Pakistan on Friday confirmed it detained the father of a prominent activist who has fled the country, in an incident that’s fueled fears of a clampdown on dissent and sparked condemnation from the United States.

A Chinese company’s attempt to lease an entire island in the Solomon Islands was unlawful and will not be allowed to go ahead, the Pacific archipelago’s government said Friday.

Algerians flooded the streets of the capital Friday to demand the overhaul of the political establishment and reject army-backed calls for presidential polls in December.

Muslims in the conflict-blistered Thai south yesterday marked with prayers the 15th anniversary of the deaths of scores of protesters who suffocated in army trucks -- an incident that galvanised an insurgency and remains an emblem of state impunity.

Incumbent president Mokgweetsi Masisi yesterday won a five-year term in Botswana’s elections which saw his ruling party secure more than 51 percent of parliamentary votes, the chief justice said.

Two senior US senators called for the government to study national security risks possibly posed by Chinese-owned video app TikTok, saying it could leave American users vulnerable to Beijing’s spying.

Washington said it was “concerned” late Thursday by reports that the father of a Pakistani activist who fled the country has himself been detained, the latest incident to fuel fears of a clampdown on dissent.

Health condition of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has deteriorated alarmingly and she needs better treatment abroad on an emergency basis, said her elder sister Selima Islam yesterday.

The European Union yesterday agreed to London’s request for a Brexit deadline extension but set no new departure date, giving Britain’s divided parliament time to decide on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s call for a snap election.

Onion prices in kitchen markets have hit a record high for this year, despite government promises and measures to keep them down.

A Pakistani court yesterday bailed former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif indefinitely on medical grounds, court officials said, days after he was taken to hospital from prison where he is serving seven years for corruption.

Yesterday was the first Friday after the fierce clash in Bhola’s Borhanuddin over a hate conversation, and the day passed peacefully, amid the authorities’ restrictions on plying launch and bus, and holding outdoor programmes.

A seventh grader was raped by two men on her way home from school in Moulvibazar’s Kulaura upazila on Thursday.

Two senior US senators called for the government to study national security risks possibly posed by Chinese-owned video app TikTok, saying it could leave American users vulnerable to Beijing’s spying.

Washington said it was “concerned” late Thursday by reports that the father of a Pakistani activist who fled the country has himself been detained, the latest incident to fuel fears of a clampdown on dissent.

United Nations humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock yesterday said that Nigeria has promised to lift a ban on two international aid groups working in the restive northeast in the “next few days”.

A former top Australian intelligence official has been charged with mishandling classified documents, officials said yesterday, years after his home was raided during an investigation into Chinese influence operations.

Ice skaters on the two rinks in New York’s Central Park have long glided, or stumbled, past large red signs spelling “Trump.” Not this season, officials confirmed Wednesday.

A Moscow court yesterday ruled to keep US citizen Paul Whelan, who was arrested at the end of last year on espionage charges, in custody for another two months.

Tunisian Anis Amri, who drove a truck into a crowded Berlin Christmas market, took a selfie in front of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s apartment in the weeks before the attack, sources close to the investigation confirmed yesterday.