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

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received visiting Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Radan, the commander of Iran’s Law Enforcement Command, in Hanoi on May 14.

The Government leader told his guest that Vietnam wants to work with Iran to make contributions to regional and global peace, cooperation and development, and seeks to enhance cooperative relations with Iran across all fields, including economy, trade, investment, health, science-technology, tourism, agriculture, and security. Read full story

- Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha hosted a reception for Swedish Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Andreas Carlson on May 14.

The deputy PM noted that over the past half century, the two countries have actively built and nurtured a sustainable and in-depth bilateral relationship and achieved fruitful results in cooperation in various fields. Read full story

- The agricultural sector must continue to develop digital infrastructure, ensuring that applications for farmers are simple and easy to understand, said Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang at a May 14 specialised conference on promoting digitalisation in the area.

The hybrid event was co-organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), National Committee for Digital Transformation, and Ministry of Information and Communications. Read full story

- Payment deadlines for value added tax (VAT), corporate income tax, personal income tax, and land rent in 2024 are set to be extended, involving a total tax value of nearly 84 trillion VND (3.3 billion USD).

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has finalised a draft decree on the deadline extension. It said that the move aims to assist enterprises and people to surmount difficulties and sustain production and business activities while minimising impact on the balance of the state budget at both central and local levels. Read full story

- The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in collaboration with the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) held a consultation seminar on handbook for legal communicators on prevention of minors in conflict with the law in Hanoi on May 14. Read full story

- A national centre for information - data integration and processing and environmental monitoring network operation was unveiled by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in Hanoi on May 14.

The centre is managed and run by the Northern Centre for Environmental Monitoring under the ministry’s Pollution Control Department. Read full story

- A boat-to-shore plastic waste collection model, implemented by the central province of Binh Thuan since late 2023, has so far attracted the participation of 200 fishing vessels, yielding a series of positive outcomes.

Carried out as part of a 2022-2024 project on solid waste and fishery waste management in Quy Nhon city, funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), it required participating boat owners to sign a commitment to not discharge plastic waste into the sea but instead collect the waste generated on their vessels to bring ashore. They agreed to install mesh bags on their boats, declare the types of beverages, food, and packaging used during their sea trips before departing, and confirm the amount of plastic waste brought back upon arrival. Read full story

- Young Vietnamese table tennis players have qualified for the next month’s continental tournament thanks to their outstanding performances at the ongoing Southeast Asian Youth Table Tennis Championship in Malaysia, according to Department of Physical Training and Sports under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

This the first time the Vietnam junior players receive their slots at the Asian Youth Table Tennis Championship, which will be organised on June 30-July 6 in Chongquin, China this year. Read full story

- A special programme combining Vietnamese circus and Japanese magic will be staged in Hanoi on May 17, announced the Vietnam Circus Federation (VCF) at a press conference on May 14.

According to Director of the VCF, Tong Toan Thang, the event, which is jointly organised by VCF and Zenpro Corporated Inc from Japan, aims to popularise culture of Vietnam and Japan. Read full story./.