World briefs

China At least eight pop stars from mainland China and one each from Taiwan and Hong Kong are publicly stating their support for Beijing’s one-China policy, eliciting a mixture of disappointment and understanding from fans. More on p11

Indonesia Thousands of people in Indonesia’s West Papua province set fire to a local parliament building yesterday in a protest sparked by accusations that security forces had arrested and insulted students from neighboring Papua province, officials said.

Sri Lanka’s president yesterday appointed a general accused of grave human rights abuses in the final stages of Sri Lanka’s long civil war as the country’s new army chief. More on p13

Malaysia The second trial of ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak linked to the multibillion-dollar looting of the 1MDB state investment fund was delayed yesterday by a week to allow his first trial to end.

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani yesterday vowed to “eliminate” all safe havens of the Islamic State group as the country marked a subdued 100th Independence Day after a horrific wedding attack claimed by the local IS affiliate.

Iran An Iranian supertanker with USD130million worth of light crude oil that the U.S. suspects is tied to a sanctioned organization left Gibraltar and was heading east into the Mediterranean Sea yesterday, with its next destination reported to be Greece.

Syria Airstrikes targeted a Turkish army convoy inside Syria yesterday killing 3 civilians and wounding 12 others, the Turkish Defense Ministry said, but there was no word on Turkish casualties.

France Specialists shoring up fire-damaged Notre Dame Cathedral returned yesterday to the Paris site for the first time in nearly a month, this time wearing disposable underwear and other protective gear after a delay prompted by fears of lead contamination.

Spain An out-of-control wildfire in Spain’s Canary Islands was throwing flames 50 meters  into the air on Monday, forcing emergency workers to evacuate more than 8,000 people, authorities said.

UK Britain’s government is planning to pressure social media companies to do more to fight misinformation on vaccines following a spike in measles cases.

UK British Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday dismissed the notion of recalling Parliament from its summer break after leaked government documents warned of widespread shortages and border delays in the event of a “no-deal” Brexit.