Wood pellets are getting a lot of headlines and touted as the future of clean energy business. Made from an ever-abundant source of sawdust and forest debris, they are compressed into little pills.

 Quang Trung Software City and the Vietnam Information Technology Outsourcing Alliance have signed an agreement with Japan’s Fukuoka Information Services Industry Association.

 A ceremony was held in Da Nang central city on August 31 to receive the title of National Capital 2018 by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)’s One Planet City Challenge programme.

 Danang City People's Committee on Wednesday issued fines of VND160 million (USD7,054) to a hotel investor for directly discharging wastewater onto a local beach.

 An international workshop organised by HCM City Open University discusses challenges facing the field of agricultural biotechnology. (Photo courtesy of the Open University)

 The Japan ICT Day 2018 was opened in Hanoi on August 29, themed “Vietnam-Japan IT Cooperation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

 HCM City needs to improve energy efficiency and collaborate with international organisations to become a low-carbon and sustainable city, experts told a meeting held in the city on Tuesday. 

 The USAID Wildlife Asia on Tuesday launched the third phase of the Chí initiative, a communication programme to help decrease consumer demand for rhino horn in Việt Nam.

 Ho Chi Minh City will push ahead with solutions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, joining the nation’s efforts to realise the Paris Agreement on climate change.

 The Ho Chi Minh City-based TMA Solutions company on August 28 began the construction of the TMA creative park in Quy Nhon city of the central province of Binh Dinh, the first of its kind in Vietnam.

 Mr. Nguyen Dang Nguyen was appointed as the new director of Vietnam Mobile Telecom Services One Member Limited Liability Company (Mobifone).

 Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV) on August 27 said it has ended the operation of the last private bear bile farm in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang.

 Japan ICT Day 2018 themed “Vietnam – Japan IT Cooperation in the 4th Industrial Revolution” will take place in Hanoi and the central city of Da Nang from August 28-31.

 Over 7.6 tonnes of fish fry of various kinds and 180,500 breeding fish of indigenous species were released into Vam Nao river, part of Hau river, in Cho Moi district, the Mekong Delta province of An Giang on August 24. 

 Lac Hong University’s LH – Galaxy team representing Vietnam at the 2018 ABU Asia – Pacific Robot Contest (ABU Robocon) beat China team to win the competition for the seventh time.

 The Asia America Gateway (AAG) undersea cable broke down on August 23, the fourth incident so far this year, affecting Vietnam’s international internet connections. 

 The People’s Committee of south central Binh Thuan province has ordered relevant agencies to tackle the problems arising from large quantities of waste washing up along Phan Thiet coast, affecting tourism.

The Ministry of Information and Communications has decided to relieve Cao Duy Hai of his duty as member of the board and general director of MobiFone for serious violations in a deal in which the mobile carrier had acquired a 95% stake in AVG.

 Some 15 million tons of waste is collected annually from urban and rural areas in Vietnam. Statistics from 2015 showed that 80% of daily waste is simply buried

 Since its inception, the Saigon Hi-Tech Park has become an incubator for innovation and a centre for technology transfer in Ho Chi Minh City and the southern region.