TOKYO -- Japan's parliament on Tuesday enacted a record 114.38 trillion yen (874.77 billion U.S. dollar) budget for fiscal 2023, including record allocations for controversial defense spending plans amid political and public opposition and against a backdrop of the country's dire fiscal health.
The government's budget includes a record 6.82 trillion yen (52.15 billion dollars) in defense spending, a 20 percent hike and the highest on record, for the first year of a controversial and unprecedented five-year spending plan. (Japan-Budget Enactment)
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JAKARTA -- Anak Krakatau volcano in Indonesia's Lampung province has erupted four times as of Tuesday afternoon, spewing ash columns up to the height of 2,500 meters above the crater, Indonesian authorities said.
The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) reported on Tuesday that the volcano in the Sunda Strait located between Java and Sumatra islands erupted at 04:12 a.m., 05:38 a.m., 07:43 a.m., and 12:21 p.m., respectively. The longest eruption on the day lasted for two minutes and 26 seconds. (Indonesia-Volcano Eruption)
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MANILA -- The Philippines will "disengage from any contact and communication" with the International Criminal Court (ICC) after the tribunal rejected the Philippine government's appeal to suspend its drug war probe, Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos said on Tuesday.
Marcos was reacting to the ICC Appeals Chamber's March 27 decision to reject Manila's request to suspend the investigation into the previous Rodrigo Duterte administration's anti-drug campaign. (Philippines-ICC-Disengagement)
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SEOUL -- South Korea on Tuesday expressed regret over Japan's history-distorting textbooks as it hinders the right perception of history in Japan's future generations.
The South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement that the government expresses deep regret over the Japanese government's approval of primary school textbooks following the unreasonable claims which Japan has made for the past decades.
The ministry noted that it strongly protests, in particular, against Tokyo's approval of textbooks containing the unfair claims to Dokdo, called Takeshima in Japan, which the ministry said is the country's unique territory historically, geographically and according to international law. (South Korea-Japan-Textbooks)
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YANGON -- One man was killed and 19 others were injured in a mine blast in western Myanmar's Sagaing region on Tuesday, the Information Team of Myanmar's State Administration Council reported.
The mine explosion occurred at around 9:30 a.m. local time near the bus terminal of Shwebo town in Sagaing region, the report said. (Myanmar-Mine Blast Death)
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PHNOM PENH -- China on Monday provided 16 ambulances and medical equipment to Cambodia.
Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian handed over the donation to Cambodian Health Minister Mam Bunheng at a ceremony held at the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Phnom Penh, said a MoH press release. (China-Cambodia-Medical Donation)
