JAKARTA -- The administration of East Flores regency in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province has declared an emergency response status after the alert level of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki was raised to the highest level on Thursday, National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) spokesman Abdul Muhari said on Friday.
The Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation recorded a significant increase in volcanic activity between March 13 and March 20, including a rise in volcanic earthquakes and eruption columns. A major eruption occurred at 23:56 local time on Thursday, with the height of ash column measured at approximately 8,000 meters above the summit, which is about 9,584 meters above sea level. (Indonesia-Volcano Eruption)
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ISLAMABAD -- The Pakistani military announced late Thursday night that security forces had killed 10 terrorists during an intelligence-based operation in the Dera Ismail Khan district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
According to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, the operation was launched based on intelligence reports regarding the presence of a group of terrorists in the area. (Pakistan-Terrorism)
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SEOUL -- South Korea's opposition parties on Friday submitted an impeachment motion against Choi Sang-mok, deputy prime minister for economic affairs who became acting president in December last year following the impeachments of both president and prime minister.
The main liberal opposition Democratic Party and four other minor parties submitted the impeachment motion for four reasons, including Choi's alleged involvement in the impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol's botched martial law imposition and his refusal to appoint a constitutional court justice for over three weeks. (South Korea-Impeachment-1st LD)
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TOKYO -- Japan's core consumer prices increased 3.0 percent in February from a year earlier, but the pace of gain slowed for the first time in four months, government data showed Friday.
The increase in the core consumer price index (CPI), excluding volatile fresh food, slowed from the previous month's 3.2 percent gain due largely to the resumption of government subsidies to offset energy costs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. (Japan-CPI-Inflation) ■
