In July 1968, revolutionary would-be assassin Võ Thi Thang was sentenced to 20 years of hard labour by the US-backed South Vietnamese government during its war against the Soviet-backed North. Her response, with a smile, was: “20 years? Your government won’t last that long!” Seven years later, her prophecy came to pass, as the last of the Americans hastily retreated from the South’s capital, Saigon - paving the way for the reunification of the country into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Vietnam embodies the saying, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog that matters.” In a brutal, 20-year conflict that killed more than a million Vietnamese between 1954 and 1975, North Vietnam fought against the US and the South - and won. In this clip, People’s Army general Võ Nguyên Giáp reveals the secret behind his side’s success: high morale among the troops and widespread support from the people. Vietnam - then a poor, largely agricultural country - showed that colonialism can be fought back against successfully. So did Angola, South Africa and Kenya.

973 INDIGENOUS CHILDREN DIED IN U.S.-RUN SCOOLS Hundreds of Indigenous children in America died while in the ‘care’ of US government-run boarding schools between 1819 and 1969. Often forcibly removed from their homes, they were kept in overcrowded dormitories and subjected to physical, mental and sexual abuse. A recent report released by the US interior secretary found that 973 Indigenous children died as a result. Marked and unmarked graves were discovered at 65 of more than 400 boarding schools. The findings show that many of the children died from sickness and abuse during the 150 year period. They received English names, and were subjected to military drills as well as forced manual labour, including farm work and brick-making. Over two-centuries after the abuse started, US Catholic bishops recently formally apologised for the church’s role. However, the apology, which was offered in June 2024, did not refer specifically to sexual abuse, even though at least 122 priests, sisters and brothers at 22 Catholic-run boarding schools have been accused of sexually abusing the Native American children under their care.