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Trump says US will sell $5 million ‘gold card’ to wealthy foreigners

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President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the US would sell a “gold card” to wealthy foreigners, giving them the right to live and work in the US and offering a path to citizenship in exchange for a $5 million fee.

“We’re going to be selling a gold card,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “You have a green card. This is a gold card. We’re going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million and that’s going to give you green card privileges, plus it’s going to be a route to citizenship. And wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this card.”

Trump said the sale of the cards will begin in about two weeks and suggested millions of such cards could be sold.

Asked whether he would consider selling the cards to Russian oligarchs, Trump responded: “Yeah, possibly. I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people.”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, standing alongside Trump, said the card will replace the government’s EB-5 immigrant investor visa program, which allows foreign investors to pump money into US projects that create jobs and then apply for visas to immigrate to the US.

“They’ll have to go through vetting, of course,” Lutnick said, “to make sure they’re wonderful world-class global citizens.”

Created by Congress in 1992, the EB-5 program can grant green cards to immigrants who make a minimum investment of least $1,050,000, or $800,000 in economically distressed zones called targeted employment areas, to create jobs for American workers, according to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services website.

Businesses connected to Trump and his family have also made use of the program to fund major property developments.

The program drew bipartisan criticism from lawmakers in Congress during Trump’s first term, with many warning that it had deviated from its goals and was in need of reform.

The Trump administration in 2019 moved to raise the minimum investment amount for targeted economic areas to $900,000, and $1.8 million in other locations, but a federal judge struck down the change in 2021, finding that the acting Homeland Security secretary who authorized the rule had not been properly appointed.

The program was last renewed in 2022 during the Biden administration, with the minimum investment requirements being raised to their current levels.

(CNN)

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Mount Etna erupts as large plumes rise from volcano

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Italy’s Mount Etna has erupted, with large plumes of ash and smoke seen rising from the volcano.

Images and video from the island of Sicily showed volcanic material spilling out of the volcano on Monday morning.

A number of explosions of “increasing intensity” were recorded in the early hours on Monday morning, Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) Etna Observatory said.

The full scale of the eruption is currently unclear and disruption appears to be minimal.

Mount Etna is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, so eruptions are not uncommon and its outbursts rarely cause significant damage or injury.

(BBC News)

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Ukraine drones strike bombers during major attack in Russia

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A Ukrainian drone attack destroyed more than 40 Russian planes deep in Russia’s territory, a Ukrainian security official told The Associated Press on Sunday, while Russia pounded Ukraine with missiles and drones a day before the two sides meet for a new round of direct talks in Istanbul.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose operational details, said the attack took over 18 months to plan and execute and was personally supervised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The operation saw drones transported in containers carried by trucks deep into Russian territory, he said. The drones reportedly hit 41 planes stationed at several airfields on Sunday afternoon, including A-50, Tu-95 and Tu-22M aircraft, the official said. Moscow has previously used Tupolev Tu-95 and Tu-22 long-range bombers to launch missiles at Ukraine, while A-50s are used to coordinate targets and detect air defenses and guided missiles.

Russia’s Defense Ministry in a statement confirmed the attacks, which spanned five airfields. The FPV drones damaged aircraft and sparked fires on air bases in the Irkutsk region, more than 2,500 miles from Ukraine, as well as Russia’s northern Murmansk, it said. Strikes were repelled in the Amur region in Russia’s Far East and in the western regions of Ivanovo and Ryazan, the ministry said.

The attack came the same day as MR. Zelenskyy said Ukraine will send a delegation to Istanbul for a new round of direct peace talks with Russia on Monday.

In a statement on Telegram, Mr. Zelenskyy said that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will lead the Ukrainian delegation. “We are doing everything to protect our independence, our state and our people,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.

Ukrainian officials had previously called on the Kremlin to provide a promised memorandum setting out its position on ending the war before the meeting takes place. Moscow had said it would share its memorandum during the talks.

(KYIV)

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Thailand wins 72nd Miss World pageant

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Miss Thailand – Opal Suchata Chuangsri has won the 72nd Miss World pageant, which was held in Hyderabad tonight (May 31).

Miss Ethiopia won 2nd place while Miss Poland won 3rd place . Miss Martinique won 4th place.

Despite making a marked presence in the Multimedia and Head-to-Head challenges with impressive performances, Sri Lanka’s Anudi Gunasekara fell short of the quarter finalist round, which selected the top 40 contestants in the competition.

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