
Vietnam approves Trump Organization's $1.5 billion golf, real estate project
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam has approved a $1.5 billion proposal by the Trump Organization and its Vietnamese partner to build golf courses, hotels and real estate projects in the Southeast Asian country, state-run media reported Friday.
The project spanning 990 hectares (2,446 acres) in northern Vietnam's Khoai Chau district will include a golf course the size 336 American football fields, residential areas, commercial spaces and parks. The decision approving the investment was signed by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, the VN Express newspaper reported.
Vietnam is heading into negotiations with the U.S. in a bid to avoid the 46% tariffs on its exports announced by President Donald Trump's administration. Vietnam also has been facing heat from Washington for not doing enough to prevent the diversion of Chinese goods through its borders.
The investment project was announced by Vietnamese real estate developer Kinhbac City, which partnered with Trump's family business in October.
Work on the project will start this year and continue till 2029.
The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Newsweek
16 minutes ago
- Newsweek
All the Signs Trump Is Preparing for a US Attack on Iran
Based on factual reporting, incorporates the expertise of the journalist and may offer interpretations and conclusions. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. As an unprecedented conflict between Israel and Iran dragged on into a fifth day, President Donald Trump has increasingly indicated that he was seriously considering a direct intervention in the fight. And while the Pentagon has thus far maintained that U.S. forces were operating in a purely "defensive posture," while also assisting Israeli interceptions of Iranian missiles, evidence is mounting that the White House is marching toward military action against the Islamic Republic. Trump's Threats Intensify Just prior to Israel launching its large-scale campaign on Thursday, Trump had signaled a willingness to continue nuclear negotiations with Iran, the sixth round of which had been scheduled to be held in Oman last Sunday. Even after the initial Israeli strikes began, Trump called on Tehran to double down on efforts to reach an agreement. As of Monday, however, Trump has adopted a notably more ominous tone. Shortly before his abrupt exit from the G7 meeting being held in Canada, he called on residents of Tehran, home to nearly 10 million people, to immediately evacuate, and later met with top national security officials at the White House Situation Room. The president further hardened his language on Tuesday, claiming on his Truth Social platform that "we have complete and total control of the skies over Iran," appearing to suggest the U.S. was already a party to the conflict. He even alleged to know the exact location of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, referring to the top Iranian authority as "an easy target," though, "we are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now." "But we don't want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers," Trump continued. "Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" He then called for "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!" in a follow-up post apparently aimed at Iran. Two U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets fly in formation over an undisclosed location in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, on April 5, 2025. Two U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets fly in formation over an undisclosed location in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, on April 5, 2025. Staff Sergeant Gerald R. Willis US Builds Up Regional Footprint Over the weekend, aviation watchers noticed dozens of U.S. air tankers being deployed to Europe. Such aircraft are necessary to refuel warplanes conducting forward operations from afar and reports later tied their movement to tensions building in the Middle East. Then, on Monday, the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier diverted from the South China Sea to the Middle East, where it would join the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group that entered the Arabian Sea in April. If the U.S. were to conduct a strike on Iran's heavily fortified underground Fordow nuclear enrichment facility, the weapon most widely believed to be involved would be the GBU 57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator. The only aircraft certified to carry the 15-ton bomb is the B2 stealth bomber, capable of delivering strikes from bases 6,000 miles away. The closest base to Fordow is the U.S. Naval Facility Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Meanwhile, other U.S. staff and family members that could potentially be exposed to hostile fire on the ground have reportedly been authorized to leave posts in Bahrain, Iraq and Kuwait since last week, in the lead up to Israel's opening strikes. U.S. Central Command is estimated to have roughly 40,000 personnel in the Middle East. State Department Forms Task Force As for other U.S. citizens looking to leave the region, they are being asked to contact a new task force announced Tuesday by State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce. "The task force is a group of people who are working taking the calls of people, of American citizens around the world, making sure that they get connected with what they may need that region," Bruce said. Such an initiative she said, "is something that the State Department does when there's a situation that requires it, and this is one of those times." Before taking questions, Bruce said it would be a "little bit of a different day for the briefing," as "there will be less than I can answer for you because of the circumstances that we're dealing with around the world." Throughout the press conference, she declined to "characterize what President Trump says or tweets," including whether or not he sought to support Israel's strikes against Fordow, or even sought to pursue regime change in Iran. A general view of The White House as U.S. President Donald Trump returns from the G7 Leaders' Summit on June 17, 2025 in Washington, DC. A general view of The White House as U.S. President Donald Trump returns from the G7 Leaders' Summit on June 17, 2025 in Washington, Fades Bruce also would neither confirm nor deny whether or not the U.S. remained open to diplomacy with Iran at this stage. Neither the U.S. nor Iran has announced any new diplomatic overtures since Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced the suspension of nuclear talks over Israel's sweeping campaign of strikes against sites and personnel tied to Iran's military and nuclear program. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, however, did hold separate conversations on Tuesday with Araghchi and Trump's special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff. A readout of the conversation did not mention any messages passed between the U.S. and Iranian diplomats but contained an urgent plea from Abdelatty to avoid further escalation. Vance's New Tone Vice President JD Vance is often viewed as one of the most senior advocates of restraint in the Trump administration. Like Trump, he has criticized past administration for becoming mired in foreign conflicts, a key voter message he hammered on the campaign trail last year. Back in March, Vance was among the few senior officials to initially doubt the utility of the decision to begin launching strikes against Iran's Yemeni ally, Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthi movement, according to Signal chats leaked by The Atlantic. On Tuesday, as Trump ramped up his rhetoric against Iran, Vance issued a lengthy personal appeal in defense of the president's decision-making process on X, formerly Twitter. Look, I'm seeing this from the inside, and am admittedly biased towards our president (and my friend), but there's a lot of crazy stuff on social media, so I wanted to address some things directly on the Iran issue: First, POTUS has been amazingly consistent, over 10 years, that… — JD Vance (@JDVance) June 17, 2025 He said the president "may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment," while acknowledging that "people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy." "But I believe the president has earned some trust on this issue. And having seen this up close and personal, I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish the American people's goals," Vance continued. "Whatever he does, that is his focus."
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The Bombs the US Could Deploy If Trump Strikes Iran
(Bloomberg) -- US President Donald Trump has a wide range of military assets in the Middle East and across the globe to bring to bear in a potential fight against Iran as he weighs one of the most momentous foreign policy decisions of his administration. Security Concerns Hit Some of the World's 'Most Livable Cities' As Part of a $45 Billion Push, ICE Prepares for a Vast Expansion of Detention Space How E-Scooters Conquered (Most of) Europe As American Architects Gather in Boston, Retrofits Are All the Rage Taser-Maker Axon Triggers a NIMBY Backlash in its Hometown That arsenal includes powerfully destructive bombs, long-range stealth bombers, an aircraft carrier strike group, Navy destroyers and US troops — offering Trump multiple options if he decides to intervene more directly in support of Israel. Some resources like the B-2 bomber are in the US while other assets are either in the region or on the way. It's unclear whether Trump will deepen US involvement beyond helping Israel defend against Iranian air attacks as he has done in recent days. On Tuesday afternoon, the president gathered his national security staff for a White House Situation Room meeting. The administration, though, has been surging military resources to US Central Command, which oversees the Pentagon's operations in the region. And forces already in the area include naval and air power that could play a crucial role in any US action against Iran. The Islamic Republic has already suffered its worst assault in decades, with Israel's strikes on the country's nuclear and military infrastructure damaging key facilities and killing senior personnel. One weapon, though, is seen as particularly effective if the situation were to escalate and draw the direct involvement of the US. The Massive Ordnance Penetrator or 'MOP' — better known as the bunker-buster bomb — weighs 30,000 pounds and is the world's largest precision-guided weapon. The GPS-directed bomb, assembled by Boeing Co., has been touted repeatedly as the only weapon capable of delivering a knockout blow to Tehran's atomic ambitions, which would require a successful strike on the heavily protected enrichment site at Fordow. Hidden beneath a mountain and believed to be buried around 60 to 90 meters deep, many experts believe that damaging Fordow can be achieved only by the MOP — a weapon the US alone possesses. Each bunker buster can be independently targeted and released, 'making it possible to deliver a MOP right on top of another MOP,' said Rebecca Grant, a Lexington Institute analyst. Grant said drone surveillance in the area could also help the military 'refine the strike' at the last minute and noted that Iranian nuclear facilities such as Fordow have been studied by the US for years. The decision on whether to use that weapon is poised to be one of the most critical Trump makes. The bomb could alter Iran's decision-making over its nuclear program and because its deployment would involve American planes and pilots it would place the US at the center of an offensive military action. 'If Israel can achieve that result through its operations, that is the best case,' said Daniel Shapiro, a former US ambassador to Israel and onetime deputy assistant defense secretary. 'But if it requires US participation to target the Fordow facility, that has to be on the table for President Trump to consider.' Stealth Bombers Deploying the MOP would involve another crucial military asset, the B-2 stealth bomber, which can carry two of them. The B-2 would fly thousands of miles from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to deliver the bombs deep within Iran. The US demonstrated the power of its B-2 fleet in October, when bombers flew from Whiteman to hammer Iran-backed Houthi weapons facilities buried underground. Earlier this year, as many as six B-2s were spotted on a runway on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in a deployment that was interpreted by many as a message to both Iran and the Houthis. The Air Force said those aircraft returned to their base in May. US Central Command, which oversees the longstanding US military presence in the Middle East, would play a key role in any operations on Iran, with responsibility for a force spread across multiple countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and drawing on troops from different military services and special operations forces. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has 'directed the deployment of additional capabilities' to the command. The administration is also sending as many as 20 KC-135 and newer KC-46 aerial refueling tankers to undisclosed locations, according to a defense official, helping extend the range of US air power. Those resources would offer Trump additional flexibility in determining his course of action. US personnel in the region, including Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy servicemembers, number 40,000-45,000, according to the most recent Central Command figures. The Navy is also poised to be a critical component, with resources that can both aid any action on Iran and have already been employed to help protect Israel from retaliatory strikes. The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group has been in the region of the Arabian Sea for seven months. The ship carries about 3,000 sailors, according to the Navy, with another 2,000 in its air wing. The air wing boasts an extensive array of military hardware, including F-35 and F-18 fighter jets, EA-18 aircraft that can disrupt enemy radar and communication systems, E-2Ds with advanced radar to help identity threats more quickly, as well as Osprey tiltrotor aircraft and Sea Hawk helicopters. In addition to the centerpiece carrier, the group also includes a guided-missile cruiser, the USS Princeton, and guided-missile destroyers. Another strike group headed by the USS Nimitz is scheduled to relieve the Vinson and is currently in the Indo-Pacific, offering additional forces. The Navy has three Aegis missile defense destroyers in the Eastern Mediterranean — the USS Arleigh Burke, USS The Sullivans and the USS Thomas Hudner, with two more vessels arriving shortly, according to a defense official. Two additional destroyers are in the Red Sea. A US official said the Arleigh Burke and The Sullivans fired numerous SM-3 anti-ballistic missile interceptors over the weekend to help defend Israel. An Army unit in the region also fired THAAD interceptors at Iranian ballistic missiles, according to another official. --With assistance from Natalia Drozdiak. Ken Griffin on Trump, Harvard and Why Novice Investors Won't Beat the Pros How a Tiny Middleman Could Access Two-Factor Login Codes From Tech Giants American Mid: Hampton Inn's Good-Enough Formula for World Domination The Spying Scandal Rocking the World of HR Software US Allies and Adversaries Are Dodging Trump's Tariff Threats ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data


USA Today
17 minutes ago
- USA Today
Will the Fed cut rates Wednesday? Not likely, but here's when they might.
Will the Fed cut rates Wednesday? Not likely, but here's when they might. The Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady Wednesday between 4.25% and 4.5% – exactly as interest-rate traders' bets had predicted after the policy-making body's meeting in early May. The traders' bets now predict there's little chance the Fed will lower interest rates until their meeting on Sept. 17. That means Americans won't see short-term interest rates – which are heavily influenced by the Fed's decisions – decline for at least another three months. As of Tuesday afternoon, there still just a 55% chance the Fed will cut its interest rate in September, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The FedWatch tool tracks the likelihood that the Fed will change the fed funds rate based on futures prices. When interest rates could fall in coming months Unable to view our graphics? Click here to see them. What time is the Fed meeting? The Federal Open Market Committee meeting will take place at 2 p.m. ET on June 18. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will then discuss the committee's rate decision at a press conference scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Will interest rates go down in 2025? President Donald Trump's tariff proposals have put the Fed in a difficult position: Inflation stemming from the pandemic has moderated, but consumer prices may be on the rise. Inflation ticked up slightly in May from a year earlier to 2.4%. Analysts suggested lower energy prices last month helped to minimize the impact of tariffs. How much tariffs will raise prices in the coming months remains uncertain, as most remain unresolved. If the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates before it's clear how tariffs are affecting the prices we pay, it could unintentionally trigger inflation—by encouraging more borrowing to pay for goods made more expensive by those tariffs. The Fed tries to hold inflation steady at about 2% each year while keeping as many Americans employed as possible. The May jobs report released June 6 showed unemployment remained steady at 4.2%, and the economy added a 139,000 jobs. While other indicators also suggest the economy remains relatively strong, Fed chief Jerome Powell cautioned after the May meeting that recent inflation and employment data could be showing early signs of concern. But he said the ongoing uncertainty surrounding tariffs and their impact on the economy has led them to keep interest rates unchanged. "I think there's a great deal of uncertainty about, for example, where tariff policies are going to settle out," Powell said. "When they do settle out, what will be the implications for the economy for growth and for employment. I think it's too early to know that." Where interest rates stand on credit cards and car loans The Fed's three interest rate cuts in 2024 quickly translated into lower payments for short-term loans made on credit cards and for cars: Increases and decreases in credit card interest rates are closely linked to the prime rate, which is generally three percentage points higher than the fed funds rate. Auto loans also follow a similar pattern. All three remain well above where they were in early 2022 when Powell signaled the Fed planned to start raising interest rates to curb inflation. Higher mortgage interest rates add to housing troubles Mortgage rates are primarily influenced by long-term interest rates, which in turn are shaped by expectations about inflation and the overall direction of the economy. Since the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates in late September, mortgage rates have risen in tandem with short-term rates by several percentage points. More importantly for homebuyers, mortgage rates are still more than double what they were in 2021. In December 2021, with rates at 3.1%, a buyer purchasing a $425,000 home with a 20% down payment would have paid about $1,453 per month in principal and interest. At last week's rate of 6.8%, that same mortgage would cost about $763 more each month. Contributing: Rachel Barber