News Headlines - 17 July 2014

▽Jetliner Explodes Over Ukraine; Struck by Missile, Officials Say - NYTimes.com

A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 with 298 people aboard exploded, crashed and burned on a flowered wheat field Thursday in a part of eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russia separatists, blown out of the sky at 33,000 feet by what Ukrainian and American officials described as a Russian-made antiaircraft missile.

▽Putin's Statement on Ukraine Plane Crash - ABC News

In this regard, I want to note that this tragedy would not have happened if there were peace on this land, if the military actions had not been renewed in southeast Ukraine. And, certainly, the state over whose territory this occurred bears responsibility for this awful tragedy.

▽Israeli forces enter Gaza in ground assault after ceasefire talks fail | The Guardian

Israeli tanks, infantry and engineering units have launched a broad assault on Gaza after last ditch efforts to secure a ceasefire deal in Cairo collapsed.

▽Syrian President Assad sworn in for 3rd term

Proclaiming the Syrian people winners in a "dirty war" waged by outsiders, President Bashar Assad was sworn in on Wednesday, marking the start of his third seven-year term in office amid a bloody civil war that has ravaged the Arab country.

▽Microsoft to cut 18,000 jobs this year as it chops Nokia | Reuters

Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it will slash up to 18,000 jobs, or 14 percent of its workforce, over the next 12 months as it almost halves the size of its newly acquired Nokia phone business and tries to become a cloud-computing and mobile-friendly software company.