World briefs

INDONESIA A court ruled yesterday that the blasphemy trial of the minority Christian governor of the country’s capital will proceed. Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama is charged with insulting Islam and desecrating the Quran by using one of its verses to boost his chances of winning re-election. 

CHINA Authorities handed down prison sentences to nine protesters in a fishing village that’s received international attention for its demonstrations against land seizures, state media reported yesterday. 

PHILIPPINES The coast guard pressed its search yesterday for 18 crewmen from a cargo ship that sank at the height of Typhoon Nock-Ten, which struck the country on Christmas Day. The Starlite Atlantic sought cover in an anchorage area as the typhoon passed and its crew decided to move to safer waters but encountered huge waves and fierce winds, causing their ship to sink.

SOUTH KOREA While lawyers desperately tried to restore the impeached South Korean president’s powers, politics advanced without her as parties and potential candidates postured for elections that could take place in just months. 

KUWAIT A Kuwaiti criminal court has sentenced a Filipina to 10 years in prison for pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group. The woman was arrested in August and accused of joining the terror group through its affiliate in Libya via email while working as a maid.

EGYPT For most of the past decade, Egypt has been a quiet partner with Israel in a blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip that has stifled the economy and largely blocked its 2 million people from moving in and out of the territory. But after a three-year crackdown, there are signs that Egypt is easing the pressure in a step to repair its shattered ties with the Islamic militant group.

FRANCE French authorities say the main suspect in Berlin’s deadly Christmas market attack made a stop in the eastern French city of Lyon, yet they still don’t know how he entered French soil.

US Senator John McCain has pledged U.S. support to the security of Russia’s three Baltic neighbors amid worries that the U.S. may not be fully committed to the defense of NATO allies following statements by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. He added that Washington should consider basing troops permanently at least in Estonia.