Trump to Announce $100B SoftBank Investment in the US

House Speaker Mike Johnson, left, President-elect Donald Trump, from third left, Vice President-elect JD Vance and Trump’s pick for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, attend the NCAA college football game between Army and Navy at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
House Speaker Mike Johnson, left, President-elect Donald Trump, from third left, Vice President-elect JD Vance and Trump’s pick for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, attend the NCAA college football game between Army and Navy at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
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Trump to Announce $100B SoftBank Investment in the US

House Speaker Mike Johnson, left, President-elect Donald Trump, from third left, Vice President-elect JD Vance and Trump’s pick for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, attend the NCAA college football game between Army and Navy at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
House Speaker Mike Johnson, left, President-elect Donald Trump, from third left, Vice President-elect JD Vance and Trump’s pick for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, attend the NCAA college football game between Army and Navy at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

US President-elect Donald Trump will join SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son at his Florida home on Monday to announce that the company is planning to invest $100 billion in US projects over the next four years.

That's according to a person familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity before the planned announcement. Trump is set to speak at his Mar-a-Lago resort at 11 a.m., marking the first time he will address reporters since he won the election last month, The AP reported.

Japanese technology group SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.

The company's investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.

The announcement will come days after Trump vowed to expedite federal permits for energy projects and other construction worth more than $1 billion.

In a post on his Truth Social site Tuesday, Trump said anyone making a $1 billion investment in the United States “will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals.”

“GET READY TO ROCK!!!” he added.

The announcement was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.



Albania Bans TikTok for a Year after Killing of Teenager

A view of the TikTok app logo, in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 28, 2020. (AP)
A view of the TikTok app logo, in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 28, 2020. (AP)
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Albania Bans TikTok for a Year after Killing of Teenager

A view of the TikTok app logo, in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 28, 2020. (AP)
A view of the TikTok app logo, in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 28, 2020. (AP)

Albania on Saturday announced a one-year ban on TikTok, the popular short video app, following the killing of a teenager last month that raised fears over the influence of social media on children.

The ban, part of a broader plan to make schools safer, will come into effect early next year, Prime Minister Edi Rama said after meeting with parents' groups and teachers from across the country.

"For one year, we'll be completely shutting it down for everyone. There will be no TikTok in Albania," Rama said.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours.

Several European countries including France, Germany and Belgium have enforced restrictions on social media use for children. In one of the world's toughest regulations targeting Big Tech, Australia approved in November a complete social media ban for children under 16.

Rama has blamed social media, and TikTok in particular, for fueling violence among youth in and outside school.

His government's decision comes after a 14-year-old schoolboy was stabbed to death in November by a fellow pupil. Local media had reported that the incident followed arguments between the two boys on social media. Videos had also emerged on TikTok of minors supporting the killing.

"The problem today is not our children, the problem today is us, the problem today is our society, the problem today is TikTok and all the others that are taking our children hostage," Rama said.