Several areas in the country continue to experience rain showers due to the shear line and the northeast monsoon or "amihan", the weather bureau said Thursday. The shear line will cause scattered rain showers and thunderstorms over the Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas, Caraga, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Quezon, Marinduque and Romblon. Moderate to heavy rains in those areas may result in flash floods or landslides, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said. PAGASA added that the northeast monsoon will bring light rains over Cagayan Valley, Apayao, Kalinga, Ifugao, Mountain Province, and Aurora. The northeast monsoon will also cause isolated light rains over Metro Manila, Ilocos Region, the rest of Cordillera Administrative Region, the rest of Central Luzon and the rest of Calabarzon. The rest of the country will have isolated rain showers caused by localized thunderstorms. Moderate to strong winds and moderate to rough seas will prevail over L uzon, the Visayas, and the eastern section of Mindanao. The rest of Mindanao will have light to moderate winds and slight to moderate seas. Meanwhile, PAGASA forecaster Patrick del Mundo said the bureau is still monitoring the low pressure area (LPA) outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility. He said the LPA, last tracked 1,220 km. east of northeastern Mindanao, has a slim chance of developing into a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours. "It could enter PAR in the next 24 hours," he said. "Whether it develops into a cyclone or not, it will bring heavy rains over Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas, and Caraga on Sunday," del Mundo said. Source: Philippines News agency Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on November 16 attended a ceremony to launch the new academic year at the Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM), which is Vietnam's leading centre of higher education and scientific research. Speaking at the event, PM Chinh emphasised the role of higher education and innovation in driving growth, saying that human resources, especially high-quality personnel, play a decisive role in the development of each country. Education and training in general, and higher education in particular, play an important role in promoting development, contributing to improving people's knowledge, especially providing highly qualified human resources to meet the requirements of socio-economic development. He said along with digital transformation and the fourth industrial revolution, higher education is changing and developing diversely. The trend of global cooperation and transnational learning widens people's access to higher education, he said, adding that higher education i ncreasingly promotes creative thinking, equips skills, increases proactiveness, and creates an interactive learning environment, aiming to train global citizens. He said higher education focuses on encouraging research, innovation, and technology application, contributing to solving not only national but also global problems. Emphasising the role of higher education in driving growth, the PM requested higher education institutions, including the VNU-HCM, to make greater efforts in training and finding talents, and promoting sustainable economic development. At a working session with leaders of the VNU-HCM later the same day, PM Chinh asked the university to closely follow the development requirements of the southern region and the country to provide suitable training. He also urged the VNU-HCM to keep promoting research, especially to solve current and emerging problems. The VNU-HCM was also asked to effectively utilise human resources; commercialise its research results; organise school governance scien tifically, effectively, economically, and appropriately. On this occasion, representatives from the VNU-HCM proposed the Government and Prime Minister facilitate the university's activities so that it will become one of 100 leading higher education institutions in Asia by 2030. The VNU-HCM is one of the largest educational institutions in Vietnam with eight member universities, 28 units, and over 6,100 staff members, including 1,100 doctorate holders, nearly 400 professors, and associate professors. Each year, it trains more than 95,000 undergraduate students, and more than 8,000 graduate students./. Source: Vietnam News Agency