Britain Warns Putin: World's Eyes Are On You

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has warned Vladimir Putin the "world's eyes are on Russia to make sure she delivers" on her obligations to the victims killed in the Ukraine plane disaster.

His comments come as David Cameron and Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte called for the European Union to "reconsider its approach to Russia" to Moscow in light of evidence that pro-Moscow separatists brought down flight MH17 on Thursday.

Mr Cameron has also spoken to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, while the Russian ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign Office.

The UK's response follows accusations that pro-Russian separatists removed 38 bodies from the Malaysia Airlines crash scene and attempting to destroy evidence at the site.

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.

Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said the Netherlands was "angry, furious" by news that bodies were being dragged around the site.

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.

Mr Hammond accused Russia of not doing enough to help move separatists from the site.

"We're not getting enough support from the Russians, we're not seeing Russia using their influence effectively enough to get the separatists, who are in control of the site, to allow the access that we need," he said.

The debris was scattered over a wide area

"This is not about Russia and the West, this is about the whole community demanding that the proper access is made available to this site, the victims are properly recovered and evidence is secured."

Ukraine's Security Council said 18sq km of the 25sq km had been explored and 186 bodies found, while there have been discussions between the two factions over the creation of a "security zone" around the crash scene following allegations of looting and evidence being compromised.

Concerns have been raised by Malaysia about the investigation as a team of international observers complained of being confronted by aggressive armed rebels.

A Ukraine Security Council spokesman said 15 pieces of military equipment were brought over the border from Russia into the eastern Luhansk region overnight.

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

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

However, 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 homes had been taken away.

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.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry agreed on Saturday that both countries would use their influence on the two sides of the Ukraine conflict to end hostilities

:: 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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France Rail Crash: Dozens Hurt As Trains Collide

Twenty-five people have been hurt after two trains carrying a total of 238 passengers crashed near the French city of Pau.

A national TGV service heading for Paris hit a local train during the evening commute in the town of Deguin, Pyrenees-Atlantiques prefectural spokesman Patrice Abbadie said.

Nine of the injuries are serious, but they are not though to be life-threatening, he added.

The crash took place in southwest France

Emergency services including ambulances, helicopters and fire engines were sent to the scene.

Reports suggest the high-speed TGV had stopped and was starting up again when the crash took place.

The cause is not clear, and the train operators have launched an investigation.

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Berlusconi Cleared Of Paying For Sex With Minor

Former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has been acquitted of paying for sex with a teenage prostitute by an appeals court.

The Milan court threw out a guilty verdict and seven-year jail sentence handed down by a lower tribunal last year.

Berlusconi had been accused of paying for sex with nightclub dancer Kharima El Mahroug - also known as Ruby the Heartstealer - when she was under 18 and then abusing his authority to get her released from police custody over theft accusations.

Prosecutors had relied on telephone wiretaps and statements made and then denied by Ms El Mahroug to build their case.

Berlusconi is currently serving community service at a facility for Alzheimer's patients after being convicted of tax fraud in a separate case.

Berlusconi's Forza Italia party welcomed the verdict

His lawyer Franco Coppi said the latest verdict went beyond his client's "rosiest expectations".

The four-time prime minister, who is still influential in Italian politics through his Forza Italia party, has always denied the allegations.

Simone Furlan of Forza Italia said in a statement: "Finally justice has been done.

"Now, let's all focus on good politics to relaunch Forza Italia, tightly knit around our great leader Silvio Berlusconi."

El Mahroug denied statements the prosecution had used to build their case

The acquittal could remove a potential threat to current prime minister Matteo Renzi's reform drive as it depends of an accord with the centre-right, including Forza Italia. 

Berlusconi is still on trial in another case where he is accused of bribing a senator to join his party and destabilise a centre-left government.

And prosecutors have requested he face trial on suspicion of paying off a pimp to provide false testimony in an investigation into prostitutes who attended parties at his residences in Milan and Rome.

Investigators have also been looking into whether he paid off witnesses in the Ruby trial to provide false testimony, although no charges have been formally levied.

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Chikungunya Virus Makes First US Transmission

A painful and debilitating mosquito-born virus has been transmitted in the US for the first known time, with two cases in Florida, say health officials.

Those infected were a 41-year-old woman near Miami who began experiencing symptoms on June 10, and a 50-year-old man near Palm Beach, who first noticed the illness on July 1.

Both of them - neither of whom had travelled out of the country before being infected - were said to be doing well.

A health worker checks a child for the virus in El Salvador

All prior reported cases involved recent travellers to the Caribbean, where the virus is raging.

"The arrival of chikungunya virus, first in the tropical Americas and now in the United States, underscores the risks posed by this and other exotic pathogens," said Roger Nasci of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in a prepared statement.

Chikungunya virus is incurable and can be fatal. Infected people usually suffer fever, severe joint pain and swelling, muscle aches, headaches or rash. 

A Haitian health worker sprays chemicals to kill mosquitoes

Patients usually recover in about a week, though some people suffer long-term joint pain. 

There were more than 230 chikungunya US cases reported this year, but all the others were travellers thought to have been infected elsewhere.

The virus is transmitted from an infected person only if they are bitten in the first weeks of illness by an uninfected mosquito, said state epidemiologists.

CDC officials think chikungunya will behave like dengue virus, with imported cases resulting in sporadic local transmission but not widespread outbreaks.

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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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Malaysia Airlines Defends War Zone Flight Path

A Malaysia Airlines official has defended the company's decision to fly over eastern Ukraine after flight MH17 was brought down.

Hugh Dunleavy, commercial director for the airline, said there had been no incidents involving civilian aircraft using the flight path and Malaysia Airlines had been using it "for quite some time".

However, at least three Ukrainian military aircraft were hit by missiles fired by pro-Russian separatists operating in the region in the week before MH17 was shot out of the sky, killing 298 people. Of the victims, 189 are Dutch.

Mr Dunleavy told Sky News: "Now there's been an incident like this, everyone is looking back saying 'you should have done something different'.

The route taken by flight MH17 after leaving Amsterdam

"But at the time we were flying, along with many other airlines on that flight path, there had been no incidents involving civilian aircraft.

"These are routes that are traditionally accepted on a day-by-day basis by the air traffic control authorities so they also consider them safe to fly.

"This was something totally extraordinary, it could just as easily have been the aircraft ahead of Malaysia Airlines or the aircraft behind that was hit."

Mr Dunleavy added the airline would now be using an alternative flight path around Ukraine and they have stopped calling the route MH17 out of respect for the victims. It will now be called MH19.

All 298 people on board MH17 were killed on Thursday

The International Civil Aviation Organisation, a UN agency and other aviation authorities recently issued a "notice to airmen" (NOTAM) putting the eastern edge of Ukrainian airspace off limits up to 32,000 feet because of the conflict.

But MH17 was flying at 33,000 feet when it was hit by a missile fired from what experts believe was a Buk launcher.

Ukraine has now closed all airspace in the east. 

Ismail Nasaruddin, president of the Malaysian Flight Attendant Union, said some crew members were too distraught to work following the tragedy.

He said: "We have lost 21 crew members in a very short time period. This is not something we like to see.

"We are affected, the crew members are demoralised by the essence of this tragic incident.

"What we are looking at now is probably an event that Malaysia crew members have never experienced before."

Daniel Holland, a military aviation expert, told Sky News airspace above war zones should be sealed off to commercial aircraft.

He said: "When a war zone occurs, everything from ground level up until realistically the level of space needs to be sealed off to any and all commercial traffic just to avoid something like this happening where a plane accidentally wanders over a battle ground.

"You've got that probability that an accidental misfire could occur and strike a civilian target without any real rhyme or reason, other than it being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

On Tuesday, Polish blogger Michael Dembinski suggested flying over eastern Ukraine was "worrying".

He wrote: "Take a look at eastern Ukraine and you'll see a procession of civilian aircraft flying along an air corridor between Luhansk, Donetsk, Horlivka, Kramatorsk - places where battles are raging and people are being killed.

"Yet blithely oblivious to what's happening on the ground, some of the world's largest civilian airliners are criss-crossing the area at 38,000ft."

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Man Dies After Police Put Him In Choke Hold

A father-of-six collapsed and died after he was placed in a choke hold by a New York police officer.

Eric Garner, 43, was captured on video in Tompkinsville, Staten Island, arguing with police officers who accused him of selling bootleg cigarettes.

The officers then surrounded him and when he apparently resisted arrest, one placed him in a choke hold and wrestled him to the ground.

Eric Garner suffered a cardiac arrest. Pic: NYDN

Mr Garner could be heard shouting "I can't breathe!" as he was held on the pavement.

He suffered a cardiac arrest and died at Richmond University Medical Center on Thursday, the New York Daily News reported.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio released a statement after his death.

"On behalf of all New Yorkers, I extend my deepest condolences to the family of Mr Garner, who died yesterday afternoon while being placed in police custody," he said.

"We have a responsibility to keep every New Yorker safe, and that includes when individuals are in custody of the NYPD.

"That is a responsibility that Police Commissioner Bratton and I take very seriously.

"We are harnessing all resources available to the city to ensure a full and thorough investigation of the circumstances of this tragic incident."

New York Police Commissioner William Bratton told a news conference on Friday: "Choke holds are prohibited by the New York City Police Department and most departments."

Mr Garner was reported to have broken up a fight shortly before his arrest.

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Dutch Fury As MH17 Bodies 'Dragged Around'

The Netherlands has asked for help bringing the bodies of the 192 Dutch nationals killed when a Malaysia Airlines jet from Amsterdam was shot down over Ukraine.

Frans Timmermans told Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko that his country was "angry, furious" by reports of bodies being dragged around the site in Grabovo, Donetsk.

"We are already shocked by the news we got today of bodies being dragged around, of the site not being treated properly," he said. 

Ukrainian officials accused pro-Russian separatists of taking bodies from the scene of the crash before emergency services personnel began officially collecting them on Saturday.

The Netherlands is in mourning and at Schiphol Airport, where flight MH17 took off on Thursday afternoon, the families of those on board and other well-wishers have been gathering to lay flowers and pay tribute.

For now the relatives have nowhere else to go and, although it has been suggested they could be flown out to the crash site, Malaysia Airlines commercial director Hugh Dunleavy told Sky News it was unlikely it would possible to guarantee them safe passage.

A miniature pair of clogs left amongst the tributes at Schiphol

The relatives could be flown out to the crash site in eastern Ukraine, but for now they have nowhere else to go, Sky's Kay Burley, who is at the scene, said.

The headline of one of the Dutch newspapers in the wake of the downing of the Malaysia Airlines jet reads: "Everybody knows somebody".

One mourner who arrived to pay her respects underlined that fact, telling Sky News: "It's unfair what's happened, these people don't deserve it.

"Close family? No, but my cousin, his friend at school, his family were all on board the plane."

Churches have opened books of condolences for those who have died, and services have been held across the country.

As the relatives come to terms with their loss, the process of formally identifying the dead continues.

Forensic teams are fanning out across the country to collect material, including DNA samples, that will help positively identify the remains.

Police said 40 pairs of detectives from the National Forensic Investigations Team would be visiting relatives in the coming days.

Mr Timmermans said the Netherlands would not stop until those responsible for the deaths of so many citizens were brought to justice.

"Once we have the proof, we will not stop before the people are brought to justice," he said.

"Not just the people who pulled the trigger but also those who made it possible. I think the international community needs to step up its efforts in this respect."

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