WASHINGTON, July 17:  Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s steps to improve ties with SAARC countries, top US officials, eminent South Asia experts and lawmakers have said he has shown firm commitment towards strengthening India’s relations with its neighbours, including Pakistan.
“When Prime Minister Modi invited the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, and the leaders of South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries to his inauguration ceremony, he demonstrated his firm commitment to strengthening India’s ties with its immediate region,” Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing.
“That’s good news for India and the region, and greatly beneficial to global stability,” she said.
India, Biswal said, has a chance to take its entire neighbourhood along, enhancing prosperity and peace by boosting trade and building connectivity throughout South Asia and the Bay of Bengal region.
“That India trades much more with Europe, the United States and the Middle East than with its immediate South Asian neighbours is a global economic anomaly, one that India can help address by shaping a connectivity network between India, South Asia and the rest of the continent,” Biswal said.
“The United States welcomes the new government’s efforts to strengthen SAARC, and we were pleased to see Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj make her first official visit abroad to Bangladesh in late June,” she said.
Vikram Singh, a former official of the Obama Administration, said Modi has taken positive steps so far in the conduct of international affairs, starting with his invitation to all India’s neighbours, including Pakistan, to his inauguration.
“The United States will be able to engage with Modi on regional issues –- not just on stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but also on Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives,” Singh said.
“We will be able to work with India on relations with countries from Myanmar to Japan to Australia. Modi is likely to seek a productive dynamic with China, but on the campaign trail he showed that he will be willing to stand up to China by criticising Beijing’s expansionist tendencies,” said Singh, who is currently vice president, National Security and International Policy Center for American Progress. (PTI)

NEW YORK, July 17:  Ukranian dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy , who previously dated Karina Smirnoff and Kate Upton, says romance specualtion with a star means big trouble.
The ‘Dancing With The Stars’ professional said after news of his dalliance with Jennifer Lopez hit the press a month ago, things hit a new and annoying level in his life, reported New York Daily News.
“I now understand why Hollywood is such a difficult place to have a good relationship in: because there’s all these interferences.
“Two people have to be so strong — and notice I didn’t say ‘in love’. They have to be in love, but trust me, there’ve been situations when two people have been really in love, and all of this gets in the way and it completely ruins it,” he said.
Last month it was reported that Lopez, 44, had moved on with Chmerkovskiy after ending her relationship with Casper Smart. Chmerkovskiy and Lopez were then spotted together at Connecticut nightclub Shrine.
“With the Jennifer thing, look, we’re friends and… We’re friends. This is it. This is where it ends, pretty much.” (PTI)

NEW YORK, July 17:  Ukranian dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy , who previously dated Karina Smirnoff and Kate Upton, says romance specualtion with a star means big trouble.
The ‘Dancing With The Stars’ professional said after news of his dalliance with Jennifer Lopez hit the press a month ago, things hit a new and annoying level in his life, reported New York Daily News.
“I now understand why Hollywood is such a difficult place to have a good relationship in: because there’s all these interferences.
“Two people have to be so strong — and notice I didn’t say ‘in love’. They have to be in love, but trust me, there’ve been situations when two people have been really in love, and all of this gets in the way and it completely ruins it,” he said.
Last month it was reported that Lopez, 44, had moved on with Chmerkovskiy after ending her relationship with Casper Smart. Chmerkovskiy and Lopez were then spotted together at Connecticut nightclub Shrine.
“With the Jennifer thing, look, we’re friends and… We’re friends. This is it. This is where it ends, pretty much.” (PTI)

LONDON, July 17:  Engaged actors Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux are reportedly planning to ties the knot in Mexico by the end of the month.
The Hollywood couple, which became engaged in 2012, will apparently exchange vows at San Jose del Cabo’s Flora Farm in Aniston’s favourite vacation spot, Cabo San Lucas, as the sun sets on Jul 26, reported Contactmusic.
Just 50 of Aniston and Theroux’s closest friends and family, including celebrity friends Courteney Cox, Chelsea Handler, Sheryl Crow, Ben Stiller, Toby Maguire and comedian Jimmy Kimmel will be in attendance for the destination wedding.
“Jen wants this wedding to be casual. She wants her guests to feel as though they can kick their shoes off and join in on the dance floor…
“This evening for her will be all about making memories with those she loves the most. That’s what’s important to Jen now,” a source said.
The nuptials will be Theroux’s first and Aniston’s second as she was previously married to Brad Pitt. (PTI)

SEOUL,  July  17:  A firefighting helicopter crashed today near an apartment complex and school in the southern South Korean city of Gwangju, killing five people, officials said.
The helicopter was returning to headquarters in the eastern provincial firefighting agency after participating in search operations for 11 people still missing after a ferry sinking that killed more than 290 in April, fire officials in Gwangju said speaking on condition of anonymity because of office rules.
The crash killed all five fire officers aboard the helicopter, while a female high school student on the ground received a minor injury, the officials said.
An official at the firefighting agency in the eastern Gwangwon province said the five dead officers took the helicopter Monday when they left for search operations for the missing people from the ferry disaster. He also spoke on condition of anonymity line with department rules.
TV images showed the burning helicopter and a plume of black smoke rising up above buildings.
The ferry sinking caused widespread worry about South Korea’s lax safety culture. Most of the dead were high school students. (AGENCIES)
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LOS ANGELES, July 17:  Whitney Houston’s daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown has assured fans that a photo of herself getting high, which was posted online, is a hoax.
Earlier this week, the snap of Brown, 21, smoking what appeared to be a bong was shared on Instagram but the reality TV star insists reports she uploaded it are not true, reported Radar online.
The picture was captioned, “This picture may be inappropriate but I want to make a connection with you all. Don’t worry this picture isn’t recent just hear me out. Do you know what I feel? I feel strange I can’t feel any pain anymore. I don’t take any drugs as of recently.
“Things just happened. But then there is some situation that force me to do things and the impact I’ll feel pain. I did and I do. I was hurt.”
The Instagram account has since been deleted and now Brown states, “I’ve never posted any photo of me doing anything! This is someone trying to tarnish and make a horrible name for Myself. People are insane.”
Houston battled substance abuse throughout her life and cocaine was listed as a contributing factor in her death in February, 2012, when she drowned in a bathtub. (PTI)

LOS ANGELES, July 17:  ‘Bates Motel’ star Michael Vartan’s wife Lauren has filed for divorce after three years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason.
According to court documents filed July 11, the couple separated on April 5, just three days after their third wedding anniversary. They do not have any children together, reported E!Online.
Lauren, a real estate agent, filed the paperwork herself. She is asking that she be awarded spousal support.
The former ‘Alias’ star, who had previously dated co-star Jennifer Garner, actually met Lauren at a Whole Foods market after what she deemed some “calculated stalking” on his part. (PTI)

LOS ANGELES, July 17:  Selena Gomez has got a new tattoo in Arabic, which means ‘love yourself first’.
The 21-year-old singer-actress is sporting the new inking on the upper right side of her back, courtesy to celebrity tattoo artist Bang Bang McCurdy, reported E!Online.
“Selena had been wanting this one for a while and finally got it done about a month ago during a visit to my studio in New York City with a couple of friends,” McCurdy said.
“Its meaning translates to ‘Love Yourself.’ Selena already had it written out how she wanted. The tattoo is about four inches, and didn’t take too long, probably about 30-45 minutes. The longest part is laying it out. We played with it a bit laying it out, until we found the perfect spot,” McCurdy added.
This is not the ‘Spring Breakers’ star’s first tattoo. According to Bang Bang, Gomez “has about 5-6 tattoos now” adding that he has tattooed the hitmaker about three times. (PTI)