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Catch all PM Modi Podcast Live Updates here Reportedly, Lex Fridman, known for his long-form discussions, prepared for the interview by fasting for 48 to 72 hours, as he noted that Prime Minister Modi observes multi-day fasts.Fridman had announced the interview with PM Modi on January 19, saying he planned to visit India for the first time.Narendra Modi's conversation with Lex Fridman marks the second time that the Indian PM has appeared in podcasts, since his last appearance with Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath.PM Modi Podcast Live: Lex Fridman and PM Modi's podcast is likely to be released around 5:30 pm IST, Sunday, March 16.PM Modi Podcast Live Updates: PM Modi said Fridman and he discussed about a wide range of topics, including his childhood, years in the Himalayas, and the PM's journey in public life.PM Modi Podcast Live Updates: Lex Fridman is a US podcaster and a computer scientist, who has previously done interviews with several notable politicians and leaders, including Ukraine President Zelensky and others.PM Modi Podcast Live:PM Modi last appeared in Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath's podcast.PM Modi Podcast Live: PM Modi wrote that his conversation with Lex Fridman was indeed a fascinating one, “covering diverse topics including reminiscing about my childhood, the years in the Himalayas and the journey in public life."

Xi Jinping has declined an invitation to visit Brussels for an summit to mark the 50th anniversary of EU-China diplomatic ties, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. Beijing told EU officials that Premier Li Qiang would meet the presidents of the European Council and Commission instead of Xi, the FT said, citing two people familiar with the matter whom it did not identify. The Chinese premier usually attends the summit when it is held in Brussels, while the president hosts it in Beijing, but the EU wants Xi to attend to commemorate half a century of relations between Beijing and the bloc, the newspaper said. Tensions between Brussels and Beijing have grown since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with the EU accusing China of backing the Kremlin, the FT said. Last year, the European Union also imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports. «Informal discussions are ongoing, both about setting the date for the EU-China summit this year and the level of representation,» an EU official told the newspaper, while the Chinese ministry was quoted as saying it did not have any information to provide on the matter.

iDEX award from the Ministry of Defence. «In a major step towards strategic autonomy, Pravaig has won the prestigious iDEX Award for its VEER Electric Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle (E-TATV) — a cutting-edge, highly stealthy vehicle designed for forward patrolling, reconnaissance, and ISR operations,» Pravaig Dynamics said in a post on X. Atima Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pravaig, won the iDEX Award by the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO), under the aegis of the Department of Defence Production in the Ministry of Defence, «for deepening India's sovereignty by building cutting-edge defence technologies and reinforcing the country's strategic autonomy.» The scheme for iDEX-Innovations for Defence Excellence was launched in May 2021 by DIO to foster innovation and technology development in the Defence sector. The mission is to build, own and operate India's defence technology. The award is considered the first step towards induction into Indian Defence Services. Pravaig said technology dependency on foreign entities proved to be an Achilles' heel for not just Ukraine, but even for India, as evidenced by the GPS denial by the US during the Kargil War.

The attacks comes less than 24 hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss details of the American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Ukraine. Putin told a press conference on Thursday that he supported a truce in principle but set out a host of details that need to be clarified before it is agreed. Kyiv has already endorsed the truce proposal, although Ukrainian officials have publicly raised doubts as to whether Moscow will commit to such a deal. Speaking to reporters in Kyiv on Saturday, after virtual talks between Western allies hosted by U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Zelenskyy voiced Ukraine's support for the 30-day full ceasefire proposal to discuss a longer-term peace plan, but said Russia would attempt to derail talks with conditions and «buts». Starmer has told allies to «keep the pressure» on Putin to back a ceasefire in Ukraine, hailing Ukraine as the «party of peace.» Starmer said Putin will «sooner or later» have to «come to the table.

According to State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce, the top diplomats «agreed to continue working towards restoring communication between the United States and Russia.» The statement gave no details on when the next round of US-Russia talks, which are being hosted by Saudi Arabia, would begin. Rubio also updated Lavrov on military activity in the Middle East, where US forces carried out deadly strikes Saturday against Huthi rebel targets in Yemen, the statement said. Despite recent tensions between President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, Kyiv has agreed in principle to a US-brokered 30-day unconditional ceasefire if Moscow halts its attacks in eastern Ukraine.

Keir Starmer has told global leaders to «keep the pressure» on Russian President Vladimir Putin to back a ceasefire in Ukraine. In his opening remarks Saturday to a virtual gathering of what he has termed the "coalition of the willing," Starmer said Putin will «sooner or later» have to «come to the table.» Unlike the first summit on March 2, the meeting of what Starmer has termed the «coalition of the willing» is being conducted virtually. The call is expected to delve into how countries can help Ukraine militarily and financially as well as gauging support for any future possible peacekeeping mission. «If Russia finally comes to the table, then we must be ready to monitor a ceasefire to ensure it is a serious, and enduring peace,» Starmer told leaders, in remarks released by his office ahead of the meeting. «If they don't, then we need to strain every sinew to ramp up economic pressure on Russia to secure an end to this war.» Like last time, there will be no representative from the United States, which has shifted its approach on the war since the return of President Donald Trump to the White House. The change of approach relative to that taken by Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, became particularly notable after Trump clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Feb. 28 in the Oval Office.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A mineral-rights deal that the Trump administration says will make the U.S. vested in Ukraine’s defense has an instructive historical precedent in Washington’s unofficial oil-for-security pact with Saudi Arabia.

Emmanuel Macron on Friday (local time) called on Russia to accept the US-brokered proposal for an interim 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, emphasizing that «atrocities must stop.» Macron criticized Russia for its «delaying statements» on the proposed deal following his discussion with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy and UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer. «I spoke today with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and then with Prime Minister Kier Starmer following the progress made during the meeting between the United States and Ukraine in Jeddah on Tuesday. Russia must now accept the U.S.-Ukrainian proposal for a 30-day ceasefire. The Russian aggression in Ukraine must end. The atrocities must stop. So must the delaying statements,» Macron wrote in a post on X. Macron assured France's unwavering support to Ukraine to achieve peace and informed that all partners will hold a video conference today to discuss the issue.

The crimes were perpetrated as part of a systematic, widespread attack against civilians, the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said in a new report to be formally presented next week. «The commission has concluded that Russian authorities committed enforced disappearances and torture as crimes against humanity,» the report said. «Both were perpetrated as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population and pursuant to a coordinated state policy,» it added. The categorical nature of that statement was unusual for UN investigators.

Diplomats from three countries said they believed they were 99 per cent of the way toward completing a joint statement that would reflect the group's positions. «There is a great deal of unity within the G7,» Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said Friday. «We talked about many different things.… We support the US proposal for a ceasefire, which is supported by the Ukrainians, and we are waiting for the Russian response.» British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the group arrived at common positions on Ukraine, the Middle East, wars in Africa and Chinese activity in the South China Sea.

Meeting at a rustic hotel in rural Quebec, G7 foreign ministers also backed Ukraine's fight for its «territorial integrity» and spoke of Russia's «aggression,» terminology earlier eschewed by Trump as he reached out to Moscow. The consensus on Ukraine came despite mounting tension within the G7 — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States as Trump slaps punishing tariffs on allies and questions the very sovereignty of host Canada. A G7 statement backed a US-led call for a 30-day truce embraced by Ukraine and «called for Russia to reciprocate by agreeing to a ceasefire on equal terms and implementing it fully.» «They discussed imposing further costs on Russia in case such a ceasefire is not agreed, including through further sanctions, caps on oil prices, as well as additional support for Ukraine, and other means,» such as using frozen Russian assets.

Russia said Friday it expected Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump would discuss a US-proposed ceasefire in Ukraine, but that US envoy Steve Witkoff needed to relay Putin's thoughts to the American president first. Witkoff met the Russian president late Thursday to lay out the details of the US plan, which Ukraine agreed to on Tuesday. «When Mr Witkoff brings all the information to President Trump, we will determine the timing of a conversation (between Trump and Putin),» Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. «There is an understanding on all sides that such a conversation is needed. There are reasons to be cautiously optimistic,» Peskov added. «There is still much to be done, but the president has nevertheless identified with President Trump's position.»

Russia's foreign intelligence service calling Britain «a warmonger.» And a threat from a top ally of Vladimir Putin to seize UK assets inside Russia. As the U.S. under Donald Trump seeks to reset ties with Moscow and broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, Britain has been granted the status of Russia's public enemy number one. It's a mantle it has held on and off over the past two centuries. «London today, like on the eve of both World Wars of the last century, is acting as the main global 'warmonger',» Russia's foreign intelligence service said in an unusually charged public statement on Monday. It accused London of trying to derail Trump's efforts to broker peace in Ukraine. «The time has come to expose them and send a clear message to 'perfidious Albion' and its elites: you will not succeed,» the agency, known as SVR, said.

Putin expressed gratitude to Donald Trump and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, among other world leaders, for their «noble mission» to resolve the conflict. Speaking at a joint press briefing in Moscow with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday, Putin said he is «grateful» to all the leaders for their efforts towards the goal. «As for Ukraine's readiness for a ceasefire, I will tell you how I view it, of course. But I would like to start by thanking the President of the United States, Mr Trump, for paying so much attention to the Ukraine settlement. We all have enough of our own domestic affairs to attend to,» Putin told reporters. «But many leaders of states, among them the President of the People's Republic of China, the Prime Minister of India, the Presidents of Brazil and the Republic of South Africa are addressing this issue and give it a lot of their time. We are grateful to all of them for that because this activity is aimed at achieving a noble mission — the mission of ending hostilities and loss of life,» Putin said. It may be recalled that Modi had repeatedly called for peace over the last three years while resisting huge pressure from the Western powers to take sides in the war.

Russian oil supplies to top buyers India and China fell sharply following the January 10 sanctions by the former Biden administration targeting Russian producers Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz as well as insurers and more than 100 vessels to curtail Moscow's oil revenue. While Russian shipments to the two Asian countries have rebounded after more non-sanctioned tankers joined the trade, China's state-run Sinopec and Zhenhua Oil halted purchases of March-loading Russian oil due to concerns over dealing with the sanctioned firms, sources with knowledge of the matter said. The scaled-back buying by Chinese state players has weighed on Russian oil prices, eating into Moscow's revenue and putting additional pressure on Russia ahead of a possible ceasefire deal with Ukraine. A Beijing-based state oil source said his company ceased Russian oil deals as it undertakes more compliance checks and waits for a «clear picture» on a possible Russia-U.S. deal to end the Ukraine war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of manipulating the ceasefire proposal, stating that Moscow is crowding the idea with preconditions designed to delay or derail progress. In a post on X, Zelenskyy said, «Right now, we have all heard from Russia Putin's highly predictable and manipulative words in response to the idea of a ceasefire on the front lines--at this moment he is, in fact, preparing to reject it.» He argued that while Ukraine has accepted the US-backed proposal for an unconditional ceasefire on land, at sea, and in the air, Russia continues to create obstacles to avoid a resolution. Zelenskyy asserted that Putin is reluctant to admit his desire to continue the war and is instead using tactics to complicate negotiations. «Of course, Putin is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war and keep killing Ukrainians.

Donald Trump, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, for their efforts in addressing the conflict. 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.» When asked about Ukraine's readiness for a ceasefire, Putin said, «As for Ukraine's readiness for a ceasefire, I will tell you how I view it, of course. But I would like to start by thanking the President of the United States, Mr Trump, for paying so much attention to the Ukraine settlement. We all have enough of our own domestic affairs to attend to. But many leaders of states, among them the President of the People's Republic of China, the Prime Minister of India, the Presidents of Brazil and the Republic of South Africa are addressing this issue and give it a lot of their time. We are grateful to all of them for that because this activity is aimed at achieving a noble mission — the mission of ending hostilities and loss of life.» He further said, «We agree with the proposals to cease hostilities but proceed from the assumption that this cessation should lead to long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of this crisis.» He also referred to the recent US-Ukraine discussions in Saudi Arabia, suggesting that Ukraine's willingness for a ceasefire was likely influenced by American pressure.

Donald Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked a seemingly simple question about the White House dress code. A reporter pointed out that administration officials were «miffed» that the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had not worn a suit to the Oval Office. And yet, the reporter said, "Elon Musk never wears a suit in there. So what is the dress code?" As with all things in Washington, this was really a question about power. Musk flexes his by dressing down where all others must dress up. He wears his «tech support» T-shirt around town and to meetings with the president. So when the tech mogul wore a suit and tie twice last week, just like any other working stiff in Washington, it seemed like a sign that maybe some of the old rules of this place — and the ones about fashion and etiquette are among the oldest — were suddenly being applied to this most special of government employees.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has left hundreds of thousands of dead and injured, displaced millions of people, reduced towns to rubble and triggered the sharpest confrontation for decades between Moscow and the West. Putin's heavily qualified support for the U.S. ceasefire proposal looked designed to signal goodwill to Washington and open the door to further talks with U.S. President Donald Trump. But Putin said many crucial details needed to be sorted out and any agreement must address the root causes of the conflict. Russia called its 2022 invasion a «special military operation» designed to «denazify» Ukraine and halt an expansion of NATO. «We agree with the proposals to cease hostilities,» Putin told reporters at the Kremlin. «The idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it.»

G7 nations were set to negotiate late into the night over a joint statement to show a united front in Canada on Thursday after weeks of tension between U.S. allies and President Donald Trump over his upending of Western trade and security policy. The Group of Seven ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, along with the European Union, convened in the remote tourist town of La Malbaie, nestled in the Quebec hills, for meetings on Thursday and Friday that in the past have been broadly consensual. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed his colleagues on talks on Tuesday with Ukraine in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where Kyiv said it was ready to support a 30-day ceasefire deal. But officials said ambiguous comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin left delegates unclear where things stood. In the run-up to the first G7 meeting of Canada's presidency, the crafting of an agreed all-encompassing final statement had been tough, but diplomats said the atmosphere since had been positive and candid.

Donald Trump is the archetypal tyrant. What occurred at the Oval Office between Trump and Zelenskyy belongs to the playbook of one that many Trump supporters hold in high regard. In 1938, Austrian chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg was summoned by Hitler for a meeting that ended with Hitler hectoring his Austrian counterpart and serving him an ultimatum in the presence of high-ranking German generals. Schuschnigg returned home without acquiescing to any demands. Eventually, he was forced to resign and arrested. The Anschluss began and history followed its course. Trump is unlikely to follow this playbook to the bitter end. He's only interested in a deal that offers Ukraine US support in exchange for rare earth deposits. But he continues to cajole and threaten Putin and Zelenskyy to succeed as a mediator of peace.