World briefs

RUSSIA-S. KOREA Growing Chinese anger at South Korea over a U.S. anti-missile defense system bodes ill for everything from pop star appearances to United Nations action against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. Since Beijing criticized Seoul’s decision last month to proceed with the THAAD system, there have been reports of event cancellations and possible bans on South Korean TV series, amid scattered calls for a total boycott of imports from the country.

KOREA Like dozens of athletes at the Rio de Janeiro Games, gymnasts Hong Un Jong of North Korea and Lee Eun-ju of South Korea met on the sidelines during competition and training. The two posed for a smiling selfie in a picture that was captured by journalists and immediately took on larger significance for the two countries still technically at war. More on p18

RUSSIA The Russian intelligence agency FSB said yesterday that one of its employees and a soldier were killed in separate incidents in Crimea described as foiled terrorist attacks.

BANGLADESH Authorities in Bangladesh’s capital arrest six suspected members of a banned Islamist group blamed for recent deadly attacks, including one last month that killed 20 people.

AFGHANISTAN Troops are being deployed to the capital of the key southern province of Helmand amid intense fighting with the Taliban in surrounding areas and fears the city could fall to the insurgents within days, officials said yesterday.

IRAQ A fire ripped through a maternity ward at a Baghdad hospital overnight, killing 12 newborn babies, government officials said yesterday, likely caused by faulty electrical wiring. By morning, grief-stricken fathers searched for their missing newborns in vain while angry relatives gathered outside the Yarmouk hospital in western Baghdad blamed the government for the tragedy. More on p15

ZAMBIA, often praised for its healthy democracy and economy, now faces a presidential election with high tensions on both fronts. This southern African country votes today amid concerns about political violence after years of peaceful power transitions that the U.S. last year praised as a “model for Africa.”

UK Striking workers on a British rail network have called off the final two days of a strike that has disrupted the journeys of hundreds of thousands of commuters. Trade union staff walked out on Monday over plans to remove conductors from trains. The strike was due to last five days.