NEW DELHI -- At least 26 people were killed and many others injured Friday in a head-on collision between a minibus and a container truck in India's northeastern state of Assam, officials said.
The accident took place at Rongajan, near Kaziranga in Golaghat district, about 274 km northeast of Dispur, the capital city of Assam. (India-Traffic Accident-Deaths)
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TOKYO -- A 27-year-old U.S. Air Force captain was arrested by Japanese police on Saturday in Okinawa Prefecture on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, despite measures taken by the U.S. military to curb misconduct among its personnel, local media reported.
According to Kyodo News, the captain, Omena Mushale, who is assigned to Kadena Air Base, was arrested at the scene in the southern Japanese prefecture for allegedly violating Japan's road traffic law. The arrest comes as drunk-driving cases involving U.S. military personnel continue to occur. (Japan-U.S. Military-Drunk Driving)
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HANOI -- Six soldiers were killed after a BMP-1 armored vehicle sank during combat-readiness training at the TB1 National Shooting Range in Vietnam's northern Bac Ninh city on Thursday, Vietnam's Ministry of National Defense said Saturday.
The vehicle encountered a problem and sank at around 8:25 a.m. in Bien Son commune, according to the ministry. (Vietnam-Soldiers)
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TOKYO -- The Japanese government is considering a significant increase in defense spending over the next five years, with plans to raise the total defense budget for fiscal 2027 through 2031 to 60 trillion yen (about 376 billion U.S. dollars) when it revises the three key security documents, Kyodo News reported Friday, citing sources.
According to the report, spending focus will include large-scale procurement of drones, ammunition and missiles. (Japan-Defense-Budget) ■
