Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui

WASHINGTON - Lawmakers and activists called Thursday for the United States to press Vietnam to free dissidents and allow greater religious freedom as the two nations hold talks on human rights.

HANOI — A visiting U.S. senator says that Vietnam and the United States are close to an agreement that would allow Americans to adopt Vietnamese children, five years after a ban was imposed because of allegations that baby-selling was rife.

An agreement on amendment to the Vietnam – US Bilateral Air Transport Agreement has been signed. However, the Vietnamese national flag air carrier has not made any statements about the opening of the direct air routes.

If the population got restive, the suitors for primacy would be the US and China

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi has deactivated its account on a popular Vietnamese website that's full of suspected pirated music and Hollywood movies, the State Department said Wednesday

DANANG — Flushed from beer and laughter, crowds spill out of a strip of white wedding palaces in Danang, a booming port in central Vietnam.

HA NOI — The board of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) said it had voted to authorise a US$118 million direct loan to the Vietnamese Government for the export of a Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company telecommunications satellite and additional goods and services.

In Hugh White's latest book, "The China Choice: Why America Should Share Power", the Australian professor argues that, for the sake of regional peace, the United States and China should carve up Asia between them. In particular, the US should consider ceding Indochina to China, the former defence official added.

HANOI — A Vietnamese-American pro-democracy activist has been arrested and accused of terrorism for allegedly trying to sabotage liberation celebrations commemorating the end of the Vietnam War, state media said Sunday.

HANOI - Vietnamese businessman Pham Dinh Nguyen flew to the U.S. for the first time, drove to a tiny, frigid trading outpost and bought his own piece of the American dream: Buford, Wyoming - population 1.

A US congressional committee on Wednesday approved a bill to restrict assistance to Vietnam unless the communist nation makes progress in improving its record on human rights.

Human rights were expected to top the agenda as the senior US diplomat on South-East Asia arrived in Hanoi Wednesday.

Hanôi - The US has issued a stern warning to Vietnam over a heightened clampdown on dissidents which has caused alarm among western governments and human rights organisations.

US-based firms are exploring investment opportunities for infrastructure development at Danang Airport, the third biggest international airport in Vietnam, according to Danang authorities.

The recent strong development of Vietnam-US relations on bilateral and multilateral scale will create an important foundation to lift bilateral ties to a new height, said President Truong Tan Sang.