Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui

HO CHI MINH CITY - The trouble for Henry Liem begins every time he prepares to return to his homeland. Getting the required visa from the Vietnamese government is a breeze. It's the "second visa" - from his wife worried that he will stray over there - that requires diplomatic skills.

SEOUL — A South Korean has been arrested for arranging sham marriages between homeless men and visa-seeking Vietnamese women, an immigration official said Friday.

Just a few months after getting married, Nguyen Thu Trang knew that she had made a big mistake. But, in a Confucian society that places a high value on female obedience to men, she was fearful about how her family and friends would react if she sought a divorce.

Three women in southern Vietnam have been sentenced to prison for trafficking women to China.

Vietnam is evaluated as the best performer in Southeast Asia in terms of eradicating gender gap over the past 20 years, said Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

VINH LONG, Vietnam — After 30 minutes of discussion it was settled. Le would become his bride.

Vietnam on Wednesday defended its efforts against human trafficking, after the United States placed it on a watch list.

HANOI - When the 21-year-old Vu Thanh Huyen left her hometown with the hope of changing her life by marrying a "rich Chinese man", least she knew that she will be contracted HIV/AIDS from her husband.

Hanoi - Vietnamese police have arrested a woman accused of trafficking young women to brothels in Malaysia, a police official said Tuesday. Police arrested Nguyen Anh Dung, 43, at Ho Chi Minh City's international airport Sunday as she was helping three women in their 20s check in for a flight to Malaysia.

HANOI - Vietnam plans to set up an overseas marriage brokerage to regulate a sector now run by illegal matchmakers accused of humiliating women and fueling abuse, the communist government said on Thursday.

HANOI — A court in communist Vietnam has jailed five people for up to 17 years for trafficking women to Malaysia and forcing them to work as prostitutes, a court official and media reports said Tuesday.

Further probe will be conducted into a human trafficking ring that has reportedly snared at least 100 women and sold them to men in several Asian countries and territory over the last three-years, police said Monday.

At least one marriage agency is charging half-price to matchmake Singapore men with Vietnamese brides.

HANOI — Gripping her skull to ease a constant pounding headache, Lieu explains how she came to a decision that would have been unthinkable in Vietnam just a few years ago -- to divorce her husband.