AS WE close our rolling blog coverage of today’s events, here is a recap:
* The Australian death toll from the MH17 disaster has been revised upwards to 28. They include a Melbourne couple, a Sydney Catholic nun and a popular Perth sailor and his grandchildren.
* They were among the 298 passengers and crew who died when the Malaysian flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was thought to have been shot down by a missile, believed fired by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Russia has denied involvement.
* Also among the victims were scores of delegates who were travelling to Melbourne for the AIDS2014 conference that was to begin tomorrow.
* Amid worldwide condemnation in the event the plane was shot down, Tony Abbott said the crash “looks less like an accident than a crime” and demanded Russia cooperate with any international investigation.
* Barack Obama’s trade representative Michael Froman has again warned Russia that it faces tough trade sanctions if it continues on its current course in Ukraine.
* Malaysia Airlines says the route it was flying was declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and was not subject to restrictions.
Read these stories and more - including the bizarre and tragic coincidences to hit Malaysia Airlines this year - plus see video from the crash scene and hear purported conversations between pro-Russia rebels about the plane crash in our in-depth section on the MH17 crash.
The Australian will keep you up to date with the latest news tonight and over the weekend.
And see the blog below for how coverage unfolded throughout the day.