HANOI -- The Politburo of the 14th Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee has directed a reduction of at least 20 percent in the number of public higher education institutions, with the restructuring to be completed by April 1, 2027, local daily VnExpress reported Thursday.
The requirement is set out in a plan issued by the Politburo on Tuesday. (Vietnam-Education)
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TOKYO -- A traditional Japanese-style building in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Gokayama in Toyama Prefecture, central Japan, caught fire Thursday, local media reported.
The fire was reported shortly after 1 p.m. local time at a triangular-shaped farmhouse in Nanto City that serves as a museum on the production of a key gunpowder ingredient, Kyodo News reported. (Japan-Fire)
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TOKYO -- The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture has risen to 34, including cases still under investigation for links to the disaster, according to the prefectural disaster response headquarters.
At a disaster response headquarters meeting held Thursday afternoon, Kumamoto Prefecture Government officials announced that 34 people had died, including nine whose deaths are still being investigated to determine whether they were caused by the magnitude 7.1 tremor. (Japan-Kumamoto-Earthquake)
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ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan said on Thursday that it is continuing diplomatic efforts to help ease tensions between the United States and Iran, urging both sides to return to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding as negotiations continue.
"The negotiations between the parties are ongoing to normalize the situation, particularly the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, and to de-escalate," Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi told a weekly media briefing. (Pakistan-U.S.-Iran) ■
