A woman of small business has made a contribution to founding the overseas Vietnamese Group and opening a Vietnamese school in Cambodia. When getting older, she opened a Vietnamese newspaper stall in Phnom Penh and became a sponsor for Vietnamese misleading girls.

Poverty alleviation is Vietnam's overriding concern and the Government's approach to this issue has been praiseworthy, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) has said in a report on March 30 of the results of its economic and social survey of Asia and the Pacific in 2006.

The Associated Press (AP) on April 2 carried an article saying that the poignant wartime diaries of a Vietnamese military surgeon, named Dang Thuy Tram, have reconciled the US and Viet Nam after a US intelligence officer saved them from being burned.

In the 1950s, there were only few Vietnamese language classes in America. Since then, several Vietnamese Studies Departments have been established at famous US universities and have educated many scholars in Vietnamese studies. In recent years, many of these scholars have visited Vietnam on study tours.

Visitors to the first international photo festival opened in Sarcelles city, 20 km east of Paris, France, on April 8, signed their names into a petition, expressing their support to Vietnamese Agent Orange/dioxin victims in the lawsuit against US chemical producers.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has decided to provide Vietnam with US $15 million to help in contagious disease control.

The Roever Educational Programme of the US, REAP International, has presented 40 scholarships, each worth 600,000 VND, to poor students in southern Binh Thuan, Ben Tre, Dong Nai and Tra Vinh provinces.

A get-together was held in Hanoi on April 7 to celebrate the traditional New Year festival of Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar, drawing a crowd of diplomatic corps, officials and students of these nationalities.

The Vietnamese State and Government always helps facilitate the overseas Vietnamese community in Laos in conformity with Lao legal regulations.

Vietnam's water puppetry has attracted almost 1,000 French children to each show presented at the on-going Imagine Festival in Paris, said the festival's organising board.

The US plans to donate US$3.3 million to support the continuation of mine removal in Vietnam in fiscal year 2006, its embassy in Hanoi said in a press release on Tuesday.

Shin Sakurai, former Chairman of the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD), spoke highly of Viet Nam's achievements in population affairs, hunger elimination and poverty reduction at a seminar in Ha Noi on April 5.

Brunei's Crown Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah and his wife Wednesday donated US$50,000 to the Vietnam Association for Agent Orange Victims to help its poor members.

Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Bill Tweddell yesterday waved a flag to start a race called ChallengeMD! with the participation of 32 Australian riders to raise money to help fight Muscular Dystrophy (MD) and raise awareness of MD.

Australian artist Nerine Martini opened an exhibition in Hanoi Friday displaying her sculpture based on a traditional boat from the central Vietnamese town of Hoi An.

Vietnamese, Thai and Lao women shared experiences in ensuring gender equality and improving women's roles in society.

Twelve expat Vietnamese youngsters arrived in Vietnam Monday sponsored by the US Catalyst Foundation for a 10-day trip to help local underprivileged kids and discover their home country in the process.

Applied health students from Charles Sturt University in Australia’s New South Wales state will head to Vietnam next week to work with children with disabilities in a Ho Chi Minh City orphanage.

In spite of being made 35 years ago and shown in many countries, the film “Winter soldier” will be shown in American cinemas since 16 January 2006 only.

Why does it take 35 years?

On the occasion of the New Lunar Year and in preparation for the “Binh Tuat” Tet (Year of Golden Dog), in the evening of January 21st, the Vietnamese Embassy to the US held a cultural exchange including food and film festivals.