New Delhi, Sep 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifting President Vladimir Putin with a Russian translation of the Thirukkural on Friday is another example of his efforts at putting forward India’s heritage and culture before the rest of the world.

“This is not the first time PM Modi has taken our culture global!” said ‘Modi Story’, an initiative to bring forward the Prime Minister’s work and thoughts through the eyes of those who have caught a glimpse into his life.

The social media post on Saturday was in reference to him presenting President Putin with a Russian translation of the composition which carries the eternal wisdom of the great Thiruvalluvar across languages and borders.

The Russian President is in India to participate in the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit, now underway in New Delhi.

The composition is a timeless work on ethics, politics, and love, among those by the celebrated figure in Tamil literature and philosophy, who is also referred as Valluvar.

“Back at the 2019 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, PM Modi spearheaded an initiative to translate 10 modern Indian works into Russian, Chinese, and English so regional literature could reach global audiences,” it added, quoting a statement from K. Sreenivasan, former Secretary of Sahitya Academy.

The 19th SCO Summit was then held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, focusing on regional security, economic cooperation, and multilateral diplomacy.

“He (PM Modi) has created space for Indian culture, Indian literature, Indian languages, (where) though we’re creating excellent literary works, we’re not able to showcase it before the world,” Sreenivasan said in a video attached with the social media post.

“Then, in 2020, we contacted the External Affairs Ministry and the Ministry of Culture and then made a list of 10 books to be translated in the three languages,” he added.

It was in 2020-2021 when the Summit was held under India’s chairmanship — it was the time of the pandemic and the meeting had to be held virtually — that the books were released, he also said.

Prime Minister Modi then announced that the country had achieved what he had set out to do.

“I want to say this to tell how he is concerned about Indian literature, Indian languages even in the international platform,” Sreenivasan stressed.

The social media post reminded that earlier, during President Putin’s India visit in December 2025, Prime Minister Modi had gifted him a Russian edition of the Bhagavad Gita.

“PM Modi’s cultural diplomacy is a masterclass in putting Indian heritage front and centre on the world stage!” it added.

New Delhi, Sep 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday shared moments of warm camaraderie with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, as the three leaders were seen holding hands and exchanging smiles during the BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.

Sharing the sidelights on his X, PM Modi posted: “BRICS Summit 2026 gets underway in Delhi”.

The visuals and photographs echoed a similar display of camaraderie between PM Modi, Putin, and Xi during the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit held in Bishkek last month, where the three leaders smiled and shook hands on August 31. The moment unfolded during the official family photograph, an established tradition at the annual SCO gathering.

The 2025 SCO Plus Summit in Tianjin on August 31-September 1 had also produced several notable visuals of the three leaders. PM Modi’s embrace with Putin, his walk alongside Xi and Putin, and his interactions with both leaders highlighted the personal bonhomie shared between the top leaders.

The latest visuals from New Delhi came after PM Modi welcomed BRICS leaders at Bharat Mandapam, the venue for the 18th BRICS Summit.

PM Modi warmly received President Putin, President Xi Jinping, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and other leaders at the Bharat Mandapam ahead of the Summit.

India is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Saturday and Sunday (September 12-13), bringing together leaders from BRICS member and partner countries, along with outreach invitees.

India’s BRICS Chairship is guided by the theme: ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’, reflecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a people-centric approach rooted in the spirit of ‘Humanity First’, according to the statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

In his welcome remarks at the opening BRICS session on ‘Inclusive Global Governance and Strengthening Multilateralism’ in New Delhi on Saturday, PM Modi extended a warm welcome to BRICS leaders and said that India’s BRICS chairship is based on a people-centric and humanity-first approach.

“Resilience, innovation, cooperation, and sustainability have been our priorities. Alongside these priorities, we have placed special emphasis on connecting BRICS cooperation with the common people. With this vision in mind, more than 350 meetings were organised. We had the opportunity to welcome your teams to approximately 30 cities,” highlighted PM Modi.

He emphasised that BRICS has established a distinct identity on the global stage and said that the bloc is not against anyone and must work to move forward with the approach of taking everyone along. He called for the establishment of a ‘BRICS Continuity and Implementation’ mechanism.

Baghdad, Sep 12: Ali al-Zaidi, Iraq’s Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, dismissed the Maysan Operations Commander on Saturday after authorities confirmed attacks targeting Saudi Arabia had been launched from a site in Maysan province in southern Iraq.

Al-Zaidi also ordered an investigation into the Maysan Operations Command by forming a special investigative council, Sabah al-Numan, spokesman for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, said in a statement.

The move came after the Iraqi government late Friday condemned the attacks on Saudi Arabia, saying it rejected “any aggression that threatens the Kingdom’s security and stability,” Xinhua News Agency reported.

The Iraqi government appreciated Saudi Arabia’s response to Baghdad’s efforts to contain the situation, Al-Numan said. “The state will not tolerate any activity that endangers Iraq or its relations with brotherly and friendly countries.”

Iraq also reaffirmed that its territory and airspace would “not be used as a launching point for attacks against any country,” and that its policy is based on respecting the sovereignty of states.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry said Friday that its East-West Pipeline was attacked by several drones launched from Iraq, causing injuries and damage.

Condemning the attacks in a statement, the ministry noted that at the request of the Iraqi prime minister, the kingdom had refrained from responding at this stage.

Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in the East-West Pipeline, which carries crude oil from its eastern fields to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.

In July, US and Saudi Arabian forces carried out precision airstrikes against Iran-aligned groups in eastern Iraq (local time) after more than 30 drone attacks targeted American troops and Saudi energy infrastructure, the US Central Command said.

US and Saudi fighter aircraft struck several logistics and weapons sites used by the groups, according to CENTCOM. It described the operation as a response to aerial attacks conducted over the previous 72 hours under the direction of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“The unwarranted attacks against US forces were not successful,” CENTCOM said.