US President Donald Trump and top Iranian officials exchanged duelling threats Friday as widening economic protests swept across parts of the Islamic Republic, further escalating tensions between the countries.

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced eight journalists and social media commentators on Friday to life imprisonment in absentia after convicting them of terrorism-related offences.

Japan’s emperor is generally treated with hushed reverence, but one man stripped away all decorum — quite literally — during a New Year’s event on Friday, local media reported.