HONG KONG: Students at Hong Kong’s most prestigious university say its academic freedom is under attack in what they maintain is the politically motivated stalling of the appointment of an administrator who supported last year’s pro-democracy protests. In their most confrontational demonstration on campus, about 100 students of the University of Hong Kong stormed a conference room where school leaders were deliberating late Tuesday on the status of former law school dean Johannes Chan, whose appointment to pro-vice chancellor has been stalled for months. University President Peter Mathieson put forth Chan’s name for the post last December, but the university’s governing body, which includes several loyalists to China’s central government, has so far blocked his appointment. Chan was sympathetic to students and other activists who launched last year’s “Occupy Central” protests to demand open nominations in elections for Hong Kong’s top executive. When HKU’s governing body voted late Tuesday to again delay Chan’s appointment, students stormed the room. “Despicable! Despicable!” they shouted as they formed a human barricade and demanded accountability. More than 100 alumni gathered on campus until nearly midnight to show support.

Car bomb kills two

KABUL: A police official said a car bombing in northern Afghanistan killed two civilians and wounded 11. Sayed Sarwar Hussaini, a spokesman for the police chief in Kunduz province, said the blast on Wednesday occurred when a local police vehicle was passing by. Hussaini said no police officers were wounded in the attack, which took place near the hospital in the city of Kunduz. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, though the Taliban often uses roadside bombs.

Huge drugs haul

YANGON: Police in Myanmar’s largest city said on Tuesday they had seized more than 26 million stimulant tablets with a street value of over $100 million, in what appears to be the country’s biggest such seizure ever.