Vietnam news sources

At a lunch with other Fulbright scholars in Vietnam several weeks ago, someone asked about the news sources here.  Where can you get the latest news in Vietnam?  Especially if you don't speak Vietnamese?

There are many official news sources (sanctioned or licensed by the government agency Ministry of Culture and Information) that you can browse in English, some more interesting than others.

Vietnannet.vn is full of safe and good news about Vietnam.  Most of the topics and articles have the feel of a propaganda wing of a totalitarian government.  About the most controversial article listed is "Hanoi lacks names for streets as city rapidly expands".

Thanh Nien News also has been registered with the government, but it tends to have a much sassier take on life in Vietnam.

 Viet Nam News is the original English language newspaper in Vietnam, first published in 1991.  Although it is published by the Vietnam News Agency and has mostly traditional and feel-good articles, it does have some interesting editorials, like "Legal or not, prostitution is here so let's control it"

Although based in Canada, Tia Sang Vietnam does a good job of monitoring internet access issues in Vietnam.  Their latest article is about how the Vietnamese government has a Facebook page and is increasing its presence on the site, once banned in the country.

There are other sites that are not sanctioned by the Vietnamese government, such as Vietnam Rights Now, which highlights alleged human rights abuses in Vietnam in addition to other news.  One article on the front page of this web site talks about a police brutality case, while a second one discusses a new alliance between the Phillipines and Vietnam navies to help combat the rise of Chinese power here.