
Exclusive-Vietnam government document says Trump Organization exploring tower in Ho Chi Minh City
The visit by the U.S. President's son comes just after the Trump Organization received the green light from Vietnam's government for a separate $1.5 billion golf project and as the Southeast Asian export-reliant nation is in talks with Washington to avoid punitive trade tariffs.
Ho Chi Minh City officials are invited to "attend a dinner party with Eric Trump, senior vice president of the Trump Organization," on Thursday evening, the internal document seen by Reuters said.
(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen and Francesco Guarascio; Editing by John Mair)
Hashtags

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


The Sun
25 minutes ago
- The Sun
Trump fires US labor official over data
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK: President Donald Trump dismissed a senior Labor Department official on Friday, accusing her of manipulating jobs data without evidence. The move intensified worries about the reliability of federal economic reports. In a separate development, Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler unexpectedly announced her resignation, offering Trump an earlier-than-expected opportunity to reshape the central bank's leadership. The twin announcements rattled markets, with the S&P 500 dropping 1.6%, its steepest fall in over two months. Trump targeted Erika McEntarfer, a Biden appointee, claiming she falsified employment figures. No proof supports his allegations against the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which produces key economic indicators like jobs and inflation data. A BLS representative declined to comment. The July jobs report showed only 73,000 new positions, with downward revisions erasing 258,000 previously reported jobs for May and June. 'We need accurate Jobs Numbers,' Trump posted on Truth Social, ordering McEntarfer's immediate replacement. A Trump administration official, speaking anonymously, cited dissatisfaction with recent data revisions and declining survey response rates. The BLS has scaled back data collection for inflation metrics due to resource constraints. Response rates for employment surveys fell from 80.3% in 2020 to 67.1% last month. A Reuters poll revealed 89 of 100 policy experts worry about U.S. data quality, with many criticizing the lack of urgency in addressing issues. Reduced BLS staffing has also narrowed the scope of Consumer Price Index reporting, a critical inflation measure. 'Politicizing economic statistics is a self-defeating act,' warned Michael Madowitz of the Roosevelt Institute. 'Credibility is far easier to lose than rebuild.' Meanwhile, Kugler's departure lets Trump appoint a Fed governor ahead of schedule. The president has repeatedly clashed with Chair Jerome Powell over interest rates. Potential successors include Trump adviser Kevin Hassett and former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh. 'I would not read any political motivation into [Kugler's] decision,' said analyst Derek Tang. 'But she's calling Trump's bluff by handing him a vacancy to fill.' - Reuters


The Star
25 minutes ago
- The Star
Wall St Week Ahead: AI gains, earnings reassure investors
Strength in earnings from AI and technology names could draw more investors and lift markets further in coming weeks, analysts said. — Reuters NEW YORK: With more than half of second-quarter earnings reported and stocks near record highs, company results have reassured investors about the artificial intelligence trade that has energised Wall Street, even if tariff worries curtailed buying. With results in from 297 of the S&P 500 companies as of Thursday, year-on-year earnings growth for the second quarter is now estimated at 9.8%, up from 5.8% estimated growth on July 1, according to LSEG data.


The Star
25 minutes ago
- The Star
UK's online safety law is putting free speech at risk, X says
FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of Elon Musk and the X logo are seen in this illustration taken January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's online safety law risks suppressing free speech due to its heavy-handed enforcement, social media site X said on Friday, adding that significant changes were needed. The Online Safety Act, which is being rolled out this year, sets tough new requirements on platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and X, as well as sites hosting pornography, to protect children and remove illegal content. But it has attracted criticism from politicians, free-speech campaigners and content creators, who have complained that the rules had been implemented too broadly, resulting in the censorship of legal content. Users have complained about age checks that require personal data to be uploaded to access sites that show pornography, and more than 468,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the act to be repealed. The government said on Monday it had no plans to do so and it was working with regulator Ofcom to implement the act as quickly as possible. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said on Tuesday that those who wanted to overturn it were "on the side of predators". Elon Musk's X, which has implemented age verification, said the law's laudable intentions were at risk of being overshadowed by the breadth of its regulatory reach. "When lawmakers approved these measures, they made a conscientious decision to increase censorship in the name of 'online safety'," it said in a statement. "It is fair to ask if UK citizens were equally aware of the trade-off being made." X said the timetable for meeting mandatory measures had been unnecessarily tight, and despite being in compliance, platforms still faced threats of enforcement and fines, encouraging over-censorship. It said a balanced approach was the only way to protect liberty, encourage innovation and safeguard children. "It's safe to say that significant changes must take place to achieve these objectives in the UK," it said. A UK government spokesperson said it is "demonstrably false" that the Online Safety Act compromises free speech. "As well as legal duties to keep children safe, the very same law places clear and unequivocal duties on platforms to protect freedom of expression," the spokesperson said. Ofcom said on Thursday it had launched investigations into the compliance of four companies, which collectively run 34 pornography sites. (Reporting by Paul SandleEditing by Mark Potter)