Pakistan closes schools and universities after twin bombings

Pakistan closed schools nationwide for five days after suicide bombers struck a university in the capital, a step that may further erode public tolerance for the country's Islamic militant movement. "Educational institutions under the federal government are all closed" following the bombings that killed five people at the International Islamic University in Islamabad, said Atiq-ur- Rehman, a spokesman for the Education Ministry. Schools and colleges run by provincial administrations and private institutions "have independently taken the decision" not to open, he said in a phone interview.