Asia

    The five judges of the Supreme Court were unanimous in their decision to overturn the ban on consensual same-sex relations, which was previously punishable by an up to life in prison sentence. Since July, the court has been hearing testimonies from celebrities and numerous petitions arguing for gay sex between consenting adults to be legalised. In his judgment, the Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, said: Any consensual sexual relationship between two consenting adults homosexuals, heterosexuals or lesbians cannot be said to be unconstitutional, according to Reuters. With the exception of the years between 2009 and 2013, gay sex has been illegal in India since the introduction of Section 377 in 1861. The law, made under British colonial rule, banned sexual activ...

    Aung San Suu Kyi has been stripped of a variety of accolades and awards in response to the events in Rahkine Suu Kyi is set to be stripped of her Freedom of Edinburgh award for her refusal to condemn the violence against the Rohingya in Myanmar. This will be the seventh honour that the former Nobel peace prize winner has been stripped of over the past year, with Edinburgh following the example of Oxford, Glasgow and Newcastle which also revoked Suu Kyi’s Freedom of the City awards. Suu Kyi was given the award in 2005 to honour her role in championing peace and democracy in Burma, where she was living under house arrest. At the time the Lord Provost of Edinburgh compared Suu Kyi to Nelson Mandela, describing her as a symbol of peaceful resistance in the face of op...

    The former World Cup cricket captain Imran Khan has been sworn in as Pakistan's prime minister. His swearing in ceremony marks the end of decades of rotating leadership between two establishment parties, accompanied by periods of military rule of the nuclear armed country of 207 million people. The 65-year-old, wearing a traditional black sherwani and black glasses, shed a tear and smiled as he stumbled over some of the words of the oath. He was accompanied by his third wife, Bushra Bibi, formerly known as Bushra Maneka, who he wed earlier this year. It was her first public appearance since the wedding, and wearing a traditional white niqab she was flanked by tight security. The swearing-in ceremony came a day after Oxford graduate Mr Khan won a simple majority ...

    Pop star Nick Jonas has arrived in India with his parents to introduce them to the family of his new fiancee, Priyanka Chopra. The unlikely couple is rumoured to have become engaged in late July (18), just two months after the stars began dating, and on Thursday night (16Aug18), Nick, his father Kevin Sr., and his mother Denise were photographed touching down at an airport in Mumbai. Reports suggest the Baywatch actress' parents are hosting the Jonases for a planned party to celebrate Nick and Priyanka's romance, and the bride-to-be's future in-laws didn't go empty-handed Kevin Sr. was spotted carrying a large shopping bag from Tiffany & Co., the same designer brand of her engagement ring. Her singer/actor beau is said to have closed down a Tiffany & Co. st...

    Former cricket star Imran Khan was close to winning an outright majority in Pakistan’s election as his main political rivals complained of vote rigging in a contest already tarnished by violence and allegations of army interference. With vote counting continuing Thursday morning, unofficial tallies showed Khan’s Movement for Justice party, or PTI, winning the most seats. Geo TV reported that his party led in 114 seats, shy of the 136 needed to form a government. Jailed former premier Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz was ahead in 64 seats and the Pakistan Peoples Party led in 45, with the other rest split among smaller parties. While Sharif’s party and the PPP denounced irregularities in the election, Khan could strike deals with independent lawmakers to ...

    A British lesbian won the right to live and work in Hong Kong with her partner in a landmark decision on Wednesday by the top court in the city, where same-sex unions are not recognised. The Court of Final Appeal judgement ends the protracted legal battle by QT, who entered into a civil partnership in Britain in 2011 and moved to Hong Kong with her partner the same year. The ability to bring in dependants is an important issue for persons deciding whether to move to Hong Kong, the court said, adding it was counter-productive to limit that right to straight couples. It said employment visas are granted because he or she has the talent or skills deemed needed or desirable. Such a person could be straight or gay. Gay marriage and same-sex unions are currently not rec...

    Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, has introduced a new national oath playing down the achievements of his father and grandfather and instead praising his own ideology and leadership. The oath, which must be recited by all citizens, was originally introduced in the 1970s, when Kim Il-sung, the founder of the nation and the grandfather of the present dictator, exercised control over the nation. The oath was made up of 10 articles that extolled the wisdom and greatness of Mr Kim and, after his death in July 1994, his son, Kim Jong-il. Declared by workers, students and members of the armed forces on national holidays and key anniversaries of the Workers’ Party, citizens have been required to swear to “arm themselves with the ideals” of the nation’s first two leader...

    Chinese social media users are scratching their heads over a Chinese proverb US President Donald Trump's daughter and advisor Ivanka posted to Twitter as her father prepared for his summit with North Korea's Kim Jong-un. Those who say it can not be done, should not interrupt those doing it. Chinese Proverb, Ivanka posted on Monday, the night before her father and Kim came together to seek an end to a tense decades-old nuclear stand-off. China's internet quickly lit up, puzzled rather than flattered by the reference. Our editor really can't think of exactly which proverb this is. Please help! the news channel for Sina the company behind Weibo, China's largest Twitter like platform wrote on its official social media account. In thousands of comments on Weibo, users ...

    President Donald Trump took a moment in his history making summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un to show off his presidential limousine. President Trump said he had developed a very special bond with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their historic summit here Tuesday, reversing decades of U.S. policy toward the rogue regime in an extraordinary gamble that his personal attention would help break a cycle of nuclear brinkmanship and stave off a military confrontation. After more than four hours of meetings at Singapore’s secluded and opulent Capella resort, the two leaders sat beside each other and signed what Trump called a very comprehensive agreement setting the path forward for negotiations. Trump and Jong-un had just finished off a working lunch whe...

    Trump will be accompanied by a staffer
 carrying his button in the form of the nuclear football
 containing equipment used to authorise a strike Donald Trump will have access to his nuclear 'button' nearby when he meets North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un tomorrow. The world leaders are due to meet in Singapore tomorrow for a summit that could change the nuclear destiny of the entire world. Trump is expected to be alone in a room with the North Korean dictator, aside from translators, for up to two hours when they meet from 2am UK time on Tuesday. While Trump will have his 'link' close to him at all times, less is known about how Kim maintains control of his nuclear arsenal when he travels. Donald Trump will have access to his 'nuclear button' at all times during s...