International

Students in America Lament Loan Burden

Published

3 years ago

July 1, 2023

Charles Flames

279 Views

Americans are currently lamenting about the student loan burden which some students are kicking against.

If the United States Supreme Court had not overruled President Joe Biden’s programme to cancel billions of dollars in student debt, Satra D. Taylor, who borrowed $40,000 to complete her studies, could have seen that amount reduced by half.

Now the 27-year-old – who used the loan to study at the University of Michigan, supplementing a scholarship and other financial aid – is back on the hook for the whole sum.

“We created this unjust, inequitable, expensive, higher education system and so we need to redress it,” she told AFP, standing before the high court.

Biden’s forgiveness programme was meant to lift more than $400 billion in student debt weighing down the lives of millions of lower and middle-income Americans.

Certain borrowers would have been eligible to receive $20,000 in cancellations, while the vast majority were eligible for $10,000.

But the court overruled the programme Friday, stating that given the large sum, the president had overstepped his powers.

“Any American who wants to pursue higher education should be able to do so,” Taylor said.

“We have students now who have not acquired the generational wealth to pay for their cost of college, it needs to be debt-free,” added Taylor, who works for the youth advocacy group Young Invincibles.

Taylor said she was not surprised given the Supreme Court’s conservative majority, which on Thursday banned the use of affirmative action in university admission policies.

Taylor, who is African American, said the loan forgiveness decision was a setback for Black and Latino students who “would have disproportionately benefitted from this relief.”

“This is absolutely not only a social justice issue, but also a racial equity issue.”
– ‘Future generations’ –
Mina Schultz, 37, who borrowed approximately $65,000 for her studies, emphasized the impact student debt has on the entire economy.

When the pandemic hit and student loan repayments were frozen, it was “a blessing,” she told AFP from outside the Supreme Court.

People were “able to contribute more to the economy” by spending money elsewhere, whether on food as prices surged due to inflation or on things like rent, the George Washington University graduate said.

Schultz would have benefited from $10,000 in debt cancellation, which “would have been really helpful.”

That sort of money “is a huge deal to a lot of people,” said Schultz, who will be forking over some $340 per month when payments resume in several months.

Enjoying a seemingly debt-free life during the repayment pause, she was able to move out of her studio apartment and into a one-bedroom unit.

Nearby, Shanna Hayes, 34, could not contain her emotion as she spoke before several cameras: Her debt, originally $130,000, now exceeds $150,000 due to compounding interest that has accrued over the past 11 years.

“I ask you to remember that the student debt crisis impacts our grandparents, parents… children and future generations,” she told the reporters.

AFP

Related Topics:American STudents Featured Lament Loan Burden

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International

News Analysis: Is Trump’s Board of Peace Replacing United Nations?

A leaked document says the Board of Peace’s charter will enter into force once three states formally agree to be bound by it, with member states given renewable three-year terms and permanent seats available to those contributing $1bn (£740m)

Published

7 hours ago

January 23, 2026

OCHEFA

25 Views

By OCHEFA, with agency reports

The UN was formed on October 24, 1945, after World War II, with 51 founding members.

Currently, there are 193 member countries in the United Nations (UN), representing nearly every sovereign state in the world.

Its main goals are to:- Maintain international peace and security- Promote human rights- Deliver humanitarian aid- Support sustainable development- Uphold international law .

However, 80 years after, US President Donald Trump launched on January 22, 2026, in Davos, Switzerland’ what he called “Trump’s Board of Peace ” – an international organisation aimed at resolving global conflicts.

The board’s primary goal is to promote peace, stability, and governance in areas affected by conflict, with an initial focus on the Gaza Strip.

Memberships:

Around 35 countries have joined, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Argentina, with permanent seats available for $1 billion.

Leadership:

Donald Trump serves as chairman, with powers to veto decisions and remove members.-

Executive Board: Includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff, Tony Blair, and Jared Kushner.

Concerns: Critics worry about Trump’s indefinite chairmanship, potential UN competition, and lack of Western allies’ participation.

The board’s formation is part of Trump’s Gaza peace plan, endorsed by the UN Security Council.

The charter declared the body as an international organisation mandated to carry out peace-building functions under international law, with Trump serving as chairman – and separately as the US representative – and holding authority to appoint executive board members and create or dissolve subsidiary bodies.

BBC reported that on Wednesday evening of January 22, Trump said that Vladimir Putin had also agreed to join – but the Russian president said his country was still studying the invitation.

The board was originally thought to be aimed at helping end the two-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and oversee reconstruction.

But its proposed charter does not mention the Palestinian territory and appears to be designed to supplant functions of the UN.

However, Saudi Arabia said that the group of Muslim-majority countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan and Qatar – endorsed the aim of consolidating a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, supporting reconstruction and advancing what they described as a “just and lasting peace”.

At the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Trump told reporters that Putin had accepted his invitation to join. “He was invited, he’s accepted. Many people have accepted,” Trump said.

Putin responded quickly, saying the invitation was under consideration, Reuters reported. He said Russia was prepared to provide $1bn from frozen Russian assets and that he viewed the board as primarily relevant to the Middle East.It is not clear how many countries have been invited to join Trump’s new body – Canada and the UK are among them, but have not yet publicly responded.

The UAE, Bahrain, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Morocco and Vietnam have already signed up.

On Wednesday the Vatican also confirmed Pope Leo has received an invitation.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said the Pope would need time to consider whether to take part.

However Slovenia’s Prime Minister Robert Golob said he had declined the invitation because the body “dangerously interferes with the broader international order”.

The charter declared the body as an international organisation mandated to carry out peace-building functions under international law, with Trump serving as chairman – and separately as the US representative – and holding authority to appoint executive board members and create or dissolve subsidiary bodies.

Last Friday, the White House named seven members of the founding Executive Board, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and former UK prime minister Tony Blair.

International

TikTok establishes joint venture to end US ban threat

The new structure responds to a law passed under US President Donald Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden that forced Chinese-owned ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US operations or face a ban in its biggest market.

Published

11 hours ago

January 23, 2026

OCHEFA

17 Views

TikTok has announced it has established a majority American-owned joint venture to operate its US business, allowing the company to avoid a ban over its Chinese ownership.

The video-sharing app is a global digital entertainment powerhouse but its mass appeal and links to China have raised concerns over privacy and national security.

The TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will serve more than 200 million users and 7.5 million businesses while implementing strict safeguards for data protection and content moderation, the company said.

AFP reported that the new structure responds to a law passed under US President Donald Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden that forced Chinese-owned ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US operations or face a ban in its biggest market.

Trump welcomed and claimed credit for the deal, but also thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for approving it.

“I am so happy to have helped in saving TikTok!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social late Thursday.

“It will now be owned by a group of Great American Patriots and Investors, the Biggest in the World, and will be an important Voice.”

“I would also like to thank President Xi, of China, for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal,” he added.

International

US vice president’s wife, Usha Vance, announces fourth pregnancy

The couple, who married in 2014, already have three children — Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel.

Published

3 days ago

January 21, 2026

OCHEFA

32 Views

FILE – Vice President JD Vance, right, and second lady Usha Vance.

Usha Vance, the wife of United States Vice President JD Vance, has announced that she is pregnant with her fourth child.

In a post on X on Tuesday, the second lady said she is expecting a baby boy in late July.

“Usha and the baby are doing well,” a statement posted on Tuesday to the second lady’s social media account read.

The couple, who married in 2014, already have three children — Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel.

Usha Vance, née Chilukuri, was born and raised in the working-class suburbs of San Diego, California, to a mechanical engineer father and a molecular biologist mother who moved to the US from Andhra Pradesh, India.