Dutch MH17 investigators shift focus to culprits:
The Netherlands says that, with nearly all of the victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 identified, efforts has shifted to finding those responsible for shooting the plane down over Ukraine last year.
Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said on April 16, "Now that we're very far with repatriation [of the victims' remains], investigation and prosecution are becoming more central."
Meanwhile, Dutch experts said they recovered more body parts and personal belongings from the crash site after searching a location previously considered unsafe because of fighting between pro-Russian separatists and government forces.
The passenger jet was shot down on July 17, killing all 298 people on board, most of them Dutch.
Last month, Dutch media reported that a metal fragment from the crash site matches a Russian-made rocket.
Russia has suggested that the airliner was downed by the Ukrainian military. (Reuters, AFP, dpa)
Barring any major developments, that ends the live blogging for today.
The OSCE representative on media freedom has condemned the killing today:
OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today condemned the murder of Oles Buzina, a Ukrainian journalist, writer and former editor of the newspaper Segodnya.
“This appalling act is yet another reminder about the dangers associated with journalism as a profession. This killing must be immediately and fully investigated by the competent authorities,” Mijatović said. “My sincere condolences go out to Buzina’s family and colleagues.”
According to reports, on 16 April, Buzina was shot and killed by assailants close to his home in Kyiv. He was known for his critical views.
“I reiterate my call on the authorities to allocate all necessary resources to investigate all attacks on journalists,” Mijatović said. “There must be no impunity for the perpetrators and the masterminds behind any violence against members of the media.”
Mijatović also noted with regret reports about another recent killing of a journalist in Ukraine. Sergei Sukhobok, co-founder of several online news portals and contributor to several Ukrainian media outlets, was killed on 13 April in Kyiv. The killing is being investigated by the authorities.
The Constitutional Court has postponed hearings on lustration law:
Ukraine's Constitutional Court has postponed hearings on a law aimed at sacking civil servants who have been linked to corruption under the rule of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych's government.
The head of the Constitutional Court, Yuriy Baulin, told reporters in Kyiv on April 16 that the hearings would take place after revisions and amendments are made to the law on lustration.
Baulin said dates for the hearings would be announced after justices study the conclusions of legal experts, including the Venice Commission -- an advisory body of the Council of Europe.
The hearings had been scheduled to begin on April 16.
The lustration law, adopted by Ukraine's parliament in September, would subject about one million civil servants to screening -- including some members of the Constitutional Court.
Ukraine's Supreme Court and 47 lawmakers referred the legislation to the Constitutional Court, urging it to rule on whether it violates Ukraine's constitution.
"Spate," he obviously means: