Washington’s call for Asian allies to spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence is untenable given competing needs in infrastructure, healthcare and education, analysts say.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki falls under Indonesia's second-highest alert level for volcanic activity, with a 5km exclusion zone in force around its crater.

The agency will also be cutting back on new kitchens and targeting recipients in more remote areas, Nanik Sudaryati Deyang, the new chief of the National Nutrition Agency, said on Thursday (Jun 4).

More than 1,000 demonstrators had gathered outside a Seoul polling station on Thursday to block ballot boxes from being removed.