In brief: Russia intercepts Finnish research ship

HELSINKI – The Finnish Environment Institute said Saturday that Russian military ships have twice recently intercepted one of its research vessels in international waters in the Baltic Sea.

The agency said a Russian warship ordered the Aranda to change course east off the Swedish island of Gotland on Aug. 2 through radio contact. A month later it was approached by a Russian helicopter and a military vessel.

The institute said in a statement Saturday that in neither case did the Aranda change its course or speed and continued its research into marine samples in the area.

Chinese scholar, rights advocate arrested

BEIJING – A Chinese scholar and rights advocate who founded an influential non-governmental think tank has been detained on the criminal charge of provoking troubles, his lawyer said today.

Guo Yushan is the latest of dozens of people who have been detained at a time when Hong Kong protesters are demanding universal suffrage in elections for the top official of the semiautonomous territory.

Earlier this month, Beijing detained the dissident poet Wang Zang and seven other people ahead of a poetry reading planned in Beijing to support the Hong Kong protesters.

At least 37 people in mainland China have been held for supporting the protesters, including posting pictures and messages online showing solidarity and planning to travel to Hong Kong to join them, according to human rights group Amnesty International. Another 60 have been called in by police for questioning.

It is unclear if Guo’s detention is directly related to the Hong Kong protests.