WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Wednesday lifted an injunction that required the US State department to continue making foreign aid payments, handing a victory to President Donald J. Trump.

In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said a lower court erred by ordering the Trump administration to restore foreign assistance payments previously approved by Congress.

Mr. Trump imposed a 90-day pause on all foreign aid on Jan. 20, the same day he was inaugurated for a second term in the White House. His executive order was followed by aggressive moves to gut the US Agency of International Development, the main US foreign aid agency, including by placing much of its staff on leave and exploring bringing the formerly independent agency under the State department.

Two nonprofit groups that receive federal funding, AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and Journalism Development Network, brought litigation alleging Mr. Trump’s funding freeze was unlawful.

US District Judge Amir Ali, an appointee of former President Joseph R. Biden, ordered the Trump administration to pay nearly $2 billion in outstanding aid to its humanitarian partners worldwide.

Writing for the two-judge majority, Circuit Judge Karen Henderson said the nonprofit groups “lack a cause of action to press their claims” and therefore failed to satisfy the requirements for an injunction.

Ms. Henderson wrote that only the US Government Accountability Office, a watchdog agency, could challenge the President’s efforts to withhold foreign aid funding.

Ms. Henderson, who was appointed to the appeals court by President George HW Bush, said the court was not addressing the question of whether Mr. Trump’s foreign aid freeze violated the US Constitution by infringing on the spending power of Congress.

Ms. Henderson’s opinion was joined by Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas, a Trump appointee.

Circuit Judge Florence Pan, a Biden appointee, wrote in a dissenting opinion that her colleagues were allowing the Trump administration to disregard federal law and the separation of powers outlined in the Constitution.

“The court’s acquiescence in and facilitation of the Executive’s unlawful behavior derails the carefully crafted system of checked and balanced power that serves as the greatest security against tyranny — the accumulation of excessive authority in a single Branch,” Ms. Pan wrote.

A spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget, the White House’s budget office, said the ruling stops “radical left dark money groups” from “maliciously interfering with the President’s ability to spend responsibly and to administer foreign aid in a lawful manner in alignment with his America First policies.” — Reuters

SINGAPORE/BEIJING — Every evening, staff at Beiyuan Grand Hotel in Beijing set up street stalls selling freshly-cooked gourmet dishes trying to make up for falling revenue indoors as Chinese consumers and firms cut spending on travel, conferences and banquets.

“These days, it’s not that people will come just because you lower prices or offer discounts — they simply don’t come at all,” said Anwen Xu, its sales director, explaining the need to find new income streams.

Beiyuan is among at least 15 high-end hotels nationwide hawking food outside in recent weeks, according to their social media and Chinese news sites. Their sales had been hit by weaker consumer demand, cuts to corporate and official travel budgets and a lack of banquet reservations, staff said.

Ms. Xu said Beijing’s moves earlier this year to reinforce austerity and discipline among public sector workers and party members, including bans on dining out in large groups and curbs on alcohol consumption, had also hurt business.

Analysts say the hotel hawkers are another sign that deflationary pressures risk becoming entrenched in the world’s second-largest economy, whose growth leans more on manufacturing and exports than consumption.

Consumer prices were flat year-on-year in July.

“These high-end dining establishments, especially five-star hotels, are having to make strategic adjustments to survive,” said He-Ling Shi, an economics professor at Monash University in Melbourne.

“What this phenomenon reflects is that China’s overall economic situation is now facing a fairly significant risk of deflation.”

Analysts also cite 3 yuan ($0.40) breakfasts and supermarkets offering flash sales as deflationary signs.

China’s catering revenue grew 0.9% year-on-year in June, down from 5.9% in May, official statistics showed. In the first half of 2025, accommodation industry profits in Beijing fell 92.9% year-on-year, according to government data.

“The food and beverage business has been under considerable pressure,” said Wei Zheng, a staff member at Grand Metropark Hotel in Beijing, which began selling street food on July 10.

“Many hotels have adopted methods such as selling outside to increase revenue,” added Wei, noting the hotel earns an extra few thousand yuan a day hawking braised duck, fish stew or crayfish.

Ms. Xu at Beiyuan said their outdoor bestseller was the hotel’s signature crispy roast pigeon at 38 yuan ($5.29) per bird, which is priced at 58 yuan on the menu inside.

Since opening on July 28, the stall has sold about 130 pigeons a day, compared to about 80 previously.

Within a few months, private dining-room use has fallen from full to about one-third, and average per-head spend inside has halved to around 100–150 yuan, Ms. Xu said.

She added the outdoor stall operates with a 10% to 15% margin, which she said was better than the average caterer but still not enough to fully offset the fall in business indoors.

‘HESITANT’ CONSUMERS
Yaling Jiang, founder of research consultancy ApertureChina, said consumers “continue to seek value and novelty in an economic downturn” but are “hesitant” when it comes to high-end spending.

Shopper Seven Chen, who bought barbecue pork, said he understood what the Beiyuan hotel was trying to do, adding that he was also staying in fancy hotels less often than in the past.

“The main thing is people don’t have enough income,” said Mr. Chen, who works in finance and lives nearby.

Others adopting a street food strategy, according to their social media accounts, include the JW Marriott in Chongqing and Hilton Wuhan Riverside in Wuhan. The latter did not comment, while a Marriott staffer said the hotel sells dishes outside from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. They did not go into further detail.

The five-star River & Holiday Hotel in Chongqing, says its daily revenue surged to 60,000 yuan from just a few thousand after setting up food stalls in its car park last month. Marketing and sales manager Shen Qiuya dismissed online criticism that the practice could erode brand value.

“Every industry is facing difficulties this year,” Shen said. “Survival is the most important thing. Face isn’t worth anything.” — Reuters

MOSCOW — WhatsApp said Russia was trying to block its services because the social media messaging app owned by Meta Platforms offered people’s right to secure communication, and vowed to continue try ing to make encrypted services available in Russia.

Russia has started restricting some Telegram and WhatsApp calls, accusing the foreign-owned platforms of failing to share information with law enforcement in fraud and terrorism cases.

“WhatsApp is private, end-to-end encrypted, and defies government attempts to violate people’s right to secure communication, which is why Russia is trying to block it from over 100 million Russian people,” WhatsApp said in a statement.

“We will keep doing all we can to make end-to-end encrypted communication available to people everywhere, including in Russia.” — Reuters