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

- A meeting of key leaders was held in Hanoi on August 6 to evaluate July performance and outline major tasks for August, under the chair of Party General Secretary and State President To Lam.

It was the first key leaders' meeting since Lam’s election as the General Secretary. The meeting also saw the participation of Politburo members, including Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, and permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Luong Cuong. Read full story

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on August 6 presided over the inaugural meeting of the Steering Committee tasked with conducting a review of the 20-year Government apparatus model from the 12th to 15th tenures.

As head of the Steering Committee, PM Chinh underlined the importance of reforming the Government's organisation and operations. Read full story

- The Vietnamese Government is facilitating conditions for the Vietnamese and Japanese defence ministries to enhance exchanges, improve mutual understanding, build trust and collaborate together based on mutual need, capabilities and benefits, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told Japanese Minister of Defence Kihara Minoru during a reception in Hanoi on August 6.

Through the minister, PM Chinh conveyed thanks to Japanese leaders for sending special envoy and former Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide to the state funeral of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and extending condolences to the Vietnamese Party, State and people. He also extended an invitation to his Japanese counterpart Kishida Fumio to visit Vietnam at an appropriate time. Read full story

- National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man chaired a meeting in Hanoi on August 6 to review preparations for the Q&A session at the 36th meeting of the NA Standing Committee.

The session, slated for August 21 and the morning of August 22, marks the first time during the 15th NA's tenure that the NA Standing Committee will combine Q&A with a review of the implementation of the NA Standing Committee’s resolutions on thematic supervision and questioning. Read full story

- Developing ties with Russia is a consistent direction, strategic choice and top priority of the Vietnamese Party, State and people in the country's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of external relations, Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man said on August 6.

Hosting a reception for Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Gennady Bezdetko, the top legislator stressed that the Vietnamese people always bear in mind the whole-hearted support from the Russian people during Vietnam's struggle for national liberation in the past as well as the cause of construction and development nowadays. Read full story

- A disaster data and communication lab was inaugurated in the Lao capital city of Vientiane on August 6, marking a significant step in sci-tech cooperation between Vietnam and Laos.

The 50 sq.m lab, a joint initiative of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) between VAST and the Lao Ministry of Technology and Communications, underwent renovation, equipment installation and software setup from July 26 to August 4. It is equipped with four display screens, two computers and various other devices used for real-time earthquake monitoring. Read full story

- The Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency in Hanoi (KOTRA Hanoi), part of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Vietnam, held a conference on Vietnam-RoK cooperation in the semiconductor industry on August 6.

Speaking at the event, RoK Ambassador to Vietnam Choi Young Sam believed that the event would not only mark a milestone in traditional manufacturing sectors but also offer detailed solutions to advancing bilateral cooperation in the hi-tech industry. Read full story

- Vietnam’s pepper export earnings surged by 40.8% year-on-year to 764.2 million USD in the first seven months of this year, despite a slight decline of 2.2% in export volume, according to the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA).

Rising global pepper prices primarily drove the remarkable growth. The US remained Vietnam's top pepper importer, purchasing 43,349 tonnes of Vietnamese pepper, a significant 48.4% increase from the previous year, accounting for 26.4% of the market share. It was followed by Germany, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, and China. Read full story

- A ceremony to mark the 63rd anniversary of the Day for Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin Victims (August 10) was held in Ho Chi Minh City on August 6.

Speaking at the event, held by the city's Association for Victims of AO/dioxin, Chairman of the association Major General Tran Ngoc Tho laid tress on the devastating impact of the catastrophic AO disaster that left hundreds of thousands of people dead, and many others struggling with fatal diseases and deformities. Read full story./.