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new york — Humanity is hitting the upper limit of life expectancy, according to a new study. Advances in medical technology and genetic research — not to mention larger numbers of people making it to age 100 — are not translating into marked jumps in lifespan overall, according to researchers who found shrinking longevity increases in countries with the longest-living populations. "We have to recognize there's a limit" and perhaps reassess assumptions about when people should retire and how much money they'll need to live out their lives, said S. Jay Olshansky, a University of Illinois-Chicago researcher who was lead author of the study published Monday by the journal Nature Aging. Mark Hayward, a University of Texas researcher not involved in the study, called it "a valuable addition to the mortality literature." "We are reaching a plateau" in life expectancy, he agreed. It's always possible some breakthrough could push survival to greater heights, "but we don't have that now," Hayward said. What is life expectancy? Life expectancy is an estimate of the average number of years a baby born in a given year might expect to live, assuming death rates at that time hold constant. It is one of the world's most important health measures, but it is also imperfect: It is a snapshot estimate that cannot account for deadly pandemics, miracle cures or other unforeseen developments that might kill or save millions of people. In the new research, Olshansky and his research partners tracked life expectancy estimates for the years 1990 to 2019, drawn from a database administered by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. The researchers focused on eight of the places in the world where people live the longest — Australia, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain and Switzerland. The U.S. doesn't even rank in the top 40. But is also included "because we live here" and because of past, bold estimates that life expectancy in the U.S. might surge dramatically in this century, Olshansky said. Who lives the longest? Women continue to live longer than men and life expectancy improvements are still occurring — but at a slowing pace, the researchers found. In 1990, the average amount of improvement was about 2½ years per decade. In the 2010s, it was 1½ years — and almost zero in the U.S. The U.S. is more problematic because it is harder hit by a range of issues that kill people even before they hit old age, including drug overdoses, shootings, obesity and inequities that make it hard for some people to get sufficient medical care. But in one calculation, the researchers estimated what would happen in all nine places if all deaths before age 50 were eliminated. The increase at best was still only 1½ years, Olshansky said. Eileen Crimmins, a University of Southern California gerontology expert, said in an email that she agrees with the study's findings. She added, "For me personally, the most important issue is the dismal and declining relative position of the United States." Why life expectancy may not be able to rise forever The study suggests that there's a limit to how long most people live, and we've about hit it, Olshansky said. "We're squeezing less and less life out of these life-extending technologies. And the reason is, aging gets in the way," he said. It may seem common to hear of a person living to 100 — former U.S. President Jimmy Carter hit that milestone last week. In 2019, a little over 2% of Americans made it to 100, compared with about 5% in Japan and 9% in Hong Kong, Olshansky said. It's likely that the ranks of centenarians will grow in the decades ahead, experts say, but that's because of population growth. The percentage of people hitting 100 will remain limited, likely with fewer than 15% of women and 5% of men making it that long in most countries, Olshansky said.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are marking the anniversary of the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust as the presidential candidates approach the final weeks of the campaign during a widening conflict in the Middle East. Political leaders across the spectrum were marking the killing of about 1,200 people, including 46 U.S. citizens, by Hamas-led militants in the October 7 attack last year, and the taking of about 250 hostages. A year later, about 100 people, including several Americans, remain in captivity, as U.S.-led efforts to negotiate a cease-fire and hostage release deal have sputtered out. Trump visited the New York City gravesite of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who led the Chabad-Lubavitch movement of Orthodox Judaism from 1951 until his death in 1994. Schneerson was the movement's seventh leader, known as Lubavitcher Rebbe. Trump then will speak before Jewish community leaders at one of his Florida resorts in the Miami suburb of Doral. Harris and her husband planted a pomegranate tree on the grounds of the vice president's residence in honor of the those killed a year ago. Earlier Monday, Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish, recited a prayer for peace at an event to commemorate the anniversary hosted by the American Jewish Committee in Washington. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden also hosted a somber memorial ceremony at the White House Monday to mark the anniversary of the attack. The Bidens looked on as Rabbi Aaron Alexander of Washington's Adas Israel Congregation recited the Jewish remembrance prayer for the more than 1,200 people, including dozens of Americans, killed that day, listing the towns, villages and festival site that were the scenes of the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. The president then lit a lone memorial candle placed on a small table at the center of the Blue Room, before they observed a moment of silence. Earlier in the day, Biden spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the White House said. The attack sparked a deadly war in Gaza, as Israel moved to root out Hamas' control over the territory and try to return those taken captive. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, including many women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between militants and civilians. Another Iran-backed group, Hezbollah, has fired thousands of rockets at Israeli territory in the same period from Lebanon, and Israel last month expanded a campaign of sabotage and assassination and launched a ground incursion into Lebanon to combat the threat from the group. In 1997, the U.S. State Department designated both Hezbollah and Hamas as foreign terrorist organizations. Many other countries also label them as terrorist groups, although some apply the designation only to their military wings.

moscow — Russian President Vladimir Putin is to meet Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian for talks Friday at a forum in the Central Asian country of Turkmenistan, a senior aide said Monday.  Yury Ushakov, Putin's aide on foreign policy, told journalists the leaders would meet in Ashgabat while attending an event celebrating a Turkmen poet.  "This meeting has great significance both for discussing bilateral issues as well as, of course, discussing the sharply escalated situation in the Middle East," Ushakov said.  Leaders of Central Asian countries are meeting to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the birth of 18th-century poet Magtymguly Pyragy.  Putin's attendance had not been previously announced.  Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visited Iran last week for talks with Pezeshkian and First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref.  The talks come as Israel intensively bombs Lebanon, targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah, and Russia has evacuated some citizens.  Russia has close relations with Iran, and Western governments have accused Tehran of supplying Moscow with drones and missiles, which it has repeatedly denied.  Pezeshkian will also hold talks with Putin during a visit to Russia this month to participate in a BRICS summit of emerging economies. 

Tirana, Albania — Clashes broke out late Monday in Tirana between police and opposition protesters seeking that longtime leftist Prime Minister Edi Rama resign, leaving 10 officers injured police said. A few thousand people gathered in the Albanian capital at demonstrations organized by the country's right-wing opposition. Scuffles first broke out in front of the government building when demonstrators tried to break through a police cordon and some of them threw Molotov cocktails. The crowd moved toward the headquarters of Rama's Socialist Party where more Molotov cocktails were thrown, setting on fire the entrance door and a banner with the prime minister's image, an AFP journalist reported. The protesters, who want Rama to step down and a caretaker government to take over until next year's parliamentary elections, also targeted the interior ministry headquarters and the city hall with Molotov cocktails. A bus station and several garbage containers were set on fire. Police, deployed in large numbers, used teargas in a bid to disperse the crowd moving towards the parliament. "So far 10 police officers have been injured in the attacks with Molotov cocktails, pyrotechnics and solid objects," a police statement said. Police urged the demonstrators to stop attacking them and state institutions, warning that measures were being taken to identify those involved in the attacks. "This is the first step towards civil disobedience," Flamur Noka, an official of the main opposition Democratic Party, told reporters in front of the party's headquarters. "We will continue our battle of civil disobedience until Rama resigns and a caretaker government is formed," he said. The protest was held a week after opposition lawmakers threw their chairs out of parliament and set them on fire in protest at a prison sentence handed to one of their peers. Ervin Salianji, an official of the Democratic Party, in September was found guilty of "giving false testimony" in a drug trafficking case that targeted the brother of a lawmaker of the ruling Socialist Party. The opposition described the MP's arrest and conviction as a "blind act of revenge and political terror against the Democratic Party,",= accusing Rama of being behind it. Democratic Party leader and former prime minister Sali Berisha said earlier that Monday's protests would be the "battle of our lives". Berisha has been under house arrest since December last year on charges of "passive corruption." He has rejected the accusations against him as politically motivated.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The top commander of Iran's Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, is in "good health," the force's deputy commander Iraj Masjedi said Monday, after two Iranian security sources told Reuters he had been out of contact since strikes on Beirut last week. "He is in good health and is carrying out his activities. Some ask us to issue a statement... there is no need for this," Masjedi was quoted as saying by Iranian state media in reference to Qaani. The Iranian Students' News Agency reported that a message from Qaani was conveyed to a conference in solidarity with Palestinian children held Monday in Tehran, adding that the commander could not attend "due to his being in another important meeting." One of the security officials told Reuters that Qaani was in Beirut's southern suburbs, known as the Dahiyeh, during a strike last week that was reported to have targeted senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine. The official said he was not meeting with Safieddine. Israel has been hitting multiple targets in Dahiyeh as it pursues a campaign against Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah. Tehran named Qaani the head of the Revolutionary Guards Corps' overseas military-intelligence service after the United States assassinated his powerful predecessor Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad in 2020. The Quds Force heavily influences its allied armed groups across the Middle East.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country will speed up steps toward becoming a military superpower with nuclear weapons and would not rule out using them if enemies attacked it, state media KCNA said on Tuesday. Kim made the comments in a speech on Monday at a university, which was printed in full by KCNA. He said he has no intention of attacking South Korea, but "if the enemy attempts to use force against our country" North Korea's military will use all aggression without hesitation, which "does not preclude the use of nuclear weapons.".= Kim also called for extensive strengthening of North Korea's defenses, according to KCNA. He also sent a birthday message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, KCNA said. Kim called Putin his "closest Comrade", saying "strategic and cooperative relations" between the two countries will be raised to a new level to work on "defending regional and global peace and international justice."

With just weeks to go before Election Day, Arizona is one of the crucial battlegrounds in the 2024 U.S. presidential race. Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump know that winning the southwestern state is key to their path to the White House. VOA’s immigration reporter, Aline Barros, traveled to the state to ask voters how immigration is influencing their decision in this election.

SUBIC, Philippines — The armed forces of the Philippines, the United States and four other countries began joint naval exercises off the coast of the Philippines' northern Luzon island facing Taiwan in a display of naval strength amid rising tensions with China.  Called "Sama Sama," which means togetherness, this year's drills, which involve almost 1,000 sailors and personnel from Australia, Canada, France, Japan, the United States and the Philippines, are high-intensity exercises focusing on anti-submarine, anti-surface and anti-air warfare.  U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Todd Cimicata told reporters in the port of Subic, to the west of Manila, that building partnerships with key allies created a "deterrent effect," though he added that the exercises were not targeted at any country.  "The intent of these exercises is not to ruffle feathers. It's tailored for interoperability," Cimicata said. "Across the gamut, there are people that don't follow those rules so we have to agree so that we can set those standards."  The nine-day exercises will bring together the U.S. Navy's Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Howard, Canada's Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver and a CH-148 Cyclone helicopter, while Japan's Force ShinMaywa US-2 amphibious aircraft and Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrol aircraft are also participating, along with warships from the Philippines.  The drills come more than a week after the Chinese military said its air and naval forces conducted maneuvers in a disputed area of the South China Sea, fanning tensions in a waterway that remains a volatile flashpoint in the region. Cimicata said the exercises were planned months in advance.  China claims nearly all the South China Sea, but those claims overlap with those of Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, angering its neighbors and the United States, which has stepped up its security engagements in the region.  Last month, the United States carried out joint maritime exercises with Australia, Japan, Philippines and for the first time New Zealand in Manila's exclusive economic zone to improve the militaries' interoperability.  Washington's Marine Rotational Forces - Southeast Asia (MRF-SEA) will participate in at least eight exercises this year and next in their third deployment in the region, including assignments in Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.  "This is the most robust formation that we've had. And it is also conducting the most exercises since the inception of MRF-SEA," its commander Col. Stuart Glenn told reporters. 

Manila, Philippines — The Philippines and South Korea committed Monday to deepening maritime cooperation, their presidents said, in the face of China's assertion of its claims over the South China Sea. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos met in Manila and agreed to closer ties between their coast guards. Yoon said they will strengthen "tackling transnational crime, information sharing and conducting search and rescue missions." "We shared a common understanding about the importance of peace, stability and safety in the South China Sea," Yoon told reporters after the bilateral meeting. "Our two countries will continue to work together in order to establish a rules-based maritime order and for the freedom of navigation and overflight pursuant to the principles of international law in the South China Sea," he added. South Korea has repeatedly commented on tensions in the disputed waters. In March, Seoul expressed its "grave concern" over China's "repeated use of water cannons against the Philippine vessels" in the area. China has for years sought to expand its presence in contested areas of the South China Sea, brushing aside an international ruling that its claim to most of the waterway has no legal basis. It has built artificial islands armed with missile systems and runways for fighter jets, and deployed vessels that the Philippines says harass its ships and block fishing. Cooperation agreements signed in the bilateral meeting Monday cover areas such as critical raw material supply chains, as well as a feasibility study on reviving the Philippines' mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. "As the geopolitical environment is only becoming more complex, we must work together to achieve prosperity for our peoples and to promote a rules-based order," the Philippines' leader Marcos said ahead of the meeting.

beijing — Top Chinese economic policymakers are expected to flesh out a raft of growth-boosting policies Tuesday, after the announcement of long-awaited stimulus measures last month sparked a blistering stock market rally.  Beijing has struggled to kick-start the economy as officials hope to achieve about 5% growth this year — a goal analysts say is optimistic given the numerous headwinds, from a prolonged housing crisis to sluggish consumption.  After months of piecemeal tinkering that did little to reverse the malaise, officials have unveiled a raft of measures, from rate cuts to looser curbs on house buying, aimed at getting money flowing again.  Hopes of that long-awaited "bazooka stimulus" have lit up stock markets, sending foreign-language markets in mainland China and Hong Kong surging more than 20%.  And with all eyes on the reopening of mainland markets following the Golden Week public holiday, officials from the National Development and Reform Commission will hold a news briefing at 10 a.m. (0200 GMT) Tuesday.  Chairman Zheng Shanjie and others will discuss the rollout of "a package of incremental policies to solidly promote economic growth,” Beijing has said.  Analysts said they hoped officials would unveil further fiscal support measures such as trillions of yuan in bond issuances and policies to boost consumption.  But they cautioned that deep reforms to the economic system to relieve the debt crisis in the property sector and boost domestic demand are needed if Beijing is serious about resolving the fundamental obstacles to growth.  "Unless China introduces structural reforms to really jump-start consumption — from unemployment benefits to real pensions — I just don't think that we will see a major change," said Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief economist for the Asia-Pacific region at investment manager Natixis.  The market rally risked becoming a "mirage," she warned, as policymakers propped up stocks without properly tackling the underlying issues in the real economy.  "If the measures are not proven to be effective ... it will be even worse, because it means that not even the stimulus works," she said.  Rate cuts, cash, credit  Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index closed up 1.6% Monday, while mainland markets reopen Tuesday after a surge led by technology and property firms was interrupted by the public holiday.  Many of the measures unveiled so far have been aimed at the flagging housing market, long a key driver of growth but now mired in a prolonged debt crisis exemplified by the fates of developers like Evergrande.  To that end, Beijing's central bank has slashed interest for one-year loans to financial institutions, cut the amount of cash lenders must keep on hand, and pushed to lower rates on existing mortgages.  Several cities — including the financial crucibles of Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen — have also further eased restrictions on buying homes.  Gene Ma, the head of China research at the Institute of International Finance, said the market reaction to stimulus was "totally normal."  But, he warned, "sustained economic recovery and reflation require more forceful demand-side fiscal stimuli." 

One year ago, a peaceful weekend was shattered by one of the most brutal terrorists attacks the world has ever seen. Hamas militants stormed into Israel murdering more than 1,200 people including children. They raped women, burned homes and bodies and took hostages. In response, Israel bombed the Gaza strip sending in ground troops to root out Hamas, causing a catastrophic humanitarian crisis and killing about 42,000 Palestinians. In the year since the attack, the war has widened to include Hezbollah and Iran and has put the region on the brink of all-out war. We talk with John Lyndon executive director of the Alliance for Middle East Peace.

The European Union is braced for retaliation from China after the bloc voted Friday to impose tariffs on the import of Chinese electric vehicles, which Brussels says receive unfair state subsidies. As Henry Ridgwell reports, there’s speculation that Beijing could target individual European countries that voted for the measures.

London — The European Union is bracing for retaliation from China after the bloc voted last week to impose tariffs on the import of Chinese electric vehicles, or EVs, amid speculation that Beijing could seek to target individual European countries that voted for the measures. The EU is divided on the issue, with 10 member states in favor in Friday’s vote, five countries voting against the measures and 12 abstaining. After the vote, China's Commerce Ministry said it opposed the planned tariffs, calling them "unfair, non-compliant and unreasonable." Cognac France is among the countries that pushed for the EU to adopt the tariffs. Makers of French cognac, a type of brandy, fear that Beijing will now seek to target their product, after China launched an anti-dumping probe earlier this year. That investigation concluded in August that dumping had occurred on the Chinese market, but Beijing chose not to impose any tariffs at that stage, a decision widely seen as an attempt to defuse tensions with Europe. The EU’s decision to impose EV tariffs could provoke China into reversing its decision, according to Anthony Brun, president of General Union of Cognac Producers. “We are of course quite worried, because today, China is our second-biggest market. It represents more than one-third of our volumes that are exported for more than 250 years now. Knowing that we will potentially be imposed with a tax of around 40% tomorrow — that would potentially mean the disappearance of this market, because our competitors will not be targeted with the same tax,” Brun told the Reuters news agency, adding that the French government had seemingly chosen to sacrifice his industry. “Because France is leading the way on this policy, they will seek to target a product that concerns France exclusively,” he said. German cars Germany, the EU’s biggest economy, voted against the tariffs. German carmakers also fear Beijing’s retaliation. “The European automotive industry — and especially Germany’s — lives from exports. Seventy percent of our jobs depend on it. The current decision could lead to new trade conflicts, to a spiral of protectionism, with tariffs being responded to with further tariffs. And that is a disadvantage for us,” said Hildegard Mueller, president of the German Association of the Automotive Industry, in an interview with Reuters. China has already opened investigations into the import of European pork and dairy products, which could disproportionately hit some EU member states that voted in favor of the electric vehicle tariffs. 'No right to retaliate’ Beijing’s intentions aren’t yet clear, according to Sander Tordoir, a senior economist at the Centre for European Reform. “The European Commission followed the World Trade Organization’s rules in designing the countervailing duties on Chinese electric vehicles,” Tordoir wrote in an email to VOA. “As a result, China in principle has no right to retaliate, but that does not mean Beijing won’t anyway. Berlin’s very visible opposition to the tariffs means Beijing may target its retaliation on exports of, say, French brandy or Spanish pork, not German cars. But one cannot exclude that China will anyway discriminate against EU or German-built cars.” In a statement issued after Friday’s EU vote, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce pledged to “take all measures” to safeguard Chinese companies — but added that negotiations would continue. Negotiations Both Brussels and Beijing are keen to find a compromise — and both want to avoid a trade war, according to Julia Poliscanova of the Transport and Environment policy research group in Brussels, which advocates for greener transport. “We shouldn’t underestimate how important the European market is also for China. Ultimately, the EU market provides the opportunity for the bulk of Chinese EV exports,” Poliscanova said. “So, China needs the EU as much as we need China. And that's why I think there will be some sort of ‘friendlier’ retaliation or friendlier actions as such. “Given the huge oversupply or overcapacity in China and the desire and the need for a lot of Chinese companies — battery makers, EV makers — to go global, I believe the European market will still be very attractive to them,” she said. Economist Tordoir is less optimistic. “It is hard to judge how likely negotiations will succeed. By pressing ahead with the EV tariffs in the interim, the EU has shown that it is serious,” he said. “Reportedly under discussion is an idea to set voluntary minimum prices — a kind of surcharge — to offset the market-distorting Chinese subsidies on electric vehicles. But it is not clear how these would be monitored, enforced or how the scheme would be made WTO-compliant, which the EU clearly cares about.” WTO rules The EU argues that the EV tariffs will protect the European car industry, which it says employs 14 million people across the bloc. “The purpose has been to establish, or rather re-establish, a level playing field so that the goals pertaining to electric vehicles and overall green goals, let's say for the EU, can be achieved in a fair way,” European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill told reporters Friday. “We do not and we never have wanted to impose tariffs in this case for the sake of imposing tariffs. What we want is to remove the injurious subsidization.” Brussels believes the EV tariffs don’t breach World Trade Organization or WTO rules. “The tariffs are very differentiated [according] to the company and based on the individual levels of subsidization,” auto industry analyst Poliscanova said. “I think that is what makes those tariffs actually quite compatible from what I understand with WTO rules.” US tariffs The United States in August quadrupled its tariff on Chinese electric vehicle imports to 100%. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said such measures are sometimes necessary. “The goals that we're trying to accomplish: One is to level the playing field for our industries and our workers. The second one is to ensure that the United States economy, for our workers and our producers, can stay vibrant, that especially when it comes to critical industries that we know are strategic for our collective future, that the United States can continue to be a producer, a player, and that the jobs in these industries will be good jobs,” Tai told Agence France-Presse on October 3. Canada also imposed a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs from the beginning of October, alongside 25% import tariffs on steel and aluminum. Beijing has filed an ongoing appeal against the Canadian measures at the World Trade Organization.

Bangkok — Zaw Myint Maung, a senior member of Myanmar’s former ruling party arrested during the 2021 military takeover, died Monday while serving a prison sentence that was considered politically motivated. He was 72. He was a close colleague of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and spokesperson of her National League for Democracy party. He had been a second vice president and chief minister of the central Mandalay region before the army seized control of the government in 2021, arresting him, Suu Kyi and many top members of her NLD party and government. Zaw Myint Maung had been jailed at least twice under previous governments for his political activities. He had had leukemia since 2019. His death was confirmed by Tun Kyi, a party colleague from Mandalay, and another friend, who insisted on anonymity for fear of being punished by the authorities. In a statement expressing condolences, the National Unity Government, the main shadow opposition group organizing against army rule, lauded Zaw Myint Maung for being “unwaveringly committed to the democratic cause, fighting alongside the people and other democratic forces to dismantle military dictatorship.” The NLD won a landslide victory in Myanmar's 2020 election, but the army seized power Feb. 1, 2021, the day it was supposed to begin a second five-year term in office. The country now is enmeshed in civil war between the military and pro-democracy forces allied with armed ethnic minority groups. Zaw Myint Maung was serving a prison sentence of 29 years after being convicted in closed court in 2021 and 2022 on charges of violating coronavirus restrictions, corruption, sedition and election fraud. The charges are similar to those against other NLD members, including Suu Kyi, and are widely regarded as having been fabricated to sideline the party and legitimize the military's takeover. Zaw Myint Maung often was transferred to Mandalay General Hospital from Obo prison to be treated for his condition. The friends who confirmed his death said prison officials came to the hospital Sunday to read Zaw Myint Maung an official letter saying the military had granted him amnesty. A copy of the purported letter posted on social media said the amnesty was granted as an act of leniency and compassion. He was not the first senior NLD member to die after being imprisoned by the military government. Nyan Win, who had been a member of the NLD central executive committee as well as a confidante of Suu Kyi, died in July 2021 after getting COVID-19 in Insein prison in Yangon.  The NLD was dissolved along with 39 other political parties in 2023 for failing to reapply under a new party registration law. The military has said there will be an election next year but has not set a date.

washington — Media groups have welcomed the life sentence handed to a French jihadi linked to the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack. A French court last week found Peter Cherif guilty of “belonging to a criminal organization” in connection to his work with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, according to AFP. Cherif, 42, is suspected of training Chérif Kouachi, one of the people who carried out a deadly attack on staff at the French satirical magazine on Jan. 7, 2015. “This is a very important verdict on the global level,” Pavol Szalai, of media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, told VOA. “It shows that not only the justice for assassination of media professionals can be served, but that it can also go beyond the sentencing of the direct perpetrators.” Szalai told VOA that Cherif was in the “middle of the chain of command” in planning the attacks. In the trial, prosecutors called Cherif a “jihadist through and through” and a “cornerstone of planning” for the attacks. Cherif was not charged with complicity in the Charlie Hebdo attack. Instead, prosecutors used a broader terrorism claim, according to AFP. "I feel like I've taken part in a rigged match," Nabil El Ouchikli, Cherif's defense lawyer, was cited as saying. The decision to sentence Cherif to life in prison was made “in view of the seriousness of the acts,” the president of the court said at the sentencing. Eight members of Charlie Hebdo’s editorial staff, along with a former journalist visiting their office, a maintenance worker, a police officer and a police bodyguard died in the attack. Kouachi and his brother stormed an editorial meeting and opened fire on the media outlet’s Paris office. It was the largest massacre of media professionals in France since World War II, according to Szalai. The assailants were killed during a gunfight with police on January 9. The 2015 attack stemmed from “religious intolerance” of journalists and Charlie Hebdo’s work, Szalai said. Attila Mong, from the Committee to Protect Journalists, said that all perpetrators, no matter their level of involvement, should be brought to justice. “This latest verdict sends an important message to violent extremists that they will not have the last word and their attempts to silence free speech will not prevail,” Mong told VOA in an email. More than 1,600 journalists have been killed since 1993, according to the UNESCO observatory of killed journalists. However, only one in 10 of such cases result in a conviction. Although Szalai called France’s verdict “good news for press freedom,” he said in most cases of slain journalists they have yet to secure justice. Many times, an intermediary is punished but those higher up in the chain of command are not, he told VOA. He cited the case of Daphne Caruana Galizia, an anti-corruption reporter murdered seven years ago in Malta. In that case, several people have been charged but there has yet to be a trial for the alleged mastermind. Similarly, after the 2018 Slovakia murder of an investigative journalist and his fiancée, those who carried out the attack are in prison but the suspected mastermind has been acquitted twice. The second acquittal is still awaiting a Supreme Court appeal. “In none of those cases has complete justice been served,” Szalai said.