Here are a few stories from around Asia you may have missed this week 

A volcano erupted in Indonesia on December 4 spewing a cloud of ash 15 km into the sky and forcing the evacuation of thousands of people, as authorities issued their highest warning for the area in the east of Java Island.

There were no immediate reports of any casualties from the eruption of the Semeru volcano and Indonesia's transport ministry said that there was no impact on air travel but notices had been sent to two regional airports for vigilance.

Indonesia's Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency warned residents to stay at least 8km away from the crater.

In an attempt to keep rising air pollution under control, authorities on December 4 in India's capital Delhi issued restrictions on construction work and demolition activities.

The Commission for Air Quality Management, directed authorities in Delhi's National Capital Region (NCR) to ban all non-essential construction work in the region under the Graded Response Action Plan.

China's Shenzhou-14 astronauts, or taikonauts, Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe, returned to Earth safely on December 4 after a six-month mission in the country's orbiting space station.

The re-entry capsule carrying the trio touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 8:09 p.m. Beijing Time after a journey of about nine hours. 

The Republic of Korea ordered striking truckers in the steel and petrochemical industries to return to work on December 7, widening a back-to-work order beyond the cement industry amid a prolonged nationwide strike that has disrupted supply chains.

Tens of thousands of striking truckers are demanding a minimum wage program be permanent and broader. The government has so far refused, but has said it can extend it beyond the current three years.

To date, 78 petrol stations had run out of fuel nationwide, many of which were in the Seoul metropolitan region, government data shows.

(Cover: Mount Semeru volcano spews volcanic ash during an eruption as seen from Candipuro in Lumajang, East Java province, Indonesia, December 4, 2022)