BOGOTA -- 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). (Colombia-Former President-Uribe)
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LOS ANGELES -- Four people were killed in a bar shooting on Friday in Anaconda, U.S. state of Montana, local media reported, citing law enforcement officials.
The shooting occurred Friday morning at The Owl Bar in Anaconda, a city located in southwestern Montana, NBC Montana reported.
The suspect was identified as Michael Paul Brown, according to a Facebook post by the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center.
"Be advised suspect in shooting is believed to be armed and dangerous," said the post. (U.S.-Shooting)
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WASHINGTON -- 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. (US-Trump-BLS)
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RAMALLAH -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed on Friday Portugal's announcement of its intention to take steps to pave the way for its recognition of the Palestinian state in September, describing it as a "positive step."
"We appreciate this courageous and positive step by the Portuguese government, which consolidates the path of the two-state solution and confirms the international community's consensus on the need to end the suffering of the Palestinian people," Abbas said in a statement published by the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Abbas called on countries that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine to take such steps in support of peace. (Palestine-State-Abbas)
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JERUSALEM -- Three European national airlines resumed flights to Israel on Friday, joining Bulgaria Air, which restarted operations a day earlier.
Flights operated by Germany's Lufthansa from Frankfurt and Munich, Austrian Airlines from Vienna, and LOT Polish Airlines from Warsaw landed at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv.
The airlines suspended their services after the fighting between Israel and Iran in June, when the Israeli airspace was temporarily closed. (Israel-European Airlines-Flights Resumption) Enditem
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