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.
Modi was received at the venue by Chinese President Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyuan. On arrival, the Prime Minister exchanged greetings with the Chinese President before joining other leaders for the customary family photo session.
Trump's one-on-one meetings with Putin during his first term were clouded with mystery. With only a translator inside the room, it was often unclear what exactly was discussed. Aides had a difficult time ascertaining if the two reached any agreements. After one such meeting, in Germany, Trump asked his interpreter to discard his notes.
Speaking shortly after, Trump stated he had yet to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but would do so imminently, along with other European leaders. He suggested a formal deal was not yet in place.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday, Putin said that Russia agrees with the proposals to cease hostilities but "proceeds from the assumption that this cessation should lead to long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of the crisis."
Russia moves forward with the plan as part of the plan to deploy tactical nuclear bombs in the country bordering Ukraine.
Aryna Sabalenka said at the French Open that she did not want her country to be in any conflict and did not support the war in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that the Belarusian President volunteered because he has been acquainted with Prigozhin for about 20 years.
After Wagner mercenary force chief Yevgeny Prigozhin decided to halt his forces' march to Moscow under deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Black boxes from the jet that crashed and killed Yevgeny Prigozhin and nine other people have also been recovered by Russian investigators.
In a televised address to the nation on Monday, Putin said that since the start of the events, steps were taken on his orders to avoid large-scale bloodshed, as he thanked the Russians for endurance and support.
Ukraine's Elina Svitolina accused Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka of adding fuel to the fire by standing at the net waiting for a handshake she knew would never happen!
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin on Monday said the purpose of the march towards Moscow was to stop the destruction of the private military company and "bring to justice those who, through their unprofessional actions, made a huge number of mistakes during the special military operation".
Big-serving Elena Rybakina will aim to retain her title but other players have emerged as serious contenders:
The talks are expected to take place in the Gomel region at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, Belta news agency reported.
glimpses of destroyed Russian tanks, abandoned military equipment and ammunition in Trostyanets after the Russians retreated.
Olympic medallist who fled Belarus forced into exile again as Ukraine attacked
Russian President Vladimir Putin told a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Friday that the group should consider staging its own major sporting competition.
Putin said work would be completed on building storage units for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus on July 1, a move he likened to US nuclear deployments in Europe.
Zelenskyy named Warsaw, Bratislava, Istanbul, Budapest or Baku as alternative venues.
The five top contenders for the women's title at Wimbledon, which starts on Monday.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko congratulated Victoria Azarenka for winning the Australian Open women's title on Saturday and awarded her the Order of the Motherland.
Masked and wearing blue jeans, a blue blouse and sunglasses with "I RUN CLEAN" written on them, Tsimanouskaya had arrived in a police-escorted van at Narita airport east of the Japanese capital.
Darya Dolidovich and her family are now in Poland, where she hopes to continue training
More than 1,000 soccer fans cheered, chanted and hugged each other as they attended a Belarusian top-flight league match on Sunday despite calls from a growing number of supporters to boycott games due to the coronavirus pandemic. Belarus is the only country in Europe still playing a national soccer league, making it an unlikely draw for fans overseas who are starved of matches in their own countries.
Poland, which has long been critical of Lukashenko and harboured many activists from Belarus, has granted her and her husband humanitarian visas.
The Belarusian league is filling the void for foreign fans starved of football at home, by inviting fans from around the world to buy virtual tickets online.
'We are not the ones who made the decision, we are only executing it,' Tsimanouskaya said the two officials told her. The two officials had told her the order to send her home came from "high up" in Belarus.
The league has proved an unlikely draw for fans overseas who are starved of matches in their own countries. In choosing to stay open, it took its cue from President Alexander Lukashenko, who has resisted imposing strict lockdown measures.
With professional soccer at a virtual standstill around the globe, fans in need of their weekly fix are turning to the Belarusian Premier League to fill the void as it carries on with matches despite the coronavirus outbreak.
Belarusian athlete Tsimanouskaya, 24, had been due to compete in the women's 200 metre heats on Monday but said that on Sunday she was taken to the airport to board a Turkish Airlines flight.
Notwithstanding how the current impasse is solved, at some point in the future, Russia will realise that just as centuries ago it developed the paradigm of securing its heartland's safety through annexing vast buffer zones between itself and the enemy, a more modern security is possible only through friendly relations and sustainable peace, observes Shyam G Menon.
Denmark's Superliga to resume on May 28 says Danish League Association
A Russian medallist at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics is suspected of having tested positive for a banned substance, a source at the Games said on Sunday, in a potential major blow to Russia's efforts to emerge from a drug-cheating scandal.
The reported controversial remarks of President Pranab Mukherjee on Bofors issue to a Swedish daily have no bearing on his upcoming tour of Sweden, the first State visit, beginning on May 31, External Affairs Ministry said in New Delhi on Thursday.
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