Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei on Tuesday shrugged off US attempts to block his company's global ambitions, saying the United States underestimates the telecom giant's strength.

Ren spoke to Chinese media days after President Donald Trump issued orders aimed at thwarting Huawei's business in the United States, the latest salvo in a months-long effort to stop the company's charge to the top of the leaderboard in next-generation 5G technology.

"The current practice of US politicians underestimates our strength," Ren said, according to transcripts from state-run media.

21 May 2019; DW: Libya's UN-backed government has blamed forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar for cutting off Tripoli's major water pipeline. A UN spokesperson said some Tripoli residents were already experiencing low water pressure.

Gunmen in Libya deliberately cut off the main water pipeline to Libya's besieged capital Tripoli, potentially affecting some 2 million people the United Nations said on Monday.

21 May 2019; DW: With Brexit postponed, the UK is holding European Parliament elections. Supporters of Nigel Farage's new party are hoping for a strong showing. DW's Birgit Maass reports from Wales on an unusual campaign season.

21 May 2019; MEMO: Likud officials have warned that the failure to find a breakthrough in coalition negotiations could lead to fresh elections, reported Ynet.

According to the news site, the unnamed officials are frustrated at what they believe are “unreasonable demands” from Likud’s natural coalition partners.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has until 28 May to form the next government, having already received the permitted, one-off 14-day extension from President Reuven Rivlin.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As questions mount over President Donald Trump’s tough talk on Iran, top national security officials are heading to Capitol Hill to brief Congress. But skeptical Democrats have asked for a second opinion.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump directed his former White House Counsel Donald McGahn to defy a congressional subpoena Monday, citing a Justice Department legal opinion that maintains McGahn would have immunity from testifying about his work as a close Trump adviser. A lawyer for McGahn said he would follow the president’s wishes and skip a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday.

21 May 2019; AFP: A 16-year-old boy died Monday at a Border Patrol station in Texas, becoming the fifth child from Guatemala to die since December after being apprehended by US border patrol agents.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said the teen, who was detained in south Texas's Rio Grande Valley on May 13 after crossing the border, was found unresponsive at the agency's Weslaco Station during a welfare check.

21 May 2019; DW: A senior aide to Russia's opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been detained over a rally organized by the opposition last year. In 2018, Navalny himself served two stints in jail for violating protest laws.

Police in Moscow on Tuesday arrested a key ally of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. 

Leonid Volkov tweeted that he had been detained "according to Article 20.2.8 over the rally on September 9, 2018 against raising the pension age." 

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran quadrupled its uranium-enrichment production capacity amid tensions with the U.S. over Tehran’s atomic program, nuclear officials said Monday, just after President Donald Trump and Iran’s foreign minister traded threats and taunts on Twitter.

Iranian officials made a point to stress that the uranium would be enriched only to the 3.67% limit set under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, making it usable for a power plant but far below what’s needed for an atomic weapon.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As questions mount over President Donald Trump’s tough talk on Iran, top national security officials are heading to Capitol Hill to brief Congress. But skeptical Democrats have asked for a second opinion.

MOSCOW, May 20. /TASS/: Russia will continue to provide assistance to Christians in the Middle East, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.

"The Middle East is going through serious trials, with Christians fleeing Iraq, public executions of Coptic Christians staged in Libya, Christians being massacred by terrorists and extremists in Syria. It is only a small portion of consequences of geopolitical engineering by United States and their closest allies," Lavrov said at a reception in honor of Orthodox Christian Easter.

21 May 2019; DW: Seven men accused of forming a "Shariah Police" brigade in western Germany have gone on trial. The group allegedly patrolled the streets of Wuppertal in orange vests, telling people to abstain from music and alcohol.

The retrial of seven alleged members of a self-proclaimed "Shariah Police" vigilante group began in the western city of Wuppertal on Monday.