Competent forces in central Quang Tri province’s Huong Hoa district have deactivated more than 460 shells, according to the provincial mobile bomb and mine clearance team under PeaceTrees Vietnam.

Vietnam’s rice export price has unexpectedly surpassed Thailand’s prices, but the good news has been overshadowed by China’s higher import tariff on sticky rice and tighter control over imports.

While training divisions at universities are busy these days dealing with the high numbers of applications, enrollment officers at vocational schools are idle because of the lack of students. 

 Several experts have suggested that the State Bank of Vietnam take efforts to stabilize the local currency rather than weakening Vietnam dong to sharpen competitiveness of local commodities.

 The HCMC Tax Department has invited some 14,000 social network account holders, especially those developing applications on Google and Facebook, to work with their tax offices on their tax obligations, reported Lao Dong newspaper. 

Vietnam’s software firms are developing steadily with stable revenue growth rate of 50 percent per annum. 

 The use of land, a type of public property, for payment to investors in the Build – Transfer (BT) format should be stopped until the Vietnamese government issues a new regulation.

In the digital and artificial intelligence era, orthodox publishing groups no longer play the key role in the world’s publishing industry. The role has been transferred to Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple. 

 The Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau is developing a soil bank on 11 hectares in Cai Nuoc District to store soil and mud dredged from the rivers for ground leveling. This is the first soil bank in the Mekong Delta.

 The draft law on special administrative and economic units, also known as special economic zones, will not be put on the agenda of a National Assembly Standing Committee session set for August 8 to 13.

 The total consumption of the biofuel E5 in the first half of the year saw a 31.18% increase year-on-year, reaching some 1.78 million cubic meters.

Domestic wood processing companies have overtaken FDI enterprises in terms of export revenue. 

 Pepper prices in the Central Highlands have plunged to VND48,000-49,000 per kilogram, the lowest price point over the last decade, reported news website Vietnamplus.

 A classical concert featuring the Paris-based Arod Quartet and pianist Nguyen Viet Trung will take place at Hanoi Opera House on August 25.

 The National Center for Hydro Meteorological Forecasting issued its latest weather forecast this morning that a low-pressure system is heading to the East Sea.

 The total number of public holidays next year is set at 21 days, announced the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs on August 6.

 The Prime Minister has approved the restructuring plans for five of the six major State-owned enterprises (SOEs), and two large corporations under his jurisdiction, in the first half this year.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved the sustainable smart city development plan for the 2018-2025 period and beyond towards 2030 with a view to improving the lives of city residents.

 HSDC Maps app provides updates on flooding around Hanoi and suggests alternative routes.

Co-working spaces in Vietnam only account for 0.5 percent of the office-for-lease market, but are becoming more popular.