From founding fathers to Europe's most unyielding rulers, these figures have not just held office, they have established a cult of leadership and will leave legacies, mostly mixed, that few can rival.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was offered a lift by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his AURUS limousine to reach the venue of their bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin on Monday.
NSA Ajit Doval has indicated that dates for Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India are being worked out during his meetings in Moscow. Discussions also covered bilateral energy and defence cooperation, amidst ongoing concerns over India's procurement of Russian crude oil.
As Russia continues to escalate its strikes on Ukraine, United States President Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) said that he has plans to speak with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the coming days, as several European leaders are expected to visit the United States for what he described as 'very interesting discussions' aimed at resolving the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
'Much will depend on the position of the United States.' 'It will have to be seen to what extent the US will be more interested in achieving some form of a deal and to what extent Israel will be allowed to continue to carry out both airstrikes and the killing of Iranian officials.'
With him is a letter he had brought for Melania Trump, thanking her for a letter she sent to Putin on Friday, raising the plight of Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia.
A Russian intelligence agency has claimed that the UK and France are covertly planning to transfer nuclear weapons to Ukraine, alleging a violation of international law.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday that his country respects Russia's relations with India, as he called for strengthening Islamabad's ties with Moscow during his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing.
The United States, which entered this war in expectation of a short, sharp win along the Venezuela model, is now preparing for deeper involvement in a conflict it does not fully control, without the allies it typically relies on, against an adversary that is not behaving as expected, in a global environment that is already absorbing economic shock. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Taking to social media platform X, Dmitriev said, "Russia confirms Putin-Trump summit may happen next week and summit preparations are ongoing. This can be a historic meeting. Dialogue will prevail."
Putin further described the Ukraine conflict as a mere "pretext" by Western powers to take these broader punitive measures against countries maintaining strong economic ties with Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed optimism about Russia-US relations, citing potential cooperation in the Arctic and Alaska. He acknowledged the current low level of relations but sees improvement with President Trump's administration. Putin also emphasized the importance of Russia's sovereignty and the role of its nuclear industry.
The 98th Academy Awards was a mix of high fashion, subdued politics, flashes of humour and emotions running high.
'Putin will not be bound by any kind of deal he would sign with the US.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing the Ukraine conflict and reaffirming the commitment to deepen the India-Russia strategic partnership. The conversation occurred amid US pressure on India over Russian oil purchases.
United States President Donald Trump has backed a sanctions bill that could impose 500 per cent tariffs on countries buying Russian oil, giving the White House leverage against countries like China and India to stop them from purchasing cheap oil from Moscow.
EU leaders convened an emergency summit in Brussels to address transatlantic tensions as President Trump threatened new tariffs on member States linked to his Greenland acquisition demands.
'The President's expectations shifted. The goal post moved and India didn't realize that the goal post had moved.'
During a special briefing in Tianjin, Misri confirmed that the prime minister will first address the SCO plenary session before meeting President Putin.
The question is no longer whether the war will expand. It has. The next few days will tell us whether the war stabilises around Hormuz or whether the Strait itself becomes the trigger for a far larger rupture. What to watch for over the next 48 hours is simple: Any move by the US toward direct naval control of the Strait; any credible Iranian attempt to disrupt or mine shipping lanes and, critically, whether energy infrastructure in the Gulf continues to be targeted.If those lines are crossed in tandem, the war will no longer be containable within the region.
'We had very narrow negotiations that were quite useful.'
Despite the lack of a formal agreement, Trump described the summit as a success
The summit, scheduled for Friday, marks the first in-person meeting between the leaders of the US and Russia in over four years.
Silver and gold prices snapped a two-day rebound and declined sharply up to 10 per cent in the futures trade on Thursday amid weak trends in the international markets and a strong US dollar.
India welcomes the summit talks between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska and hopes for an early end to the conflict in Ukraine.
Newly declassified documents from the United States National Security Archive have revealed that Pakistan's nuclear proliferation was a significant concern for both the US and Russia, with leaders expressing 'nervous' fears about the country's atomic stability.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
'Russia, as you know, lost almost 25,000 over the last month and a half. Ukraine lost just a few, and lots of people are dying.'
The US House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats stated that imposing tariffs on India will not deter Russian President Vladimir Putin or address Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
During the meeting, Zelenskyy said he pressed for long-term security guarantees extending over the next 50 years and clarified that any engagement with Russia would only be possible if President Trump and European leaders reached consensus on formalised documents.
Fight on toward goals that keep receding, or exit with most objectives unmet. Trump is agitated, his poll numbers falling below the Plimsoll line, his base fractured between those who back the war and those who remember that he campaigned on ending them.
Trump says Putin and Zelenskyy would be stupid if they don't end the war now, and that he knows they are not stupid.
Twenty-six foreign leaders, including Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, will attend China's V-Day commemorations on September 3. Japan has expressed concerns about the event's anti-Japanese overtones.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday assured Tehran of Moscow's support in de-escalating the Israel-Iran conflict hours after the United States strikes at Iranian nuclear sites at dawn on Sunday.
Israel and the United States had a plan. Iran punched back. And now the Gulf is reeling, the world is beginning to feel the pain and, as on date, no one in Washington or Tel Aviv appears willing to admit that the punch has landed, notes Prem Panicker, continuing his must-read blog on the war in the Middle East.
China on Friday said the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit to be held in Tianjin later this month will be the largest in the bloc's history, with 20 world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attending it.
Former White House trade advisor Peter Navarro accuses India of being an 'oil money laundromat' for Russia, alleging that India's oil purchases are funding Putin's war in Ukraine. The accusations come amid existing trade tensions and tariffs imposed by the US.
Stressing that wars are "very bad", Trump said that he seems to have "an ability to end them, to get people together" for which he uses the "power of the United States".
The Russians have termed Putin's visit to India, his first to this country since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, as 'Druzhba Dosti', which means 'friendship' in Russian and Hindi respectively.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed holding direct peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15 without any preconditions, a move welcomed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who insisted that Moscow must agree to a ceasefire first.
