World briefs

VIETNAM A court sentenced an activist to 20 years in prison yesterday after finding him guilty of attempting to overthrow the Communist government, his lawyer said, in a case decried by international rights groups. 

CAMBODIA Final results showed the ruling party swept elections last month for the National Assembly, ensuring long-ruling Prime Minister Hun Sen another term but reinforcing skepticism of the vote’s legitimacy.

MYANMAR Members of a commission established by Myanmar’s government to investigate human rights violations in western Rakhine state addressed critics yesterday with a pledge to be impartial.

AFGHANISTAN As Shiites mourned their dead and held funeral services yesterday, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the horrific suicide bombing in Kabul that targeted a Shiite neighborhood the previous day, killing 34 students.

TURKEY’s finance chief tried to reassure thousands of international investors on a conference call yesterday, in which he pledged to fix the economic troubles that have seen the country spiral into a currency crisis.

POLAND The president yesterday vetoed legislation on elections to the European Union Parliament that would have benefited large political parties and made it harder for small parties to reach a threshold to win seats.

ITALY Malta says that Italy will take in some of the 141 migrants rescued by the aid ship Aquarius last Friday, in what amounts to a reversal for the hard-line anti-migrant government in Rome that had previously refused to host any.

COLOMBIA A panel of self-exiled Venezuelan judges holding a symbolic trial found President Nicolas Maduro guilty of corruption and sentenced him to more than 18 years in prison.

PARAGUAY Mario Abdo Benitez took over as Paraguay’s new president, replacing a seemingly disgruntled Horacio Cartes, who left the inauguration ceremony before it finished.