Hong Kong police ended their blockade of a university campus Friday after surrounding it for 12 days to try to arrest anti-government protesters holed up inside.

Police removed a stash of nearly 4,000 gasoline bombs left behind by protesters, who fought pitched battles about two weeks ago with riot officers on surrounding streets.

Lebanon paid back a Eurobond worth $1.5 billion that was scheduled to mature Thursday, a Finance Ministry official said, pacifying concerns of a first-ever default on its debt amid the worst financial crisis in three decades.

The tiny Mediterranean country's economic emergency has ignited nationwide protests against widespread corruption and mismanagement, bringing the country to a standstill for over a month. The protests were initially sparked by new taxes, but have snowballed into calls for the entire political elite to step aside.

The Arab League said Thursday it is ready to help Lebanon solve its political stalemate, after weeks of mass protests and amid the country’s worst financial crisis in decades.

President Michel Aoun received at Baabda visiting Arab League assistant secretary general, Hossam Zaki who relayed the League’s willingness to help Lebanon out of its political and economic impasse, the National News Agency reported.

Amid a political impasse after more than 40 days of protests, sectarian and political rivalries are awakening in Lebanon, with scuffles breaking out daily, including in areas that were deadly front lines during the country's 1975-90 conflict.

Overnight confrontations in several Lebanese regions, mostly fistfights and stone throwing, injured dozens of people and 16 people were detained for their involvement, the Lebanese Red Cross and the army said Wednesday.

The nationwide uprising against the country's ruling elite has remained overwhelmingly peaceful since it began Oct. 17, but as the political deadlock for forming a new government drags on, tempers have risen. President Michel Aoun has yet to hold consultations with parliamentary blocs on choosing a new prime minister after the government resigned a month ago.

Colombians unhappy with President Iván Duque's response to nearly a week of boisterous protests are taking to the streets again Wednesday demonstrating over issues ranging from tax reform to shark hunting quotas in the biggest display of unrest the nation has seen in decades.

The daily protests jolting the South American country are proclaiming an unusually diverse set of complaints, though with one similar refrain: an opposition to a government that many believe only looks after the most privileged citizens.

Egypt's government is using a secretive judicial agency designed to fight terrorism to detain peaceful protesters, journalists and critics on trumped-up charges without trial, Amnesty International said in a report released Wednesday.

The 60-page report by the London-based rights group details how Egypt's Supreme State Security Prosecution, or SSSP, has become increasingly central to President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's sweeping crackdown on dissent.

Hong Kong's embattled government faced renewed pressure Wednesday to end a 10-day police siege of a university, as search teams found no evidence of any protesters still holding out and a major tunnel near the campus reopened.

The Polytechnic University said it has decided to halt its search after a sweep of the trash-littered campus for a second straight day failed to find anyone left behind. On Tuesday, one person was found — a young woman in weak condition.

Lebanon’s security forces have reportedly used “excessive force and failed to adequately protect protesters from violent attacks by others,” despite the overwhelmingly peaceful nature of the past month’s demonstrations across the country, U.N. human rights experts have said.

Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri openly declared Tuesday that he is withdrawing his candidacy for the premiership.

In response to the "irresponsible practices" of political leaders, Hariri said he felt compelled to make his intentions known.