• Black boxes will not be under the control of any irrelevant quarters, says Malaysia
• Malaysian PM’s step-grandmother was on board the ill-fated jet
• Merkel, Putin agree on international probe of MH17 crash

Kuala Lumpur/Kiev: Ukraine on Saturday accused Russia of helping pro-Moscow rebels of trying to destroy evidence of "international crimes" at MH17 crash site, as Malaysian investigators arrived in Kiev amid calls for access to the area where the jet came down.

Malaysian investigators touched down in Kiev to try to get the bottom of what happened to the jetliner as global shock and outrage mounted over the downing of the Malaysia Airlines passenger jet killing all 298 people on board.

"The Ukrainian government officially announces: terrorists with the support of Russia are trying to destroy proof of this international crime," Ukraine's government said in a statement. The Ukrainian government complained that "the terrorists" had taken 38 bodies to a morgue in the rebel-held city of Donetsk. It said the rebels were also trying to transport the plane's wreckage to Russia. The Ukrainian government and separatist groups have agreed to create a safety zone around the site where Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 crashed.Prime Minister Najib Razak said that Malaysia, as the owner of the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, will ensure that the plane's black boxes will not be under the control of any irrelevant quarters. According to the international law, the owner of the plane has every right for the black boxes, he said.Najib said he spoke to Russian Najib's step-grandmother was on board the ill-fated jet, the country's defence minister confirmed. Hishammuddin Hussein, a minister, said his step- grandmother was also among those killed. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed for an international investigation into the downing of a Malaysian Airlines plane over Ukraine.

Russia slams US for implicating rebels

Russia on Saturday launched a blistering attack against Washington after US President Barack Obama said that a missile fired from territory controlled by Moscow-backed rebels downed the flight over Ukraine. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the US administration sought to pin the blame on separatists and Russia without waiting for the results of an investigation. "The statements of representatives of the US administration are evidence of a deep political aberration of Washington's perception of what is going on in Ukraine," he said.

Shift swap saves ethnic Indian wife, kills husband

Switching shifts with colleagues by an ethnic Indian couple has resulted in one surviving and another dying.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 steward ethnic Indian Sanjid Singh Sandhu's wife, who is also an air stewardess with the airline, was supposed to have been on board the ill-fated MH370 which went missing on March 8. But her life was spared when she switched her shift with a colleague. Her 41-year-old husband Sanjid was, however, not so lucky. He was supposed to have been off but instead swapped his shift with another steward.