- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
- Vietnam president reiterates support for Cuba during official visit
- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
- Poverty rises to over 52 percent in Milei's Argentina
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
- Champagne houses abuzz over English sparkling wine
- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
- South Korea surges in UN innovation index
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala
- Floods threaten Niger's historic 'gateway to the desert'
- China economy hopes boost global equities
- Ubisoft shares sink after 'Assassin's Creed' delay
- German economy to shrink again in 2024: think tanks
- Hong Kong's New World Development replaces CEO Adrian Cheng
- Swiss central bank cuts rate again amid strong franc worries
- Germany's BASF to focus on 'core units' in major overhaul
- China admits economy facing new 'problems', vows to fix property sector
- Stock markets boosted by China hopes, tech rally
Judge OKs adjustment plan to end Puerto Rico bankruptcy
A federal judge on Tuesday approved a plan to restructure Puerto Rico's public debt, which will allow the US territory to end the bankruptcy process it declared almost five years ago.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain gave her approval to the fiscal adjustment project approved by the island's authorities last October.
The decision will reduce the territory's debt by nearly 80 percent and save it more than $50 billion in debt service payments, the federal board that has overseen Puerto Rico's accounts since 2016 said on Twitter.
According to the body's director, Natalie Jaresko, the plan reduces claims against the government from $33 billion to just over $7.4 billion.
The governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, said the judicial decision "represents a great step for the economic recovery" of the island.
"We are facing a transcendental moment in which the Government of Puerto Rico is on its way to ending the bankruptcy process," he wrote on Twitter.
Since 2005, Puerto Rico has endured strict austerity policies, imposed by successive governments to try to reduce its high debt.
In 2015, it declared it was unable to pay a debt of $70 billion, which led the US Congress to create a law called Promesa that allowed the island to file a bankruptcy petition in May 2017.
Four months later hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated the Caribbean island. After that, protests in 2019 caused the resignation of governor Ricardo Rosello, and in January 2020 an earthquake destroyed nearly 8,000 homes.
Ng.A.Adebayo--CPN