Xinhua Asia-Pacific News Summary at 1600 GMT, May 21

JAKARTA -- Mount Merapi, the most active volcano in Indonesia, spewed a column of smoke and ash into the air on Monday in the second phreatic eruption this month.

The volcano, located in the borders of Central Java and Yogyakarta province, erupted twice with a column of volcanic material sent up to 1,200 meters high, creating volcanic ash rain in several villages, spokesman of the national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Monday. (Indonesia-Volcano-Eruption)

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KUALA LUMPUR -- Core members of the cabinet led by newly elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad were sworn in on Monday, as the 92-year-old leader vowed to restore the former glory of the country.

TV live-broadcast showed that 13 ministers, all from the four component parties in the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition, were sworn in at the National Palace. (Malaysia-Cabinet-Sworn in)

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JAKARTA -- Indonesian government has blocked thousands of websites containing radicalism and will continue to check the internet as one of the efforts to secure the cyberspace from contents related to radicalism and terrorism.

The action came as the country had been hit by a series of suicide assaults and terrorist attacks for the last two weeks that killed over 32 people in East Java and Riau provinces. (Indonesia-Websites-Shut down)

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TOKYO -- A new document revealed on Monday showed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may have known of a scandal-hit school project two years earlier than he previously admitted, casting doubt over the credibility of the premier's previous explanations.

Abe has been accused of using his influence to facilitate a government decision to approve the heavily-subsidized opening of a veterinary school at an university run by his friend Kotaro Kake. (Japan-Abe-Scandal) Enditem