Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai became the highest-profile person arrested under a new national security law on Monday, detained over suspected collusion with foreign forces as around 200 police searched the offices of his Apple Daily newspaper.

Mainland-born Lai, who was smuggled into Hong Kong on a fishing boat when he was a penniless 12-year-old, has been one of the most prominent democracy activists in the Chinese-ruled city and an ardent critic of Beijing.

APRNEWS - A top Iranian general has told Iran-backed militias in Iraq to “prepare for proxy war” in the wake of heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S., which accused the militias of moving missiles toward American forces.

APRNEWS - The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on five Russians over abuses including the killing of a prominent opposition leader, days after top-level talks seemed to ease tensions between the powers.

APRNEWS - The US State Department on Wednesday ordered all non-emergency staff to leave its embassy in Baghdad and also the consulate in Arbil, as tensions mount between the United States and Iraq’s neighbor Iran.

APRNEWS - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday meets US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the highest-level talks between the rival powers in nearly a year as they see if they can make headway on a raft of disagreements from Venezuela to Iran to arms control.

APRNEWS - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in London on Wednesday on a delicate mission aimed at convincing Washington’s crucial European ally to back its tough stances on Iran and China.

The former CIA chief flew into London after briefly aborting his tour of Europe — he was meant to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Tuesday — and paying an unannounced visit to Iraq.

REUTERS - North Korean officials have warned in a letter to the United States that denuclearization talks were “again at stake and may fall apart”, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The letter was delivered directly to U.S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and stated that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s government felt that the process could not move forward.

 APRNEWS - President of the United States, Donald Trump, has waded into South Africa’s land expropriation debate. He tweeted on Wednesday that he had directed a study on what he called land and farm seizures.

REUTERS - North and South Korea held military talks to build trust on Tuesday, while the United States detected renewed activity at a North Korean missile factory, casting more suspicion over the North’s intentions.

APRNEWS - US President Donald Trump on Wednesday delayed a second summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, while his top diplomat insisted there was no let up against Moscow following the two leaders’ controversial meeting in Helsinki.