World

International correspondent Ari Shapiro talks with NPR's Scott Simon from Jerusalem about about the second day of the Israeli military's ground operation of the Gaza Strip.

Asia correspondent Anthony Kuhn talks with NPR's Scott Simon from Kuala Lumpur about the reaction to the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on Thursday, killing 298 people.

Updated at 4:25 p.m. ET.

Nearly 340 people have been killed and nearly 2,400 wounded in 11 days of fighting in the Gaza Strip, as tens of thousands have been displaced in the conflict, according to health officials in the Palestinian territory.

Ashraf al-Kidra, a Gazan health official, says 338 Palestinians have been killed and 2,556 wounded. Earlier, another health official said some 70 children were among the dead.

Updated at 4:35 p.m. ET.

International investigators say armed rebels have limited their inspection of the Eastern Ukraine site of the downed Malaysian Airlines flight that killed nearly 300 passengers and crew, as Kiev accused pro-Russian separatists of destroying evidence at the scene.

Iran, the United States and five other countries have agreed to a four-month extension on negotiations toward a nuclear deal with Tehran.

The negotiations had a deadline of July 20. Secretary of State John Kerry released a statement Friday saying that, two days shy of the deadline, there are still "very real gaps on issues such as enrichment capacity at the Natanz enrichment facility." As a result, all seven nations involved have agreed that talks will continue in Vienna until Nov. 24.

The AIDS community is in shock over the news that dozens of its members were aboard the Malaysia Airlines flight that was apparently shot down Thursday. The sorrow is particularly widespread over the death of Joep Lange, a Dutch researcher and advocate, who played a pivotal role in the AIDS movement for more than three decades.

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Now to recap the major stories of the day. The United States is pinning the blame for the crash of a passenger jet in Ukraine on pro-Russian separatists. President Obama said today that Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile from an area controlled by the separatists. Mr. Obama called for a cease-fire to allow for a full investigation.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

The beginning of Israel's ground invasion Thursday night was loud. Explosions lit up the sky to the north and east and boomed throughout the Gaza Strip.

But Friday started pretty quietly for Rashad Abu Tawila.

I live in Tucson, Ariz. National news about thousands of unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border — some as young as 2 years old — is local news here. A front-page headline from this week's Arizona Daily Star reads, "Immigration tension boils over in Oracle." It's subtitled "Protesters, supporters, clash; bus carrying children fails to show."

Journalist Noah Sneider was at the site in eastern Ukraine where Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down, killing all 298 people onboard. Sneider updates Audie Cornish on the state of the site and local reactions.

Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: