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US President Donald Trump has unveiled his long-awaited ‘gold card’ offering legal status and a pathway to US citizenship for customers willing to pay the $1 million price tag.

The website Trumpcard.gov, complete with an “apply now” button, allows interested applicants to pay a $15,000 fee to the Department of Homeland Security for speedy processing.

After going through a background check or vetting process, applicants must then make a “contribution” – the website also calls it a “gift” – of $1 million to get the visa, similar to a “Green Card,” which allows them to live and work in the United States.

Basically, it’s a Green Card, but much better. Much more powerful, a much stronger path,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “A path is a big deal. Have to be great people.”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said some 10,000 people have already signed up for the gold card during a pre-registration period and he expected many more to do so. “I would expect over time that we’d sell, you know, thousands of these cards and raise, you know, billions, billions of dollars,” Lutnick told Reuters in a brief interview.

Lutnick said the gold card program would bring people into the United States who would benefit the economy.

He compared that to “average” Green Card holders, whom he said earned less money than average Americans and were more likely to be on or have family members on public assistance. He did not provide evidence for that assertion.

Trump’s administration has pursued a broad crackdown on immigration, deporting hundreds of thousands of people who were in the country illegally and also taking measures to discourage legal immigration.

The gold card program is the Trump version of a counterbalance to that, designed to make money for the U.S. Treasury in the same way the president, a former New York businessman and reality television host, has said his tariff program has successfully done.

Lutnick noted that there was also a corporate version of the gold card that allowed companies to get expedited visas for employees they wanted to work in the United States, for a $2 million contribution per employee.

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Pascal Tigri, the alleged mastermind behind the failed coup in the Republic of Benin, is reportedly hiding in Togo, government officials in Cotonou have confirmed.

Tigri, identified by Beninese soldiers as the leader of the attempted coup, fled after the mutiny was foiled with military support from Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire.

According to Beninese officials who spoke with Reuters on Wednesday, Tigri is believed to be in Lomé 2, a high-security neighbourhood in the Togolese capital that also hosts President Faure Gnassingbé’s residence.

A Beninese intelligence memo sent to Togo’s national security agency said Tigri had been contacted by a Togolese phone number on the day of the coup.

“Our department would like to request your support in apprehending and then handing over these fugitive soldiers to the Beninese authorities by your competent services,” the letter stated.

Benin’s President, Patrice Talon, vowed that those behind the plot would face justice.

“This treachery will not go unpunished,” Talon declared.

A senior official warned that Togo’s refusal to extradite the suspects could be interpreted as complicity in the coup attempt.

“If the Togolese government fails to extradite them to Benin, it would be proof that Togo was involved,” the official said.

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There was confusion on Zaria Road in Jos, Plateau State, after a trailer lost control and collided with a bus carrying students of the University of Jos (UNIJOS) returning from a night outing.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday, December 11, 2025, killing at least eight students and the bus driver.

Two students who survived the accident were reportedly rushed to a nearby hospital.

The students were returning from a night outing around 2 am in two hired buses when a trailer travelling at high speed apparently suffered brake failure and rammed into one of the buses.

A survivor who recounted the tragic incident, said the impact of the collision caused the bus driver to lose control, sending the vehicle crashing into an electric pole just before the Farin Gada bridge.

The survivor said, “The collision tore the bus apart, killing eight occupants instantly before emergency responders later arrived to evacuate the bodies and rushed the two to a nearby hospital.

“We were sitting at the back, so the force didn’t hit us as badly. Immediately, the trailer struck us, and the bus started shaking. Before anyone could react, we hit the electric pole. The whole bus just broke apart.

“We were heading home after a night out in two buses around 2am when the tragic incident happened. It was so sudden. We didn’t even see the trailer. After the hit, everyone was shouting, then the crash happened.” ‎

Confirming the incident, a senior police officer at the Plateau State Command said a manhunt has been launched for the trailer driver who fled the scene of the accident.

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