A federal judge in Texas on Thursday ruled that President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt was unlawful and must be vacated, delivering a victory to conservative opponents of the program.
US District Judge Mark Pittman, an appointee of former Republican President Donald Trump in Fort Worth, ruled in a lawsuit backed by the Job Creators Network Foundation on behalf of two borrowers.
The debt relief plan had already been temporarily blocked by the St. Louis-based 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals while it considers a request by six Republican-led states to enjoin it while they appealed the dismissal of their own lawsuit.
Biden’s plan has been the subject of several lawsuits by conservative state attorneys general and legal groups, though plaintiffs before Thursday had struggled to convince courts they were harmed by it in such a way that they have standing to sue.
Pittman in a 26-page ruling wrote that the HEROES Act — a law that provides loan assistance to military personnel and that was relied upon by the Biden administration to enact the relief plan — did not authorize the $400 billion student loan forgiveness program.
“The Program is thus an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s legislative power and must be vacated,” Pittman wrote.
The White House and representatives for the plaintiffs did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office in September calculated the debt forgiveness would eliminate about $430 billion of the $1.6 trillion in outstanding student debt and that over 40 million people were eligible to benefit.
The plan, announced in August, calls for forgiving up to $10,000 in student loan debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 per year, or $250,000 for married couples. Borrowers who received Pell Grants to benefit lower-income college students will have up to $20,000 of their debt canceled.
US judge declares Biden’s student debt relief plan unlawful
https://arab.news/bcscy
US judge declares Biden’s student debt relief plan unlawful
- The program calls for forgiving up to $10,000 in student loan debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 per year, or $250,000 for married couples
- Over 40 million people were eligible to benefit from the plan that would eliminate about $430 billion of the $1.6 trillion in outstanding student debt
Ukraine says Russia to deploy 10,000 North Korean troops
An unspecified number of North Korean soldiers were already on “occupied Ukrainian territory from the side of Russian enemies“
BRUSSELS: Russia is preparing to deploy 10,000 North Korean soldiers in the fight against Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday, citing intelligence information.
Zelensky has previously accused North Korea of sending troops to Russia’s army but this was the first time he gave an exact figure.
An unspecified number of North Korean soldiers were already on “occupied Ukrainian territory from the side of Russian enemies,” Zelensky said, based on “information from our intelligence.”
“We know (of) about 10,000 soldiers of North Korea that they are preparing to send fight against us,” he added, speaking to reporters in Brussels after talks with EU leaders.
The Ukrainian leader was attending both an EU leaders’ summit and a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels as he presses for support for his “victory plan” to end the war against Russia.
Zelensky said the North Korean troops included “land forces” and “other tactical personnel.”
“This is the first step to a world war,” he warned, noting that Iran was also backing Russia with “drones and missiles,” a claim that Tehran has repeatedly denied.
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “counting” on the North Korean soldiers because he was “afraid of mobilization.”
Zelensky conducted a whirlwind tour of Western capitals earlier this month including Washington, Paris, Berlin, Rome and London to promote his initiative.
Experts have long said North Korean missiles are being deployed in Ukraine by Russian forces, which both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied.
Putin made a rare visit to Pyongyang in June, where he signed a mutual defense agreement with leader Kim Jong Un.
Moscow and Pyongyang have been allies since North Korea’s founding after World War II and have drawn closer since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Biden heads to Germany to discuss Ukraine, Middle East
- Biden was also expected to discuss the escalating crisis in the Middle East
- During a flying 24-hour visit to Berlin, the US leader will meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden took off Thursday on a swift farewell trip to Germany, for talks with allies to shore up Ukraine’s increasingly desperate fight against Russia.
Biden was also expected to discuss the escalating crisis in the Middle East, as Israel said it was investigating whether Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar had been killed in a military operation in Gaza.
During a flying 24-hour visit to Berlin, the US leader will meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, before they are both joined for talks by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Biden was originally due in Germany last week for a multi-day visit that would have included a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a major summit of Kyiv’s allies, but he postponed it as Hurricane Milton barrelled toward Florida.
The White House said the shorter, rescheduled visit to the key NATO ally would “further strengthen the close bond the United States and Germany share as allies and friends and coordinate on geopolitical priorities, including Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression and events in the Middle East.”
Biden was also keen to make the visit to thank Scholz for facilitating a prisoner exchange deal with Russia earlier this year that freed US reporter Evan Gershkovich, US officials said.
But the focus will be on Ukraine, with Biden, who dropped out of the 2024 White House race in July, keen to consolidate Western military aid for Kyiv in his final three months in office.
Allies are nervously watching the November 5 US presidential election to see if it brings a return of Donald Trump, who has opposed the current level of US support for Ukraine.
Trump has also repeatedly pledged to push through a peace deal if elected — even before taking office — that Kyiv fears would involve it giving up chunks of land to Moscow.
Zelensky told allies in Brussels on Thursday that Ukraine must be in a position of strength before any peace talks with Russia, as he explained his “victory plan” to EU leaders and NATO defense chiefs.
More than two and a half years into the war, Kyiv is slowly but steadily losing territory in its eastern Donbas region and under mounting pressure to forge an exit strategy — which it says must start with ramped-up Western support.
Biden announced a fresh $425 million arms package including air defense and armored vehicles for Ukraine in a call with Zelensky on Wednesday.
The United States is by far the biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine’s battle against the 2022 Russian invasion, followed by Germany.
France places six departments on red alert for flooding due to heavy rains
- Departments in France are administrative regions similar to British or American counties
- There have been no reports of deaths or injuries
PARIS: Six French departments were placed on red alert for flooding amid “exceptional rain” that the French weather agency said was as much as 630 mm (24.8 inches) in 48 hours in one area.
Departments in France are administrative regions similar to British or American counties.
The areas covered by the red alert include Lyon, the third-largest city in the country, as well as Cannes, famed for its film festival.
Authorities said they had closed roads, evacuated neighborhoods and asked residents to avoid placing themselves in danger by taking photos and videos.
There have been no reports of deaths or injuries and it is not yet clear what the level of damage is from the floodwaters.
The flooding in the southern part of France comes a week after remnants of Hurricane Kirk churned across western Europe and nearly a month after Cannes was hit by flash flooding.
Earlier in September, central Europe was battered by the worst floods in that area in at least two decades.
Bangladeshi tribunal issues arrest warrant for former PM Hasina
- International Crimes Tribunal begins trial over recent student protest killings
- Chief prosecutor says arrest warrants issued for 46 people, including Hasina’s ministers
DHAKA: A special tribunal in Dhaka issued an arrest warrant on Thursday for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and began trial procedures in cases related to the killings of hundreds of people during recent student protests that forced her to step down and flee.
Initially peaceful student demonstrations started in Bangladesh in early July, triggered by the reinstatement of a quota system for the allocation of civil service positions.
Two weeks later, they were met with a violent crackdown by security forces, which according to UN estimates left more than 600 people dead. The deaths led to a nationwide uprising, which in early August forced Hasina to resign and leave for neighboring India, ending her 15 years in power.
The names of 46 people linked to the protest killings were in the arrest warrant issued by the International Crimes Tribunal, its chief prosecutor, Tajul Islam, told reporters in Dhaka.
Besides Hasina, he mentioned the names of her Awami League secretary general Obaidul Quader, former law minister Anisul Huq, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and former foreign minister Hasan Mahmud.
The tribunal, he said, will hear 70 cases related to the July-August violence.
“Most of the main perpetrators are fugitives now, so we can’t disclose their names until they are arrested. But it’s confirmed that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and those who were at the topmost level are accused in many of the cases,” Islam told Arab News.
“We are trying to complete the trial process of the most important crimes related to the prime accused as quickly as possible.”
Established in 2010 during Hasina’s rule, the International Crimes Tribunal is a domestic court responsible for investigating and prosecuting suspects of the 1971 genocide committed by the Pakistan Army and its local collaborators during the Bangladesh Liberation War. It also has jurisdiction over other war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“The crimes Hasina has been charged with will fall under the purview of crimes against humanity according to the ICT Act 1973, and that’s why these cases are being tried in the International Crimes Court instead of as simple murder cases in regular courts,” said Jyotirmoy Barua, advocate at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
“I think that is why the authorities considered that this is the best court to try her for the crimes that took place during the student-led protests ... If proven guilty, this court may award capital punishment to the accused.”
UK foreign minister to visit China to rebuild damaged ties
- Lammy will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing before visiting Shanghai to meet British businesses operating in China
- Mao Ning, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said the talks would focus on improving cooperation in various fields
LONDON/BEIJING: British foreign secretary David Lammy will visit China on a two-day visit starting on Friday in a bid to improve relations between the two countries after years of tensions over security concerns and alleged human rights abuses.
Lammy will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing before visiting Shanghai to meet British businesses operating in China, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday.
“It’s all about bringing a consistent, long-term and strategic approach to managing the UK’s position on China,” the spokesperson told reporters, adding that Britain was prepared to challenge China where needed but also identify areas for co-operation.
Mao Ning, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said the talks would focus on improving cooperation in various fields.
It will be only the second visit by a British foreign minister in six years after Lammy’s Conservative predecessor James Cleverly’s trip last year. Before that, there had been a five-year gap in a visit to China by a British foreign minister.
Labour, who won a landslide election victory in July, is seeking to stabilize relations with Beijing after clashes over human rights, Hong Kong, and allegations of Chinese espionage.
Starmer told President Xi Jinping in the first conversation between the two in August that he wanted Britain and China to pursue closer economic ties while being free to talk frankly about their disagreements.
China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng and British finance minister Rachel Reeves last month discussed how they can work together to boost economic growth.
Following the exchange, Beijing said it was willing to resume the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue — an annual forum for talks on trade, investment and other economic issues, which had not taken place since 2019.
Under the previous Conservative government, Britain expressed concern about China’s curbing of civil freedoms in Hong Kong, which was under British control until 1997, and its treatment of people in its western Xinjiang region.
Britain and China also traded accusations over perceived spying.
China is Britain’s sixth-largest trading partner, accounting for 5 percent of total trade, British government figures show.
