charged with homicide and could be executed.

The students arrived at court in a minibus to a heavy police presence

Two other crew members are also accused of fleeing and abandoning ship, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, while nine have been charged with negligence.

The body of the fugitive billionaire who owned the ferry was found last month, badly decomposed in a plum field.

Yoo Byung-eun had been on the run since April, but police are not year sure whether he was murdered or killed himself.

The vice-principal of Dawon High School also took his own life in the wake of the disaster, with a suicide note saying "surviving alone is too painful ... I take full responsibility. I pushed ahead with the school trip."

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Crashing Plane Kills Dad Walking With Daughter

A father has been killed and his daughter left seriously injured after a small plane crash-landed on a beach in Florida.

The man was walking along the sand in Venice when the aircraft, a 1972 Piper Cherokee, came down.

The pair have been named as 36-year-old Ommy Irizarry and nine-year-old Oceana.

On his Facebook page just hours before the tragedy on Sunday, Mr Irizarry wrote that he was celebrating his ninth wedding anniversary with his wife, Rebecca.

Ommy Irizarry

Witness Zack Arceneaux told reporters at the scene: "The dad looked very bad. They were performing CPR on him he had blood on his face.

"It looked like he wasn't breathing at all."

Oceana has been taken to a children's hospital in St Petersburg "and is believed to be in critical condition," said Wendy Rose, of the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.

She added that neither the pilot nor his passenger, named as 57-year-old Karl Kokomoor and 60-year-old David Theen, were hurt in the incident.

Venice Airport officials had told the sheriff's office that the pilot was going to attempt a beach landing after signalling he was in distress and was unable to make it to the airfield.

Ms Rose was quoted by CBS as saying: "He knew he couldn't make it back to the airport and was going to try to land on the beach. And he did land at the edge of the water on the beach."

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.

Spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen told the Associated Press the plane reportedly lost power but had no details.

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Gaza Strikes Resume As UN Calls For Ceasefire

Key Dates In The Gaza-Israel Conflict

Updated: 12:23pm UK, Monday 28 July 2014

Israel's ground offensive in the Gaza Strip continues with forces attempting to destroy Hamas' weapons arsenal and rocketing-firing capabilities.

Here are the key events from the fighting that preceded and have followed Israel's operation:

:: July 8 - Israel launches "Operation Protective Edge" in a bid to quell near-daily militant rocket attacks in the aftermath of the abduction and killing of a Palestinian teenager in what appeared to be a revenge attack for the seizure and slaying of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank in June.

:: July 9 - Hamas rockets rain deep into Israel as the military pummels Palestinian targets. The military says 74 rockets landed in Israel, including in the northern city of Hadera, the deepest rocket strike ever from Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Hamas will pay a "heavy price".

:: July 10 - Israel intensifies its bombardment. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urges an immediate ceasefire but neither side shows much interest in halting the fighting.

:: July 11 - Mr Netanyahu vows to press forward with a broad military offensive. The Israeli military says it has hit more than 1,100 targets, mostly rocket-launching sites, while Palestinian militants fired more than 600 rockets at Israel. The Lebanese military says militants there fired three rockets toward Israel and the Israelis retaliated with about 25 artillery shells.

:: July 12 - Gaza City becomes a virtual ghost town as streets empty, shops close and hundreds of thousands of people keep close to home. The death toll rises to more than 156 Palestinians after more than 1,200 Israeli air strikes.

:: July 13 - Israel widens its campaign, targeting civilian institutions with suspected Hamas ties, and briefly deploys ground troops inside Gaza to raid a rocket launching site. Four Israeli soldiers are hurt during the brief incursion. Egypt, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, continues to work behind the scenes.

:: July 14 - Israel says it's downed an unmanned drone along its southern coastline. Egypt presents a cease-fire plan that is praised by President Barack Obama at a White House dinner celebrating the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

:: July 15 - Israeli Cabinet accepts Egypt's truce plan, halting fire for six hours but Hamas rejects the proposal, instead unleashing more rockets at Israel and prompting Israel to resume heavy bombardment. Rocket fire kills an Israeli man delivering food to soldiers, the first Israeli fatality in the fighting. Four Gaza boys, all cousins, are killed on a beach by shells fired from a navy ship.

:: July 16 - Hamas fires dozens of rockets into Israel, vowing not to agree to a ceasefire until its demands are met. The Gaza Interior Ministry's website says Israeli warplanes carried out dozens of airstrikes, targeting 30 houses, including those of four senior Hamas leaders. Later, both Israel and Hamas agree to a five-hour UN brokered "humanitarian" pause to start the following day.

:: July 17 - both sides trade fire in run-up to the brief truce, which Gazans use to restock on food and other supplies. Israel says it foiled an attack by 13 Gaza militants who infiltrated through a tunnel. Fierce fighting resumes after the truce expires, including an airstrike that kills three Palestinian children. After nightfall, the Israeli military launches a ground invasion into Gaza Strip.

:: July 18 - eight members of the same Palestinian family - two men, two women and four children - are killed by Israeli tank fire as the ground offensive to date claims the lives of 51 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier.

:: July 19 - Mr Ban says he wants to meet both sides to try to secure a truce as Israel pledges to step up its ground offensive. Hamas says its fighters are "behind enemy lines" as security alerts are triggered in southern Israel.

:: July 20 - Fresh airstrikes, artillery shelling and gun battles overnight kill 12 Palestinians and two more Israeli soldiers, as Israel intensifies its ground offensive in Gaza. Israeli minister Naftali Bennett defends the ground offensive in Gaza and accuses Hamas of "self-genocide" by using women and children as human shields.

:: July 21 - another airstrike kills 26 members of the same family, while seven more Israeli soldiers die in gun battles with Hamas fighters. Thirty of those wounded in the attack are reportedly medical staff.

:: July 22 - the Palestinian leadership proposes a ceasefire plan to mediators in Egypt which would be followed by five days of negotiations to stop the fighting which has claimed the lives of more than 600 Palestinians, many of them women and children, and 29 Israelis, including 27 soldiers.

:: July 23 - an international inquiry into Israel's actions in Gaza is launched, after the UN's Human Rights Commissioner says there is a "strong possibility" the country is guilty of war crimes. Several major airlines from the US, Europe and Canada suspend flights to and from Israel after a rocket fired from Gaza lands near Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion international airport.

:: July 24 - British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond warns Mr Netanyahu the West is losing sympathy for Israel amid the rising number of civilian deaths during its offensive in Gaza, as international efforts to end the conflict intensify. However, hopes of an effective ceasefire quickly diminish after Israel vows to continue hunting Palestinian cross-border tunnels under any humanitarian truce, while Hamas also rejects a truce without the lifting of Israel's eight-year blockade of Gaza.

:: July 26 - the number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza offensive reaches 1,000, according to the territory's health ministry. Meanwhile, Israel agrees to extend a temporary humanitarian ceasefire for a further day.

:: July 27 - Hamas agrees to a 24-hour temporary truce ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid.

:: July 28 - the UN Security Council calls for an "immediate and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza following an emergency session in New York. Both sides criticise the presidential statement, which is one step below a legally-binding resolution.

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Video Of Armed Police Storming Passenger Plane

Video footage has emerged of the moment armed police stormed a plane to arrest a passenger who allegedly threatened to blow it up.

The jet, which was bound for Panama City, had taken off from Toronto in Canada with 189 people on board.

Sunwing Airlines flight 772 was turned around over West Virginia around 45 minutes into the flight and escorted back to Toronto Pearson International Airport by two F16 fighter jets.

In the video, the police are heard shouting "heads down, hands up" as they move through the aircraft.

Ali Shahi is then bundled off the jet with his hands held behind his back by one of the officers.

The 25-year-old Canadian has been charged with uttering threats and endangering the safety of an aircraft.

North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) said the two fighter jets from Ohio flew with the plane out of US airspace as a "precaution".

Sunwing Airlines said an "agitated passenger directly threatened the aircraft" but did not elaborate.

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American Doctor Infected With Deadly Ebola

An American doctor working with Ebola patients in Liberia has tested positive for the deadly virus.

Kent Brantly, 33, recognised his own symptoms and confined himself to an isolation ward.

The medic, who is married and has children, is being treated at a hospital in the capital Monrovia.

The disease has killed at least 672 people in four West African countries since the outbreak began earlier this year in Guinea and spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Dr Brantly pictured treating a patient

Nigeria's airports and ports are on red alert following the death of a man from Liberia who was carrying the virus. It was the first case in Africa's most populous country.

He vomited and had a high fever on board a passenger plane, and was immediately quarantined upon arrival in the capital Lagos.

But he died in hospital from the virus on Friday.

His flight had had a stopover in Togo which is also on high alert as it may have spread there too.

There have been Ebola deaths in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria

Dr Brantly is a medical director at an Ebola case management centre run by aid organisation Samaritan's Purse.

Photos show him working in white overalls made of a synthetic material that he wore for several hours each day while treating Ebola patients.

Earlier this year, he was quoted on the organisation's website about efforts to maintain an isolation ward for patients.

"The hospital is taking great effort to be prepared," Dr Brantly said.

"In past Ebola outbreaks, many of the casualties have been healthcare workers who contracted the disease through their work caring for infected individuals."

Ebola is highly contagious and kills up to 90% of people infected

Dr Brantly, a family practice physician from Fort Worth, Texas, began working in Africa as part of a post-residency programme before the Ebola outbreak began.

His family had been living with him in Africa but they are currently in the US.

Ebola is highly contagious and kills up to 90% of people infected.

It is passed by touching bodily fluids of patients even after they die, said Dr Unni Krishnan from Plan International.

Traditional burials that include rubbing the bodies of the dead contribute to the spread of the disease, he added.

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Chinese Millionaire Bets On Horse Racing

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

Ren Ningning is a man from Beijing with a passion, a fortune and a dream.

The multimillionaire, who made his fortune in the concrete industry, is leading a drive to transform China into a global horse-racing centre.

"I want to breed the best horses, best jockeys, and have the best races in China," he says.

We meet at his stables in the Chinese city of Wuhan. There are racehorses all around from some of the best stock in the world.

Ren Ningning hopes a future Royal Ascot winner is among his horses

He shows me stallions from Australia, Japan and Ireland. Last year, he bought 94 horses at auction in Australia, chartered a plane and flew them all to China.

In 2013, a total of 1,730 horses were imported to China, a 64% increase from 2010.

Mr Ren introduces us to Sai Ba, his favourite five-year-old stallion, bought in Australia for £30,000. "Maybe tomorrow, number one!" he says.

We meet Ma Liankai, who Mr Ren describes as "the best jockey in China!"

The racecourse at Wuhan is a world class facility

Tiny and lean, he has just spent three months training in Newmarket, England.

"When I first went to England, I found that they are more passionate about horses than we are. They have deeper feelings for horses than they do for people!" Mr Ma says.

"I met a top-class teacher, who trained me how to build up a relationship with the horse, how to train a horse from a young age until it becomes an excellent racehorse."

In terms of scale and facilities, Wuhan rivals the world's top racecourses. It was built for a capacity crowd of 30,000. There are perhaps 3,000 here today but they are enthusiastic and noisy.

There is just one thing missing because the queues of excited punters are not gambling; there are no bookies here. Gambling is illegal in China.

Backers of the sport hope it will gain popularity in China

Racegoers are only allowed to participate in a lottery. They choose a number corresponding to a horse. If it wins, they get a prize - a bottle of Chinese wine. No money changes hands but it doesn't seem to matter.

China's ruling Communist Party frowns on horse racing and has outlawed gambling. It considers the sport to be a symbol of Western decadence - even though it thrives in Hong Kong and Macau, both semi-autonomous Chinese territories.

Underneath the grandstand we see a remarkable sight and a clear statement of intent. There is a huge, empty gambling hall, complete with unused counters.

Race day crowds are modest - but the arena could hold 30,000 punters

The people who run this racecourse quietly believe that China will change the laws and allow gambling. If they happens, Wuhan is ready.

The final race is key for Mr Ren. He hasn't won yet today and this is his big chance. He has four horses running.

They pass the finishing post, first, second and third: the perfect result for Mr Ren and for his three winning jockeys who stand, proud, on the podium.

The crowds flock to the faux-bookies to collect their bottles of wine and we have a final word with Mr Ren.

"Ten years. Ten years!" he tells me. In ten years, he says he, his jockeys and his horses will be winning at Royal Ascot.

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Hamas Agrees To New 24-Hour Truce In Gaza

Hamas has agreed to a new 24-hour humanitarian truce shortly after Israel ended its unilateral ceasefire and began pounding targets in Gaza in response to "incessant" rocket fire.

The ceasefire, which coincides with the Muslim festival of Eid marking the end of Ramadan, was due to start at noon UK time.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said: "In response to UN intervention and considering the situation of our people and the occasion of Eid, it has been agreed among resistance factions to endorse a 24-hour humanitarian calm, starting from 2pm (local time) on Sunday."

But as the deadline came and went the sound of Israeli shelling could be heard in Gaza, and sirens sounded in Israel close to the border suggesting missiles had been fired by militants.

Israel had resumed its offensive in Gaza after a fragile truce

The latest ceasefire move came after the Israeli military resumed fighting in Gaza after accusing Hamas of violating a previous humanitarian truce, which had been extended by Israel.

Air raid sirens sounded in southern and central Israel on Sunday morning as militants in Gaza fired a salvo of rockets across the border.

In a statement the Israeli military said: "Following Hamas' incessant rocket fire throughout the humanitarian window, which was agreed upon for the welfare of the civilian population in Gaza, the (army) will now resume its aerial, naval and ground activity in the Gaza Strip."

At least three people were reported killed in separate strikes.

More than 1,000 Palestinians have died since Israel launched a military operation more than two weeks ago.

Some 132 bodies were pulled from rubble in Gaza during Saturday's truce

The number of Israeli troops to die in combat has risen to 43. Three civilians have also been killed by rocket fire into Israel.

Israel had extended a ceasefire until midnight (10pm UK time) on Sunday at the UN's request, on condition its forces could continue to track down and destroy militant tunnels that criss-cross the Gaza border.

It also said it would retaliate if attacked.

But Hamas had immediately rejected the truce saying its forces would continue fighting while Israeli troops remained in Gaza.

Israelis demonstrated against their government's military operation

Some 132 bodies were reportedly pulled from the rubble in Gaza during the lull in fighting, while the pause allowed Palestinians to stock up on supplies.

Late Saturday the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility for rocket attacks on Israel immediately after the expiration the initial 12-hour ceasefire.

The resumption of rocket fire led police to clear a protest in Tel Aviv, where thousands of Israelis were demonstrating against their government's military operation.

Anti-war protests also took place in London, Paris, Frankfurt and other cities.

Meanwhile, international efforts are continuing to try and thrash out a wider ceasefire.

And the Pope made an emotional plea for peace in his weekly address in St Peter's Square.

In unscripted remarks, and with his voice appearing to crack with emotion, Pope Francis made a direct appeal for the fighting to end.

He said: "Please stop, I ask you with all my heart, it's time to stop. Stop, please"

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Air Algerie: Briton Among Plane Crash Victims

A British man was among those killed when an Air Algerie flight crashed in Africa, the Foreign Office has confirmed.

A statement from the FCO said: "It is with deep regret that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirms the death of a British man onboard Air Algerie flight AH5017.

"We are providing consular support to his family at this tragic time, and we ask that the media respect the privacy of those grieving."

A 10-year-old girl perished along with her entire family in the tragedy

The death of the Briton - who is understood to be named David Morgan - was announced as the first photos emerged of the crash site.

Flight AH5017 came down in southern Mali, killing 118 people, including 54 French nationals.

Debris from the plane can be seen scattered over an area of desert south of Gao.

Flight AH5017 had been heading to Algiers when it crashed in southern Mali

Burnt-out wreckage and parts of the fuselage can just be made out against the charred sand.

Meanwhile, a 10-year-old French girl is reported to have spoken of her fears before the flight.

The girl, called Chloe, perished in the tragedy along with her parents, Bruno Cailleret and Caroline Boisnard, as well as her elder brother and grandmother.

French President Francois Hollande said no one survived the crash

The loss of the entire family in the disaster has left the small town of Menet in central France "devastated", according to Denise Labbe of the town hall.

The five had been returning from a trip to Burkina Faso, where Ms Boisnard's uncle lived.

They had been due to land in the southern city of Marseille after flying via Algiers, which is where the doomed aircraft was heading.

The plane was owned by Spanish private airline Swiftair and operated by Air Algerie.

It vanished from radar over West Africa and no one survived the crash, French President Francois Hollande said.

Ms Labbe said: "Everyone is devastated in the town. We all know the family, who live in front of the town hall.

"No one can quite believe it. It's like having a bad dream."

Chloe had been excited about the trip to Burkina Faso, she said, adding: "She had confided in her teacher before leaving about her fear of taking the plane, which she was doing for the first time".

Ms Boisnard's brother had gone to meet them at the airport and became aware of the tragedy when the family failed to appear at the arrivals gate.

A family of 10, including four children, from the Rhone-Alpes region of France were also killed in the crash.

The number of people killed was increased from 116 to 118 after the final passenger manifest was released.

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Bodies 'Still Remain' At MH17 Crash Site

Human remains are still at the site of the Malaysia Airlines crash in eastern Ukraine more than a week after the aircraft came down, says Australia's Prime Minister.

Tony Abbott is sending 190 police officers along with a small number of its defence forces to try to help secure the area which is currently controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

The Australians will join 40 plain-clothes military police from the Netherlands who are set to begin escorting forensic experts to the vast crash site.

Some 227 bodies out of a total of 298 people killed in the flight MH17 disaster have been handed over to Dutch authorities, but many more remains lie under the sweltering heat at the scene.

A section of the plane's fuselage

"Plainly there are unrecovered body remains in the area. And it's the presence of unrecovered remains that makes it more important than ever that an international team be dispatched to the site," said Mr Abbott, stressing it was a humanitarian mission.

"Every day the site remains unsecured, there is more interference and the remains are subject to the ravages of the European summer, animals, disturbance."

Two cargo planes have flown 38 more coffins carrying victims out of Ukraine to Holland where they will be taken to a forensic centre for identification and investigation.

The White House has said Russian President Vladimir Putin was "culpable" in the downing of MH17.

Debris is spread over a large area

In his strongest comments yet since the plane was shot down, White House spokesman Josh Earnest linked the crash to Russia, which the US has criticised for providing arms to Ukrainian separatists.

Mr Earnest also confirmed reports that Russian troops are firing heavy artillery on Ukrainian military across the border, describing it as an escalation of the conflict.

The US has previously accused Russia of providing arms to Ukrainian pro-Russian separatists.

A plane carrying Dutch military police leaves for Ukraine

Russia, however, has called the latest US accusations of Moscow's involvement in the Ukrainian conflict a baseless "smear campaign".

Meanwhile, European Union ambassadors have reached a preliminary deal on stepped-up sanctions against Russia, targeting its defence and technology sectors and its access to European capital.

EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said EU member states must decide whether the measures need to be approved by a summit meeting of the trade bloc's 28 member countries to go into effect.

Hearses take victims' bodies to a forensic centre in Holland

The ambassadors also ordered asset freezes and travel bans against more Russians and pro-Russian Ukrainians accused of undermining Ukraine.

Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB, and Mikhail Fradkov, head of the foreign intelligence service, were among 15 Russians and Ukrainians, and 18 companies and other organisations named in the latest sanctions list published in the EU's Official Journal.

The US has accused Russia of arming Ukrainian separatists

The Russian foreign ministry said the additional sanctions would hamper co-operation over international and regional security issues.

Also, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will travel to the Netherlands on Wednesday to discuss the downed jet with his Dutch counterpart.

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