Gavin Williamson has strenuously denied he leaked information from the National Security Council as calls are being made for a police inquiry. He was sacked as defence secretary for allegedly disclosing plans to allow Chinese telecoms giant Huawei to help build the UK's 5G network.

A British judge sentenced WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday to 50 weeks in prison for skipping bail seven years ago and holing up in the Ecuadorian embassy. Judge Deborah Taylor said it was hard to imagine a more serious version of the offense as she gave the 47-year-old

Fifteen security personnel and their driver have been killed in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli after a powerful explosion, set off by Maoists, blew up their vehicle. An improvised explosive device (IED) blast was triggered on a police vehicle in the Maoist-affected district that borders

A former student opened fire in a classroom building at a North Carolina university on Tuesday night, killing two people and injuring four others as students finished the last day of classes before final exams and prepared for a campus concert. Police disarmed and apprehended the

Japan's Emperor Naruhito has given his first address after ascending the throne, expressing his hope for happiness and world peace. His ascension was formalised earlier on Wednesday in a ceremony that saw him inherit the Imperial Treasures. A new imperial era called Reiwa -

A court in China has sentenced a Canadian citizen to death for producing and trafficking methamphetamine. Fan Wei, whose gender was not specified, is the second Canadian to be sentenced to death this year. Ten others, including five foreigners, were also sentenced on Tuesday.

The Indian army has claimed to have found footprints of the yeti, sparking jokes and disbelief on social media. The army tweeted to its nearly six million followers on Monday that it had discovered "mysterious footprints of mythical beast 'Yeti' at the Makalu Base Camp [in the

Rod Rosenstein, the US deputy attorney general who oversaw the special counsel inquiry into President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia, has resigned. Mr Rosenstein, who had a fraught working relationship with Mr Trump, will step down on 11 May in a departure that had been

Japan Emperor Akihito is preparing to step down from the throne, becoming the first Japanese monarch to abdicate in more than 200 years. Tuesday's ceremonies began with private rituals in Tokyo's Imperial Palace. The 85-year-old has been given legal permission to abdicate

Indonesia plans to move its capital city from Jakarta, according to the country's planning minister. Indonesia's Minister of National Development and Planning Board Chief, Bambang Brodjonegoro, said President Joko Widodo favored a plan to relocate the capital from Jakarta to

Japan's Emperor Akihito is set to step down from the throne on Tuesday (April 30), 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

Les Murray, arguably Australia’s greatest poet and the man who was frequently tipped to be Australia’s next Nobel laureate, has died. He was 80. He is survived by his five children and wife, Valerie. Murray was often referred to as the Bard of Bunyah in central New South Wales,

Sri Lanka has banned face coverings in public, following a spate of suicide attacks on Easter Sunday that killed at least 250 people and injured hundreds. President Maithripala Sirisena said he was using an emergency law to impose the restriction from Monday. Any face garment which

The Hindi heartland, at the heart of the BJP's spectacular win in 2014, is voting in the fourth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections on Monday (April 29).  The BJP and its allies had won 56 of the 72 seats up for grabs - an impressive strike rate of 77 per cent but an equally

Spain's governing Socialists won the country's third election in four years, but have fallen short of a majority. PM Pedro Sánchez's party polled 29% and will need the help of either left-wing Podemos and regional parties, or the centre right, to form a government. For

The father and two brothers of the alleged organiser of the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, Zahran Hashim, were killed in a security forces operation on Friday, police say. Hashim, who blew himself up at a hotel in Colombo, founded an Islamist group, the NTJ, which has now been

Spain heads to the polls for the third time in four years, with the ruling socialist party expected to win the most votes but fall short of a majority and the far-right Vox party poised to achieve a national breakthrough. The general election was called by the prime minister, Pedro

The father and two brothers of the suspected mastermind of Sri Lanka's Easter Sunday bombings were killed when security forces stormed their safe house two days ago, police sources and a relative of the suicide bombers told Reuters on Sunday. Zainee Hashim, Rilwan Hashim and their

Ten days after Indonesia held the world's biggest single-day elections, more than 270 election staff have died, mostly of fatigue-related illnesses caused by long hours of work counting millions of ballot papers by hand, an official said on Sunday (April 28). The April 17 elections

The United States on Friday (local time) imposed visa sanctions on Pakistan after it refused to take back its citizen deportees and visa over-stayers, as per the US State Department. "Consular operations in Pakistan remain unchanged. This is a bilateral issue of ongoing discussion