For the first time since 2017 (and third time overall), Cristiano Ronaldo has topped Forbes’ list of the world’s highest-paid athletes, earning himself a Guinness World Records title for the highest annual earnings for an athlete in 2023.
In the 12 months leading up to 1 May 2023 (the date by which most sports seasons are concluded), Ronaldo is estimated to have earned $136 million (£107.5 M).
Ronaldo takes the title from Messi, who was the highest-paid athlete of 2022 with an estimated $130 million (£103 M).
Ronaldo’s record-breaking income is comprised of $46 million (£35 M) in on-field earnings and $90 million (£68.5 M) in off-field earnings.
Following a somewhat underwhelming second spell at Manchester United, Ronaldo departed in January 2023 to Saudi Arabian team Al-Nassr. He received a bumper contract which nearly doubled his salary to an estimated $75 million (£57 M).
However, his on-field earnings are dwarfed by his off-field earnings. In addition to his lifetime contract with Nike, Ronaldo also makes money through his CR7-branded merchandise.
Forbes calculates athletes’ earnings based on data obtained from industry insiders, news reports and salary databases.
The on-field earnings figures include salaries, prize money and bonuses, whilst the off-field earnings are an estimate of sponsorship deals, appearance fees, memorabilia and licensing income, plus cash returns from any businesses in which the athlete has a significant interest.
They do not include interest payments or dividends from investment income, but they do account for payouts from equity stakes which athletes have sold.
Rounding out the top three highest paid athletes of 2022-23 are two other football/soccer players: Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé.
Messi came in second with $130 million, split evenly between $65 million in on-field earnings and $65 million in off-field earnings.
In comparison, Mbappé’s on-field earnings of $100 million contribute heavily to his total of $120 million.
LeBron James, in fourth place with $119 million ($44.5 M on-court earnings; $75 M off-court), set a record for the highest annual earnings for a basketball player in 2023, whilst fifth-placed Canelo Alvarez set a record for the highest annual earnings for a boxer in 2023 with $110 million ($100 M in-ring earnings; $10 M outside).
Elsewhere, despite both retiring in September 2022, Roger Federer and Serena Williams had the highest annual earnings for a male tennis player in 2023 and the highest annual earnings for a female tennis player in 2023 respectively.
Roger, who placed ninth on the overall list, earned a total of $95.1 million, although this was almost entirely comprised of $95 million in off-court earnings, compared to just $100,000 in on-court earnings.
Similarly, Serena, in 49th place, earned a total of $45.3 million, made up of $45 million in off-court earnings and $300,000 on-court.
American actors are poised to go on strike after negotiations between parties broke down.
Actors' trade union SAG-AFTRA - who represent 160,000 performers - say they have voted unanimously to recommend a strike after talks with Hollywood studios failed to reach an agreement. The vote will take place later today.
Writers in America have now been striking for two months, and should the actors' strike go ahead, it would be the first time since 1960 that both guilds have walked out simultaneously.
Two of the actors' big demands are higher pay and safeguards against unauthorised use of their images through artificial intelligence (AI).
A statement from SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher called the studio's response to actors' demands "insulting and disrespectful," claiming they had been "stonewalled completely" on certain issues.
She said: "SAG-AFTRA negotiated in good faith and was eager to reach a deal that sufficiently addressed performer needs, but the AMPTP's responses to the union's most important proposals have been insulting and disrespectful of our massive contributions to this industry.
"The companies have refused to meaningfully engage on some topics and on others completely stonewalled us. Until they do negotiate in good faith, we cannot begin to reach a deal. We have no choice but to move forward in unity, and on behalf of our membership, with a strike recommendation to our National Board. The board will discuss the issue this morning and will make its decision."
President Joe Biden said this week that Ukraine is not yet ready to join NATO, calling the prospect of its membership in the international alliance “premature” amid its war with Russia.
“I don’t think it’s ready for membership in NATO,” Biden said in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that aired Sunday. “I don’t think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war.”
Biden added that Ukraine still has work to do to meet all of the qualifications for membership, cautioning the process is “going to take a while.” But he reiterated his pledge to provide the country with security guarantees in the interim, stressing that the U.S. would ensure Ukraine has the weaponry it needs to defend itself against Russia.
Biden’s vow came shortly after he agreed to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, overriding humanitarian concerns about the bombs by arguing that it was crucial to provide Kyiv with more artillery. The president on Sunday left for an international trip that will include the NATO summit in Lithuania, where he will seek to rally the organization’s support for Ukraine.
“It was a very difficult decision on my part,” Biden said of approving the cluster munitions. “But the main thing is, they either have the weapons to stop the Russians now from their — keep them from stopping the Ukrainian offensive through these areas, or they don’t. And I think they needed them.”
Biden during the interview also expressed optimism that Sweden would soon gain entry to NATO, and touted the alliance’s ability to remain united in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“I believe Putin has had an overwhelming objective from the time he launched 185,000 troops into Ukraine, and that was to break NATO,” he said. “So holding NATO together is really critical.”
During the wide-ranging discussion, Biden also was asked about the White House’s posture toward China. The president said he was confident the U.S. could reach a “stable point” with its international rival and would work toward establishing a “working relationship with China that benefits them and us.” But he also indicated he believes that China’s overarching goal is to become the largest economic and military power in the world.
“China has enormous potential capacity, but enormous problems as well,” he said. “I think there’s a way we can work through this.”
Biden warned Chinese President Xi Jinping against providing more support to Russia in its war against Ukraine, he added, emphasizing the economic blow if American corporations pulled out of the nation at the same pace as they have in Russia.
“I said, this is not a threat, this is an observation,” Biden said. “And if you notice, he has not gone full-bore on Russia.”
Biden also waved away questions about his age amid concerns over the ability for an 81-year-old seeking reelection to excite the Democratic base ahead of the 2024 election, arguing that he possesses “wisdom” only gained through his decades in politics.
“We’re uniting democracies,” he said, pointing to the continued support for Ukraine across Europe. “I think we have enormous opportunities. And I just want to finish the job, and I think we can do that in the next six years.”
President Joe Biden announced Friday that the United States has fully destroyed its decades-old stockpiles of chemical weapons, a milestone hailed as completing the elimination around the world of all known stores of the agents of mass death.
"Today, I am proud to announce that the United States has safely destroyed the final munition in that stockpile -- bringing us one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons," Biden said.
The United States was the last of the signatories of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which came into effect in 1997, to complete the task of destroying their "declared" stockpiles, though some states are believed to maintain secret reserves of chemical weapons.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons called the milestone a "historic success" of disarmament, more than one century after the uncontrolled use of chemical gases during World War I produced mass deaths and maiming of troops.
The US announcement meant that all the world's declared chemical weapons stockpiles were "verified as irreversibly destroyed," the OPCW said.
"I congratulate all States Parties, and the United States of America in this instance, on this major achievement for the international community," said OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias.
Biden said it was the first time "an entire category of declared weapons of mass destruction" has been verified as destroyed.
- Lethal mustard gas, sarin, VX - The announcement came after the Blue Grass Army Depot, a US Army facility in Kentucky, recently completed its four-year job of eliminating some 500 tonnes of lethal chemical agents, the last batch held by the US military.
The US had held for decades stores of artillery projectiles and rockets that contained mustard gases, VX and sarin nerve agents, and blister agents.
Such weapons were condemned widely after their use with horrendous results in World War I.
They were not used significantly in World War II, but many countries retained and further developed them in the years afterward.
The most prominent use since the 1970s was Iraq's nerve gas attacks on Iran during their war in the 1980s.
More recently, the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons on opponents during the country's civil war, according to the OPCW and other bodies.
- Doubly dangerous work - The Chemical Weapons Convention, agreed in 1993 and coming into effect in 1997, gave the United States until September 30 this year to destroy all of its chemical agents and munitions.
Other signatories to the pact had already eliminated their holdings -- altogether some 72,000 tonnes since the treaty came into effect, according to the OPCW.
According to the US Arms Control Association, in 1990 the United States held nearly 28,600 tonnes of chemical weapons, the world's second largest store after Russia.
With the ebb of the Cold War the superpowers and other countries joined together to negotiate the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Eliminating the stockpiles, doubly dangerous because it means neutralizing not only the chemical agents but also the munitions they are contained in, was a slow process.
Russia completed destroying its declared stockpiles in 2017.
By April 2022, the US had less than 600 tonnes left to destroy.
Biden called for continued vigilance to ensure all chemical weapons around the world are destroyed and for the four countries that haven't signed or ratified the treaty -- Egypt, Israel, North Korea and South Sudan -- to do so.
Currently four signatory countries are considered not in compliance on suspicion of having undeclared stockpiles: Myanmar, Iran, Russia and Syria.
"Russia and Syria should return to compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention and admit their undeclared programs, which have been used to commit brazen atrocities and attacks," Biden said.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva criticised the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti as the new Brazil football coach, claiming he would be better off sorting out the Italian national team's problems.
Italian Ancelotti, who has won the Champions League a record four times as a coach, will take charge prior to the Copa America in the United States next June after honouring the final year of his contract with Real Madrid.
"I admire Ancelotti, but he has never been Italy's national coach," Lula told TV station SBT on Thursday.
"Why does he not resolve Italy's problem, who did not qualify for the 2022 World Cup?" added the 77-year-old.
In the interim, Fluminense coach Fernando Diniz will be in charge of Brazil for their opening 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
"I am a fan of Diniz," said Lula. "He has the personality, the creativity and it is he who commands the dressing room."
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has opted for 64-year-old Ancelotti believing one of the most successful coaches in European football history will deliver them their sixth World Cup trophy but first since 2002.
The desire is even greater after bitter rivals Argentina won in Qatar last December.
Brazil were knocked out in the quarterfinals and coach Tite stepped down.
"It is very easy to coach a club in Europe with 11 international players in the team," said Lula.
"What is difficult is to come here and to coach Corinthians (who are in danger of relegation from the top league).
"I would like to see if Ancelotti did a good job with Corinthians."
Lula is pessimistic that no matter who the coach is they will have a tough time in the World Cup qualifiers with the present generation of Brazil players.
"The problem is not Diniz, the problem is we do not possess today the level of players we had in previous eras," said Lula.
Ancelotti will be the fourth non-Brazilian to coach Brazil. The last was Argentine Filpo Nunez who was in charge for one game in 1965.
The FIFA Women's World Cup which will be hosted by two Countries for the first time will be holding in Australia and New Zealand from 20th July – 20 August 2023. Nigeria is in Group B alongside heavyweights Canada & co-host Australia with the Republic of Ireland completing the group.
The Super Falcons' first game will be against Canada on July 21st at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
In an interview with The Whistle Podcast, Randy Waldrum, the Head Coach has fired a salvo at the NFF, this time in more brutal fashion.
Carlo Ancelotti will become the head coach of Brazil from June 2024! Fernando Diniz has been hired as head coach of Brazil's national team on a 12-month contract 🇧🇷
Executives at the Brazilian Football Confederation have indicated the intention is to wait a season and then bring in Ancelotti to lead the team into the 2026 World Cup 🏆
Real Madrid's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti is set to become the first foreigner in almost 60 years to coach Brazil's national team the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said on Tuesday.
Ancelotti, 64, has a season remaining on his contract with Real, which he has said he would like to honour, and will take over Brazil in time for the Copa America, in the United States from June 2024.
The Brazilian federation had announced earlier Fluminense's Fernando Diniz would take charge of the team for the coming year.
"This guy (Diniz) is a coach who has a nice style of play," Ednaldo Rodriguez president of the CBF told CNN Brazil.
"His style is similar to the coach whop will assume the role at the Copa America, Ancelotti."
The prize football-mad Brazil will want one of the most successful coaches in European football to deliver is a sixth World Cup trophy in 2026. It would be the first since 2002.
The 2022 edition was especially galling for the Brazilians as they exited in the quarter-finals, beaten by Croatia, and their bitter continental rivals Argentina lifted the trophy.
Tite brought down the curtain on his six years in charge following their elimination.
- 'Decent person' -
Ancelotti's agreement to take over Brazil comes after months of negotiations with Rodrigues, who had the Italian at the top of the list.
Ancelotti had said the Real job would be his last after almost 30 years as a coach, but one of the most glamorous and challenging jobs in football brought a change of mind.
Brazilian hierarchy said they were attracted not only by Ancelotti's record of winning trophies but also by his laid-back character and ability to develop close relations with the players.
"We went after him not only due to his record, but also because he is a decent person," Rodrigues told beIN Sports recently.
"Those who have worked with him say that he is open, cultured, and he appreciates Brazilian football."
One moment his love of Brazilian football was put on hold was when he was assistant coach to Arrigo Sacchi as Italy lost to Brazil on penalties in the 1994 World Cup final.
With Brazil, Ancelotti will have some familiar faces from Real Madrid.
Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Eder Militao have been key players in his latest spell with Real which has resulted in six trophies.
"He is the best coach in the world," said Vinicius, who has developed under Ancelotti and formed a close bond with the coach who supported the 22-year-old Brazilian when he was the target of racist abuse last season.
Ancelotti will be the fourth non-Brazilian to coach Brazil. The last was Argentine Filpo Nunez who was in charge for one game in 1965.
Ancelotti has won the Champions League twice with both AC Milan and Real Madrid.
He has won domestic league titles with Real and Milan, in England with Chelsea, in Germany with Bayern Munich and in France with Paris Saint-Germain.
Ramon Menezes has been in charge of the Brazil team since Tite stood down on a caretaker basis but will now hand over to Diniz.
"Fernando Diniz will lead the Brazilian team for a year, and I'm sure he will do it with great competence, as always during his professional career," said Rodrigues in a video statement.
Diniz, 49, will be in charge of the first six South American qualifying games for the 2026 World Cup this year, including the clashes with world champions Argentina and Uruguay.
"It is a dream, an honour and a huge pride to serve the national team," Diniz said.
Brazil will start their qualifying campaign in September at home against Bolivia and then away against Peru.
Instagram’s highly anticipated Twitter rival is expected to launch Thursday, according to a listing on Apple Inc.’s App Store.
The app, called Threads, will function similarly to Twitter, with text-based posts that can be liked, commented on and shared, according to examples of screenshots on the App Store listing. People will be able to follow the accounts they follow on Instagram and keep their same user name. Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms Inc., declined to comment.
With the launch, Meta is seeking to take advantage Twitter’s problems since the social media service was taken over last year by Elon Musk. Among the issues that have angered users, and spurred them to seek alternative platforms, are Twitter’s loosening content moderation policies, and requiring a monthly subscription fee to be labeled as an authentic account. There are also problems with site reliability. On Saturday, Twitter began temporarily limiting the number of posts users can see.
Twitter’s existing rivals, such as Mastodon and Bluesky, are more nascent and haven’t yet built their networks to be viable alternatives. Instagram has been touting its forthcoming app with various celebrities and influencers for months, aiming to generate a buzz when it launches.
The app is available for “pre-order” and is “expected” on Thursday, according to the App Store listing. There, Threads is described as “where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today, to what’ll be trending tomorrow.”
Meta has a long history of borrowing ideas from competitors — and it hasn’t always worked out. But when the company’s copycat products succeed, they can catch on quickly. The feature for posts that disappear after 24 hours, called “stories,” was copied from Snapchat in 2016. Now, far more people use that format on Meta’s apps than use Snapchat. Meta more recently made a short-video product similar to TikTok, called “reels.” In earnings calls, company executives have said reels are driving growth on both Instagram and Facebook.
More than 3 billion people daily used at least one of Meta’s apps — Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — in the first quarter of the year, the company reported in April.
Cornel Osigwe is the Head of Corporate Communications at Innoson Group.
The girl I met doesn't have the brain and capacity to manipulate her result. There is more to this story. A proper investigation needs to be done. Abeg let the poor breath.
We're doing our independent investigation on the issue of manipulation, if we find that the girl in question willfully manipulated her result, we shall withdraw the scholarship, but if we observe she is innocent of the accusation, then the scholarship stands, whether she is the best or not.
It is strange to us because we did our independent verification and found out that Mmesoma Ejikeme actually scored 362, when we printed her result.
When it was claimed that she was the highest, we waited for JAMB to come and clarify it, but they did not and the media was publishing that she was the highest.
We also waited to see if there was going to be a counter claim, but since there was no counter claim, we awarded her the scholarship as the highest scorer.
On Sunday, it was reported that JAMB claimed that she manipulated her result. We are doing our independent investigation as we speak to know if she actually manipulated her result or the fault was from JAMB.
If we find out that the girl actually manipulated her result for obvious reasons, we will withdraw the scholarship.
But if we find out that the mistake was actually from JAMB; that they were the ones that awarded her the score, or probably did a review and found out that her actual score was 249, then our scholarship will still stand.
A panel of judges voted Friday to render far-right former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro ineligible to run for office again after concluding that he abused his power and cast unfounded doubts on the country’s electronic voting system.
The decision, once voting of all judges concludes, will forbid Bolsonaro from running until 2030, upending the 68-year-old’s political future and likely erasing any chance for him to regain power.
Four of the seven judges on the nation’s highest electoral court agreed that Bolsonaro abused his authority by using government communication channels to promote his campaign and sowing doubts about the vote.
“This decision will end Bolsonaro’s chances of being president again, and he knows it,” said Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo. “After this, he will try to stay out of jail, elect some of his allies to keep his political capital, but it is very unlikely he will ever return to the presidency.”
The case focused on a July 18, 2022, meeting where Bolsonaro used government staffers, the state television channel and the presidential palace in Brasilia to tell foreign ambassadors that the country’s electronic voting system was rigged.
“Bolsonaro abused the powers of his office by calling the meeting: check. He used government staffers and buildings with an electoral objective: check. And he mixed the country’s interests with those of his campaign: check,” said Márlon Reis, an electoral law expert who helped draft the ineligibility provisions.
Bolsonaro will be able to appeal to the Supreme Court. He also faces other legal troubles, including criminal investigations.
Speaking Thursday to reporters in Brasilia, Bolsonaro was defiant.
“This is an injustice against me, my God in heaven! Show me something concrete I have done against democracy,” he said. “Perhaps my crime was doing the right thing for four years.”
The Indiana Supreme Court ruled Friday that the state's abortion ban doesn't violate the state constitution, removing a major hurdle to enforcing the ban Republicans approved last summer.
The court’s decision overturns a county judge’s ruling that the ban likely violates the state constitution’s privacy protections, which she said are stronger than those found in the U.S. Constitution. That judge’s order has allowed abortions to continue in Indiana since September, despite the ban.
An opinion from three of the court’s five justices said that while Indiana's constitution provides some protection of abortion rights, the “General Assembly otherwise retains broad legislative discretion for determining whether and the extent to which to prohibit abortions.”
All five Indiana Supreme Court justices were appointed by Republican Governors.
Although the court's decision strikes down the injunction blocking the ban, it wasn't immediately clear how soon the ban would take effect. The justices returned the case to the county judge for further action.
Indiana’s abortion ban also faces a separate court challenge over claims it violates the state’s 2015 religious freedom law signed by GOP then-Gov. Mike Pence.
Indiana became the first state to enact tighter abortion restrictions, acting in August, after the U.S. Supreme Court’s eliminated federal protections by overturning Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
Most Republican-controlled states have enacted tighter abortion restrictions since U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last summer. All the restrictions have been challenged in court.
In the past year, judges in Arizona, Iowa and South Carolina have ruled that the bans are not permissible under the state constitutions.
Besides Indiana, enforcement of restrictions are on hold as courts decide the cases in Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah and Wyoming. In North Dakota, lawmakers adopted a different ban since to replace the one that was blocked. And in South Carolina, another ban has been put into place – and it, too, has been put on hold by a court.
Democratic-led states, such as Indiana’s neighbors of Illinois and Michigan, have mostly taken steps to protect abortion access.
The Indiana ban would eliminate the licenses for all seven abortion clinics in the state and ban the vast majority of abortions even in the earliest stages of a pregnancy. It includes exceptions allowing abortions at hospitals in cases of rape or incest before 10 weeks post-fertilization; to protect the life and physical health of the mother; and if a fetus is diagnosed with a lethal anomaly.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which represented Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinic operators, argued before the Supreme Court in January that the state constitution’s liberty protections provide a right to privacy and to make decisions on whether to have children.
The state attorney general’s office countered that Indiana had laws against abortion when its current constitution was drafted in 1851 and that the county judge’s ruling would wrongly create an abortion right.
A separate court challenge to the ban is ongoing as another county judge in December sided with residents who claim it violates the state’s religious freedom law, which Republican legislators pushed through in 2015 and sparked a widespread national backlash as critics argued it allowed discrimination against gay people.
The state Supreme Court in January turned down a request from the attorney general’s office that it immediately take up the religious freedom lawsuit. The state’s intermediate Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments over that lawsuit on Sept. 12.
Marion County Judge Heather Welch in December agreed with five residents who hold Jewish, Muslim and spiritual faiths and who argued that the ban would violate their religious rights on when they believe abortion is acceptable. For now it only directly affects those plaintiffs — legal experts say anyone else claiming religious protections of their abortion rights would need their own court order.
Supreme Court STRIKES DOWN Biden's $400 billion student loan forgiveness: Justices rule president does not have authority to cancel debt of millions in another landmark ruling
The Supreme Court has struck down President Joe Biden's $400 billion student loans forgiveness plan in another bombshell decision.
The court ruled against Biden's controversial plan to wipe out debts for around 20 million Americans, which the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked in October.
The landmark ruling on the final day of the Supreme Court's term comes 24 hours after the justices decided colleges could no longer use race as a consideration in admissions in a case that sparked backlash from Biden.
The plan would have eradicated $10,000 in debt for borrowers earning less than $125,000 and up to $20,000 for those with Pell Grants.
But it was challenged by six Republican states and two borrowers who argued Biden should have sought approval from Congress for a plan using substantial taxpayer funds.
Millions of Americans haven't had to repay their loans for three-and-a-half years because of a COVID pandemic freeze. Borrowers will have to restart their payments in October, and interest will start recurring in September. https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/06/30/14/72714799-12251033-image-m-2_1688132890982.jpg Biden's loan forgiveness has been a cornerstone of his presidency, and the ruling will be a massive blow to the administration that has fought against the piling debt.
For months, Biden's student loan blueprint has been at the center of a legal tussle with six Republican-controlled US states and two borrowers.
Iowa, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina said he had no legal authority to go ahead with the plan without the sign-off from Congress first.
Biden used the post-9/11 HEROES Act as justification for the program. It stipulates the Department of Education can waive student debt during a national emergency.
The COVID national emergency in the eyes of the government came to an end in May.
The program has been on hold since November after a federal appeals court in St. Louis issued an injunction, pausing applications and payouts.
That forced the U.S. government to seek the intervention of the Supreme Court justices.
The six conservative justices expressed their skepticism of the plan during oral arguments in February, and gave an early indication of their decision.
Announced last August, the administration vowed to cancel some $10,000 in federal student debt for students earning less than $125,000.
Officials also promised to axe an additional $10,000 for students who received what are known as Pell Grants.
These financial aid payments are awarded to students with exceptional financial needs.
But most Republicans say those who took out loans need to repay them without a bailout.
The Supreme Court has struck down President Joe Biden's $400 billion student loans forgiveness plan in another bombshell decision.
The court ruled against Biden's controversial plan to wipe out debts for around 20 million Americans, which the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked in October.
The landmark ruling on the final day of the Supreme Court's term comes 24 hours after the justices decided colleges could no longer use race as a consideration in admissions in a case that sparked backlash from Biden.
The plan would have eradicated $10,000 in debt for borrowers earning less than $125,000 and up to $20,000 for those with Pell Grants.
But it was challenged by six Republican states and two borrowers who argued Biden should have sought approval from Congress for a plan using substantial taxpayer funds.
Millions of Americans haven't had to repay their loans for three-and-a-half years because of a COVID pandemic freeze. Borrowers will have to restart their payments in October, and interest will start recurring in September.
Biden's loan forgiveness has been a cornerstone of his presidency, and the ruling will be a massive blow to the administration that has fought against the piling debt.
For months, Biden's student loan blueprint has been at the center of a legal tussle with six Republican-controlled US states and two borrowers.
Iowa, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina said he had no legal authority to go ahead with the plan without the sign-off from Congress first.
Biden used the post-9/11 HEROES Act as justification for the program. It stipulates the Department of Education can waive student debt during a national emergency.
The COVID national emergency in the eyes of the government came to an end in May.
The program has been on hold since November after a federal appeals court in St. Louis issued an injunction, pausing applications and payouts.
That forced the U.S. government to seek the intervention of the Supreme Court justices.
The six conservative justices expressed their skepticism of the plan during oral arguments in February, and gave an early indication of their decision.
Announced last August, the administration vowed to cancel some $10,000 in federal student debt for students earning less than $125,000.
Officials also promised to axe an additional $10,000 for students who received what are known as Pell Grants.
These financial aid payments are awarded to students with exceptional financial needs.
But most Republicans say those who took out loans need to repay them without a bailout.
They have also argued that taxes paid by Americans who didn't attend college shouldn't be used to fund those who did.
Donald Trump froze student loan payments in March 2020 as Covid-19 spread worldwide.
They are set to restart at the end of August as part of the recent debt ceiling deal between the administration and Congress.
Last week, the U.S. Senate passed a motion to repeal Biden's loan forgiveness plan, but the president has already said he will veto it.
Over 26 million people have already applied for the program, with as many as 16 million having already been provisionally approved for debt relief, according to the Department of Education.
Student debt is the second-largest kind of consumer debt in the U.S. behind mortgages and other home loans.
Nationwide, 45 million Americans owe $1.6 trillion in borrowed cash that they used to pay for their college education.
Swedish police said they have granted a permit for a protest where the organiser plans to burn a Koran outside Stockholm's main mosque on Wednesday, the start of the Muslim three-day Eid al-Adha holiday.
The police said in the written decision that the security risks associated with the burning "were not of a nature that could justify, under current laws, a decision to reject the request."
The green light came two weeks after a Swedish appeals court rejected the police's decision to deny permits for two demonstrations in Stockholm which were to include Koran burnings.
Police had at the time cited security concerns, following a burning of the Muslim holy book outside Turkey's embassy in January which led to weeks of protests, calls for a boycott of Swedish goods and further stalled Sweden's NATO membership bid.
Muslims are outraged by the destruction of their holy text and similar acts have in the past sparked violent protests.
Police argued the January protest had made Sweden "a higher priority target for attacks".
Turkey, which has blocked the country's NATO bid due to what it perceives as Stockholm's failure to crack down on Kurdish groups it considers "terrorists", took particular offence that police had authorised the January demonstration.
Police then banned two subsequent requests for protests involving Koran burnings -- one by a private individual and one by an organisation, outside the Turkish and Iraqi embassies in Stockholm in February.
The appeals court in mid-June ruled that police were wrong to ban those, saying "the order and security problems" referenced by the police did not have "a sufficiently clear connection to the planned event or its immediate vicinity."
- 'Burn it' - In granting the new protest permit, police said that "in light of this judgement," the "security risks and consequences" it expected in connection with the protests were not enough to warrant them denying the request.
The request for the Wednesday demonstration was made by the same private individual who had his previous request blocked.
"I want to protest in front of the large mosque in Stockholm, and I want to express my opinion about the Koran... I will tear up the Koran and burn it," Salwan Momika, 37, wrote in the application, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.
Speaking to newspaper Aftonbladet in April, Momika -- who fled to Sweden from Iraq -- said his intention had not been to sabotage the Swedish NATO bid, and had considered waiting to stage his protest until after Sweden had joined the alliance.
"I don't want to harm this country that received me and preserved my dignity," Momika told the newspaper.
Police said Wednesday they had called in reinforcements from across the country to maintain order.
An AFP correspondent said several police cars were already parked near the mosque early Wednesday.
Swedish police had granted a permit for the January protest, which was organised by Rasmus Paludan, a Swedish-Danish activist who has already been convicted for racist abuse.
Paludan also provoked rioting in Sweden last year when he went on a tour of the country and publicly burned copies of Islam's holy book.
Swedish politicians have criticised Koran burnings, but have also adamantly defended the right to freedom of expression.
PUTIN IN APPEAL TO RUSSIANS: THANK YOU FOR RESISTANCE, UNITY AND PATRIOTISM
An armed rebellion would have been suppressed in any case, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an address."
“I emphasize that from the very beginning of the events, the most necessary decisions were immediately taken to neutralize the threat that had arisen, to protect the constitutional order, the life and security of our citizens. An armed rebellion would have been suppressed in any case,” Putin said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, during his address, suggested that the Wagner fighters conclude a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense, return to relatives and friends, or leave for Belarus.
"I thank those soldiers and commanders of the Wagner group who made the only right decision - they did not commit fratricidal bloodshed, they stopped at the last line. Today you have the opportunity to continue serving Russia by signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense or other law enforcement agencies, or return to to their relatives and friends. Whoever wants to can go to Belarus. The promise I made will be fulfilled," Putin said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed gratitude to President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko for his contribution to resolving the situation with an attempted rebellion in Russia.
“I am grateful to the President of Belarus Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko for his efforts and contribution to the peaceful resolution of the situation. But I repeat, it was the patriotic mood of the citizens, the consolidation of the entire Russian society that played a decisive role these days. This support allowed us to overcome the most difficult trials for our Motherland together. Thank you for this. Thank you," Putin said during his address.
On Saturday night in Rostov-on-Don, the headquarters of the Southern Military District was captured by the Wagner PMC. This happened against the backdrop of statements by Yevgeny Prigozhin about allegedly inflicted by the Russian Armed Forces missile and bomb attacks on the camps of PMC "Wagner" - this was refuted by both the Ministry of Defense and the FSB. A criminal case was opened against Prigozhin for organizing an armed rebellion. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the actions of the rebels a criminal adventure, a stab in the back of Russia and a betrayal, which led to exorbitant ambitions and personal interests.
Later, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, in agreement with Putin, held talks with Prigozhin, after which Lukashenko's press service reported that the head of the PMC accepted his proposal to stop the Wagner movement in Russia and take further steps to de-escalate. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that Prigozhin would leave for Belarus, and the criminal case would be dropped. The Kremlin said that the guarantee of this is the word of the President of Russia.
Wagner fighters are patriots who were used and deceived.
The courage and self-sacrifice of the fallen heroes-pilots saved Russia from tragic consequences, said Russian President Vladimir Putin."
"The courage and self-sacrifice of the fallen heroes-pilots saved Russia from tragic, devastating consequences," Putin said, addressing the Russians.
Any blackmail and confusion are doomed to failure, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an address to the Russians."
"This civic solidarity has shown that any blackmail, an attempt to create internal unrest is doomed to failure," he said.
Message from the press service of the President of the Republic of Belarus.
This morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin informed his Belarusian counterpart about the situation in the south of Russia with the private military company Wagner. The heads of state agreed on joint actions.
In the development of the agreements, the President of Belarus, having additionally clarified the situation through his own channels, in agreement with the President of Russia, held negotiations with the head of the PMC, Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Negotiations lasted throughout the day. As a result, they came to agreements on the inadmissibility of unleashing a bloodbath on the territory of Russia.
Yevgeny Prigozhin accepted the proposal of the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, to stop the movement of armed personnel of the Wagner company on the territory of Russia and to take further steps to de-escalate the tension.
At the moment, on the table is an absolutely convenient and acceptable solution to the situation, with guarantees of safety for the fighters of the Wagner PMC.
JAMB Policy Meeting on Admissions into Tertiary Institutions approves Minimum Tolerable Score for 2023 admissions: University -140, Polytechnic -100, Colleges of Education -100
A high-level African delegation was preparing to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, a day after its calls for talks between Moscow and Kyiv were rebuffed by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
The diplomatic team had gone to Kyiv on Friday to voice the concerns of a continent that has suffered from the fallout of Russia’s invasion — in particular rising grain prices — with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa insisting “there should be peace through negotiations”.
But Zelensky ruled out that possibility during a joint press conference with the delegates, telling reporters: “I clearly said several times at our meeting that to allow any negotiations with Russia now that the occupier is on our land is to freeze the war, to freeze pain and suffering”.
Shortly after the African leaders’ arrival, air raid sirens sounded across the country as Russian missiles were detected, forcing the delegates to take shelter in the capital.
Zelensky said the strike on Kyiv during the delegation’s visit showed that Putin either did not control his army, or was “irrational”.
Ramaphosa, however, took the barrage as evidence that both sides needed to stop fighting.
“It is precisely that type of event that we saw today… that makes us call for de-escalation,” Ramaphosa said, quoting Nelson Mandela several times on the need for peace.
In a statement, Zelensky said he had called on the leaders to set out their views on how to stop the “crimes committed by Russia”, and how to work towards food security.
“But first of all, we must restore the full force of the UN Charter and stop this brutal Russian aggression and free our land,” he added.
The African delegation had gone first to Bucha, a town outside the capital that has become synonymous with alleged war crimes carried out by Moscow.
The group includes four presidents: Ramaphosa, Senegal’s Macky Sall, Zambia’s Hakainde Hichilema and Comoros’ Azali Assoumani, who also currently heads the African Union.
The leaders of Uganda, Egypt and Congo-Brazzaville pulled out of the visit at the last moment and sent representatives instead.
The meeting came as Ukraine announced gains in a new counteroffensive, but Putin claimed on Friday that Kyiv’s forces “stand no chance” in the sectors where fighting has intensified.
– ‘Clear message’ –
Following Friday’s attack on Kyiv, the Ukrainian Air Force said it had shot down 12 missiles, including six hypersonic ones.
There was no reported damage inside the city, but seven people including two children were wounded, the regional police said.
“With what happened today, it’s very obvious also to the African leaders how sincere Putin is about stopping the conflict,” said Peter Stano, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
Ukrainian officials were also quick to call attention to the strike.
“Russian missiles are a message to Africa: Russia wants more war, not peace,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
The African leaders were set to meet Putin in the northwestern Russian city of Saint Petersburg on Saturday.
“In our view it is important to listen very carefully to what both countries have to say, and tomorrow we are now going to listen to President Putin,” Ramaphosa said.
Japanese lawmakers on Friday adopted legislation to raise the country’s age of sexual consent to 16 from 13, an age limit that had remained unchanged since 1907 and was so low that it made Japan an outlier in the developed world.
The change came as a part of an overhaul of Japan’s laws on sex crimes. The new laws were prompted by growing public outcry over repeated acquittals of sexual abusers and increasing instances of people taking sexually exploitative photos and videos without consent — including footage of girls.
Advocates of stricter sex-crimes laws welcomed the changes, but said more needed to be done to ensure greater protection of women and girls in Japan.
“It is still far from the reality of sex crimes and only really scratches the surface. I really hope that the laws will catch up to the reality imminently,” said Ikuko Ishida, founder of sexual violence survivors group Be Brave Japan.
The changes are a part of a gradual modernization of laws that protect victims of sexual crimes. In 2017, Japan revised its Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure for the first time in more than a century to clarify what constitutes rape and to remove the stipulation that only women can be victims of forced sexual assault.
Japan is a male-dominated society with vast underrepresentation of women in positions of power. Its government — run by a mostly older, conservative and elite group of men — has been slow to adopt changes that concern the welfare of women and girls.
An opposition lawmaker resigned in 2021 after public outrage over his comment that it would be “strange” if he were arrested for having sex with a 14-year-old “even if there was consent.”
Human rights advocates and experts say Japan’s weak laws on sexual crimes, especially when it comes to protecting the youth, have exacerbated the fetishization of young Japanese.
“The very fact that the age of consent was set at 13 created the societal mood that teenagers starting at 13 can be exploited sexually and be viewed sexually,” said Hiroko Goto, a law professor and expert on sexual violence at Chiba University.
“It has created a culture and mood where everyone assumes that teenagers have the ability to make decisions around sexual consent, and therefore people don’t question their sexual exploitation,” she said.
Japan’s military ignored her sexual assault claims, so she went public
At 13, Japan had the lowest age of consent among the Group of Seven advanced economies and among the lowest in the developed world. The age of consent is 16 in Canada and most states in the United States; 15 in France; and 14 in Germany and Italy.
Japan’s laws regarding sexual consent came under the spotlight in 2019, when a string of defendants charged with sexual crimes was acquitted.
The most shocking case was in Nagoya, where a man was found not guilty after raping his daughter when she was between the ages of 14 and 19. Prosecutors had to prove that the daughter was unable to resist and therefore raped, but the court rejected their argument.
Hundreds of people protested the acquittal, leading to a nationwide movement of “flower demonstrations” expressing solidarity with sexual assault survivors and demanding changes to sex crimes laws.
Prosecutors appealed and the man was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Advocates also noted that had the girl been younger than 13 when she was first sexually assaulted, the court would have automatically ruled her case as rape in the first hearing.
Japanese law requires two conditions for a crime to be punishable as sexual assault: nonconsensual sex and proof that it was “significantly difficult to reject” the sexual attack, either due to physical violence or threat of such violence.
The second condition is ambiguous and burdensome on victims to prove that they could not reject the attack, proponents of change say. The requirements exclude people who could not outright repel an attack, such as when they are in shock or too frightened to fight back, or are being groomed by people close to them, such as family members or educators.
In Japan, abortion is legal — but most women need their husband’s consent
As a result of these requirements, Japan “still fails to meet international rape legislation standards,” according to Human Rights Now, an NGO based in Tokyo.
They called on Japan to clearly state that all nonconsensual intercourse is rape. But the changes adopted Friday fell short of such wording.
Japan has now identified eight scenarios that could be criminally punished as “forced sexual intercourse,” including sex with victims who could not reject sex because they were under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
“There is definitely progress we are seeing, but we are still disappointed,” said Chisato Kitanaka, member of a citizen’s group of lawyers and organizations supporting sexual crime survivors. “We recognize the fact that the reform this time has definitely broadened what constitutes a sex crime, but it still isn’t enough because it doesn’t clearly stipulate what we have been asking for, which is to say: ‘Sexual intercourse without consent is a crime.’”
Kitanaka and other experts say raising the age of consent from 13 is long overdue, but that the change also needs to come with a more robust effort to educate teens about consent as a part of their sexual education programs, which are currently focused on reproduction and biology.
Japan is hostile for LGBTQ people, but attitudes are shifting. Slowly.
“In Japan, there is a saying, ‘Don’t wake someone sleeping,’ which is often used around sex education — meaning that if someone isn’t sexually active, there is no need to teach them about sex and awaken them to it,” said Goto, the law professor.
Issues of consent may be addressed at the university level, but there are few opportunities to teach such curriculum to younger students, she said.
Other newly adopted changes include a crackdown on “photo voyeurism,” making it illegal nationwide for people to take, distribute or possess sexually exploitative photos taken without consent. Until now, such crimes were governed through local ordinance, which led to inconsistent enforcement.
Arrests of people taking surreptitious photography — including of underage athletes in changing rooms, up women’s skirts or at bathhouses — have increased in recent years. In 2021, there were 5,019 such cases, or about three times the figure in 2010, according to the National Police Agency.
Japan will now also penalize grooming and lift the statute of limitation for rape to 15 years from 10 years.
Banks being told that supply and demand will determine rates
Nigeria resets monetary policy after sacking central bank head
Nigeria is on the verge of making a decision to allow its local currency to trade more freely against the dollar, three people familiar with the matter said.
A discussion on letting the currency trade more freely is ongoing at the central bank, a senior banking official said, asking not to be named because the deliberations are private. Directives on the currency could be issued later today or latest tomorrow, the person said.
Nigeria has officially floated its naira currency after years of sticking with a hard peg that spooked investors and drained dollars from the economy.
Sources familiar with the matter told BusinessDay Wednesday that a market rate based on a willing buyer and a willing seller is currently being quoted by banks who sent out emails to some customers confirming the change.
The I & E window is now quoting a range of between N750 -N755/$.
The rate could go as high as N800 by the end of today, according to some bankers, who say the next move now should be to prioritise supply of dollars to support the naira float.
The 38-time Nigerian international played ten times and scored twice in the Premier Liga during an injury-hit 2022/23 season which saw him miss half of the season after undergoing surgery on his Achilles' tendons.
Russia has seen an exodus of foreign players over the past year since FIFA allowed foreign players playing in Russia to terminate their contracts after the Russian government launched their invasion into Ukraine.
An emergency call to temporarily change transfer regulations to allow those Russian-based players to find new clubs for the remainder of the 2021/22 season was also launched.
Moses’ current contract is set to expire next June meaning he’ll remain a Spartak player next season unless a deal can be made for his services. https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article30228973.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_Chelsea-v-Manchester-United-The-Emirates-FA-Cup-Final.jpg Victor Moses lifted the FA Cup with Chelsea in 2018 The Crystal Palace youth product was signed by Wigan Athletic in 2010 and was soon snapped up by Chelsea who he played 128 times for and registered 31 goal involvements whilst playing as either a winger or wing-back.
Silvio Berlusconi, the flamboyant media mogul whose reign as Italy’s longest-serving postwar prime minister was plagued by sex scandals and allegations of corruption, has died, according to Corriere della Sera. He was 86.
Berlusconi was hospitalized in Milan on Friday just three weeks after being released from a previous treatment. He had a history of heart ailments, including a malfunctioning valve that surgeons replaced in 2016, and was hospitalized for a lung infection in 2020 after contracting Covid-19.
A 5.0-magnitude earthquake has struck the South African city of Johannesburg, waking up people and causing damage to some buildings, seismologists and residents say. Shaking was widely felt across the city and the region as a whole.
The earthquake happened at 2:38 a.m. on Sunday and was centered just 6 kilometers south of Alberton, or roughly 16 kilometers southeast of central Johannesburg, according to seismologists.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.0, while South Africa’s Council for Geoscience put it at 4.7. The quake struck about 10 kilometers below the surface, which is very shallow.
People said the shaking was strong enough to wake them up and some homes suffered relatively minor damage, but there were no immediate reports of injuries. “The whole house shook for about 40 seconds,” one resident in Alberton said.
If you felt the earthquake, let us know where you are and what you experienced by sending us an email: tips@bnonews.com
This is the strongest tremor in the Johannesburg area since March 2019, when a 4.9-magnitude earthquake hit near Soweto. In 2017, a 5.2-magnitude earthquake hit near Stilfontein.
Archbishop of Canterbury's Statement on the Church of Uganda 09/06/2023
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Justin Welby, said today:
“I have recently written to my brother in Christ, the Primate of Uganda, Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba, to express my grief and dismay at the Church of Uganda’s support for the Anti-Homosexuality Act. I make this public statement with sorrow, and with continuing prayers for reconciliation between our churches and across the Anglican Communion. I am deeply aware of the history of colonial rule in Uganda, so heroically resisted by its people. But this is not about imposing Western values on our Ugandan Anglican sisters and brothers. It is about reminding them of the commitments we have made as Anglicans to treat every person with the care and respect they deserve as children of God.
“Within the Anglican Communion we continue to disagree over matters of sexuality, but in our commitment to God-given human dignity we must be united. I have reminded Archbishop Kaziimba that Anglicans around the world have long been united in our opposition to the criminalisation of homosexuality and LGBTQ people. Supporting such legislation is a fundamental departure from our commitment to uphold the freedom and dignity of all people. There is no justification for any province of the Anglican Communion to support such laws: not in our resolutions, not in our teachings, and not in the Gospel we share.
“The Church of Uganda, like many Anglican provinces, holds to the traditional Christian teaching on sexuality and marriage set out in Resolution i.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference. That resolution also expressed a commitment to minister pastorally and sensitively to all – regardless of sexual orientation – and to condemn homophobia. I have said to Archbishop Kaziimba that I am unable to see how the Church of Uganda’s support for the Anti-Homosexuality Act is consistent with its many statements in support of Resolution i.10.
“More recently, at the 2016 Primates Meeting in Canterbury, the Primates of the Anglican Communion "condemned homophobic prejudice and violence and resolved to work together to offer pastoral care and loving service irrespective of sexual orientation." We affirmed that this conviction arises out of our discipleship of Jesus Christ. We also “reaffirmed our rejection of criminal sanctions against same-sex attracted people” – and stated that “God's love for every human being is the same, regardless of their sexuality, and that the church should never by its actions give any other impression.”
“These statements and commitments are the common mind of the Anglican Communion on the essential dignity and value of every person. I therefore urge Archbishop Kaziimba and the Church of Uganda – a country and church I love dearly, and to which I owe so much – to reconsider their support for this legislation and reject the criminalisation of LGBTQ people. I also call on my brothers in Christ, the leadership of GAFCON and the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA), to make explicitly and publicly clear that the criminalisation of LGBTQ people is something that no Anglican province can support: that must be stated unequivocally.
“As disciples of Jesus Christ we are called to honour the image of God in every person, and I pray for Anglicans to be uncompromising and united in this calling.”
Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is stepping down as a member of parliament with immediate effect.
Johnson made the move as he hit out at an investigation by the House of Commons’ privileges committee, which is examining whether the ex-prime minister knowingly misled parliament about COVID rule-breaking parties held in Downing Street.
The resignation of Johnson, the Tory MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, will trigger a by-election in a seat he held in 2019 by 7,210 votes.
In a statement, Johnson said the committee — whose findings have yet to be published but which can recommend a suspension from the Commons — has “still not produced a shred of evidence that I knowingly or recklessly misled” MPs.
He added: “They know perfectly well that when I spoke in the Commons I was saying what I believed sincerely to be true and what I had been briefed to say, like any other minister. They know that I corrected the record as soon as possible; and they know that I and every other senior official and minister — including the current Prime Minister and then occupant of the same building, Rishi Sunak — believed that we were working lawfully together.
“I have been an MP since 2001. I take my responsibilities seriously. I did not lie, and I believe that in their hearts the Committee know it. But they have wilfully chosen to ignore the truth because from the outset their purpose has not been to discover the truth, or genuinely to understand what was in my mind when I spoke in the Commons.
“Their purpose from the beginning has been to find me guilty, regardless of the facts. This is the very definition of a kangaroo court.”
Ukraine is seeking to restore and strengthen its relations with Africa and will open 10 new embassies on the continent, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
Ukraine wants to build agricultural and military relations with Africa, Kuleba said on a conference call with African journalists on Wednesday.
Sports › Cristiano Ronaldo Tops List Of World’s Highest-paid Athletes In 2023 by HonNL(op): 12:50pm On Jul 14, 2023
