Voters in Switzerland have backed a tightening of gun laws to conform with European Union regulations. Almost 64% of voters in Sunday’s referendum supported tougher restrictions on semi-automatic and automatic weapons, final results show. Switzerland is not an EU member, but risked removal from the open-border Schengen Area if it had voted “no”. Nearly 48% […]

Alphabet Inc’s Google has suspended business with Huawei that requires the transfer of hardware, software and technical services except those publicly available via open source licensing, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday. The move is a blow to the Chinese technology company that the U.S. government has sought to blacklist around […]

Taiwan’s parliament has legalised same-sex marriage in a landmark vote that made the self-ruled island the first in Asia to adopt such legislation. The lawmakers comfortably passed a law on Friday, allowing same-sex couples to form “exclusive permanent unions” and a second clause that would let them apply for a “marriage registration” with government agencies. […]

Sudan’s military rulers on Wednesday suspended crucial talks with protesters on installing civilian rule, insisting that negotiations will resume only after demonstrators remove roadblocks put up in parts of Khartoum, protest leaders said. The suspension came after at least eight people were reported wounded by gunshots near a sit-in in the capital, shortly before decisive talks were […]

Filipinos headed to the polls on Monday in a vote that is expected to strengthen President Rodrigo Duterte’s grip on power, opening the way for him to deliver on pledges to restore the death penalty and rewrite the constitution. More than 18,000 positions are at stake, including half of the seats in the upper house […]

Polling has opened for the fifth phase of India’s marathon elections including in two constituencies in the vote-rich state of Uttar Pradesh where opposition Congress party president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi hope to retain their seats. More than 87 million people across seven states are eligible to vote on Monday. Voting began […]

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro claims he has defeated what he called a military coup attempt by the opposition leader, Juan Guaidó. Dozens of National Guardsmen sided with the opposition in clashes yesterday that injured more than 100 people. But in a defiant TV address, President Maduro said Guaidó had failed to turn the military against […]

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday announced a ban on all face coverings, a week after Islamist militants carried out coordinated suicide bombings at churches and hotels that killed 253 people. Sirisena said he was using emergency powers to ban any form of face covering in public across Sri Lanka, with the restriction taking effect […]

Japan’s Emperor Akihito is set to step down from the throne on Tuesday, make him the first Japanese emperor to abdicate in more than 200 years. The day’s ceremonies began with several private rituals in the Imperial Palace. The 85-year-old has been given legal permission to abdicate after saying he felt unable to fulfil his […]

The bodies of 15 people, including six children, were discovered at the site of a fierce overnight gun battle on the east coast of Sri Lanka, a military spokesman said on Saturday, six days after suicide bombers killed more than 250 people. The shootout between troops and suspected Islamist militants erupted on Friday evening in […]