US Says Putin 'Culpable' In MH17 Plane Crash

The White House has said Russian President Vladimir Putin was "culpable" in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine.

In his strongest comments yet since the plane was shot down - killing all 298 people aboard, White House spokesman Josh Earnest linked the crash to Russia, which the US has criticised for providing arms to Ukrainian separatists.

Mr Earnest told reporters: "What we also know is that the Malaysia Airlines jet was brought down by a missile that was fired from the ground.

"It was fired from the ground in an area that was controlled by separatists, and in an area where the Ukrainians themselves were not actually operating anti-aircraft weapons at that time.

"So that is why we have concluded that Vladimir Putin and the Russians are culpable to this tragedy."

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.

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

The US has accused Russia of arming Ukrainian separatists

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.

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 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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Gaza: 12-Hour Ceasefire As Peace Talks Begin

A 12-hour "humanitarian" truce is under way in Gaza as world leaders hold peace talks in Paris to push for a permanent ceasefire.

Parts of Gaza came under heavy bombardment, with explosions and black smoke rising above Gaza City, minutes before the break in hostilities.

Israeli tank shelling killed 18 members of the same Palestinian family in the southern Gaza Strip, said Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf Al Qidra.

The Al Najar family had been trapped in their house in Khuzaa village, east of Khan Younis, for two days when the shells hit, he said.

A Palestinian woman stands outside destroyed homes in Shejaia, Gaza

Doctors in Gaza said 85 bodies have been pulled from rubble since the ceasefire started at 8am (6am UK time).

Israel has warned it will keep targeting tunnels and fight back if its troops or civilians are attacked during the brief respite from 18 days of violence.

The ceasefire, which appears to be holding, comes after Israel suggested it is preparing to "broaden" its ground assault on Gaza after reportedly rejecting an international plan for a week-long truce.

US Secretary of State John Kerry remains "confident progress can be made" on a seven-day truce that would "bring people together to create a more durable plan".

Smoke billows from Gaza City after Israeli airstrikes

However, on Friday evening Israel's defence minister told troops: "You need to be ready for the possibility that very soon we will instruct the military to significantly broaden the ground operation in Gaza."

Ahead of the truce, eight Palestinians were killed by an airstrike in Gaza and Israeli troops shot dead two teenagers in continuing West Bank protests in the early hours of Saturday morning.

In Gaza, two Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting on Friday evening, the army confirmed.

Mr Kerry is in Paris for talks with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and other counterparts from Europe, Turkey and Qatar on the escalating violence in Gaza.

A map showing the areas of conflict and violence

Earlier, he told a news conference in Cairo a "fundamental framework" for peace was in place and that it would "ultimately succeed".

"The world is watching tragic moment after tragic moment unfold and is wondering when everybody is going to come to their senses," said Mr Kerry.

An unnamed source from the Israeli government said they were seeking modifications as the truce proposal "leans too much towards Hamas demands".

Speaking alongside Mr Kerry, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said there had been "tireless efforts" to bring both sides to the table, and that the people of Gaza have "bled enough".

John Kerry speaks with Qatar's Foreign Minister about the truce

"They are trapped… living under constant fear of rocket attacks," he said. "Surely now, all parties must realise it's time to act."

Some 140,000 people have fled Gaza since the latest conflict began on July 8.

More than 900 Palestinians, many of them civilians, have lost their lives.

Three civilians have died in Israel from rocket fire, while 37 Israeli soldiers have been killed during combat.

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F16 Jets Escort Plane After Passenger 'Threat'

A plane bound for Panama City was escorted by two US fighter jets back to Toronto, Canada, after a passenger allegedly threatened to blow up the jet.

The aircraft, carrying 189 people, turned around over West Virginia about 45 minutes into the flight as the F16s were dispatched.

Once Sunwing Airlines flight 772, with 183 passengers and six crew on board, landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport, armed police went on to the airliner and removed the suspect.

Officers have charged Canadian man Ali Shahi,  25, with uttering threats and endangering the safety of an aircraft.

Witness Sharon Ramsay said it was a frightening scene on board the plane.

Armed police at the scene

She said: "The pilot came on and said there was a threat and they had to take it seriously and turn around and we're heading back to Toronto, so that's what happened.

"We came back and waited on the tarmac for about an hour and then the task force came in, they stormed in. It was extremely scary.

"They came in the front and back of the plane and they yelled hands up, heads down, hands up, heads down and it was just awful."

Fellow passenger Manjo Chopra said he thought the altercation began over a purchase.

"I think it was about buying something, he didn't have the right card and that's what triggered it," Mr Chopra said.

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 on the threat.

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'No Survivors' On Air Algerie Flight AH5017

No one survived an Air Algerie flight which crashed in southern Mali, French President Francois Hollande has said.

The burnt-out wreckage of the plane carrying 116 people, including 51 French nationals, which vanished from radar in West Africa has been discovered south of Gao.

Mr Hollande said the jet's black box flight recorder had also been recovered by the French military and was being taken to the town.

"French soldiers who are on the ground have started the first investigations. Sadly there are no survivors," he said.

Families of the 116 people onboard wait for news

"The plane's debris is concentrated in a small area, but it is too early to draw conclusions."

He said bad weather was the likely cause of the crash, but added: "I'm not excluding any theory."

Burkina Faso's commander in chief, Gilbert Diendere, said a search team had gone from Burkina Faso to Mali to follow up on information they had received about the possible crash location.

He said: "This team has confirmed that it has seen the remains of the plane, totally burnt-out and scattered on the ground."

AH5017 left Ouagadougou airport at 1.17am local time. Pic: Sputniktilt

Minister of communications Alain Edouard Traore described the accident as the greatest tragedy in the country's air history.

Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who has declared two days of national mourning, is due to visit the crash site later.

The Air Algerie jet was travelling from Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou to Algerian capital Algiers when it disappeared around 50 minutes into the flight, following a request from the pilot to change course due to poor weather.

The twin-engined MD-83 carries 168 people

Also on the jet were 27 Burkina Faso nationals, eight Lebanese, six Algerians, five Canadians, four Germans, two Luxembourg nationals, one Swiss, one Belgian, one Egyptian, one Ukrainian, one Nigerian, one Cameroonian and one Malian.

The six crew members were Spanish, according to the Spanish pilots' union.

Flight AH5017 was owned by Spanish private airline Swiftair and operated by Air Algerie.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-83 had been missing for hours before news of its disappearance was made public.

Ouagadougou is in almost a straight line south of Algiers, separated by Mali where unrest continues in the north of the country.

Airlines had been warned not to fly over Mali in recent days, Sky News understands.

However, a senior French official said it was unlikely that fighters in Mali could shoot down a plane.

They are known to have shoulder-fired weapons, which could not hit an aircraft travelling at a cruising altitude of some 33,000ft.

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Tulisa Found Guilty Of Assaulting Blogger

Tulisa Contostavlos has been found guilty of assaulting a celebrity blogger at V Festival in Essex last year.

The N-Dubz star, 26, hit Savvas Morgan during a row in Chelmsford last August.

She was found guilty by a judge at Stratford Magistrates' Court in east London and ordered to pay a total of £3,020.

This consisted of a £2,700 contribution towards the cost of the prosecution, a £200 fine, £100 compensation to Mr Morgan and a £20 victim surcharge.

District Judge Angus Hamilton said: "I am quite sure to the requisite standard of proof, based on my analysis of the evidence that I have heard, that Ms Contostavlos did strike Mr Morgan in the face during an argument and that that blow caused minor bruising and swelling."

He said Contostavlos acted in a "confrontational" manner when she turned towards her victim.

Savvas Morgan rowed with Contostavlos at V Festival

"Her decision to seek to deal with Mr Morgan herself strikes me as aggressive and confrontational," the judge said.

He went on to say that he had a "number of points of concern" about her evidence during the trial.

He found that she "changed her account" of what she did with her hands during the confrontation. At one point she claimed she raised them in a defensive gesture but later said they remained by her sides, he said.

Her assistant, Gareth Varey, was cleared of using threatening behaviour during the incident.

Contostavlos, who wore a blue suit, white shirt and nude stilettos, shook her head and smiled in disbelief as the guilty verdict was read out.

She appeared to mutter "this is bulls**t" as she walked out of the courtroom.

Earlier this week, a drugs trial against Contostavlos collapsed at Southwark Crown Court after the judge said there were "strong grounds" to believe that undercover reporter Mazher Mahmood - known as the Fake Sheikh - had lied in the witness box.

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Mother Admits Beating Mikaeel Kular To Death

Mikaeel Kular's mother has pleaded guilty to killing her three-year-old son, who she subjected to repeated assaults.

Rosdeep Adekoya had been accused of murder but admitted a reduced charge of culpable homicide at the High Court in Edinburgh.

She confessed to wrapping Mikaeel's body in a duvet cover, putting it in a suitcase and driving to Dunvegan Avenue in Kirkcaldy, where she hid the case under a bush in woodland behind a house.

The death of three-year-old Mikaeel Kular touched the community

Mikaeel's disappearance from his Edinburgh home in January sparked a huge search involving police officers, firefighters, mountain rescue teams and the coastguard, as well as members of the public.

His body was eventually found 25 miles away in woodland in Kirkcaldy, Fife.

Adekoya's internet searches included "Get rid of bruises"

Adekoya had called 999 to report her son missing to police, telling officers he got out of bed and climbed on a stool to unlock the front door of his home.

But in court she admitted to beating her son to death, repeatedly punching him and causing his body to hit against a hard object or inflicting blunt injuries on his head and body between January 12 and 15.

She also pleaded guilty to attempting to defeat the ends of justice by pretending to police he had gone missing.

Advocate depute Alex Prentice told the court: "The basis for the plea tendered being accepted is that the Crown accepts that the accused had no intention to kill Mikaeel and that the assault perpetrated upon him, although severe, fell short of the wicked recklessness required for murder."

Sky's James Matthews, at the High Court in Edinburgh, said the disappearance of Mikaeel had triggered a major hunt with emergency services joined by hundreds of members of the public.

The toddler's body was found in woodland behind a property in Kirkcaldy

Explaining the charge of culpable homicide, Matthews said: "Basically she beat up her son causing his death but she didn't mean to kill him, and that's been accepted by the prosecution authorities."

He said after killing Mikaeel, Adekoya had done the school-run taking her four other children to school before continuing on to dump his body behind a property where her sister was staying.

The car used by Adekoya to dump Mikaeel's body after the school-run

"Her concocted story unravelled under questioning by police, and it was when they spotted inconsistencies in her story that she broke down and told them where Mikaeel's body was," Matthews added.

Adekoya's internet history showed searches including "I find it hard to love my son", "I love all of my children except one", "Why am I so aggressive with my son" and "Get rid of bruises".

Hundreds of members of the public joined the search for the youngster

The court heard Mikaeel died on the night of Tuesday, January 14, from injuries inflicted the previous Sunday.

His mother "lost her temper" when he was repeatedly sick following a trip to a Nando's restaurant at the city's Fountain Park.

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Hammond: West 'Losing Sympathy For Israel'

Key Dates In The Gaza-Israel Conflict

Updated: 11:43am UK, Thursday 24 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 - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon 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 Benjamin 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.

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Gaza Conflict From Space In 'Saddest Photo'

An astronaut has posted a picture from the International Space Station while flying over Gaza and Israel, showing the worsening crisis which has left more than 700 people dead.

German flight engineer Alexander Gerst captured the scene from 220 miles above the Earth as rockets and explosions lit up the night sky with wispy yellow light.

His photo quickly went viral on the internet as he tweeted the message: "My saddest photo yet. From #ISS we can actually see explosions and rockets flying over #Gaza & #Israel."

Tens of thousands around the world shared the image as international pressure grows to stop the bloodshed in Gaza.

The UN Human Rights Council says there is a "strong possibility" Israel is guilty of war crimes in Gaza, where some 715 Palestinians, including 165 children, have died in the fighting.

German flight engineer Alexander Gerst on the ISS. Pic: Alexander Gerst

It also condemned the indiscriminate firing of rockets and mortars by the Islamist movement Hamas into Israel, where 34 lives have been lost.

The continued fighting has led to the cancellation of many flights into Tel Aviv and has sparked protests and claims of growing anti-Semitism around the world.

Thousands of protesters - many shouting slogans such as "Israel killer" - held demonstrations in the French cities of Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Lille and Reims on Wednesday.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve warned activists that anyone caught shouting "Death to the Jews!" or burning an Israeli flag would be arrested.

After the marches, 16 people were held in the Jewish quarter of Paris' Marais district after attempting to break into a restaurant while yelling "anti-Semitic insults," a police source said.

Other protests have also taken place outside the Israeli embassy in London.

Britain's Jewish community has seen a doubling of anti-Semitic incidents over the last few weeks, according to the Jewish Community Trust.

It has issued an advisory notice to all UK Jewish venues, warning that security procedures should be "rigorously followed".

In Austria, Israeli football team Maccabi Haifa's game against French side Lille had to be stopped after pro-Palestinian protesters stormed the pitch and attacked the Maccabi players.

Germany has condemned anti-Semitic chants and threats heard at some protests in the country.

A spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel reassured the Jewish community they are safe and said the government "will continue to campaign for the security of Jewish citizens".

Yakov Hadas-Handelsman, the Israeli ambassador to Germany, said: "They pursue the Jews in the streets of Berlin ... as if we were in 1938."

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Passenger Jet Carrying 116 Vanishes From Radar

A passenger plane has disappeared from radar while flying from the West African country of Burkina Faso.

The jet carrying 110 passengers and six crew was travelling from Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou to the Algerian capital Algiers when it vanished around 50 minutes into the flight.

"In keeping with procedures, Air Algerie has launched its emergency plan," Algeria's APS state news agency quoted the airline as saying.

Flight AH5017 is owned by Spanish private airline Swiftair and operated by Air Algerie.

Swiftair said the aircraft took off from Burkina Faso at 1.17am local time and was supposed to land in Algiers at 5.10am local time but never reached its destination.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-83 had been missing for hours before news of its disappearance was made public.

Its flight path was not immediately clear.

Ouagadougou is in a nearly straight line south of Algiers, separated by Mali where unrest continues in the north of the country.

Airlines had been warned not to fly over Mali in recent days, Sky News understands.

However, a senior French official said it is unlikely that fighters in Mali could shoot down a plane.

They are known to have shoulder-fired weapons which could not hit an aircraft travelling at a cruising altitude of some 33,000ft.

Sky's Alistair Bunkall said there are reports in the Algerian media that the plane crashed after running out of fuel.

But given the plane was 50 minutes - or about 300 miles - into its journey that is unlikely to be a cause, he said.

Swiftair has a fleet of more than 30 planes flying in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

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Check-In Staff Haunted By Memories Of MH17

A ground steward who checked passengers onto the doomed Malaysia Airlines plane has posted a moving tribute to them on Facebook.

Renuka Manisha Virangna Birbal wrote the message after the Boeing 777 was shot down over Ukraine on Thursday, killing all 298 passengers and crew on board.

In the note, which has been shared thousands of times, she describes grandmothers taking photos of their grandchildren, a newly married couple flying off on their honeymoon and a man who was about to start a new life in Malaysia.

She also mentioned a young girl with her mother, as well as colleagues from a ticket counter, boarding the flight at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.

Hundreds of bouquets have been left at the airport to remember the victims

"A beautiful little girl held by her mother, her father behind them pushing the stroller," she wrote.

"She is beautiful - half Dutch, half Malaysian, with beautiful big eyes. She smiled kindly at me.

"Suddenly I see a familiar face. It is our colleague from the MH ticket counter.

"He proudly shows me his son, wife and daughter. With a big smile he waved, 'See you soon.'"

A book of condolence has been opened inside the terminal building

Ms Birbal was one of the last people to see the passengers before they boarded flight MH17.

She described children waving and smiling at her and remembered one asking her mother: "When do we see our luggage again?"

She ended the message with: "The last time I saw them, talked to them and wished them a pleasant flight ... (I saw) one last smile, one last salute, a happy face.

"Rest in peace, dear passengers and crew. On behalf of the ground handling agents of flight MH17."

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Second Plane With MH17 Bodies Leaves Ukraine

The first victims recovered from downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 have started their journey back to the Netherlands from the crash site in eastern Ukraine.

A sombre departure ceremony took place at Kharkiv Airport as wooden coffins containing some of the bodies were loaded onto a Dutch C130 Hercules military aircraft.

It left the airbase for Eindhoven where it will be met by relatives, the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and members of the Dutch royal family.

A faster Australian Boeing C17 took off two hours later carrying more victims and is due to land in Eindhoven at the same time.

Coffins are loaded onto a plane at Kharkiv Airport

Sky's Michelle Clifford, at the airport, said: "The real difficulty is planes are going to be coming in with bodies on board - but none of those families know whether their loved ones are going to be on those planes."

Ukraine's deputy prime minister Volodymyr Groysman told those gathered the downing of the plane was an "inhumane terrorist act" carried out with help from Russia, adding Kiev will do everything in its power to bring those guilty to justice.

The jet's black box flight data recorders have been delivered to British experts from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch at Farnborough in Hampshire to download over the next 24 hours and the information handed to international investigators for analysis.

A national day of mourning has been declared in the Netherlands for the 298 people killed, the majority of whom were Dutch, and will include a silent march in Amsterdam.

floral tributes for the victims of MH17 at Schiphol Airport, near Amsterdam

A minute's silence will be held before a motorcade takes the bodies to the Korporaal van Oudheusden military barracks in Hilversum, where the long process of identifying the remains, aided by a team of British police officers, begins. It could take weeks or even months.

The Boeing 777-200 took off from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport for Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia last Thursday when it was brought down near Grabovo, Donetsk, where Ukrainian forces have been battling separatists.

Five refrigerated wagons containing 200 bodies were released by rebels. It is thought more than 80 bodies have been left at the scene.

However, Australia's prime minister Tony Abbott said it was unclear how many bodies may have arrived in Kharkiv - and been left behind.

"It's quite possible that many bodies are still out there in the open, in the European summer, subject to interference and subject to the ravages of heat and animals," he said.

A Malaysian air crash investigator inspects the crash site of MH17

Sky's Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay, in Donetsk, said it was going to be "difficult" to find the unrecovered human remains, as while a ceasefire was in place at the crash site, the surroundings remain "a war zone"..

A senior US intelligence official said they believed pro-Russian separatists shot down the flight by mistake.

He confirmed evidence suggests the Russian government was not directly involved in causing the crash, but it "created the conditions" for the plane to be brought down by the rebels.

The official added Moscow was still supplying separatists with tanks and rocket launchers.

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MH17: 'Plan To Drop Other Plane Parts At Site'

Pro-Russian separatists talked about moving bodies from the Malaysia Airlines crash site in Ukraine, according to Sky sources.

UK intelligence officials have gathered evidence that indicates rebels discussed removing victims' remains from the fields of Grabavo, in eastern Ukraine.

Sky sources add that the separatists also considered sending the black boxes to Moscow and scattering parts of other other planes on the crash site to confuse investigators.

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Russia Faces 'Hard-Hitting' Sanctions Over MH17

Europe's Russia Sanctions Avoid Self-Harm

Updated: 9:49am UK, Tuesday 22 July 2014

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

Sanctions against Russia have now been in place since its annexation of Crimea in March - but following the flight MH17 disaster, all the signs are that they will soon be reinforced.

So what, precisely, do the current sanctions consist of, have they been at all successful, and what might they be followed up with?

In short, the current set of restrictions are, in the jargon, referred to as "stage-two" sanctions.

Rather than affecting the entire economy, or entire sectors, they are forensically focused restrictions on a few individuals and smallish companies.

Both the US and Europe have imposed visa restrictions and asset freezes on a number of influential Russians. The US list is longer and includes a number of President Vladimir Putin's most senior advisers.

Neither jurisdiction has yet added the president to the sanctions list, as was done with Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, for instance.

The US has also imposed financial blocks on two small banks, one of which Putin claimed never to have heard of.

The day before the crash last week, it also extended the restrictions to a couple of oil companies, including Rosneft, the country's biggest oil producer.

However, it's worth noting that these are purely financial restrictions, preventing the companies from raising cash in the US, rather than stopping them from pumping oil out of the ground and around the world.

While the EU has signalled it will stop European Investment Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development programmes in Russia, it has stopped short of more severe sanctions.

Why? In large part because of its reliance on Russia for trade. A full 15% of Russia's gas exports end up in Germany. Some 17% of its trade goes to the Netherlands, though this is probably an over-estimate because much of that is merely passing through the port of Antwerp.

While Mediterranean parts of the continent have less direct economic exposure to Russia, save for Italy, which sucks in 9% of Russia's gas, they are also desperate not to upend any chances of an economic recovery following the euro crisis.

It's very difficult indeed to find any evidence that the sanctions themselves have made much difference.

The Russian economy is in a recession, but it was already heading in that direction before the Ukraine crisis.

And while investment and share prices have both fallen in Moscow, that seems due to fear of "proper" sanctions rather than the semi-sanctions now in place.

So what more can be done? The short answer is to extend the sanctions to some sectors, or some mega-companies, and individuals.

Open Europe's Raoul Ruparel thinks a three-pronged approach, involving roughly equal sacrifice from the continent's biggest players, would be most reasonable: Some financial sanctions (which would hurt Britain); some arms sanctions (which would hurt France) and some manufacturing and technology sanctions (which would hurt Germany).

But such system-wide sanctions - "stage three" measures, as they are called - are far from decided.

They would be deeply controversial, and raise the risk, feared by all in Europe, that Putin could retaliate by cutting off the gas supply to Europe.

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MH17: Families And Futures 'Ruined' By Crash

The girlfriend of one of the Britons killed when flight MH17 was shot down has spoken of the "happy memories" of their time together, adding: "I just wish there could be future ones too."

Abby Clark's boyfriend Richard Mayne, a Leeds University student, died along with 297 others when the Malaysia Airlines plane came down in Ukraine last week.

Hundreds of people moved by his death have donated money to an online fundraising page for disadvantaged children, which the 20-year-old set up for a charity trek to Everest base camp earlier this year.

In an emotional Facebook post, Ms Clark, from Leicester, said: "I honestly can't believe what has happened and what I am writing. Sleep tight, Richard.

Richard Mayne had been studying in Leeds. Pic: Abby Clark/Facebook

"Not only were you my boyfriend for five years, you were so much more.

"You are my best friend, my rock and I don't know what to do without you now.

"Reading through everyone's messages to you makes me feel so proud to have been in your life. You have so many people in awe of you, including myself.

"I just keep feeling like you're going to walk in the kitchen and everything (will get) back to normal.

"I need you so bad right now, baby. I have so many happy memories of us that will stay with me forever.

The Malaysia Airlines plane crashed near Grabovo in eastern Ukraine

"I just wish more than anything there could be future ones too.

"I love you (and I) always will."

Ms Clark's grief was shared by the father of Elsemiek de Borst, one of 192 Dutch passengers who were on board the downed Boeing 777.

In an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin that has been widely shared online, Hans de Borst wrote: "Thank you, Mr Putin, separatist leaders or the Ukrainian government, for murdering my loved and only child.

"I hope you're proud to have shot her and that you can look at yourself in the mirror."

Elsemiek de Borst was going on holiday. Pic: Hans de Borst/Facebook

He signs the letter as "Elsemiek's father, whose life is ruined".

The bodies of many of those killed in last week's crash have been taken by train to the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, where they will handed over to Dutch officials.

They will then be flown to the Netherlands, where relatives have gathered, desperate to lay their loved ones to rest.

Allegations of looting at the crash site in Grabovo, where victims' wallets and purses have reportedly been emptied, will have added to the families' distress.

Sky News correspondents at the scene said they had seen no proof of rebels rifling through passengers' belongings.

But Anton Geraschchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian minister of internal affairs, said: "Death hunters are collecting not only the cash and jewellery of the victims but also their credit cards.

"They might try to use them in Ukraine or pass them on to Russia, and my humble request to the relatives of the victims is to freeze their cards, so they won't lose their assets to terrorists."

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MH17 Crash Victims' Bodies Arrive At Station

A train carrying many of the victims of flight MH17 has arrived in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, where the bodies will be handed over to Dutch officials.

The refrigerated wagons made the 186-mile (300km) journey from Torez overnight, after armed separatists who had been guarding the carriages allowed them to leave.

Inside were up to 280 bodies, which will now be flown to the Netherlands where two-thirds of the 298 victims came from.

Borodai (L) hands over the black boxes to Col Sakri (R)

The train's arrival comes after rebel leaders in eastern Ukraine handed over the black boxes from the downed passenger plane to Malaysian experts.

As the flight recorders were placed on a desk, Aleksander Borodai, prime minister of the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic, told a packed room at the separatists' headquarters: "Here they are, the black boxes."

Malaysian Colonel Mohamed Sakri said the boxes, which may hold crucial evidence, are "intact, although a bit damaged".

However, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott also warned evidence had been interfered with on an "industrial scale", saying there is "still a long, long way to go".

The train carrying the bodies of many of the victims arrives in Kharkiv

"After the crime comes the cover-up," he added.

As the diplomatic fallout from the disaster continues, EU foreign ministers will discuss imposing new sanctions on Russia.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said: "We have an opportunity to send a very clear message to Russia. We're obviously pleased there's been movement on the repatriation of victims and that some access has been granted to the site.

"But we mustn't forget the overall context. This terrible incident happened because of Russia's support to the separatists in eastern Ukraine and because of the flow of heavy weapons from Russia into Ukraine, and we have to address that."

A satellite image of the wreckage of MH17. Pic: DigitalGlobe

Moscow has called for the investigation into the shooting down of the plane to be led by the "international community" and not Ukraine, after yet more accusations were traded between Russia and Ukraine over who is to blame.

Lyudmila Vorobyeva, the Russian ambassador to Malaysia, told a news conference the probe should be led by the United Nation's International Civil Aviation Organisation.

"The rebels, as we understand, do not trust the government of Kiev," said Ms Vorobyeva.

"That's why they were reluctant to hand over anything (including) the black boxes."

Part of the wreckage of flight MH17, which had 298 people on board

She added that audio recordings of rebels admitting shooting down the plane are "fake" and a "compilation of different conversations".

Meanwhile, a ceasefire within a six-mile (10km) radius of the crash site will be put in place so international investigators can examine the wreckage of the Boeing 777 that was shot down near Grabovo last week.

It comes after fighting between separatists and pro-Ukrainian groups flared in Donetsk, some 40 miles (60km) from the crash site.

Health officials said four people were killed in Monday's clashes, while rebel military commander Igor Strelkov said up to 12 of his men died in the fighting.

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Russians Oblivious To Growing Anger Over MH17

On a busy street in central Moscow, a well-dressed man stands yelling at the crowd: "Don't you understand? There will be a war!"

All around him, people walk by, wholly uninterested. It's a hot summer's day, they're enjoying the sun.

Save for a couple of tourists taking pictures, no-one pays much attention at all.

The friend of a friend who saw this posted the news on Facebook. 

A message left among tributes outside the Dutch embassy in Kiev, Ukraine

Someone responded with a cartoon of Homer Simpson holding a sign that says: "The End is Near".

There are people here who are genuinely concerned about the direction Russia is heading under Vladimir Putin, but they are very much in the minority.

Anyone watching Russian state TV (from which, according to a Levada Centre poll, an estimated 94% of population get their news) would have little idea of the weight of the international outrage building against their leader and the threat of serious sanctions to come.

Instead, they will be treated to a rundown of the "10 questions Ukraine's government must answer", and clips of Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, insisting that any accusation of Russian involvement is "unfounded" and that he "hasn't heard anything truthful from Kiev for months".

This will not surprise viewers who have spent those months listening to condemnation of the "junta" in Kiev, which they have regularly been told is controlled by fascists.

The morning after the crash, some Russian newspapers didn't even cover it.

Pro-Russian separatists have denied being behind the downing of the plane

The official state newspaper, Rossiskaya Gazeta, decided the loss of 298 lives was not its top story, leading instead with an "exclusive investigation" into what Russians eat and drink, the fate of flight MH17 relegated to the bottom of the page.

So there is no real outrage, no clamour for Mr Putin to act, no widespread fear that under his leadership Russia could be about to become a pariah state.

On the contrary, Mr Putin's approval ratings are at an all-time high.

After the annexation of Crimea, his popularity hit 83%.

For all of the stern diplomatic dressings down he received, in Russia it was a genuinely wildly popular move.

A pro-Russian separatist holds up a stuffed toy found at the crash site

But those inside the Kremlin also know how precariously Russia's economy is poised, and how rapidly that popularity could evaporate if sectoral sanctions are applied, hitting the oil and gas revenues on which the Russian books depend.

Mr Putin's presidency has coincided for the majority with an increase in living standards, an influx of western technology and designer goods, the ability to enjoy holidays abroad.

But for all of the projection of Russia's military might of late, its economy is starting to look quite fragile, with growth grinding to a halt, and an estimated $75bn worth of capital leaving the country so far this year.

Mr Putin knows real biting economic sanctions could hurt Russia, and him personally.

But he knows it will hurt Europe too.

The question now is whether he really believes European leaders will follow all their words with any meaningful action.

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Jet Horror: Putin 'Is On The Side Of The Devil'

Ukraine's Prime Minister has said Vladimir Putin is "on the side of the devil" as he reiterated Kiev's view that Russia had a clear role in shooting down flight MH17.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk said the Malaysia Airlines plane carrying 298 people was probably brought down by a BUK-M1 missile launcher.

"This system could not be operated by drunk pro-Russian terrorists. There were professional people," he told a news conference.

He also said Kiev is willing to hand over the probe into the atrocity to the Netherlands and its international partners.

Mr Yatsenyuk spoke out after the Russian President vowed to "do everything to ensure the security and safety" of experts investigating the disaster.

Mr Putin said "all people" in Ukraine are responsible for the tragedy.

"No one has the right to use this tragedy for any kind of vested interest in the political sense. Such incidents should unite people rather than separate them," he said.

"We need to do everything to ensure the security and safety of the observers and the experts working at the crash site."

However, Mr Yatsenyuk said: "I do not expect anything from the Russian government ... Putin should understand that it's enough already. This is not a conflict between Ukraine and Russia. It is an international conflict."

He added: "Russia is on the dark side, on the side of the devil."

Earlier, US Secretary of State John Kerry said intelligence assessments had provided overwhelming evidence of Russian complicity in the downing of MH17.

Mr Kerry also demanded Russia take responsibility for the actions of pro-Moscow rebels in Eastern Ukraine, branding their mishandling of victims' bodies as "grotesque".

A woman and a child view tributes to the victims at Schiphol Airport

Ukrainian government investigators say 272 of the 298 bodies have now been found scattered over fields at Grabovo in the Donetsk region.

Two trains carrying 251 bodies are stuck in the town of Torez because "terrorists are blocking its exit".

Mr Putin has promised Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte he will help retrieve bodies and black boxes from the crash site.

However, Mary Dejevsky, a Russian and EU analyst, told Sky News that Mr Putin controls rebels in the area "far less than is commonly believed outside Russia".

People work at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17

She said nobody controls the area which is "one of the reasons why things are so desperate there".

Malaysia's Foreign Minister YB Dato' Sri Anifah Aman has arrived in Kiev to help authorities with the "repatriation of all passengers that perished in MH17 flight".

In the Netherlands, Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima are to attend a gathering later for relatives of the 193 Dutch people who died on the plane.

The pair have been criticised for not attending memorial services for the victims on Sunday. Their aides are refusing to say what they were doing instead.

Anger is growing against the Russian leader

As public anger grows over claims of looting and evidence being tampered with at the crash site, Mr Kerry threatened "additional steps" against Moscow, while calling on European allies to take a tougher stance with sanctions.

He stopped short of blaming Moscow directly for shooting down the jet, but argued there was an overwhelming case that Russia had equipped insurgents with the sophisticated missile system needed to destroy an aircraft flying at 33,000ft.

"It's pretty clear that this is a system that was transferred from Russia," Mr Kerry said.

Moscow has denied any involvement and has blamed Ukrainian forces for bringing down the airliner.

The UN Security Council will today vote on a resolution to condemn the downing of the aircraft.

The resolution, drafted by Australia, demands that those responsible for bringing the plane down will be held accountable, and that armed groups do not compromise the integrity of the crash site.

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MH17: 'Bloody Guerrillas' Hold Train Of Bodies

Trains containing bodies from the MH17 crash site are being blocked by "terrorists", the Ukrainian government has said.

Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said: "We sent two trains, four carts, which right now are in Torez City.

"These bloody guerrillas do not allow the train to leave the area."

The trains are reportedly surrounded by 50 insurgents - but Dutch forensic teams say they have been promised the wagons will be released later on Monday so they can "do their work".

There are conflicting reports about whether the refrigeration systems on the trains are working.

Investigators cover their mouths and noses while inspecting the wagons

Rescuers have found 272 of the 298 victims in the area where the Malaysia Airlines flight came down in eastern Ukraine on Thursday.

There are fears some of the bodies were incinerated without a trace during the crash.

Michael Bociurkiw, a spokesman for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, said: "We're looking at the field where the engines have come down.

"This was the area which was exposed to the most intense heat. We do not see any bodies here. It appears that some have been vaporised."

A pro-Russian rebel guards a train carrying crash victims' bodies

The have also been accusations that bodies were removed by rebels.

Lyubov Kudryavets, a worker at the Torez morgue, said that on the evening the plane went down, a resident brought in the bloodied body of a child aged seven or eight. On Saturday militiamen came to take it away, she said.

"They began to question me: 'Where are the fragments of rocket? Where are the fragments from the plane?'" Ms Kudryavets said.

The blocking of the trains comes despite comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin that "we need to do everything to ensure the security and safety of the observers and the experts working at the crash site".

Meanwhile, Mr Yatsenyuk is willing to hand control of the crash investigation to Western partners.

The Netherlands, which lost 192 citizens, could take the lead.

Two German experts are making their way to the crash site, while six British investigators are in Kiev ready to join the effort.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was due to make a statement on the crash on Monday - but it was cancelled due to "potential developments on the ground" in Ukraine. The Malaysians would not elaborate. 

Elsewhere, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko has ordered his forces to halt fire in a 40 kilometre (24 mile) area around the crash site.

But the military is trying to break into Donetsk - which was taken by rebels in April - in the first major outbreak of violence since the crash.

Fighting is under way near the city's railway station, with reports of shelling and tanks from both sides heading to the area. 

Sky's Colin Brazier, in Donetsk, understands two people have died in clashes.

Pro-Russian separatists on a tank near Donetsk on Sunday

Ukraine's military has denied responsibility for any explosions in the country's second city.

"There is work on clearing approaches to the city, on destroying checkpoints of the terrorists. If there are explosions in the middle of the city, then it is not Ukrainian soldiers," said Andriy Lysenko.

"We have strict orders not to use air strikes and artillery in the city. If there is fighting in the city, we have information that there is a small self-organised group who are fighting with the terrorists." 

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Rebels Load MH17 Crash Bodies Onto Trains

Armed pro-Russian separatists have reportedly forced emergency workers to hand over all 196 bodies recovered from the Malaysia Airlines crash site.

International monitors and Ukrainian officials said victims' remains were taken away and loaded onto refrigerator wagons on trains at Torez station which were said to be headed for rebel-held Donetsk.

Kiev's emergency officials said 196 bodies have been recovered so far, as a rebel called "Novorossiya" reportedly tweeted that the jet's two black box voice and data recorders had been taken to the eastern Ukrainian city.

Bodies are said to have been loaded onto this train at Torez station

It comes as footage emerged showing evidence that one flight recorder had been recovered at the scene, two days ago.

World leaders have piled pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the armed Moscow-backed rebels from preventing investigators from fully accessing the MH17 crash site.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said Europe and the West must "fundamentally change our approach" unless Mr Putin alters his stance, amid claims Russia-backed rebels were involved.

International monitors and journalists are confronted by armed separatists

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond accused Russia of "dragging its heels" on Sky's Murnaghan programme.

The prospect of further sanctions against Russia was raised as public anger and concerns grow over claims of looting and evidence being tampered with.

The US has condemned the lack of security at the scene as an "affront to all those who lost loved ones and to the dignity the victims deserve", while Malaysia has attacked the failure to preserve evidence as a "betrayal of the lives lost".

A message left among floral tributes outside the Dutch Embassy in Kiev

The Ukraine government has accused pro-Russian separatists of removing bodies from the crash scene and debris, and attempting to destroy evidence.

Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said the government was "angry" and "furious" over allegations bodies were being dragged around the site.

Sky presenter Colin Brazier, at the crash site, said: "There is an area about 50ft in diameter, completely charred, with a group of the people in overalls picking up body parts and putting them into plastic bags.

"I've been walking around, coming across body parts all the time, many of them charred beyond recognition.

A still showing evidence that a flight recorder was found, two days ago

"Men, women and children indeterminate, frankly, you can't tell. Very often you are looking at charred spines, that's all that's left.

"There are flies. It is hot. There are stretchers lying by the roadside. They have not been used because many of the bodies were dismembered by the forces of the impact.

"It is a truly macabre, horrific situation. There is a degree of anarchy and lawlessness.

"The situation is such that you feel the need for an overarching body to get a grip and sort this dreadful situation out."

All 298 passengers 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.

The Ukrainian army said "mortar attacks from the direction of Russia aimed at Ukrainian posts" were recorded just after midnight and again at 2am on Sunday.

Kiev and Moscow have blamed each other for the air disaster.

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Israel Minister Accuses Hamas Of 'Self-Genocide'

An Israeli minister has defended the ground offensive in Gaza and accused Hamas of "self-genocide" by using women and children as human shields.

Naftali Bennett, appearing on Dermot Murnaghan's programme, insisted Israel would continue to retaliate to rocket strikes from Gaza.

The Israeli economic minister said: "The only difference between us and Hamas in Gaza is that they are deliberately sending their women and children to stand next to missile launchers in order for them to get killed, and then they cry to the world that they are being killed.

"This is cynical and cowardly. Israel has all the right to defend itself.

Israel began a ground offensive in Gaza on Thursday

"They started this, they are continuing this, this can all go away the moment they disarm themselves and stop shooting us.

"Hamas is placing missiles in homes, in living rooms, in schools, in children's rooms, this is their modus operandi.

"If Hamas was shooting missiles at your home, from within a school, what would you do?

"Would you just wait for those missiles to kill you? We fight back.

"Sometimes yes in wars there is collateral damage, but I'm not going to ask forgiveness for defending my four children that had rockets shot at home this very morning.

"What Hamas is doing is effectively self-genocide."

Since the start of fighting nearly two weeks ago, 378 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 3,000 wounded, according to Gaza Health Ministry official Ashraf al Kidra.

A total of five Israeli soldiers have also been killed since the ground offensive began on Thursday. Two Israeli citizens have also been killed in rocket attacks.

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Bodies In The Street As Gazans Flee Shelling

At least 50 people have been killed and many more wounded after the Israeli military shelled a Gaza neighbourhood, according to Sky sources.

Thousands of Palestinians fled Shaja'iya in northeast Gaza - some by foot and others in the backs of trucks or sitting on the hoods of packed cars - as the attack began.

Sky's Sherine Tadros, reporting from Shaja'iya, said Palestinians leaving the area were describing it as a "massacre".

"This is a very heavily populated residential area," she said.

An injured Palestinian woman at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City

"We have seen hundreds upon hundreds of people leaving and they are not carrying bags packed with clothes, they are not carrying anything. They are literally running for their lives." 

Israeli tanks were reported to be firing into the neighbourhood while drones and fighter jets could be heard overhead.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said: "Two days ago, residents of Shaja'iya received recorded messages to evacuate the area in order to protect their lives."

But Sherine Tadros said there is nowhere for those fleeing the assault to run to.

"They are leaving this area but of course there is nowhere safe here," she said.

An Apache helicopter fires a missile into Gaza City

"You expect to see all these people flee across a border, but they can't cross a border. Gaza is completely locked off."

Hamas accepted a proposal - secured by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) - for a three-hour humanitarian ceasefire on Sunday.

Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said: "The ICRC contacted (us) and offered to broker a three-hour humanitarian truce to enable ambulances to evacuate the dead and wounded and Hamas accepted it."

But an Israeli military spokesman said it had agreed to a two-hour truce.

Naftali Bennett, Israeli economic minister, told Sky News Hamas was "cynically" using women and children as human shields.

He said: "They only difference between us and Hamas in Gaza is that they are deliberately sending their women and children to stand next to missile launchers in order for them to get killed and then they cry to the world that they are being killed.

Smoke rises after air strikes in Shaja'iya, northeast Gaza

"This is cynical and cowardly. Israel has all the right to defend itself.

"They started this, they are continuing this, this can all go away the moment they disarm themselves and stop shooting us."

The Israeli military has said it has hit more than 2,500 targets in Gaza, including 1,100 rocket launchers, after nearly two weeks of fighting.

It has said around 70 militants have been killed and another 13 brought to Israel for questioning.

It claims militants have fired more than 1,760 rockets at Israeli cities since July 8.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has travelled to Qatar to try to restart ceasefire efforts.

Last week, Hamas rejected an Egyptian-brokered truce - saying it would only agree if Israel and Egypt significantly eased the border blockade of Gaza.

Since the start of the fighting, 378 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 3,000 wounded, according to Gaza Health Ministry official Ashraf al Kidra.

Two Israeli soldiers died in the fighting this weekend, while another three were killed when the ground offensive began on Thursday. Two Israeli civilians have also been killed in rocket attacks.

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