** The first 40 bodies of victims of the doomed flight have arrived in the Netherlands from Ukraine for the start of the identification process with 1000 family and friends on hand.
The official reception included the Dutch King and Queen as well as Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Governor General Peter Cosgrove.
** Dutch investigators have played down claims 100 bodies are still missing but say aren't sure of exact numbers as the bags loaded by pro-Russian rebels have not been opened
** The grief stricken Western Australian - Anthony Maslin and Rin Norris - who lost their three children in the disaster have released a statement saying they are living in "a hell beyond hell".
** British air accident investigators have begun downloading information from the black boxes recovered from the MH-17 wreckage, which could identify what led to its fate.
** A FACEBOOK post - by an airline crew member who checked in passengers for the flight - has been shared 10,000 times as she recalled sending off holidaymakers, children and grandparents with wishes for "a pleasant flight".
** The Dutch football federation says it's too early "during these black days" to even consider if they'll compete in the 2018 World Cup in RUSSIA
Meantime, Malaysian Airlines customers planning to seek a refund on tickets purchased have until midnight tonight to contact the company.
NSW Fair Trading Minister Matthew Mason-Cox issued a statement that the company will allow full refunds, even on non-refundable tickets, for travel through to December 31 as long as customers notify the airline by midnight, Thursday 24 July 2014.
“Under the Australian Consumer Law, consumers are not automatically entitled to cancel a service without penalty or receive a refund,” he said.
“It appears that in light of the tragic circumstances surrounding flight MH17, Malaysia Airlines have made this decision in line with their own business practices.
The Maslin family of Western Australia, who have suffered the loss of loved ones on MH17, have asked the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to issue on their behalf the following statement, as well as the attached photo of their children Evie, Mo and Otis:
“A message to the soldiers in the Ukraine, the politicians, the media, our friends and family.
Our pain is intense and relentless. We live in a hell beyond hell.
Our babies are not here with us – we need to live with this act of horror, every day and every moment for the rest of our lives.
No one deserves what we are going through.
Not even the people who shot our whole family out of the sky.
No hate in the world is as strong as the love we have for our children, for Mo, for Evie, for Otis.
No hate in the world is as strong as the love we have for Grandad Nick.
No hate in the world is as strong as the love we have for each other.
This is a revelation that gives us some comfort.
We would ask everyone to remember this when you are making any decisions that affect us and the other victims of this horror.
So far, every moment since we arrived home, we’ve been surrounded by family and friends. We desperately pray that this continues, because this expression of love is what is keeping us alive. We want to continue to know about your lives, all the good and all the bad. We no longer have lives that we want to live by ourselves. So we’d like to take the chance to thank everyone, all our incredible friends, family and communities, and to tell you all that we love you very much.
We would also like to thank the people at DFAT; the local coordinator Claire and most sincerely, Diana and Adrian from The Hague, without whom we would not be here. We ask the media to respect the privacy of our family and friends – pain is not a story.
Yours truly
Anthony Maslin & Marite Norris.”
