Bomber kills Hamid Karzai's cousin

29 July 2014 Last updated at 09:34

A suicide bomber has killed a cousin of President Hamid Karzai in the southern city of Kandahar, officials say.

Hashmat Karzai was greeting a well-wisher to his house when the man blew himself up. One report said explosives were hidden in the bomber's turban.

Mr Karzai had been receiving guests on the festival of Eid marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

He was a campaign manager for Ashraf Ghani, one of two presidential hopefuls vying to replace Hamid Karzai.

There was no immediate claim for the assassination.

It follows a series of attacks carried out by the Taliban and their allies as votes are rechecked in the bitterly disputed election.

Hashmat Karzai was influential and a key backer of Ashraf Ghani.

The BBC's David Loyn in Kabul says he had emerged as a significant power-broker in the politics of Kandahar, the most important city in the south of Afghanistan.

The Karzai family had been split by a long running feud, our correspondent reports.

Hashmat, who had a pet lion, was the head of a security company with major US contracts, and had been implicated by some family members in the killing of a cousin - a charge he denied.

His own father was murdered by another family member 25 years ago.

In 2011 Hamid Karzai's brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, was murdered in his home in Kandahar in an attack claimed by the Taliban.

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UN blacklists N Korea arms ship firm

29 July 2014 Last updated at 04:53

The UN Security Council has blacklisted the operator of a North Korean ship seized in July 2013 near the Panama Canal with Cuban weapons on board.

The move means Pyongyang-based Ocean Maritime Management is now subject to an international asset freeze and travel ban.

The company operated the Chong Chon Gang, found with Soviet-era weapons and fighter jets hidden under sugar sacks.

United Nations sanctions ban most arms shipments to North Korea.

Under resolutions adopted after Pyongyang's nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, the export of all arms and related parts, with the exception of small arms and light weapons, to the communist country is prohibited.

'Cynical attempt'

The UN's North Korea sanctions committee said that the company had "played a key role in arranging the shipment of the concealed cargo of arms".

Continue reading the main story

1. Departs from Nakhodka in Russian far east (200km east of North Korean border)
2. Arrives at Pacific side of Panama Canal
3. Leaves the Panama Canal on the Caribbean side heading for Havana, but disappears from satellite tracking
4. Arrives back at Panamanian port of Manzanillo; later searched for contraband. Weapons uncovered

The move showed "intent to evade UN sanctions, and is consistent with previous attempts by the DPRK (North Korea) to transfer arms and related materiel through similar tactics in contravention of Security Council prohibitions", the committee said.

The Chong Chon Gang was stopped near Manzanillo, on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal, on 15 July 2013 under suspicion that it was carrying drugs.

It had disappeared from satellite tracking for a few days as it approached the Cuban capital, Havana, having departed from Russia's eastern coast three months earlier.

On searching the vessel, officials found military hardware including two Soviet-era MiG-21 fighter aircraft, air defence systems, missiles and command and control vehicles.

Cuban authorities said that the ship was carrying 240 tonnes of "obsolete" defensive weapons.

The North Korean government insisted the ageing weapons were simply being transferred to North Korea to be repaired, before returning them.

The US envoy to the UN, Samantha Power, described the episode as a "cynical, outrageous and illegal attempt" by Cuba and North Korea to circumvent UN sanctions.

In February the ship and most of the crew were allowed to leave Panama and a court later ordered the release of the remaining three officers.

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US: Russia 'violated missile treaty'

29 July 2014 Last updated at 07:46

Russia has violated a key arms control treaty by testing a nuclear cruise missile, the US government says.

Russia tested a ground-launched cruise missile, breaking the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed in 1987 during the Cold War, the US said.

A senior US official did not provide further details on the alleged breach, but described it as "very serious".

The bilateral agreement banned medium-range missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km (300 to 3,400 miles).

Analysis: BBC world affairs correspondent Nick Childs

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was a landmark Cold War agreement. It essentially eliminated an entire, and highly controversial, class of nuclear weapons. For that reason, it still has resonance.

There have been questions dating back at least to 2008 over whether Russia was developing a weapon that might breach the treaty. So one issue is why Washington has decided to make its declaration now. Is it a reflection of the general deterioration in US-Russian relations, and in particular the fallout from the Ukraine crisis?

Russia has said little. It might argue the Americans are simply wrong, that the missile falls below the range limit. But the widespread suspicion is that it does breach the limits of the treaty. Moscow might also argue the treaty has been overtaken by world events, that other countries are developing similar missiles, and - after all - the Americans pulled out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty when it suited them.

But there is also the argument that such an iconic treaty should actually be expanded beyond the US and Russia, rather than falling into disuse.

The US claims come at a time of heightened tensions between the two sides, with the US criticising Russia for its alleged involvement in the conflict in Ukraine.

'Prohibited items'

A senior US official, who was not named, said in a statement that the testing of the missile was "a very serious matter which we have attempted to address with Russia for some time now".

"We encourage Russia to return to compliance with its obligations under the treaty and to eliminate any prohibited items in a verifiable matter," the official added.

US President Barack Obama has written to Russian leader Vladimir Putin over the matter, officials say.

This is the first time the US government has made its accusations public, though the issue has simmered for years, the BBC's Paul Blake in Washington reports.

In January, the New York Times reported that US officials believed Russia had begun testing ground-launched cruise missiles as early as 2008.

The US State Department had said at the time that the issue was under review.

The 1987 treaty is at the heart of American-Russian arms control efforts, and was signed by then-Presidents Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in the final years of the Cold War, our correspondent says.

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Italy to 'help douse' Libya fire

29 July 2014 Last updated at 10:53

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Footage shows rescuers attempting to quell the huge flames at the fuel depot - Rana Jawad reports

Italy has offered to help extinguish a huge blaze that has engulfed the biggest fuel depot in the Libyan capital, Libya's government says.

It would send aircraft and a team of experts to contain the blaze which has hit two tanks, the government added.

Libyan officials blame clashes between rival militias for starting the fire, described as "out of control".

Many residents of Tripoli are staying indoors, amid fears that the violence is spiralling out of control.

At least 97 people have been killed in fighting between rival militias battling for control of Tripoli's main airport in the past week.

The depot is about 10km (six miles) from Tripoli on the road to the international airport.

The BBC's Rana Jawad in Tripoli says that the mood among residents is grim, and it feels as though the city is being strangled because of the violence.

People are angry, scared and mostly in disbelief at the recklessness of the militias and disregard for the potential wide-scale damage, she says.

'Ignited by shrapnel'

A lot of families who live on the road to the airport or other areas affected by stray rockets have fled their homes, our correspondent adds.

In a statement, the Libyan prime minister's office appealed to "all sides to stop fighting and allow the experts and planes to successfully put out the blaze as soon as possible".

Both the Italian government and Italian oil company ENI would assist in extinguishing the fire, the statement said.

Fire-fighters almost managed to put out the blaze when it took hold of the first tank but had to withdraw after fighting resumed in the area, Libya's National Oil Company (NOC) spokesman Mohamed Al-Harrai told the BBC on Monday.

He said shrapnel hit the second fuel tank, igniting it.

The fuel storage site, which belongs to the Brega oil and gas company, is the main hub for distribution of petrol in the city.

The government has been unable to disarm the numerous armed groups controlling large parts of the country, which are behind Libya's worst violence since the 2011 uprising that toppled Col Muammar Gaddafi.

It has led some Western governments to urge their nationals to leave and withdraw foreign staff from their embassies in Tripoli.

Libyan government officials have warned of the possibility of a break-up of the country if clashes over Tripoli airport continue.

Members of the Islamist Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (LROR) are trying to seize control of the airport, which has been in the hands of the Zintan militia since the overthrow of Col Gaddafi.

In Benghazi, at least 38 people were killed in clashes between between troops loyal to the Libyan government and Islamist fighters on Sunday.

Are you in Libya? Are you in Tripoli or Benghazi? Do you have friends and family in the country? Please share your experiences, photos and videos by contacting haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject 'Libya fighting'. Please include contact details if you feel it is safe to do so.

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Microsoft in China anti-trust probe

29 July 2014 Last updated at 11:55

An anti-monopoly investigation into US technology giant Microsoft has been launched by Chinese authorities.

China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce - the body responsible for enforcing business laws - said it was looking into "alleged monopoly actions" by the company.

The announcement came after officials from the regulator visited some of Microsoft's local offices.

The company said it "will address any concerns the government may have".

It has not yet been accused of any specific wrongdoing.

Any potential investigation in China would be a fresh setback for Microsoft in the country, a key growth market for global technology firms.

Earlier this year, China said it would ban government use of Windows 8, Microsoft's latest operating system.

Increased scrutiny?

The visits to Microsoft offices come just days after the China's anti-trust regulator said that Qualcomm, one of the world's biggest mobile chipmakers, had used monopoly power in setting its licensing fees.

The anti-trust case has already seen some local handset makers hold back on signing licences for Qualcomm products, hitting its revenues.

Another technology firm, Interdigital - which specialises in wireless technology - has also faced a similar investigation.

Chinese regulators suspended that investigation earlier this year after Interdigital agreed to change its pricing structure.

However, some have alleged that China is using anti-trust probes to protect domestic firms.

"It has become increasingly clear that the Chinese government has seized on using the [anti-monopoly] law to promote Chinese producer welfare, and to advance industrial policies that nurture domestic enterprises," the US Chamber of Commerce said earlier this year.

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EU set to widen Russia sanctions

29 July 2014 Last updated at 12:53

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Tom Burridge on the fighting near the MH17 crash site

The European Union is set to agree new sanctions against Russia, targeting its finance, energy and defence sectors over the conflict in Ukraine.

Top Russian individuals and entities are already subject to EU sanctions for their alleged role in Ukraine's crisis.

Calls for the EU to act have been fuelled by the downing of flight MH17.

An international team has again failed to access the crash site in eastern Ukraine, amid heavy fighting between government forces and rebels there.

This is the third time in as many days that the team, which includes Dutch and Australian police officers, has had to abandon attempts to reach the site. Many of the 298 people travelling aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 were Dutch or Australian.

Earlier on Tuesday, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte asked Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to "halt hostilities" around the crash site, according to a spokesman for Mr Rutte, quoted by AFP news agency.

Ukraine's military has been on the offensive, seeking to encircle the pro-Russian separatist rebels in Donetsk region. In the latest developments:

• Several shells are said to have struck buildings in the separatist stronghold of Donetsk city
• Ukraine says its troops have entered the towns of Shakhtarsk and Torez in Donetsk region, and Lutuhyne in Luhansk region
• Ten Ukrainian soldiers and at least 22 civilians have reportedly been killed in the last 24 hours
• The dead civilians are said to include three children and five people at a home for the elderly
• A group of hackers sympathetic to the rebels says it has disabled the website of the Ukrainian president.

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Families of MH17 victims are waiting to hear which bodies have been identified, as Anna Holligan reports

Analysis by the BBC's Gavin Hewitt

Europe's leaders did not want to move to economic sanctions but they were moved by two considerations: the outrage at the way investigators have been blocked from access to the crash site of the downed plane and, secondly, the fact that Russia, since the incident, has been allowing heavy weapons across the border into Ukraine.

The calculation in Europe is that it had to act for its own credibility and that it may have to go further to ensure that President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle understand that their actions carry consequences.

How will Russia respond? Hard to say, although Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would not retaliate or "fall into hysterics".

But - if all goes as expected - the EU will today take a significant step; that it has to risk some damage to its own economic interests in order to put pressure on President Putin and Russia.

Ukraine conflict: EU squeezes Russia

'Further costs'

EU ambassadors in Brussels are taking part in a meeting that is expected to lead to fresh sanctions. The meeting ends on Tuesday afternoon.

The fresh measures under discussion include restrictions on Russian banks accessing European markets, an arms embargo and curbs on dealings with the energy sector.

The leaders of France, Germany, Britain and the US already discussed possible sanctions in a conference call on Monday.

A spokeswoman for UK Prime Minister David Cameron later said that he and fellow European leaders had agreed to "impose further costs on Russia" for supporting the rebels in Ukraine.

Western nations have accused Russia of equipping the uprising in Ukraine with heavy weapons - including the missile that brought down flight MH17.

Russia has denied the charge. Russia and the rebels blame Ukrainian government forces for the attack on the airliner.

Any new EU sanctions could come into force within 24 hours of a deal being reached between the bloc's 28 member states.

Sanctions warning

Last weekend, the EU subjected a further 15 Russian individuals and 18 entities to asset freezes and visa bans for their alleged involvement in the Ukraine conflict.

The list of 87 targets of EU sanctions now includes the heads of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and foreign intelligence, the president of Chechnya, as well as two Crimean energy firms.

However, UK company British Petroleum, which owns nearly 20% of Russian state oil giant Rosneft, has warned that further sanctions against Russia could "adversely impact" its performance.

Meanwhile, Russia's foreign ministry has dismissed the latest UN human rights report on the Ukraine conflict as "unobjective and even hypocritical".

The UN's human rights chief warned on Monday that the downing of MH17 may be a "war crime".

According to the UN, at least 1,129 people have been killed and 3,442 wounded in the fighting in Ukraine since mid-April. The violence has displaced more than 200,000 people, many of them fleeing east to neighbouring Russia.

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China investigates ex-security chief

29 July 2014 Last updated at 12:55

China's former security chief Zhou Yongkang is being investigated for suspected "serious disciplinary violation", state media say.

The news confirms rumours about the hugely powerful former minister, who has not been seen in public for months.

Mr Zhou headed China's Ministry of Public Security and was a member of the top decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee.

The move to target him will send shockwaves through the political elite.

He is the most senior Chinese official to be investigated since the Gang of Four - which included the wife of late leader Mao Zedong - in the early 1980s.

Zhou Yongkang retired in late 2012, as Xi Jinping took over from Hu Jintao as the Communist Party leader and China's president.

Since the transition, Mr Xi has introduced a wide-ranging crackdown on corruption within the party, warning graft could threaten the organisation's very survival.

Bo Xilai ally

In a brief statement, state-run Xinhua news agency said the investigation would be conducted by the Communist Party's corruption watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

No timescale was given for the probe, which has been widely expected.

Several individuals believed to have had close ties to Mr Zhou have also been targeted in corruption investigations in recent months.

Carrie Gracie, BBC China editor

Since taking power in 2012, it's been clear that President Xi Jinping was determined to consolidate his own power and remove opponents to economic reform.

But he also wanted to clean up the image of a ruling party which conceded that rampant corruption was the greatest threat to survival.

An anti-corruption drive has served all three objectives and conveniently boosted Mr Xi's public popularity.

But he always said he was targeting the tigers as well as the flies and it was important to demonstrate that he could defeat resistance at the very top.

Which makes today's long-awaited announcement about the disgrace and downfall of Zhou Yongkang an important signal of Mr Xi's supremacy but a blow to the reputation of the party he leads.

Mr Zhou's career saw him head both the ministry charged with overseeing domestic security and China's largest energy company, the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

He was also the party's top official in Sichuan province.

Allies of his from all three areas are now the subject of various investigations.

Only a handful of people serve on the Politburo Standing Committee (in Mr Zhou's time nine, currently the number is seven) and they are seen as the most powerful individuals in China.

Zhou Yongkang was also an ally of Bo Xilai, the one-time high-flying former Chongqing party chief who was jailed last year.

In initial reactions observed on Weibo, China's Twitter-like micro-blogging platform, netizens appeared to praise the announcement.

Thumbs-up emoticons, "Got him!" and "Good job!" were just some of the more popular responses.

Many also made reference to "tigers", a reference to Mr Xi's promise to include high-ranking officials in his anti-corruption campaign.

"Now that is what I call an old tiger. Good job Mr Xi," said one user. "This is just one tiger out of many, to catch tigers one must have determination, don't stop now!" said another.

It was not clear to what extent officials were censoring negative comments, as has been done in the past.

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Israel steps up bombardment of Gaza

29 July 2014 Last updated at 12:58

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A fuel depot supplying Gaza's only power station has been hit, as Martin Patience and Chris Morris report

More than 100 Palestinians are said to have been killed after Israel intensified its bombardment of Gaza and warned of a long conflict ahead.

Gaza's only power plant caught fire as Israel carried out 60 air strikes, targeting sites associated with Hamas, the Islamist group which controls Gaza.

UN staff members are said to be among those killed.

An Israeli military spokesman said the strikes signalled a "gradual increase in the pressure" on Hamas.

In a televised address on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed the need to destroy tunnels dug under the Gaza-Israel border, to prevent militants infiltrating Israel.

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Israeli soldiers evacuate a "brother in arms" from Operation Protective Edge, as Orla Guerin reports

Palestinian officials say 1,115 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the fighting since 8 July while Israel has lost 53 soldiers and three civilians - two Israelis and a Thai worker.

UN Relief and Works Agency spokesman Chris Gunness said in a tweet that a number of staff members had reportedly been killed. The UN is currently caring for 182,604 Palestinians in its 82 shelters in Gaza, he said.

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An Israeli airstrike hit the house of former Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh overnight, as Nick Childs reports

In another development, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accused Israel of acting like a "rabid dog" and called on Muslims to arm Palestinians to enable them to fight back against "genocide".

'Humanitarian plant'

A huge plume of smoke rose over the strip's only power plant after one of its fuel tanks was reportedly set alight by Israeli tank shells, and the plant was forced to shut down.

For the past three weeks, most Gazans have been living with just a few hours of electrical supplies and now the situation will almost certainly get worse, the BBC's Martin Patience reports from Gaza.

Gaza also receives some power supplies from Israel and Egypt.

Fifty-five houses were destroyed in the bombing, with people buried under rubble in at least three of them, Palestinian security sources told the BBC.

The unoccupied house of former Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh was destroyed.

"The destruction of stones will not break our will and we will continue our resistance until we gain freedom." he was quoted as saying on a Hamas website afterwards.

A neighbour, Um Hani Abu Ryalah, told AP news agency the experience had terrified her family: "Our children were so scared and they were screaming. Now they can't hear because of the loud explosions and they are shaking."

Israeli fire is also said to have damaged the Hamas TV and radio stations, three mosques, four factories and government buildings which included the finance ministry and a compound belonging to the interior ministry.

Gaza's port was also destroyed, Palestinian security sources told the BBC, and two schools and a kindergarten were on fire after being hit.

Among the 100 people killed on Tuesday were seven families, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Targeting tunnels

Rockets fired from Gaza continued to hit Israel on Tuesday.

Lt-Col Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, told AP pressure was being increased on Hamas.

"Israel is determined to strike this organisation and relieve us of this threat," he said.

On Monday, five Israeli soldiers were killed when militants infiltrated the border, while a mortar bomb killed four earlier and a tenth died in a clash in southern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

In his address on Monday night, Mr Netanyahu said Gaza had to be demilitarised in order to protect Israel.

"We will not finish the operation without neutralising the tunnels, which have the sole purpose of destroying our citizens, killing our children," he said.

Israel's Operation Protective Edge began on 8 July after a surge in militant rocket attacks.

A rally in support of the operation is planned for Tuesday evening in Tel Aviv.

Are you in Israel or Gaza? How are you affected by the situation? Email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject 'Israel Gaza'.

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Ferry students 'floated from cabins'

28 July 2014 Last updated at 08:50

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Students who survived the Sewol disaster described being "swept off their feet" as the ship began to sink, reports Lucy Williamson

Students who survived South Korea's ferry disaster have described escaping from flooded cabins as the ship sank.

The students had obeyed the crew's orders to stay put, even as water started coming in as the Sewol listed.

Students floated up to cabin doors - by now overhead - and were pulled out by their classmates.

The Sewol ferry sank on 16 April off Jeju island, killing 304 people. The students were testifying at the trial of the ship's crew.

"We were waiting and, when the water started coming in, the class rep told everyone to put on the life vests," Reuters news agency quoted one student as saying.

"The door was above our heads, so she said, 'We'll float and go through the door' and that's how we came out.

"Other kids who got out before us pulled us out."

Most of those who died on the Sewol were teenagers from the same high school who were on a school trip.

The crew are charged with negligence and abandoning ship. The captain and three officers are also charged with "homicide through wilful negligence".

Investigators say the ferry had been illegally modified to carry more passengers and cargo, and was overloaded.

But prosecutors say the actions of the captain and crew - including instructing passengers to stay in their cabins as the ship listed - led to more deaths.

Swept back

Monday marked the first time students had given evidence at the trial.

They are testifying at a district court near their homes near Seoul, rather than at the actual trial in the southern city of Gwangju.

One witness told the court passengers received multiple instructions to stay put.

"They kept saying the same thing over and over," AFP quoted the student as saying.

Another student described escaping through a stairwell to a hatch and jumping into the sea, as a swell hit.

"There were many classmates in the corridor and most of them were swept back into the ship," she said.

The disaster caused shock and outrage in South Korea, including harsh criticism of both bureaucrats and business officials whose alleged failings or corruption led to the tragedy.

Officials from ferry operator Chonghaejin Marine are also the subject of separate legal proceedings.

Earlier this month, police identified a body found on 12 June as company owner Yoo Byung-eun, who had been the subject of a man-hunt since the disaster.

His son, Yoo Dae-kyun, was arrested on Friday.

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MH17 downing 'may be war crime'

28 July 2014 Last updated at 12:26

The downing of the Malaysia Airlines jet in eastern Ukraine may constitute a "war crime," the UN's Navi Pillay says.

Pro-Russia Ukrainian rebels and the Ukrainian authorities have accused each other of shooting down flight MH17.

A Ukrainian official said on Monday that MH17's data recorders show it came down due to "massive explosive decompression" caused by a rocket.

Meanwhile, heavy fighting has again prevented an international police force from reaching the crash site.

The Ukrainian military said it was battling separatists for control of several towns near the site in eastern Ukraine.

All 298 people on board the airliner - mostly Dutch - died on 17 July.

'War crime'

International police want to help secure the huge site so that plane wreckage and human remains can be examined by international crash experts.

Most of the bodies have been removed, many of them repatriated to the Netherlands.

"This violation of international law, given the prevailing circumstances, may amount to a war crime," Ms Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said of the downing of MH17.

"Every effort will be made to ensure that anyone committing serious violations of international law including war crimes will be brought to justice, no matter who they are," Ms Pillay said.

Ms Pillay spoke as the latest UN report on Ukraine suggested at least 1,129 people have been killed and 3,442 wounded in the Ukraine conflict since mid-April.

The conflict has displaced more than 200,000 people, many of whom have fled east to neighbouring Russia.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian security spokesman Andriy Lysenko told reporters on Monday that recovered flight data showed the aircraft crashed due to a massive, explosive loss of pressure after being punctured multiple times by shrapnel.

Flight MH17's two black boxes are currently being analysed by aviation experts in the UK.

Shelling

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he hoped monitors from the OSCE international security body would be able to deploy on the Ukraine-Russia border in the next few days.

In a statement on Monday, the Ukrainian military said it had "entered" the towns of Shakhtarsk and Torez and was working to seize control of Pervomaysk and Snizhne - all close to the crash site of MH17.

A team of Australian and Dutch police and forensic experts abandoned attempts to reach the site on Monday due to the security situation in the area. It was the second failed attempt in as many days.

The army is also trying to take control of two main roads in eastern Ukraine, which the government in Kiev believes to be vital supply lines from Russia for rebel forces in Donetsk.

In the past 24 hours there has been heavy artillery fire at the city of Horlivka, where several civilians were killed.

In the city of Donetsk at least three people died in shelling too, the municipal authorities say. And there are reports of civilian casualties as a result of the shelling of Luhansk, which is also held by the rebels.

Last week, the US-based Human Rights Watch said both sides in the conflict were using unguided Grad rockets against civilian areas, in violation of human rights norms, and urged them to stop doing so. It documented several attacks in which, it said, the rockets were apparently fired by government forces.

The US has produced what it calls satellite evidence that rockets have been fired at Ukrainian forces from Russian soil.

Russia denies that any of its forces are helping the rebels.

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