‘I’ve Always Aimed Big’: Vietnamese Tycoon behind £155m Oxford Donation

THE GUARDIAN: Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao has gone from importing fax machines as a student in Moscow to name-changing billionaire

Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao has an estimated $2.7bn (£2bn) fortune, part of which was made from VietJet, the airline she founded and runs. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images
Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao began her business career as a sideline importing fax machines and latex rubber into the then Soviet Union while studying economic management at D Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology in Moscow. Before she had turned 21 – or graduated – she had made her first million.

Phuong Thao, who is popularly known as Madam Thao, is now Vietnam’s first and only female billionaire with an estimated $2.7bn (£2bn) fortune made from VietJet, the airline she founded and runs, alongside a vast property empire that stretches from skyscrapers in Ho Chi Minh City to five star beach resorts across the country as well as offshore oil and gas exploration and fossil fuel financing.

But her name may soon be well known in the UK as well as Vietnam after University of Oxford’s Linacre College agreed to rename itself Thao College after a £155m “transformative donation” from her holding company Sovico Group.

“Education and research are the keys to the development and prosperity of mankind,” she said on announcing the deal. “I believe the long-term cooperation with Oxford University will bring new opportunities and good value to the community.” » | Rupert Neate | Thursday, November 4, 2021

Lawrence's Last Word: Trump's Lies about Why He Didn't Serve in Vietnam | The Last Word | MSNBC

Trump says he didn't serve in Vietnam because he was "never a fan" of the war.

On Asia Trip, Trump Met by Protests Calling on U.S. to Open Diplomatic Relations with North Korea

President Donald Trump continued his five-nation tour of Asia, landing in Vietnam today for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. This comes as Trump said on Thursday that he wants Russia’s help in getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. In Korea, he attempted to visit the Demilitarized Zone, but his fleet of helicopters was turned back due to bad weather. We speak with Professor Bruce Cumings, who just returned from Seoul, South Korea, where Trump was met with protests. He is professor of history at the University of Chicago and the author of several books on Korea, including “Korea’s Place in the Sun: A Modern History.”

Vietnam Offers Free Courses in Marxism and Ho Chi Minh Studies

BBC: Vietnam is to waive university fees for philosophy students who agree to take courses in Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh ideology, in a bid to boost the uptake of unpopular courses.

PM Nguyen Tan Dung has signed a decree stipulating the fee exemption.

It will also apply to medical students who want to focus on TB, leprosy, mental illnesses and surgical sciences.

In addition traditional Vietnamese drama and opera students will get a reduction in their fees.

In recent years, the number of students who want to study "communist sciences" has dwindled sharply even though Vietnam takes pride in its Marxist heritage.

Pham Tan Ha, head of admission and training at the Social and Human Sciences University in Ho Chi Minh City, told local media that his university had been struggling to attract new students to study philosophy, including Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh ideology. » | Nga Pham, BBC News, Bangkok | Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Madeleine Albright glaubt, daß Hillary Clinton die richtige Präsidentin für den Moment wäre
DIE PRESSE: Die ehemalige US-Außenministerin Madeleine Albright sieht im Irak-Krieg eine schwere Verletzung der Demokratie und des Rufs der USA. Sie warnte dennoch vor einem Rückzug der USA von der globalen Bühne.

Die frühere US-Außenministerin Madeleine Albright hat den Irak-Krieg als "größte Katastrophe" der amerikanischen Außenpolitik bezeichnet. Dem Nachrichtenmagazin "Focus" sagte Albright, der Krieg sei "schlimmer als Vietnam". Er habe den Ruf Amerikas und der Demokratie schwer beschädigt.

Früher hätten die Menschen, wenn sie das Wort Amerika hörten, an die Befreiung Europas von den Nazis oder den Marshall-Plan gedacht. "Heute denken sie an Guantanamo Bay und Abu Ghoreib", sagte die 70-jährige Politberaterin. Albright: Irak-Krieg ist "schlimmer als Vietnam" >>> | 02.03.2008

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Bush’s Warning: Iraq Could Turn into America’s New Vietnam
BBC: President George W Bush has warned a US withdrawal from Iraq could trigger the kind of upheaval seen in South East Asia after US forces quit Vietnam.

"The price of America's withdrawal was paid by millions of innocent citizens," he told war veterans in Missouri.

Mr Bush said the Vietnam War had taught the need for US patience over Iraq.

His speech comes amid an apparent rift with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, but Mr Bush said Mr Maliki was a "good man with a difficult job". Bush warns of new Vietnam in Iraq (more)

Mark Alexander