Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a list of selected news summaries reported last night by the Vietnam News Agency.

- Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and his entourage arrived in Hanoi on June 19 night, starting a state visit to Vietnam from June 19-20 at the invitation of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong.

The Russian leader is accompanied by Foreign Minister Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Russian sub-committee of the Vietnam-Russia intergovernmental committee on economic-trade and science-technology cooperation Dmitry Nikolaevich Chernyshenko, and Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Gennady Stepanovich Bezdetko, among others. Read full story

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted a reception in Hanoi on June 19 for visiting Director General of Russia's Rosatom State Atomiс Energy Corporation A.E.Likhachev, during which the host asked the Russian side to continue supporting Vietnam in training human resources in nuclear science.

The PM agreed to cooperate with Russia in building a nuclear medicine centre and researching wind power development. Read full story

- The Party Central Committee’s Politburo and Secretariat on June 19 considered and issued disciplinary measures against some violating Party organisations and members, including those of the Ministry of Finance.

They said the Party Civil Affairs Committee of the Finance Ministry for 2016-2021 has violated the principle of democratic centralism, Party regulations and working rules, failed to fully observe instructions of competent authorities, lacked responsibility, and showed loose leadership and direction. As a result, the ministry and some Party organisations and members violated the Party’s regulations and the State’s laws. Read full story

- President To Lam extended congratulations and presented gifts to veteran journalists in Hanoi on June 19 on the occasion of the 99th anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day (June 21, 1925-2024).

Lam visited Ho Tien Nghi, former member of the Party Central Committee, former assistant to the Party General Secretary and former General Director of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), Ha Dang, former member of the Party Central Committee and former Chairman of the Party Central Committee's Commission for Ideology and Culture, Vu Van Hien, former member of the Party Central Committee and former General Director of Vietnam Television (VTV), Phan Quang, former President of the Vietnam Journalists Association and former General Director of Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV). Read full story

- Vietnam’s exports expanded about 13.8% year-on-year in the first half of this year, and imports rose 18.4%, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s Planning and Finance Department said at a press conference in Hanoi on June 19.

Bui Huy Son, head of the department, said exports strongly bounced back in the six-month period to reach some 188.97 billion USD, mainly driven by processing and manufacturing with 159.92 billion USD. Read full story

- A delegation from the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) led by Nguyen Minh Tam, deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations, joined their peers from 32 countries and political parties at the International Inter-Party Forum “BRICS and Partner-Countries” (BRICS+) 2024 hosted by the United Russia party in Vladivostok, Russia from June 16-19.

Tam delivered speeches at the plenary session of the forum and a roundtable held on the forum's sidelines on the role of responsible political forces of Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries in ensuring the financial and economic security of sovereign states, which were highly appauded by the delegates. Read full story

- Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha received his Russian counterpart Dmitry Chernyshenko in Hanoi on June 19.

Expressing his pleasure to meet Dmitry Chernyshenko again after the 24th session of the Vietnam-Russia Inter-governmental Committee for economic, trade and scientific-technical cooperation in April 2023, Ha said he believes that the contacts and working sessions of the Russian Deputy PM within the framework of the State visit to Vietnam by President Vladimir Putin will contribute to promoting Vietnam-Russia cooperation in many fields. Read full story

- Combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a crucial and long-term task which needs to continue, with the active participation of the whole political system and people of all classes, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said on June 19.

While inspecting the implementation of anti-IUU fishing regulations in the central province of Quang Nam, the Deputy Minster said the province has made many positive and remarkable changes in the fight against IUU fishing, but there is still much work to do to implement the European Commission (EC) ’s relevant recommendations. Read full story

- The University of Sydney on June 18 announced the official launch of the University of Sydney Vietnam Institute, a non-profit social enterprise wholly owned by the University of Sydney.

Its mission is to conduct multidisciplinary research across various fields such as health, agriculture, arts, social sciences, business, and Net Zero initiatives, aiming to bring about prosperity for both countries. Supported by up to 40-45 million AUD (26.6-30 million USD) in non-profit funding from the Australian government and international donors, all revenue generated by the institute will be reinvested into research activities in Vietnam./. Read full story