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A TRAIN CARRYING the remains of 280 people killed in the Malaysian plane disaster was finally allowed to leave a rebel-held region in eastern Ukraine as the militants declared a truce Tuesday around the crash site.
Five days after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was allegedly shot out of the sky, pro-Russian separatists conceded to a furious international clamour for the bodies and the plane’s black boxes to be handed over to investigators.
The devices, which record cockpit activity and flight data, were handed to Malaysian officials by the prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Alexander Borodai, in front of scores of journalists.
“We will order a ceasefire in an area of 10 kilometres around” the site of the disaster, which killed all 298 people on board the plane, he said.
Meanwhile, after days of bitter wrangling, the rebels released the bodies of the dead.
Loaded on a train, they will arrive in the government-controlled city of Kharkiv Tuesday before being put on a plane to the Netherlands, where the flight to Kuala Lumpur originated and which suffered the greatest loss, with 193 citizens killed in the crash.
The rebel concessions came after US President Barack Obama insisted that Moscow force the insurgents it is accused of backing to cooperate with an international probe into the disaster.
Moscow, which has drawn ire for failing to rein in the rebels, backed a UN Security Council resolution condemning the downing of the plane and demanding access to the crash site.
A senior Russian defence ministry official insisted that “Russia did not give the rebels Buk missile systems or any other kinds of weapons or military hardware”.
Australia
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said that evidence had been tampered with on an industrial scale, calling it “a cover-up”.
Abbott, whose government was behind a UN Security Council resolution that yesterday unanimously demanded full access to the site in rebel-held east Ukraine, admitted progress had been made but said more needed to be done.
“There is still a long, long way to go,” he told a press conference of the quest to repatriate bodies and bring those responsible for the 298 deaths to justice.
“After the crime comes the cover-up,” he added.
“What we have seen is evidence tampering on an industrial scale. That has to stop.”
Flyover
Meanwhile, embattled Malaysia Airlines faced fresh outrage as it confirmed one of its planes flew over war-torn Syria, just days after the MH17 disaster laid bare the risks civilian aircraft face in flying over war zones.
The Malaysian flag carrier confirmed that flight MH4, bound from London for Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, re-routed over Syria following the closure of the flight’s usual route over Ukraine in the wake of the MH17 tragedy three days earlier.
In a statement issued late last night, the crisis-hit airline said the Syrian flight path was among routes approved by the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
“As per the notice to airmen (NOTAM) issued by the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority, the Syrian airspace was not subject to restrictions. At all times, MH004 was in airspace approved by ICAO,” it said.
But the move drew disbelief and scorn on social media.
“What is wrong with these guys?! Malaysians are now flying over Syria,” said one of many Twitter postings on the issue.
“Wanna lose another plane?” asked another.
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This will be one walk the orangemen won’t be doing .
@Finn Bowe: some of then well be protesting though. Happens every year
They could start with teaching a few heads up at Stormont a little bit about the subject
Imagine the North used to policed by the RUC.
How times have changed.
Well done Psni. Maith na buachaillí.
The PSNI has been one of the great successes of the peace process. If Brexit does lead to a united Ireland we should extend it to a 32 county organisation to replace our own discredited force.
No wonder they want a hard border !!!
Well done PSNI, fantastic step forward for equality
When we get hate speech laws here…Journal will be boring…Many comments won’t be allowed….
@John003: Hate speech it seems only emanates from non-lefty liberals. Bit like discrimination which apparently is also only committed by whites! As to Pride, well they say that only comes before the fall? These Pride gigs are grand in themselves for a bit of fun if it were not for the fact that they are really a sad vehicle to prolong the “victim syndrome” of a lot of the so called LGBT, MGBGT community!
@Warthog: they are being victimised all over the world and until there is 100% equality everywhere, these marches and other LGBT need to continue. So keep up your own bigoted attitude and these events will continue.
@Warthog: So many of the LGBT community were victims of ‘gay bashings’, which happens in this day and age, so they have every right to have the victim status, and angry after 50 years of fighting for equal rights, also being fired from the workplace was another practice if the employer found out if an individual was gay, lesbian or transgender. and police forces of any nation used to beat of kill the LGBT community often, so don’t preach this crap please.
@Paul Furey: Hahaha that’s funny. See the truth hurts, as those with half a brain would understand that I was making a valid observation and no way was I being bigoted. But of course as I was not fully on-board with your agenda you revert to type and start the usual name childish name calling! As to been victimized, maybe you and the rest of the LGBT/MGBGTs should grow a pair and start protesting against Islamic countries that go way beyond victimizing and do in fact lop the heads off or throw LGBTs off high rise buildings.
@Warthog: Pride is about protesting about all bigotry including that which happens in Islamic countries. Surely that’s obvious?
So, An Garda Síochána, your move.
@Tomboktu: A move they made several years ago
They should start with allowing marriage, too.
Good on you PSNI go for it
I would not go rushing to heap praise here when in reality it’s still illegal to have any form of homosexual conduct between consenting adults in private. The notion of same sex “marriage” is ages away and while it took Paisley and his fellow travellers over 40 years to get the message over the peace process it will take the current Unionists forever to come round to the idea. This reactionary outlook has not stopped the DUP being handed wads of cash under the guise of adhering to the peace process but in reality they are just propping up the current Tory Government which is so tawdry it is not insisting on change in such areas as a quid pro quo for the money
Is the border a hate crime? I think it is.
have your say