Thailand Sees US Offering ‘Very Good' Trade Deal After Ceasefire
Phumtham spoke to President Donald Trump hours after Thailand and Cambodia jointly announced an 'immediate and unconditional' ceasefire. The US president lauded Thailand for agreeing to end the five-day old conflict, Phumtham told reporters late on Monday.
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New York Post
3 minutes ago
- New York Post
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough reveals DC journalist privately shared concerns about crime while publicly denouncing Trump's plan
MSNBC host Joe Scarborough suggested that some liberal media figures blasting President Donald Trump's federal takeover of Washington, DC were not being entirely honest about their concerns over crime in the nation's capital, on Tuesday's 'Morning Joe.' Scarborough said he found it 'interesting' that some reporters critically covering the Trump takeover have privately expressed concerns about their own safety. Advertisement 'This is interesting,' Scarborough said. 'I actually heard from a reporter when this happened, going, 'Well, you know, if he doesn't overreach, this could actually be a good thing for quality of life,' etc, because in DC right now, I had this happen to my family and I had that, and they go down the list. And then I saw him tweet something completely different.' Scarborough, who said he's lived in DC for more than three decades, added that crime isn't as bad as it was two or three years ago, but it still was not a safe city. 'It's certainly not as safe as the nation's capital should be.' Advertisement Trump announced Monday that he would place the city's police department under direct federal control and deploy National Guard troops to 'reestablish law, order and public safety.' Top Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, criticized the move as unnecessary, pointing to a reported decline in homicides. Liberal media personalities such as CNN's Dana Bash and NBC's Jonathan Allen argued that the most violent day in recent DC history was January 6, 2021, during the Capitol riot. 3 MSNBC host Joe Scarborough suggests liberal media figures calling out President Trump's federal takeover of Washington, D.C., are not being truthful when it comes to crime occurring in the nation's capital. Getty Images for Global Citizen Advertisement 3 President Trump has considered deploying the National Guard to the nation's capital to 'reestablish law, order and public safety.' Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto/Shutterstock During the 'Morning Joe' segment, MSNBC host Symone Sanders Townsend pushed back, saying she has lived in DC for the past decade and believes rising crime fears are largely about perception, not reality. 'The way I've heard DC being described this morning, is like it's a city under siege. Like it's a dangerous place, clutching your pearls, got to keep your bag under your dress when you leave the house and that is just not true,' she argued, while acknowledging 'instances of juvenile crime.' She argued that more police on the streets would not address the root causes of juvenile crime and accused Trump of amplifying public fears. Advertisement 3 Multiple liberal media figures, including CNN's Dana Bash and NBC's Jonathan Allen, still say the violence in D.C. is nothing compared to what happened during the Capitol Riot on January 6, 2021. Jemal Countess – CNP 'We need to rethink what makes cities safe in America,' she added. Scarborough countered that even lifelong Democrats are worried about their safety in Washington. He read a message from a liberal resident who refused to walk outside past 8 p.m. and whose friends had been carjacked or shot at, calling it 'a change from a decade ago.' 'I guarantee you that's a person that has never voted for a Republican in their life,' Scarborough said. 'This isn't imagined. People you know, that I know, that they love, they and their friends don't feel safe in Washington, DC.' During a press conference on Monday, Trump challenged liberal journalists to be honest about crime concerns in the city. 'I understand a lot of you tend to be on the liberal side, but you don't want to get — you don't want to get mugged and raped and shot and killed,' Trump said. 'And you all know people and friends of yours that that happened. And so you can be anything you want, but you want to have safety in the streets. You want to be able to leave your apartment or your house where you live and feel safe and go into a store to buy a newspaper or buy something. And you don't have that now.'
Boston Globe
3 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Trump will be at the Kennedy Center on the same day recipients of the honors are announced
'GREAT Nominees for the TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER, whoops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER, AWARDS,' Trump wrote. He said work was being done on the site that would be 'bringing it back to the absolute TOP LEVEL of luxury, glamour, and entertainment.' Advertisement 'It had fallen on hard times, physically, BUT WILL SOON BE MAKING A MAJOR COMEBACK!!!' he wrote. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up It is unclear how this year's batch of honorees were chosen, though Trump had indicated he wanted a more active role. Historically, a bipartisan advisory committee selects the recipients, who over the years have ranged from George Balanchine and Tom Hanks to Aretha Franklin and Stephen Sondheim. A message sent to the Kennedy Center press office asking how this year's honorees were selected wasn't returned Tuesday. The Kennedy Center did post this on social media, however: 'Coming Soon ... A country music icon, an Englishman, a New York City Rock band, a dance Queen and a multi-billion dollar Actor walk into the Kennedy Center Opera House ...' In the past, Trump has floated the idea of granting Kennedy Center Honors status to singer-songwriter Paul Anka and actor Sylvester Stallone, one of three actors Trump named as Hollywood 'ambassadors' earlier this year. Anka was supposed to perform 'My Way' at Trump's first inaugural and backed out at the last moment. Advertisement The Kennedy Center honors were established in 1978 and have been handed out to a broad range of artists. Until Trump's first term, presidents of both parties traditionally attended the annual ceremony, even when they disagreed politically with a given recipient. Prominent liberals such as Barbra Streisand and Warren Beatty were honored during the administration of Republican George W. Bush, and a leading conservative, Charlton Heston, was feted during the administration of Democrat BIll Clinton. In 2017, after honoree Norman Lear declared that he would not attend a White House celebration in protest of Trump's proposed cuts to federal arts funding, Trump and first lady Melania Trump decided to skip the Kennedy Center event and remained away throughout his first term. Honorees during that time included such Trump critics as Cher, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Sally Field. Since taking office for a second time, Trump has taken a much more forceful stance on the Kennedy Center and inserted himself into its governance. Besides naming himself chairman and remaking the board, he has also indicated that he would take over decisions regarding programming at the center and vowed to end events featuring performers in drag. The steps have drawn further criticism from some artists. In March, the producers of 'Hamilton' pulled out of staging the Broadway hit musical in 2026, citing Trump's aggressive takeover of the institution's leadership. Other artists who canceled events include actor Issa Rae, singer Rhiannon Giddens and author Louise Penny. Advertisement House Republicans have introduced an amendment to a spending bill that would rename the Kennedy Center's opera house after first lady Melania Trump. Maria Shriver, a niece of the late President John F. Kennedy, has criticized as 'insane' a separate House proposal to rename the entire center after Trump. Recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors are given a medallion on a rainbow ribbon, a nod to the range of skills that fall under the performing arts. In April, the center changed the lights on the exterior from the long-standing rainbow to a permanent red, white and blue display. Italie reported from New York.
Associated Press
4 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Vietnam wants to be the next Asian tiger and it's overhauling its economy to make it happen.
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Beneath red banners and a gold bust of revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi's central party school, Communist Party chief To Lam declared the arrival of 'a new era of development' late last year. The speech was more than symbolic— it signaled the launch of what could be Vietnam's most ambitious economic overhaul in decades. Vietnam aims to get rich by 2045 and become Asia's next 'tiger economy' — a term used to describe the earlier ascent of countries like South Korea and Taiwan. The challenge ahead is steep: Reconciling growth with overdue reforms, an aging population, climate risks and creaking institutions. There's added pressure from President Donald Trump over Vietnam's trade surplus with the U.S., a reflection of its astounding economic trajectory. In 1990, the average Vietnamese could afford about $1,200 worth of goods and services a year, adjusted for local prices. Today, that figure has risen by more than 13 times to $16,385. Vietnam's transformation into a global manufacturing hub with shiny new highways, high-rise skylines and a booming middle class has lifted millions of its people from poverty, similar to China. But its low-cost, export-led boom is slowing, while the proposed reforms — expanding private industries, strengthening social protections, and investing in tech, green energy. It faces a growing obstacle in climate change. 'It's all hands on can't waste time anymore,' said Mimi Vu of the consultancy Raise Partners. The export boom can't carry Vietnam forever Investment has soared, driven partly by U.S.-China trade tensions, and the U.S. is now Vietnam's biggest export market. Once-quiet suburbs have been replaced with industrial parks where trucks rumble through sprawling logistics hubs that serve global brands. Vietnam ran a $123.5 billion trade surplus with the U.S. trade in 2024, angering Trump, who threatened a 46% U.S. import tax on Vietnamese goods. The two sides appear to have settled on a 20% levy, and twice that for goods suspected of being transshipped, or routed through Vietnam to avoid U.S. trade restrictions. During negotiations with the Trump administration, Vietnam's focus was on its tariffs compared to those of its neighbors and competitors, said Daniel Kritenbrink, a former U.S. ambassador to Vietnam. 'As long as they're in the same zone, in the same ballpark, I think Vietnam can live with that outcome,' he said. But he added questions remain over how much Chinese content in those exports might be too much and how such goods will be taxed. Vietnam was preparing to shift its economic policies even before Trump's tariffs threatened its model of churning out low-cost exports for the world, aware of what economists call the 'middle-income trap,' when economies tend to plateau without major reforms. To move beyond that, South Korea bet on electronics, Taiwan on semiconductors, and Singapore on finance, said Richard McClellan, founder of the consultancy RMAC Advisory. But Vietnam's economy today is more diverse and complex than those countries were at the time and it can't rely on just one winning sector to drive long-term growth and stay competitive as wages rise and cheap labor is no longer its main advantage. It needs to make 'multiple big bets,' McClellan said. Vietnam's game plan is hedging its bets Following China's lead, Vietnam is counting on high-tech sectors like computer chips, artificial intelligence and renewable energy, providing strategic tax breaks and research support in cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Danang. It's also investing heavily in infrastructure, including civilian nuclear plants and a $67 billion North–South high-speed railway, that will cut travel time from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City to eight hours. Vietnam also aspires to become a global financial center. The government plans two special financial centers, in bustling Ho Chi Minh City and in the seaside resort city of Danang, with simplified rules to attract foreign investors, tax breaks, support for financial tech startups, and easier ways to settle business disputes. Underpinning all of this is institutional reform. Ministries are being merged, low-level bureaucracies have been eliminated and Vietnam's 63 provinces will be consolidated into 34 to build regional centers with deeper talent pools. Private business to take the leadVietnam is counting on private businesses to lead its new economic push — a seismic shift from the past. In May, the Communist Party passed Resolution 68. It calls private businesses the 'most important force' in the economy, pledging to break away from domination by state-owned and foreign companies. So far, large multinationals have powered Vietnam's exports, using imported materials and parts and low cost local labor. Local companies are stuck at the low-end of supply chains, struggling to access loans and markets that favored the 700-odd state-owned giants, from colonial-era beer factories with arched windows to unfashionable state-run shops that few customers bother to enter. 'The private sector remains heavily constrained,' said Nguyen Khac Giang of Singapore's ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute. Again emulating China, Vietnam wants 'national champions' to drive innovation and compete globally, not by picking winners, but by letting markets decide. The policy includes easier loans for companies investing in new technology, priority in government contracts for those meeting innovation goals, and help for firms looking to expand overseas. Even mega-projects like the North-South High-Speed Rail, once reserved for state-run giants, are now open to private bidding. By 2030, Vietnam hopes to elevate at least 20 private firms to a global scale. But Giang warned that there will be pushback from conservatives in the Communist Party and from those who benefit from state-owned firms. A Closing Window from climate change Even as political resistance threatens to stall reforms, climate threats require urgent action. After losing a major investor over flood risks, Bruno Jaspaert knew something had to change. His firm, DEEP C Industrial Zones, houses more than 150 factories across northern Vietnam. So it hired a consultancy to redesign flood resilience plans. Climate risk is becoming its own kind of market regulation, forcing businesses to plan better, build smarter, and adapt faster. 'If the whole world will decide it's a can go very fast,' said Jaspaert. When Typhoon Yagi hit last year, causing $1.6 billion in damage, knocking 0.15% off Vietnam's GDP and battering factories that produce nearly half the country's economic output, roads in DEEP C industrial parks stayed dry. Climate risks are no longer theoretical: If Vietnam doesn't take strong action to adapt to and reduce climate change, the country could lose 12–14.5% of its GDP each year by 2050, and up to one million people could fall into extreme poverty by 2030, according to the World Bank. Meanwhile, Vietnam is growing old before it gets rich. The country's 'golden population' window — when working-age people outnumber dependents — will close by 2039 and the labor force is projected to peak just three years later. That could shrink productivity and strain social services, especially since families — and women in particular — are the default caregivers, said Teerawichitchainan Bussarawan of the Centre for Family and Population Research at the National University of Singapore. Vietnam is racing to pre-empt the fallout by expanding access to preventive healthcare so older adults remain healthier and more independent. Gradually raising the retirement age and drawing more women into the formal workforce would help offset labor gaps and promote 'healthy aging,' Bussarawan said. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
