Prime Minister Tony Abbott has started the sensitive task of contacting the families of the 37 Australian citizens and residents killed in the MH17 disaster.

The father of three Australian children killed on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 has taken indefinite leave from his job as head of Buxton Resources.

A New Zealand diplomat from Moscow has been sent to Kiev to monitor an investigation into the Malaysia Air disaster, Prime Minister John Key says.

192 bodies found after MH17 crashed to the ground have been bundled into black body bags and loaded into large refrigerated train cars, bound for the rebel heartland.

What does the tragedy of MH17 mean for the conflict in eastern Ukraine and for Russia's relations with Europe and the US?

Mary Menke fell in love as she travelled the world as a young woman - four decades later, she died flying home to New Zealand with the man she married.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was guided off its most recently used course as its pilots hoped to avoid thunderstorms brewing in the south of Ukraine, it's been claimed.

Australian experts will join a team of international investigators who will travel to the MH17 crash site in eastern Ukraine as soon as it’s safe to do so.

We remember the victims of flight MH17 as the investigation continues into exactly who is responsible for the tragedy.

A Dutch couple coming to New Zealand to visit their Taupo-based daughter on a "trip of a lifetime" were among those killed on MH17.

A popular former Auckland and Queenstown restaurateur was on board the ill-fated Malaysian Airlines flight MH17.

The sole New Zealand citizen on board the ill-fated MH17 flight has been remembered as a "warm, creative and generous" person.

It is like Pauly has died again and we are in that huge emotional hole of shock and absolute despair.

In the case of MH17, the political instability between Ukraine and Russia could hamper operations.

The downing of the Malaysia Airlines passenger plane has exposed the chaos in Ukraine as a real war.

Evidence is mounting that pro-Russian separatists were responsible for shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.

An Australian family has been hit by both Malaysia Airlines tragedies.

Two Newcastle United fans on their way to New Zealand to see their football team's pre-season games were among the victims of the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17.

New Zealand journalist Alexi O'Brien this morning described the scene as horrendous. O'Brien is in the Ukraine for Al Jazeera.

A single image proved especially poignant; a passenger’s travel book and holiday novel strewn on the grass.

Auckland aviation expert Irene King says the "thugs" who shot down the Malaysian airliner will never get away with claiming they thought their target was military.

Russia may be forced to take direct or indirect responsibility for loss of all aboard the Malaysian flight

Tensions are ramping up between two global super powers after a Malaysia Airlines passenger flight was shot down over Ukraine.

Scenes of horror, with crumpled corpses and body parts strewn amid the smouldering wreckage, greeted local villagers and pro-Russian rebels who were first on the crash site.

A Malaysia Airlines flight attendant who flew to Auckland a fortnight ago is among those on board the Boeing 777 airliner shot down in Ukraine early yesterday NZ time.

Investor sentiment was hit across the globe by rising geopolitical tension following the downing of a Malaysian airliner and the start of an Israeli offensive into Gaza.

Travel agents have fielded calls from worried passengers due to fly to Europe as airlines around the world avoid Ukrainian airspace.