A former Blackwater private security guard was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison after a retrial on murder charges for his role in the notorious 2007 massacre of unarmed civilians in Baghdad. Nicholas Slatten was convicted in December of first-degree murder by a federal jury in U.S. District Court in Washington, the second time he had been found guilty on the charges. Slatten was convicted of murdering Ahmed Haithem Ahmed Al Rubia’y, 19, an aspiring doctor who was one of more than a dozen civilians killed by guards of the private security group Blackwater in Baghdad’s Nisour Square on Sept. 16, 2007. While escorting a diplomatic convoy, Blackwater guards opened fire in the bustling square with sniper rifles, machine guns and grenade launchers — allegedly without provocation — leaving at least 14 civilians dead and at least 18 wounded. The Iraqi government says the toll was higher. The shooting deepened Iraqi resentment of Americans in the country four years after U.S. forces toppled dictator Saddam Hussein and raised questions about Washington’s expanded use of armed contract guards. In court for sentencing Wednesday, Slatten remained defiant, calling the decision a “miscarriage of justice that will not stand,” according to The New …

A vaping industry group sued the U.S. government on Wednesday to delay an upcoming review of thousands of e-cigarettes on the market. The legal challenge by the Vapor Technology Association is the latest hurdle in the Food and Drug Administration’s yearslong effort to regulate the multibillion-dollar vaping industry, which includes makers and retailers of e-cigarette devices and flavored solutions. The vaping group argued that the latest deadline of next May to submit products for review could wipe out many of the smaller companies. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Kentucky.    E-cigarettes first appeared in the U.S. more than a decade ago and have grown in popularity despite little research on their long-term effects, including whether they can help smokers quit cigarettes. FILE – A cashier displays a packet of tobacco-flavored Juul pods at a store in San Francisco, June 17, 2019. In recent years, health authorities have warned of an epidemic of vaping by underage teenagers, particularly the leading brand Juul, known for its high nicotine content and easy-to-conceal device, which resembles a flash drive.    Nicotine is what makes both cigarettes and e-cigarettes addictive, and health experts say the chemical is harmful to developing brains. …

Canada’s ethics commissioner said Wednesday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau improperly pressured the country’s former attorney general to halt the criminal prosecution of a company, a development that could imperil his re-election chances.  The report comes just before the official start of campaigning for the Oct. 21 general election and it threatens to re-inflame a scandal that rocked the government earlier this year, causing a drop in poll ratings that had since abated. Ethics commissioner Mario Dion said Trudeau’s attempts to influence the former attorney general and justice minister, Jody Wilson-Raybould, were contrary to the constitutional principle of prosecutorial independence. “The prime minister, directly and through his senior officials, used various means to exert influence over Ms. Wilson-Raybould,” Dion wrote.  “The authority of the prime minister and his office was used to circumvent, undermine and ultimately attempt to discredit the decision of the director of public prosecutions as well as the authority of Ms. Wilson-Raybould.”  Trudeau said at a news conference that he takes responsibility “for everything,” but said he “can’t apologize for standing up for Canadian jobs.”   Wilson-Raybould believes she was demoted from her role as attorney general and justice minister to veterans’ affairs minister in January because …

Tunisia’s independent electoral body says 26 candidates have qualified to run in the country’s early presidential election on Sept. 15, out of 96 who were seeking the job. The number of candidates could increase when the final list is announced on Aug. 31, after the appeals process.     Among those sure to bid for Tunisia’s highest office, according to Wednesday’s announcement, are Prime Minister Youssef Chahed and his defense minister who resigned to run in the presidential race, Abdelkrim Zbidi. Lawyer Abdelfattah Mourou plans to be a candidate for Islamist party Ennahdha, which now holds the most seats in parliament.    The early election follows the July 25 death of Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, 92, the North African nation’s first democratically elected president. …

Argentine President Mauricio Macri on Wednesday unveiled a package of welfare subsidies and tax cuts for lower-income workers to lessen the impact of an economic crisis just months before a re-election bid, but his announcement did not halt the peso currency’s collapse. Amid signs that Argentines are already cutting back on buying goods due to a currency crash this week, the peso closed 7.1% weaker on Wednesday to reach 60.2 per U.S. dollar. The peso has lost a quarter of its value since Monday due mostly to market concerns that opposition candidate Alberto Fernandez will bring back interventionist economic policies if he wins October’s presidential election as looks likely. Argentina is currently suffering a recession and an inflation rate of 55%. Macri said he would raise the minimum wage, temporarily freeze gasoline prices and increase the income tax bracket floor by 20%. That would allow a tax cut for two million workers worth some 2,000 pesos ($33) per month per person, the government said. Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri looks on during a news conference after the presidential primaries, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Aug. 12, 2019. Better known for austerity measures earlier in his time in office, Macri said the government …

Puerto Rico’s new governor finally appeared to be overcoming some of the challenges to her authority on Wednesday following weeks of political turmoil on the U.S. territory, with key members of the majority New Progressive Party expressing support. That may allow Gov. Wanda Vazquez, who has never held elected office, to turn her attention to the territory’s lagging efforts to recover from 2017’s devastating Hurricane Maria as well as grinding economic slump and debt crisis that has led to demands for austerity from a federal board overseeing its finances. Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, who had been seen as her chief challenger, issued a statement on Facebook Wednesday backing her and saying he’d only been looking for a replacement because he thought Wanda Vazquez didn’t want the governor’s job — though his efforts had continued well after she said she did. “It’s up to all of us to work for Puerto Rico,” he said. “The governor will have our collaboration, and I have expressed that personally.” Rivera Schatz had suggested the post go to the island’s congressional representative, Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez. But Gonzalez too issued a statement of support for Vazquez on Tuesday. Under the territory’s constitution, the governorship …

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note briefly slid below the yield on the two-year bond Wednesday, a closely-watched benchmark that is often seen as a harbinger of recession. The so-called “inversion” took place near 1140 GMT when the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury slipped below the two-year at around 1.62 percent. U.S. stocks have been under pressure in recent sessions as bond yields have gyrated, with analysts warning that sinking rates are a sign of a worsening medium-term and near-term economic outlook. Analysts have warned that the grinding U.S.-China trade war is denting sentiment as businesses hold off on capital spending amid uncertainty over the tariff picture. At the same time, US indicators have continued to show solid labor and consumer conditions, and some leading analysts do not see a U.S. recession as likely in the near-term. On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was delaying new tariffs on some key consumer goods until December 15, a move that bolstered global equity markets. On Wednesday, data showed Chinese factory output slowed to its lowest level in 17 years. That came as Germany reported 0.1 percent negative growth in the second quarter. While overall activity was supported …

Here’s a look at the numbers behind the air hub, one of the busiest on the world. …

Russian scientists are raising the alarm about new Soviet-style restrictions on interactions with foreign colleagues. The science newspaper Troitsky Variant on Tuesday published a copy of a recent Russian Education Ministry decree that introduces a broad range of restrictions on meetings and communication between employees of state-owned think tanks and institutes and foreign nationals.   Russian scientists are now obliged to inform officials about any visit by a foreign scientist five days in advance and report on the meeting afterward, the published decree said. The newspaper called on the ministry to scrap the order, saying the Soviet-style restrictions would hurt the standing of Russian science in the world.   “Such ridiculous decrees that are impossible to comply with will do nothing to bolster our country’s security but will only increase its isolation from developed nations and discredit authorities,” scientist Alexander Fradkov said.   Similar restrictions were widely used in the Soviet Union but were largely scrapped by the end of the 1980s.   The Education Ministry on Wednesday insisted that the decree was not an order but merely a recommendation and denied suggestions that it aims to control the scientists.   It also added that Russian scientists are increasingly facing …

Agents of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) have raided the offices of Russia Justice Initiative (RJI), a human rights group in Moscow. The group’s press secretary, Ksenia Babich, wrote on her Facebook page that officers said the August 14 searches were being conducted on the basis of a search warrant for the whole building, which also houses RJI’s partner organizations. However, she added, no search warrant was presented. Babich said the officers did not explain the reason for the search and “illegally” confiscated telephones from group members, took pictures of their identification documents, and tried to break into the office of the group’s director, Vanessa Kogan. After the organization’s employees demanded a warrant allowing police to break into the office without the director’s presence, the officers returned the confiscated phones and searched other rooms, she said. The RJI has existed since 2000. It is dedicated to the legal protection of victims of human rights violations connected to armed conflict and counterterrorism operations, torture, and gender-based violence in the post-Soviet region. The group has represented clients at the European Court of Human Rights and is mainly involved in cases involving people — often women — from Russia’s North Caucasus republics of Chechnya, Daghestan, …

British investigators say Argentine soccer player Emiliano Sala and his pilot were exposed to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide before their small plane crashed in the English Channel, killing them both. A single-engine Piper Malibu aircraft carrying Sala and pilot David Ibbotson crashed in the Channel on Jan. 21.Sala was traveling from France to join his new team, Cardiff City in Wales. His body was recovered from the wreckage two weeks later. Ibbotson’s body has not been found. The Air Accident Investigations Branch said Wednesday that toxicology tests found “a high saturation level of COHb (the combination product of carbon monoxide and hemoglobin)” in Sala’s blood.   It said the level was 58%, above the 50% level “generally considered to be potentially fatal” in a healthy individual. …

U.S. President Donald Trump attacked China’s trade and financial policies, but refused to criticize Beijing’s pressure on Hong Kong. In a speech Tuesday in Pittsburgh, Trump said China has manipulated the World Trade Organization and the Chinese currency to its advantage. But he said tensions between Beijing and Hong Kong are to be resolved between them. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports. …

Donald Trump Jr. promoted two Trump-branded resorts in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on Tuesday, and defended against allegations that the Trump Organization’s global business empire continues to create conflicts of interest for his father’s administration. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this story. …

Getting around in a wheelchair takes some maneuvering, but Wheelie makes it as easy as raising your eyebrows. Tina Trinh reports. …

In July, 2018, China imposed tariffs on many American goods and products, including its highly coveted Maine lobsters. In just one year, export sales of the tasty crustaceans plummeted by more than 80%, forcing American companies exporting to China to make drastic changes. VOA’s Julie Taboh traveled to the northeastern state of Maine to learn first-hand about the economic impact of Chinese tariffs on the industry. …

The Hong Kong Airport Authority announced Wednesday that a judge granted an interim order to limit anti-government protests that crippled one of the world’s busiest air hubs for two days and sparked frantic clashes between demonstrators and riot police.   The order will limit demonstrations to designated areas, an attempt to suppress two days of seething crowds whose sheer size led the government and airlines to send home most employees and cancel nearly all flights leaving and entering the Chinese territory. That decision turned the airport into a frustrated campground, with stranded travelers unsure when they’d be able to leave, unable to buy food or find beds.  Protesters use luggage trolleys to block the walkway to the departure gates during a demonstration at the Airport in Hong Kong, Aug. 13, 2019. Flights resume Arriving and departing flights through Hong Kong airport had largely resumed Wednesday, with just a few cancellations, according to the airport’s web site. The judge’s order was made public after protesters on Tuesday night used luggage carts to barricade the airport’s passageways. Riot police unleashed pepper spray and batons to clear a path as protesters brawled with officers who tried to beat back the crowds.  Police arrested …

The city of San Francisco and nearby Santa Clara County sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday, seeking to block a new rule that would drastically reduce legal immigration by denying visas to poor migrants. Some experts say the new rule could cut legal immigration in half by denying visas and permanent residency to hundreds of thousands of people if they fail to meet high enough income standards or if they receive public assistance such as welfare, food stamps, public housing or Medicaid. “This illegal rule is just another attempt to vilify immigrants,” San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said in a statement. Trump has made efforts to curb both legal and illegal immigration, an issue he has made a cornerstone of his presidency and one that he has stressed again as the campaign for the 2020 presidential election heats up. The rule, unveiled on Monday and to take effect Oct. 15, expands the definition of a public charge, allowing denials to visa applicants who fail to meet income requirements or who receive public assistance. “The final rule rejects the longstanding, existing definition of public charge, and attempts to redefine it to include even minimal use of a much wider …

Kamala Harris is on the move. During the course of a five-day sprint across Iowa that included 17 stops across 11 counties, the Democratic presidential candidate ordered tacos from a tacqueria in Storm Lake, sampled a pork chop at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, called bingo at a senior center in Muscatine and toured the Coyote Run farm in Lacona. The Associated Press interviewed Harris on her bus, which blared her name in bold, vibrant colors as she traveled through a state that she repeatedly said has “made me a better candidate.” Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., enters a rally, Aug. 12, 2019, in Davenport, Iowa. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Q:  What have you learned from the people you have met on this trip so far? A:  I’ve heard from everyone from farmers to teachers, to people who have been laid off, to seniors who are worried about their Medicare coverage and their prescription drug costs, to students really worried about student loan debt. A lot of people worried about climate change, and there’s an intersection between some of those. What I’ve enjoyed about it is, you know, given the travel …

Kidnapping of aid workers has become “big business” as militants often work with crime networks to carry out abductions, a senior United Nations official and former hostage said on Tuesday. Vincent Cochetel, who was held captive in Chechnya in 1998, said countries must bring kidnappers to justice to stem a steep increase in attacks, which are undermining aid operations. “We need to absolutely get the perpetrators to court,” Cochetel, who works for the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR), told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, adding that it was usually possible to trace many of those involved. “These people can be tried any time, anywhere, and they can be extradited, so it’s important to make sure that when those individuals are known everything is done to bring them to justice.” Last year 130 aid workers were abducted, up from 45 in 2007, according to the Aid Worker Security Database, which records attacks on aid workers. High-risk countries included Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. Kidnapping is a longstanding problem in Afghanistan, either for ransom or to put pressure on Western governments, while rebels in South Sudan have carried out mass abductions of humanitarian convoys to control aid delivery. Most kidnap …

Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido warned President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday that any attempts to bring forward parliamentary elections would end in “disaster” for the government. Elections to renew the National Assembly, the only branch of government under opposition control, are set for December 2020. But the Constituent Assembly, a rival body created by the Maduro regime and given extraordinary powers superseding the National Assembly, has hinted at the possibility of ordering early elections. Such a maneuver could threaten the opposition’s hold on the National Assembly and with it Guaido’s claim as head of the legislature to be the country’s legitimate president. But Guaido insisted it would backfire, further isolating Maduro, who has so far withstood opposition challenges to his presidency with the support of the military. “What would happen if the regime dared to — and it could — bring forward an irregular convocation for elections without any conditions?” said Guaido. “They will drown in contradictions, in isolation — they will drown in disaster.” Constituent Assembly president Diosdado Cabello, the most powerful regime figure after Maduro, admitted on Monday the move was a “counter-attack” after the United States increased its sanctions on the government. Venezuela has been locked in …

A longtime human rights lawyer who is running for Tunisia’s presidency as the country’s first gay candidate says he is receiving threats from radical Islamist groups. Mounir Baatour, founder of the Tunisian Liberal Party, recently announced his candidacy for president, vowing to bring about justice and equality in the Muslim-majority, North African nation.  “I have received a number of threats after my announcement, especially through social media,” Baatour told VOA in an interview. “Many of these threats are from extremist individuals. But no political parties have responded negatively to my announcement.” Baatour, 48, said his campaign focuses on employment, equal rights for women and the country’s criminal code. Law 230 of the Tunisian criminal justice system defines homosexuality as a crime and penalizes people convicted of being homosexual with up to three years in prison.  Baatour founded the Tunisian Liberal Party in 2011 with a clear objective to promote human rights and to create a constitutional court that would protect the country’s constitution and its democratic tenets. Tunisia’s presidential election will take place in November, following a parliamentary election that will be held in October. Both elections are expected to involve fierce competition among several Islamic and secular groups, including …

Thousands of students and teachers have protested federal cuts in education spending in gatherings across Brazil. Union leaders called for a strike Tuesday in the education sector, denouncing funding cuts from elementary schools to higher public education and plans to open federal universities to private investment. The government says it is implementing the cuts across the board and in an equal way.    Online news portal G1 registered events in 72 cities Tuesday, but the turnout did not match the huge crowds that joined in similar protests in May. The latest cuts of 348 million reals (about $87 million) happened in July, targeting school textbooks.    The education ministry had already announced earlier this year a 30% cut to university funding and blocked all forthcoming scholarships for master’s and doctoral students. …

With lampshades made by Indian women and trays from East Africa, H&M said on Tuesday that it had become the latest retail giant to back businesses with a mission to do good, as pressure mounts to end throwaway consumerism. The world’s second-biggest fashion retailer said it will sell homewares made by two social enterprises — businesses that aim to do good as well as make a profit — in H&M Home and Arket stores in five European countries from late August. “By offering products made by social entrepreneurs, we want to make it possible for our customers to be change makers,” said Cecilia Tiblad Berntsson, social sustainability manager for H&M Group. H&M hopes the project will lead to “job creation and positive change for people where it is much needed,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in emailed comments. Retailers are under growing pressure to prove positive social and environmental impact amid worries about labor exploitation, waste and pollution, with some calling for tax reforms to end a throwaway lifestyle that is ruining the planet. H&M’s move echoes that of another Swedish retail giant, Ikea, which has been selling products made by social enterprises since 2012, such as Ugandan coffee …

Apple’s AirPods, Apple Watch and HomePod, which have helped the company offset waning sales of its bestselling iPhone this year, are not included in a temporary reprieve on tariffs by the Trump administration and will face a 10% levy on Sept 1. The administration said on Tuesday that some major items, such as laptops and cellphones, including Apple’s MacBooks and iPhones, will not face tariffs until Dec. 15.  President Donald Trump said the change was to avoid an impact on U.S. customers during the Christmas shopping season. The tariff delay that affects some of Apple’s biggest-selling products helped send its shares up more than 4% in late trading. FILE – Apple’s iPhone 7 smartphones sit on a shelf at an Apple store in Beijing, China, Sept. 16, 2016. Trump and his administration did not say why some electronics received a reprieve and others did not. Many of the products set to face tariffs on Sept. 1, such as smart watches, fitness trackers, smart speakers and Bluetooth headphones, had been spared once before. These include popular products from Apple rivals, such as Fitbit smart watches and smart speakers from Amazon.com and Alphabet’s Google.  The Trump administration had proposed tariffs on those …