Sept 26 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he wants to improve relations with China, South Korea and Russia, while acknowledging difficulties facing ties with his country's Asia-Pacific neighbours. "Quiet efforts are needed" if Abe is to achieve his goal of meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a November Pacific Rim meeting in Beijing, Abe told a news conference in New York on Thursday evening. The news conference was broadcast live in Tokyo. Abe, who came to office in December 2012, visited all the leaders of Southeast Asia in his first year, but he has not been able to meet bilaterally with the leaders of China or South Korea, countries angered by territorial disputes with Japan and Abe's approach to Japan's wartime past. He has met Russia's President Vladimir Putin five times, but ties have recently been strained as Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimea region and pro-Russian rebels fought Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine.
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Vietnam to restructure local administrations into 2-tier system
The two-tier system will include the provincial level and the grassroots level
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Vietnam to restructure local administrations into 2-tier system
The two-tier system will include the provincial level and the grassroots level
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Breakfast @ Tuoi Tre News — March 7
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Vietnam to restructure local administrations into 2-tier system
The two-tier system will include the provincial level and the grassroots level

Vietnam to pilot cryptocurrency exchange in March: deputy finance minister
To oversee cryptocurrency exchange operations effectively, Vietnam is considering a controlled sandbox mechanism

Vietnam to boost imports of US liquefied gas, machinery, technology to address trade imbalance
Vietnam will create favorable conditions for U.S. investors to participate in key industries, particularly in new energy, hydrogen, and nuclear power

Ho Chi Minh City police free Chinese man from Chinese kidnapping ring
The victim was kidnapped and kept in a remote area with rugged terrain and dense vegetation in Pham Van Hai Commune, Binh Chanh District

Vietnam posts rare trade deficit in February; concerns about U.S. tariffs remain
Vietnam posted a rare monthly trade deficit in February as imports surged during the month, government data showed on Thursday, though the country's surplus with the United States increased in the opening months of 2025

UNICEF hails Vietnam’s nationwide tuition-free policy as significant step toward educational equity
UNICEF Representative to Vietnam Silvia Danailov viewed the policy as a vital investment in Vietnam's future

Chinese firm seeks to restore Vietnam’s Thap Cham-Da Lat Railway
The Thap Cham-Da Lat railway, originally built by the French between 1908 and 1932

Hanoi to demolish ‘Shark Jaw’ building near iconic Hoan Kiem Lake
The project aims to create a harmonious architectural and landscape environment, strengthening the connection between Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarter

Tools made from elephant and hippo bones show ingenuity of human ancestors
An assemblage of tools found in Tanzania that was fashioned about 1.5 million years ago from the limb bones of elephants and hippos reveals what scientists are calling a technological breakthrough for the human evolutionary lineage - systematic production of implements made from a material other than stone