The third International Wildlife Trade Conference opened in Hanoi on November 17 with the participation of 47 countries, the European Union, 7 international organisations and over 40 inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations. 

 Vietnam has made effort in protecting wildlife and its intensified law enforcement against traffickers is likely to make the country a role model in the field, said UK Prince William. 

 The second global cyber security competition WhiteHat Grand Prix 2016 will be held on December 17, according to BKAV Corporation.

 Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha confirmed on November 16 that water in certain central provinces is “safe for tourism, sports and fishing.”

 Vietnam currently has 20 coal-fired power plants consuming 45 million tonnes of coal annually and discharging more than 15.7 million tonnes of ash and gypsum as by-products from generating electricity.

 The Ministry of Education and Training has been collaborating with Microsoft Vietnam and Vietnet-ICT to organise Training for Trainers workshops on new ICT and computer science curriculum using active teaching and learning methodologies.

 The Wildlife Research and Conservation Centre (WRCC) and Cuc Phuong National Park have recently successfully released 46 Javan pangolins into the wild. 

 The conservation division of Nui Chua National Park in the province of Ninh Thuan has announced that over 900 young sea turtles have been released back into the sea.

 Concentrated information technology (IT) parks across Viet Nam obtained certain initial success during operation but still fell short of expectations, a recent workshop heard in HCM City.

 Many people gathered in public places in Hanoi and HCM City to see the so-called ‘supermoon’ as orbited Earth as close as it did in 1948.

 Sales of iPhone 7 and 7 Plus smartphones have been stronger than the previous versions, according to major retailers in Vietnam.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has terminated eight terraced hydropower stations and 463 small hydro-electricity plants.

 A lack of effective intermediary organisations which can connect inventions with the market is a problem for the development of Vietnam’s sci-tech market, heard a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on November 14. 

 The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) has said it will remove 471 small and cascade hydropower plants from its master plan and reject another 213 potential projects over environmental and efficiency concerns.

 Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam joined many young people on an event to clean up the area around Linh Dam Lake in Hanoi.

MobiFone’s latest financial report reveals that the official value of its investment in the Audio Visual Global JSC (AVG) was VND8.9 trillion ($400 million) and was the only investment it made in the first half of this year.   

 A two-day startup festival (TechFest Vietnam 2016) that concluded in Hanoi on November 13 attracted nearly 170 investors and more than 3,000 visitors, according to the organisers. 

Vietnam disposed of over two tonnes of elephant ivory and 70kg of rhino horn by incineration for the first time ever on November 12, aiming to join the international community in sending a strong message to illegal wildlife fauna and flora traders. 

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has reported the results of an investigation into Taiwan-invested Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Company’s efforts to tackle the environmental incident it caused in four central provinces.

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