World briefs

MALAYSIA Police said a popular ethnic Chinese rapper was detained yesterday over complaints that his latest music video featuring dancers wearing dog masks and performing “obscene” moves insulted Islam and could hurt racial harmony.

INDONESIA Five people are dead and 18 missing after a landslide yesterday on the Indonesian island of Java engulfed farmers working in their rice paddies.

PHILIPPINES Communist guerrillas said yesterday a Philippine government court petition to have them designated as terrorists is a desperate attempt to alienate them from the people, but insisted they are still open to talks to peacefully settle one of Asia’s longest-raging insurgencies. 

INDIA-PAKISTAN Pakistan’s foreign ministry says Indian troops opened fire in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, killing a laborer on the Pakistani side of the boundary.

SYRIA A new wave of deadly Syrian government bombardment in the opposition-held eastern suburbs of the capital Damascus yesterday killed 13 people as world leaders and aid groups called for an end to the carnage that has left hundreds of people dead in recent days.

EUROPEAN UNION leaders will meet today with counterparts from West Africa in a show of support for the impoverished Sahel region that has fallen prey to extremists and is a key transit point for migrants heading to Europe.

NETHERLANDS Dutch anti-smoking activists vowed to fight on yesterday after prosecutors rejected their call for a criminal investigation into four major tobacco companies on charges including attempted murder or manslaughter, on the grounds that such a case would be unlikely to lead to a conviction.

VENEZUELA President Nicolas Maduro is doubling-down on plans to concentrate power by calling for early congressional elections to coincide with a presidential vote in April that opponents hours earlier said they would boycott unless steps are taken to ease fears it’s rigged.

BRAZIL’s Health Ministry has recorded 545 cases of yellow fever as the outbreak continues to expand, including in places not previously considered at risk. The ministry said that 164 people have died.