Politics
South Korea’s Lee takes selfie with Xi using gifted phone

BEIJING: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung snapped a selfie with Xi Jinping using a smartphone gifted to him by the Chinese leader, who had joked at their last meeting that the device might be capable of spying.
Lee posted three selfies of himself, Xi and their wives on social media platform X on Monday during his visit to Beijing.
The photos were taken with a phone gifted to him by the Chinese leader last year, Lee said.
“A selfie with President Xi Jinping and his wife, taken with the Xiaomi I received as a gift in Gyeongju,” Lee wrote.
“Thanks to them, I got the shot of a lifetime,” he added.
“I will communicate more frequently and collaborate more closely going forward.”
The Xiaomi handset made headlines in November when Xi cracked a joke to Lee on the sidelines of an APEC summit in South Korea.
When Lee asked if the communication line on the device was secure, the Chinese leader urged him to “check if there is a backdoor” – referring to pre-installed software that could allow third-party monitoring.
The banter was a rare display of humour from the Chinese leader, who is not often seen making jokes, let alone about espionage.
During their ninety-minute summit on Monday, Xi urged Lee to join Beijing in making the “right strategic choices” in a world that is “becoming more complex and turbulent”.
Lee’s visit to China followed a US military operation in Caracas that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and brought him to New York to face narco-trafficking charges – a raid condemned by Beijing and Pyongyang.
Lee’s selfie post sparked heavy interest online and was shared more than 3,400 times in the first few hours.
One user quipped: “Sir, do you know Nicolas Maduro used the same phone?”
The South Korean leader, who took office in June following the impeachment and removal of his predecessor over a martial law declaration, has sought to improve ties with China after a years-long diplomatic deep freeze.
Politics
Iran’s response to mediation efforts is ‘clear’: President Pezeshkian

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has affirmed that several countries have initiated mediation efforts to halt the brutal, imposed war waged against the Islamic Republic by the United States and the Israeli regime.
In a post on the social media platform X on Friday, President Pezeshkian said, “Some countries have begun mediation efforts and our response to them is clear.”
He stressed that these efforts must target the true aggressors, the US and Israel, who launched this unprovoked aggression.
He reiterated Iran’s unwavering commitment to “lasting” peace in the region, declaring, “Yet we have no hesitation in defending our nation’s dignity, sovereignty, and the rights of our great people.”
The president emphasized that any genuine mediation must confront those who underestimated the resilience of the Iranian nation and deliberately ignited this war through their criminal attacks.
The US and the Israeli regime unleashed a new wave of savage aerial aggression against Iran on February 28, barely eight months after their previous unprovoked assaults on the country.
These barbaric strikes resulted in the martyrdom of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei—a profound loss for the Islamic Ummah and a heinous crime against humanity.
In response, the Iranian government declared 40 days of national public mourning and seven days of official holidays to honor the Supreme Leader’s martyrdom and rally the nation in unity and resolve.
These latest aggressions came even as Tehran and Washington had engaged in three rounds of indirect negotiations in the Omani capital of Muscat and the Swiss city of Geneva, with plans underway for technical talks in Vienna, Austria—demonstrating Iran’s consistent pursuit of diplomacy despite relentless hostility.
Unyielding in the face of this aggression, Iran has launched powerful and precise retaliatory barrages of missiles and drones targeting military sites in the Israeli-occupied territories and US bases across the region, exercising its legitimate right to self-defense and sending a clear message that the Iranian nation will never submit to bullying or occupation.
Politics
Iran destroys US radars in UAE, Jordan, satellite images show

Satellite images show that several US military radars in the UAE and Jordan have been successfully hit by Iranian missiles and drones as the Iranian Armed Forces continue a retaliatory campaign against American and Israeli aggression.
New images from several military installations across the Arabian Peninsula suggest that Iran has focused on disabling the radar infrastructure that forms the backbone of US-supplied missile systems.
One such radar, supporting an American THAAD missile battery at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, appears to have been hit and destroyed in the opening days of the war, according to satellite imagery captured Monday.
The base lies more than 500 miles from Iran, underscoring the reach of Tehran’s retaliatory operations.
Similar damage has also been detected in the United Arab Emirates.
Satellite analysis shows that buildings housing radar-related infrastructure were struck at two locations—near Ruwais and Sader—between February 28 and March 1.At least three structures in Ruwais and four in Sader sustained visible damage, including pull-through vehicle sheds typically used to store radar systems linked to THAAD batteries.
The radar component is considered a critical element of the high-end missile interceptor system, enabling the detection and tracking of incoming ballistic missiles and drones. Without it, the interceptor batteries’ ability to respond to threats is significantly degraded.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) earlier said such strikes were part of its expanding Operation True Promise 4, a campaign launched in retaliation for the unprovoked US-Israeli aggression.
“With the successful destruction of more than seven advanced radars, the eyes of the US and the usurping Zionist regime in the region have been blinded,” the IRGC said in a statement on Wednesday, announcing the 17th stage of the operation.
The latest developments come after the United States and Israel launched a new round of aggression against Iran on February 28, eight months after earlier unprovoked attacks against the country.
The strikes has led to the martyrdom of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and more than 1,200 civilians, including women, children and senior military commanders.
Iran responded swiftly, unleashing waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli-occupied territories and US bases across the region.
Iranian officials insist the war was imposed on the country and say their ongoing military campaign is a legitimate act of self-defense aimed at neutralizing the infrastructure used to sustain further aggression.
Politics
Russia ‘providing Iran intelligence’ to target US forces: report

- US refrains from commenting on alleged Russian support.
- Officials say information includes locations of US warships.
- Russia says it was in dialogue with representatives of Iran.
Russia is providing Iran with targeting information that includes locations of US warships and aircraft in the Middle East, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing three officials familiar with the intelligence.
The extent of Russia’s support to Iran was not entirely clear, but the Iranian military’s own ability to locate US forces has been degraded since the US and Israel launched strikes against Tehran last week, the Washington Post reported.
The war has since escalated, triggering retaliatory strikes by Iran, and ensnared its neighbours as it seeks to impose a high cost on the US, Israel and their allies.
The US military has identified six reserve soldiers killed in Kuwait when a drone slammed into a US military facility in Port Shuaiba. Trump and other senior officials have warned the conflict will likely result in more US military deaths.
A White House spokesperson did not directly comment on the alleged Russian support to Iran.
“The Iranian regime is being absolutely crushed. Their ballistic missile retaliation is decreasing every day, their navy is being wiped out, their production capacity is being demolished, and proxies are hardly putting up a fight,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement, responding to questions from Reuters.
Russia was in dialogue with representatives of Iran’s leadership, the Kremlin said on Friday. It declined to provide details when asked by reporters whether Moscow was helping Tehran.
The conflict has been an unexpected shot in the arm for Russia, with a significant bump in demand for its oil and gas, boosting exports battered in recent years by sanctions linked to its war in Ukraine. The United States has given Ukraine intelligence information during its war with Russia.
The Russian Embassy in Washington and Russia’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
-
Business1 week agoIndia Us Trade Deal: Fresh look at India-US trade deal? May be ‘rebalanced’ if circumstances change, says Piyush Goyal – The Times of India
-
Business1 week agoAttock Cement’s acquisition approved | The Express Tribune
-
Fashion1 week agoPolicy easing drives Argentina’s garment import surge in 2025
-
Politics1 week agoWhat are Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities?
-
Politics1 week agoUS arrests ex-Air Force pilot for ‘training’ Chinese military
-
Sports1 week agoSri Lanka’s Shanaka says constant criticism has affected players’ mental health
-
Sports1 week agoLPGA legend shares her feelings about US women’s Olympic wins: ‘Gets me really emotional’
-
Fashion7 days agoSouth Korea’s Misto Holdings completes planned leadership transition
