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Train carrying remains of MH17 victims leaves Ukraine crash site
Ukrainian fighter jet was near MH17, says Moscow
Russia must ask rebels to allow probe: Obama
Israeli blitzkrieg continues on Gaza
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Scotland ‘will need’ new currency if independent
Dilip Kumar’s Pak house may not be a national heritage
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Train carrying remains of MH17 victims leaves Ukraine crash site
Donetsk, July 21 The aircraft's black boxe, which could hold information about the crash in rebel-held eastern Ukraine but will not pinpoint who did it, would be given to the Malaysian authorities, Prime Minister Najib Razak said, indicating he had bypassed Kiev, which has lost control of much of the east. The expected handover of the bodies and the black boxes, and reports by international investigators of improved access to the wreckage of the airliner four days after it was shot down, weakened a new case for broader sanctions against Russia laid out by Western leaders struggling to agree a united response. The Malaysian leader said he had reached an agreement with the separatists for 282 recovered bodies to be handed over to the authorities in the Netherlands, where the largest number of victims came from. The shooting down of the airliner on Thursday sharply deepened the Ukrainian crisis, in which separatist gunmen in the Russian-speaking east have been fighting government forces since pro-Western protesters in Kiev forced out a pro-Moscow president and Russia annexed Crimea in March. Shaken by the deaths of 298 people from across the globe, Western governments have threatened Russia with stiffer penalties for what they say is its backing of pro-Russian militia who, their evidence suggests, shot the plane down. But, with Russia challenging them to produce proof, some of those taking a firmer line are saying the acid test will be if the separatists improve access to the site and Russia stops supporting them. European Union foreign ministers are due to discuss further penalties on Tuesday, but the most they are expected to do is to speed up implementation of sanctions against individuals, and possibly companies, agreed in principle last week before the plane was brought down. Diplomats say more serious sanctions against whole sectors of the Russian economy will depend largely on the line taken by the Dutch, due to the number of Dutch victims. Emotions ran high in the Netherlands, where prosecutors opened a war crimes investigation. Prime Minister Mark Rutte told parliament his government's priority was to recover and identify the bodies of the passengers. "If in the coming days access to the disaster area remains inadequate, then all political, economic and financial options are on the table against those who are directly or indirectly responsible for that," he said. Peter van Vliet, whose team went through the wagons dressed in surgical masks and rubber gloves, said he was impressed by the work the recovery crews had done, given the heat and the scale of the crash site.
— Reuters Netherlands opens war crimes probe
Amsterdam: Dutch prosecutors have opened an investigation into the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH-17 on suspicion of murder, war crimes and intentionally downing an airliner, a spokesman said on Monday. Based on the Law on International Crimes, the Netherlands can prosecute any individual who committed a war crime against a Dutch citizen. The 298 people who were killed when the plane was downed over Ukraine included 193 Dutch citizens. The spokesman said that a Dutch public prosecutor was in Ukraine as part of the investigation Echoes for airlines summit on MH17
Berlin: Lufthansa joined rival Emirates in calling for an airline summit to discuss the industry's response to the downing of an airliner over Ukraine, saying international security protocols should be reviewed. Since MH17 was shot down last week, questions have been raised as to why passenger planes were flying over a region hit by fighting. Tim Clark, head of Dubai's Emirates Airline, on Sunday said the International Air Transport Association could call an international conference to see what changes need to be made in the way the industry tackles regional instability.
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Ukrainian fighter jet was near MH17, says Moscow
Moscow, July 21 Moscow also denied supplying Ukrainian separatists with Buk missile systems or any other weapons as it sought to head off international accusations it was responsible for the downing of the Malaysian plane with 298 people on board. In the early hours of Monday, the Kremlin released a video address in which a grim-faced President Vladimir Putin said the tragedy should unite and not divide people. Armed with a number of slides, charts and images, two high-ranking officials of Russia's General Staff later today laid out a case against Kiev and Washington at a specially called briefing. Lieutenant-General Andrei Kartopolov said the Malaysian plane strayed north of its planned route, adding that a Ukrainian SU-25 fighter jet, which is typically equipped with air-to-air missiles, had been recorded in the proximity of the Boeing 777. The
Malaysian plane "deviated from its route to the North ... The
maximum deviation was 14 kilometres," he said. — AFP
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Russia must ask rebels to allow probe: Obama Washington, July 21 Obama denounced the Russian role in eastern Ukraine in some of his strongest language yet and pointedly appealed to Putin to cut ties with the separatists or risk greater international isolation. "Now's the time for President Putin and Russia to pivot away from the strategy that they've been taking and get serious about trying to resolve hostilities within Ukraine," Obama said in remarks on the White House South Lawn. With investigators blocked from access to the crash site in eastern Ukraine and most of the bodies of the victims removed, Obama said Russia should compel the separatists to let the investigation take place. He questioned why the rebels are blocking access. Obama did not specifically threaten new economic sanctions against Russia, but he hinted at costs to come should Moscow not change course. If Russia continues to back the rebels and they become risks not just to Ukraine but to the broader international community, "the costs for Russia's behaviour will only continue to increase," he said. — Reuters
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Israeli blitzkrieg continues on Gaza
Gaza/Jerusalem, July 21 A day after Israel's deadliest attack on Gaza in recent years killed about 150 people, more than 10 Hamas militants were shot dead today after infiltrating southern Israel. Two Hamas cells tried to infiltrate Israel to carry out an attack through tunnels from northern Gaza but they were identified by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and an aircraft was dispatched to intercept them, the army said. "The first cell was struck from the air, and ten of its members were killed", it said. The second squad tried to approach Niram kibbutz close to Gaza's northeastern tip, where they were engaged in a fierce gun battle with soldiers in which they also fired anti-tank weapons. Several soldiers were wounded, the army said, without giving further details. In the latest incident, an Israeli air strike on a home in the centre of Gaza City killed eight people, including four children. The strike came after tank-shelling on a hospital in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza killed five people. The deaths across Gaza today pushed the Palestinian toll to at least 535 in 14 days of fighting. At least 20 bodies were found near the city of Khan Younis after an Israeli airstrike and two people were pulled alive from the rubble, a health official said, adding that over 3,100 Palestinians have been injured so far. Twenty Israelis, including 18 soldiers, have died so far in the Operation Protective Edge launched on July 8. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council held urgent talks on the conflict late last night, expressing "serious concern" about the rising death toll and demanding "an immediate cessation of hostilities." Four Indian tailors working in Gaza for the last two years were evacuated yesterday unharmed with the help of the Representative Office of India in Ramallah, West Bank.
— PTI UN Secy-Gen lands in Cairo for Gaza talks
Cairo: UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday arrived in Cairo for talks to build support for a truce in Gaza as part of his whistlestop tour of the region, an airport official said. Ban, who arrived from Kuwait, is due to meet Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri as international efforts to end the deadly conflict in the Palestinian territory intensified, with US Secretary of State John Kerry also expected to arrive in the Egyptian capital.
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Scotland ‘will need’ new currency if independent
London, July 21 The Committee for Scottish Affairs described the idea as a dead parrot in a report and asked the Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond to come up with a Plan B. "The Scottish government tries to give the impression that a currency union is still a possibility. It is not. This parrot is dead," said Ian Davidson, chairman of the committee. The report categorically stated: "If Scotland leaves the United Kingdom there will not be a currency union. Voters urgently need to be told what the Scottish government has as a Plan B." Scotland is set for a crucial referendum on September 18 which will determine the fate of the UK. The report released also dismissed Salmond's claim that UK Chancellor George Osborne and other UK MPs are bluffing by ruling out the proposal. "No future Chancellor could perform an about-turn on a currency union after a Yes vote in September's referendum without destroying both their political and economy credibility," the committee concluded. Salmond's ruling Scottish National Party wants to share the pound with the UK in a currency union after independence, keeping the Bank of England safety net. But this has been ruled out by all the main parties at Westminster, the report said. The committee supported the stance, saying that the single currency functions because of the close integration between countries. Any loosening of the fiscal ties between Scotland and the rest of the UK would make sharing the pound impossible, the report said.
— PTI Referendum on September 18
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Dilip Kumar’s Pak house may not be a national heritage
The Department of Archaeology and Museums has turned down the Pakistan Government’s request to convert film legend Dilip Kumar’s ancestral house in Peshawar into a national heritage, describing the idea as “unfeasible”. Now it is up to Information and National Heritage Minister Pervaiz Rashid, who had received an order from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif earlier this week about designating the house as a heritage, to resolve the conflict because the Department of Archaeology is a national heritage wing of his ministry. Information and National Heritage Secretary Mohammad Azam, who did not appear to be aware of the reply given by the department, said officers concerned were already in Peshawar to work on the proposed project and prepare a report on how to go about it. In a letter to the ministry, the archeology department said the house was situated in a highly congested area and could not be easily accessed through a street that was as narrow as six feet and 33 feet long, making the approach difficult for visitors. “The house is totally unsuitable for conversion into a museum or library being very small and congested,” it said, elaborating that the house of three to four rooms was not protected under the Antiquities Act of 1975 either. It also said the owner had demanded Rs 80 million for the house in 2013, which is many times higher than the market price. Arguing against sustainability of the project, the department said the price was too high to purchase the house for the very purpose it was being acquired for. The letter said: “The Information, Public Relations and Culture Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has termed it wastage of taxpayers’ money.” A source in the heritage ministry said even after its acquisition, significant funds would be required for its preservation and transforming it into a museum or a library, besides a huge recurring expenditure. “The purpose for which all this is being done will not be fulfilled.”
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UK launches ‘Families Matter’ campaign against terror China's special envoy to Afghanistan praises Pak, ISI Clashes between rival militias in Libya kill 47 Age for Indian maids in Saudi set between 25 to 50 
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