Australia continued to spearhead international demands yesterday for Russian-backed rebels to allow unrestricted access to the MH17 crash site.

European Union foreign ministers meet in Brussels today, facing the challenge of proving Russia's role in the downing of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

Four days after Malaysia Airlines' Flight 17 was shot down, the families of the 298 people on board can only wonder what is happening to the remains of their loved ones.

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?

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.

John Key says he is "deeply concerned" by the lack of access to the MH17 crash site and has called on Vladimir Putin to show leadership on the issue.

Malaysia Airlines have released the names of the 283 passengers and 15 crew on flight MH17.

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.

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

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully says New Zealand has used a special sitting of the UN Security Council to call for a full investigation into the crash of flight MH17.

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.

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.