The Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) is today launching radio and TV appeals for public funds to help those affected by the earthquakes and typhoons that struck last week.

Half a million Catholics have joined street protests over attempts to stop a parish holding services in the grounds of a church bombed in the Vietnam war and confiscated by the government.

The government in Hanoi has legalized the Vietnam Mennonite Church, in a move that Anabaptists hope will end the tensions and difficulties of the past and open up new possibilities for the country and for Christians.

Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet of Vietnam has been accused by the government there of breaking the law and causing disorder by supporting prayer vigils against the authorities' confiscation of Catholic Church property.

Even before gaining independence from French colonial rule in 1957, Vietnam was a divided country. You can sponsor a child in Vietnam through Action Aid here

Vietnam's national Religious Affairs Committee has announced that it will present a 'Certificate for Religious Activities' to the Vietnam Mennonite Church in early October 2007, following concerted attempts by the church to gain recognition.