World briefs

HONG KONG

Democracy vote irks China

Tens of thousands of Hong Kongers lined up to vote yesterday, joining hundreds of thousands of others who cast electronic ballots in the first three days of an unofficial referendum on democratic reform that Beijing has blasted as a farce. Tensions have soared in Hong Kong over how much say residents of the former British colony can have in choosing their next leader, who's currently hand-picked by a 1,200-member committee of mostly pro-Beijing elites. Beijing, which has pledged to allow Hong Kong to choose its own leader starting in 2017, has balked at letting members of the public nominate their own candidates, saying they would have to be vetted by a Beijing-friendly committee.

THAILAND

Orwell reading leads to arrestEight people were arrested yesterday for demonstrating against the increasingly repressive military junta, including a man who was dragged away by undercover officers for reading a copy of George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four" outside one of Bangkok's luxurious shopping malls. It was the first known case of anyone being detained for reading as a form of protest since the military seized power last month. Handfuls of anti-coup protesters have staged silent readings of the classic book elsewhere in the capital in recent weeks because they say its indictment of totalitarianism has become relevant after the army deposed the elected government in a May 22 coup.

UKRAINE

Putin supports cease-fire

Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly expressed support yesterday for Ukraine's declaration of a cease-fire in its battle against pro-Russian separatists and called on both sides to negotiate a compromise. Putin said such a compromise must guarantee the rights of the Russian-speaking residents of eastern Ukraine, who must feel like they are "an integral part" of their own country. Putin's statement appeared to signal that he sees their future in Ukraine.