Meanwhile, Dmitry Tymchuk and other sources suggested separatist fighters had retreated this morning from the outskirts to more central parts of Donetsk.
Reuters video showing the ceremony on the tarmac in Kharkiv as the first bodies of victims from the Malaysian airliner downed in eastern Ukraine were loaded onto a Dutch military plane before it took off for the Netherlands. (Reuters)
Details on the abduction of journalist Anton Skiba, who has reported for "Novosti Donbassa" and was said to have been grabbed at gunpoint from the hotel where he was staying with a CNN film crew.
"The Guardian's" live blog on the transfer of the bodies of MH17 victims to Netherlands cites a Kuala Lumpur website as saying a Belize-based company has tried to trademark "MH370" and "MH17" to reap royalties from their mention. Here's an excerpt of the "Coconuts Kuala Lumpur" story:
Seyefull Investments, operating out of the Central American country of Belize, tried to register the terms "MH17" and "MH370" as the company's trademarks - meaning if anyone uses those terms in print or radio, or on TV or in movies, or (heaven forbid) online, Seyefull would get a royalty cheque.
The company's application to register "MH17" as one of its trademarks, in fact, was filed on July 17, aka the exact same day Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. The application for "MH370" was made on May 2, after a more "respectful" period of time had passed since Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
The application for "MH17" was filed on the European Trade Mark and Design Network website, while details for the "MH370" application was found on the Justia Trademarks site.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says a new committee has been created to examine possible sanctions against Russia.
The Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council responds to questions about the whereabouts of RT contributor and British national Graham Phillips that it doesn't "have any information concerning this journalist." Phillips, who has been detained by Ukrainian authorities in the past and whose aggressive tweeting and dubious reporting from eastern Ukraine have earned him considerable notice, last issued this tweet yesterday afternoon: