World Briefs

HONG KONG Hundreds of pro-democracy protesters formed a human chain at the British Consulate last night to rally support for their cause from the city’s former colonial ruler. They sang “God Save the Queen,” then formed a line in front of the consulate and along nearby streets, waving Union Jack flags and chanting “Fight for freedom, save Hong Kong” and “We are British.”

CHINA accused the U.S. of having “weaponized” the issuance of visas following the reported inability of a top Chinese space program official to obtain permission to travel to a key conference in Washington. The head of the Chinese delegation to the International Astronautical Congress, Wu Yanhua, wasn’t able to obtain a visa, making it difficult for Chinese representatives to attend important events at the meeting. More on p11

NORTH KOREA Food insecurity in North Korea “is at an alarming level,” with nearly half the population — 11 million people — undernourished, the U.N. independent investigator on human rights in the country said. Tomas Quintana told the General Assembly’s human rights committee that 140,000 children are estimated to be suffering from “undernutrition,” including 30,000 who “face an increased risk of death.” More on p13

PAKISTAN A security firm says fake smartphone apps laden with malware are targeting Pakistan’s military and government. A report by Canadian company BlackBerry identifies new espionage campaigns attempting to steal sensitive data from mobile devices. BlackBerry says it doesn’t know who is responsible for the campaigns but says it likely involves state-sponsored hacking groups.

AFGHANISTAN’s acting foreign minister, Salahuddin Rabbani, has resigned his post. In a resignation letter to President Ashraf Ghani yesterday, Rabbani said the Foreign Ministry has been sidelined and is being treated as a non-governmental organization. “It is unbearable,” he says.

ISRAEL’s former military chief Benny Gantz is set to receive an official mandate to form the country’s next government but has few options after last month’s elections left him in a near tie with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured). Netanyahu was given the first opportunity to form a government after assembling a large right-wing bloc but failed to build a 61-seat majority.

UK A large cargo truck was found containing the bodies of 39 people in one of Britain’s worst people smuggling tragedies. Police initially said the cargo truck had traveled through Ireland and then to Wales via ferry, but that theory changed late yesterday when Essex police said they believe the container with the people inside went from the port of Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet, England, where it arrived earlier yesterday.

EU The European Parliament blocked a diluted proposal by the 28-nation bloc’s executive arm on protecting bees from pesticides, arguing it didn’t go far enough. European lawmakers adopted a resolution urging the European Commission to “table new legislation based on the latest scientific and technical knowledge.”