HK court orders search of media tycoon's phones

HONG KONG: Two phones owned by jailed pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai can be searched on national security grounds and are not protected by journalistic privilege, a senior judge in Hong Kong ruled on Tuesday.

Lai, owner of the now-shuttered Apple Daily tabloid, will soon go on trial for "collusion with foreign forces," an offense that carries up to life in prison under the sweeping national security law Beijing imposed on the special administrative region in southeastern China two years ago.