Some Gazans given cash for food, but find few supplies to buy: UN
Relief workers have handed cash to more than 10,000 hungry families in Gaza, who find little food on the market to spend on, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
"Market prices remain highly volatile and out of reach for many," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
OCHA said that nearly a week after the Israelis allowed the scale-up of aid and the safe passage for relief convoys, the assistance that has entered Gaza remains insufficient. Convoys continue to face obstacles and danger along the routes mapped out by the Israeli authorities.
Trump orders firing of labor statistics chief after weaker-than-expected jobs report
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he has ordered the firing of Erika McEntarfer, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), accusing her of manipulating data for political purposes.
"I was just informed that our Country's 'Jobs Numbers' are being produced by a Biden Appointee, Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, who faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala (Harris)'s chances of Victory," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, without providing any evidence.
"We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY ... Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes," Trump said.
Trump's announcement came just a few hours after the BLS released the July jobs report, which showed just 73,000 nonfarm jobs added -- far below forecasts -- and downward revisions of over 250,000 jobs for May and June combined.
Palestine wants demilitarized Palestinian state, including Gaza: Abbas
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday that the Palestinian leadership wants a demilitarized Palestinian state, including the Gaza Strip.
His remarks came during a meeting with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul at the presidential headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Abbas stressed that the priority now is an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the entry of humanitarian aid to stop "the war of starvation," and the release of hostages and prisoners.
He emphasized the need for the State of Palestine to assume its full responsibilities in the Gaza Strip with Arab and international support, and for a complete Israeli withdrawal.
NASA, SpaceX launch new crew rotation mission to space station
NASA and SpaceX launched a new crew rotation mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, marking the 11th commercial flight under NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
The mission, codenamed Crew-11, carries NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov to the orbiting laboratory.
The crew lifted off at 11:43 a.m. Eastern Time (1543 GMT) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They are traveling aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
Following stage separation, the Falcon 9 first stage successfully returned and landed at SpaceX's Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The Dragon spacecraft has separated from the rocket's second stage and is now flying independently.
Colombia's ex-president Alvaro Uribe sentenced to 12 years of house arrest
Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was sentenced to 12 years of house arrest in the first instance after being found guilty of witness tampering and procedural fraud, becoming the first former head of state in the country's history to be criminally convicted.
Judge Sandra Heredia delivered the sentence on Friday in Bogota, ordering Uribe to serve his term at his residence in Rionegro, Antioquia department. He is also barred from holding public office for more than eight years and was fined approximately 3.4 billion Colombian pesos (around 825,000 U.S. dollars).
The conviction stems from a case dating back to 2012, when Uribe accused Senator Ivan Cepeda of manipulating testimony from former paramilitaries. Colombia's Supreme Court of Justice dismissed the allegations and instead opened an investigation into Uribe in 2018.■
