18/07/2014 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me Kasia Madera.

US President Barack Obama says the Malaysia Airlines plane was

shot down from an area controlled by pro-Russia

People from at least ten countries were among

the 298 who died when the plane came down near the Russian border.

President Obama called it a global tragedy and calls for a ceasefire.

A team of international investigators have arrived

And Asian airliner was destroyed in European skies filled with citizens

from many countries, so there has to be a credible international

investigation into what happened. A team of international

investigators have arrived at the crash site but separatists

only give them limited access. I am Clive Myrie at Schipol Airport

in the Netherlands where that flight, MH 17, took off yesterday.

Two thirds of those who died are Dutch. This is a nation in mourning

after one of its worst aircraft disasters.

And in other news, 24 Palestinians and one Israeli

soldier are killed as Israel's troops move further into Gaza.

A global tragedy and an a grade one speakable proportions. That is how

the US President Barack Obama described the shooting down of the

Boeing 77 over Ukraine. 298 people died when flight MH 17

from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur came down in an area controlled by

pro-Russian separatists. Ten of the dead are British, and authorities in

Kiev say they have evidence of -- Russian missal system was used to

carry out the attack. We can go live now to Schipol

Airport to speak to Clive Myrie. Hello from Schipol Airport. This is

of course a very busy hub, usually, for hundreds, thousands of

travellers every day, every week, wanting to get away from Europe. It

is a very busy airport in deed and yesterday was no exception. In the

morning, this flight, MH 17, was fully loaded and taking off on its

way to Kuala Lumpur. Then all of a sudden it disappeared from radar

screens. There was no distress signal or maybe, then the full

horror of what happened became apparent. We know that many of those

who died were Dutch nationals. This is a country in mourning and through

the day there has been a steady stream of people leaving floral

tributes in memory of those who died. Now, of course, the questions

are being asked. Why was this plane flown over a war zone in eastern

Ukraine? Why was that the route it took? And how did this plane

actually followed of the sky? Was it the result of a missile attack?

Let's eat the latest -- let's get the latest from the scene from

Daniel Sandford, who has been to the area where the plane came down in

eastern Ukraine. Hello and welcome.

The stark horror of the field of debris were Flight MH17 crashed

to earth. The place where the bitter war

in eastern Ukraine suddenly ended the lives of people from

around the world was this evening There was a very strong plane

rumble, then there was a sort of explosion, and then people

started falling from the sky. People were appearing right

from the clouds. When we ran out, we saw part

of a plane falling over our house. There were more parts of the plane

in the yard and papers there, too. We also found this piece of a

credit card from an American bank. And in the nearby summer fields

of tall sunflowers, off-duty mine rs searching for the bodies

of the passengers and crew who fell from the sky - almost 300 of them,

their dreams and their futures The hopelessly inexperienced

rescuers have found two thirds of the bodies but

around 100 are still missing. The bodies, body parts and debris

are spread over almost ten miles. It is a tragic

and devastating scene, people's clothes and belongings and

their life jackets are scattered You can still smell the death

and the burning in the air. It is going to be a huge challenge

for international investigators to With the rebel checkpoints

and the closed airspace, it has taken us around 24 hours to

get here from Moscow. There is confusion

at the moment about who has the black box flight recorders, so it is

hard for an investigation to start. The best theory is still that

the plane was shot down by a sophisticated anti-aircraft

missile fired by someone targeting a Ukrainian military plane,

but it is not clear who. The Kiev government believes it was

the rebels, or even the Russians. It claims these are pictures of a

Buk launch a system being taken back We ask all respective governments to

participate in this investigation, and to support the Ukrainian

government to bring to justice to all these bustards who committed

this international crime. But in Moscow, the man Kiev accuses

of supplying the rebels with their sophisticated weaponry was

keen to spread the blame. I express my condolences on

behalf of the Russian Federation. I want to underline that this

tragedy would not have happened if this land was at peace,

or at least combat operations had It is obvious that the state

on whose territory this happened But the US president said Vladimir

Putin was not doing enough. There has to be

a credible international The UN Security Council has endorsed

this investigation and we will help all its members,

including Russia, to do their work. and we will hold all its members,

including Russia to their word. In order to facilitate that

investigation, Russia, pro-Russian separatists and Ukraine must

adhere to immediate cease-fire. Ukraine and Russia have been

at daggers drawn since Russia took Things have only got worse

since then and now almost 300 people - none

of them Ukrainian or Russian - have 289 people died in all, 80 of them

were children. The Australians, the Malaysians, the British, the ten

Britons who died, the Dutch, of course. They all have stories to

tell and their lives are interesting. Danny Savage now has

some of the stories of those who perished on board MH 17.

These pictures show passengers settling down on board Flight MH17

yesterday, a familiar routine. But four hours later everyone

on board this plane was dead, their lives cut short

in an instant over Ukraine. In a back garden in Newcastle today,

the father of one of the victims told me about his 28-year-old son he

will never see again. Liam Sweeney grew

from a schoolboy who loved Newcastle United to a young man who

was on his way to watch them in New Ringing people on the emergency

lines and whatever, hoping, to be honest with you, that one of

those nine Britons was not my son. Horrible towards someone else,

but you do think of your own I'd probably rather it was me

sitting on the plane and not him. Liam was travelling with fellow

lifeling fan John Alder. Friends today left tributes to him

at the club. You turn around at Newcastle United,

wherever we were playing, John was there in his suit, cheering

his team on, showing his passion. The club has now set aside this

dedicated area for the fans who they say were known to thousands

of supporters, and in a statement Newcastle United say the loss of

John and Liam is truly devastating. Also on board was 49-year-old

Glenn Thomas from Blackpool, a press officer for the

World Health Organisation. He was travelling to an AIDS

conference in Australia. Other British people on

the plane included Ben Pocock from Bristol, a student at Loughborough,

and Richard Mayne, also a student, But it is the Dutch who bear

the brunt of the death toll. Cor Schilder and Neeljte Tol were

heading off on their holidays. She ran a flower shop

in a small town north of Amsterdam. We can do nothing,

that is the problem. All we can do is lay

down flowers and think about them. It is a tragedy,

I don't know what to say. Little shrines are popping up

around the world now to remember This is the grief of family

and friends which will last Let's get the perspective now from

Moscow and Washington. Our diplomatic correspondent, Bridget

Kendall con is in the Russian capital and Tom Esselmont is in

Washington. Tom Palmer President Obama and his

representative to the UN at that meeting of the Security Council

today, have both made it clear that the Americans believe it was

pro-Russian separatists who fired that missile undershot down this

plane. What is there evidence? -- and shot down.

That is a good question, because whatever evidence they are using we

have not seen it. President Obama did say that he

understands it was a surface-to-air missile that brought down the plane

and that it was fired from eastern Ukraine, territory controlled by

pro-Russian separatists. And that's those separatists have received over

the last few months heavy weaponry across the from Russia, so therefore

the American President Lee and responsibility for the downing of

this plane at Russia's door. As you mentioned, the comments from the

American president came hot on the heels of the statement read out at

the UN Security Council by the American ambassador to the council,

Samantha Power, in which she said that America could not rule out that

the separatists had been receiving technical assistance from Russia in

order to be able to fire such a missile. But, as yet, we have not

seen the piece of evidence they are using to bring about these

assertions. Let's go to you, Bridget, in Moscow.

The Russians throughout the day have been making it clear that those

separatists on the ground in eastern Ukraine do not have access to that

kind of heavy sophisticated weaponry that can shoot down a commercial

airliner at 33,000 feet. Do they have a point?

Well, their argument all along has been that Russia has not been

supplying heavy weaponry across the border, they do not control these

rebel fighters in the East. All they wanted to do is to try and bring

about a peaceful full ocean to a conflict that is in Ukraine.

about a peaceful full ocean to a conflict that is -- peaceful

solution to a conflict. They are saying, look at the Ukrainian

government, they claim it is the Ukrainian government's campaign that

includes strikes and the use of fighter jets that has caused a lot

of civilian deaths already in eastern Ukraine and one should not

rule out the possibility that the culpability for this incident could

come from the other side. There is a sense, I feel, as though the

Russians are being a bit defensive. They are not actually a great

accusing Kiev of shooting down the plane, they are just making a more

general point that it is supposed to control this territory and it is the

one that has launched a campaign, so it should bear responsibility for

what happens there, and it should have closed the air space if it was

not to say. It feels a bit like there is uncertainty in Russia about

what to do next, because if you think about it the eyes of the world

are now on this little bit of territory again and exactly what is

happening on that border. President Obama again today said to President

Putin come as he and other leaders have been saying repeatedly. Close

that border, make sure no fighters come across to make sure the

conflict is not fuelled. It is difficult for President Putin as to

how he might respond. Remember, the eyes of the world are on this. There

were many other passengers on that plane, not just western citizens but

Malaysians from other parts of the world, and they too will want to

know what happened in this part of the world. Moscow has to be careful

how it plays this. Back to you, Thomas in Washington.

The call from much of the world has been for an independent,

verifiable, transparent inquiry into what happened. That is very much the

point the US representative to the UN made before the Security Council

today. Are the Americans confident they will get that?

Yes, it is interesting, because all sides, Russia included, have called

for an independent and impartial investigation, but of course at some

point they will have to be a conclusion to that investigation,

one which cannot possibly satisfy one would think, all sides. America

for its part has said it is sending its own experts to Ukraine, they are

on their way now. As one would imagine, are those from other

countries, as well, and people from the FBI and all sport -- also from

the transport safety board who will fly there. Key question is...

In Washington. But thank you anyway. Many thanks.

What about the investigation itself, when it begins? We know that they

view monitors have been allowed into the area by some of the separatists

on the ground, but they had limited access to the crash site. As you

were hearing there, the call from around the world is really for

independent investigators to be able to get in there and find out exactly

what happened. But it is, of course, in the middle of a war zone. This

plane came down in rebel held territory in the east of Ukraine.

Richard Wescott has been looking at the main focus of the investigation.

Investigators will be desperate to secure the crash scene as soon as

possible. Right now, there is no guarantee evidence has not been

moved or even taken away by the people there. It won't be an easy

investigation. The Ukrainians would normally take charge, but the crash

site is in an area controlled by the people they are fighting. However,

one former investigator who worked on the Lockerbie bombing says that

once experts arrive, it should be full of clues. If you have a missile

warhead explosion or an explosion of a bomb on board a neck raft, the

services that get washed by the blast tend to have traces of the

explosive left on them. So it is possible then to swab the surface,

send that off to a laboratory, and it is relatively easy to identify

the actual explosive. It's a missile from a launcher like this one that

they will be looking for, a Russian-made Buk. It is radar guided

and easily able to reach the aircraft. The maximum range is more

than double the altitude of the airliner. Expert operators, like

state armies, are trained to identify what they are aiming at

before firing. But in the wrong hands, it is easy to make a mistake.

They may well have had enough training to get a lock on the target

and scan for targets, but maybe not enough to understand the full

intricacies of the system, so, for example, turning between different

transponder codes which would indicate a civilian rather than

military aircraft. There are now questions about why airliner were

flying over a conflict zone. These radar tracks show that the same

route has been used for some time, because it had been officially

declared safe above 32,000 feet. Malaysia Airlines were not alone.

Love plans are also used it, along with dozens of other airlines. Look

at this. British Airways decided to avoid Ukraine altogether.

Incidentally, this is the radar picture from earlier today. You can

see the column of aircraft now skirting around the danger zone. So

where does the investigation go from here? As ever, recovering the black

boxes is vital. One records and sounds in the cockpit. Anyone with a

stake in the flight will want to be involved. It is a Malaysia Airlines,

an American aircraft with British engines made by Rolls-Royce, and

there were at least ten nationalities on board. It is going

to be one of the most controversial aircraft investigations ever made,

and one of the most closely watched. Back now to those who died, whose

lives were lost. This is an international tragedy, there is no

doubt. But people in the Netherlands have paid the highest price, and

there is not just sadness and grief at the loss of life, there is also a

sense that it was unavoidable, that it was not a technical fault or bad

weather that caused this plane to come down. It was a missile that

shot down this aircraft. Those are the indications from the analysis so

far. Basically, it was human being intervention, man-made

intervention, that caused this tragedy. And with that, it is back

to you. Thank you very much. We will

continue to monitor that, but here is the main bellwether of the main

story of the day. Israeli troops have pushed deeper

into Gaza on the second day Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

said he had told his military to prepare for

a possible "significant'' expansion of the operation to destroy tunnels

and rocket launchers. The United Nations says the number

of displaced Palestinians has almost doubled to 40,000 today. Our chief

international correspondent reports. Late last night, Israeli soldiers

crossed into Gaza on foot. Backed up by tanks and artillery, a major

escalation in its military campaign. This morning, families are on the

run. They can move and sits next to the Israeli border. Taking as much

as they can carry, they are fleeing. They go as fast as they can. We were

sitting in our houses, this woman cries. They started shelling us. We

went to a relative's has, and they started shelling there. Israel says

its forces are searching for tunnels used by Palestinian militants for

cross-border raids. Barnett tunnels here? Why is this area targeted?

TRANSLATION: There are no tunnels. There is nothing in our area here.

That is just what they want to tell other countries to justify this.

This is one of the key areas they are targeting. We have heard shells

being fired and artillery in the last hour. We have seen families on

the run, running in every possible direction, not sure where this

military operation is going. Not sure where they should go for

safety. In Israel this morning, the Prime

Minister convened his security cabinet. TRANSLATION: We chose to

start this operation after we exhausted other options, and out of

an understanding that without the operation, the price we may pay

could be much higher. Israel is already warning it could

significantly widen its military operations. More reservists have

been called up. Israel says it is not seeking to topple Hamas, which

controls Gaza, but today, we witnessed another air strike

targeting its leaders. Hamas says it will not destroy them.

To discuss this further we're joined by Fawaz Gerges,

Professor of Middle Eastern politics at the London School of Economics,

and from Washington by David Pollock, a fellow at the Washington

Gentlemen, thank you very much for coming in. We have obviously been

here before. David, let me ask you first, what is Israel hoping to

achieve by this? Are they hoping to topple Hamas? I don't think so.

Although I think Hamas will be weakened as a result of this. I

think Israel's primary goal is just to stop Hamas rocket fire into

Israel, and that is why Israel accented the cease-fire a few days

ago, and when Hamas didn't and kept shooting rockets into Israel, the

Israelis expanded their operation, hoping that maybe that would

convince Hamas to stop all fours it to stop. Why did Hamas not accept

that truce? Hamas leaders say first of all they were not consulted on

the Egyptian cease-fire initiative, and only found out about it from

press reports. This tells you a good deal. We have many reports coming

out from Israel that Egypt consulted Israel and the US, but did not

consult Hamas. Hamas leaders also say that the cease-fire initiative

presents Hamas with a stark choice. If you reject the cease-fire

initiative, you will face all out war by Israel. And if you accept the

initiative, practice where one, and square one for Hamas leaders means

bleeding in a slow death, because remember, Hamas in Gaza are

encircled and besieged by both Israel and Egypt, and this

particular siege sees Israel starving in bleeding Hamas. It

doesn't have the resources to govern in Gaza. The economic situation is

horrible, and it is facing an accident predicament. That is why

they want basically to change the terms of the cease-fire initiative

into basically, stopping the eight year blockade imposed by Israel and

Gaza and opening the crossing with Egypt in order to bring supplies and

resources into Gaza. David, do you think that is something Israel will

accept? First of all, I think it is really important to point out that

Israel does not impose a siege or blockade on Gaza. In fact, Israel

allows goods and people to go in and out of Gaza in a controlled

fashion. Every single day, even during this conflict. Over 100

trucks crossed into Gaza delivering food, medicine, and other supplies,

and every single day, Israel's supplying Gaza with water and

electricity, so this is not a blockade. I think the question

really is more to Egypt than two Israel, will Egypt lift its blockade

of Gaza by opening the crossing not just to a few emergency humanitarian

cases or to evacuating foreigners, from Gaza, but for Palestinians to

go in and out, and for goods to go in and out. I don't think Egypt,

especially under the new Egyptian government, is likely to access

that, and so there will be pressure on Israel to further relax any

restrictions that it places on traffic in and out of Gaza. That is

a point, isn't it? Hamas has lost one of its regional supporters. It

clearly has. The Egyptian role shifted from an ally of Hamas to a

bitter enemy. There is a regional rivalry now between Egypt on the one

hand and basically, it does not really want Hamas to gain any

political leverage, and Turkey, who basically have influence over Hamas.

This is why the Palestinian president is basically now flying to

Turkey, to talk to the leaders of Turkey and Qatar. The reality is,

Gaza is the biggest prison in the world. Verratti million people in

Gaza who have been suffering for the last eight years. I'm sure David

would want to comment on that, but we are out of time. It seems we need

an awful lot of time to discuss this topic. Thank you very much for me

and dash-macro from the team. Goodbye.

We ended the week with some thunderstorms, but be prepared as an

torrential downpour through Saturday. They are scattered across

various parts of the UK. Getting the detail, timing and distribution

right will not