World briefs

INDONESIA A court sentenced the leader of an Islamic State group-affiliated militant network in Indonesia to seven years in prison yesterday for involvement in smuggling guns from the southern Philippines.

MALAYSIA Three members of a Malaysian family have been detained in the death of their Indonesian maid, who suffered injuries and was forced to sleep outside on a porch with the family’s dog.

MALDIVES As a political crisis plays out in the Maldives, a quiet tug of war is taking place around it, with heavyweights China and India vying for strategic dominance in the picturesque Indian Ocean nation. 

ISRAEL-PALESTINE Palestinian protest icon Ahed Tamimi is to go on trial before an Israeli military court today for slapping and punching two Israeli soldiers — an act Palestinians say embodies their David vs. Goliath struggle.

SOUTH AFRICA Citizens are awaiting an end to a period of political limbo in which President Jacob Zuma has remained in office despite calls for him to resign because of corruption allegations.

AUSTRIA Two passenger trains crashed in central Austria yesterday, killing one person and injuring 22 others, authorities said. Authorities said a woman on the EuroCity train was killed and the injured include three children.

ICELAND is expected to use more energy “mining” bitcoins and other virtual currencies this year than it uses to power its homes, as large virtual currency companies establish bases in the North Atlantic island nation.

BRITAIN Oxfam’s deputy chief executive has resigned, saying she took “full responsibility” for failing to act immediately in the sexual misconduct scandal involving the charity’s workers in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake.

BRAZIL There are some Brazilians who probably aren’t finding much to enjoy in Rio de Janeiro’s colorful Carnival parades — the mayor, the governor and the president. An anti-establishment tone is echoing through this year’s celebrations in Brazil.

US President Donald Trump is proposing a USD4 trillion-plus budget for next year that projects a $1 trillion or so federal deficit and — unlike the plan he released last year — never comes close to promising a balanced federal ledger even after 10 years.