Entertainment
Modi skipped Asean summit to avoid Pakistan talk with Trump: report
- Indian officials believed Trump would repeat Pak-India ceasefire.
- US imposed 50% tariff on Indian exports for purchasing Russian oil.
- Pakistan openly credited US President Trump for ceasefire.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose not to attend the Asean summit in Malaysia in person to avoid a potential discussion on Pakistan with US President Donald Trump, Bloomberg reported.
Modi had decided against travelling to Kuala Lumpur for the regional leaders’ summit, opting instead to address the gathering virtually.
“Officials in the government were apprehensive that Trump would repeat his claim that he mediated a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, which India has consistently denied,” a report published by Bloomberg read.
Modi was reportedly unwilling to meet Trump, fearing it could prove “embarrassing” for the Indian premier amid the approaching state elections in Bihar.
It is noteworthy that this was not the first instance of Modi skipping a potential meeting with Trump. He had also avoided attending the United Nations General Assembly session the previous month.
Relations between India and the US have deteriorated since the Pakistan conflict five months ago. In August, Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Indian exports, with half of the tariff serving as a penalty for India’s purchase of Russian oil. Since then, trade negotiations have been underway, but there is still no clear indication of a deal.
Trump had repeatedly said that his intervention prevented a “bad nuclear war” between Pakistan and India in May this year.
“We stopped a nuclear conflict. I think it could have been a bad nuclear war, millions of people could have been killed. So I’m very proud of that,” Trump told reporters at the White House days after Pakistan and India agreed on the ceasefire.
Last week, the US president said he told Modi that there should be no war with Pakistan, stressing that he had helped avert several conflicts through diplomacy and trade pressure.
In May, Pakistan and Indian engaged in a military showdown, the worst between the old foes in decades, which was sparked by a terrorist attack on tourists in IIOJK’s Pahalgam area, which New Delhi said was backed by Pakistan.
Islamabad denied involvement in the Kashmir attack, which killed 26 men and was the worst assault on civilians in India since the Mumbai attacks in 2008.
After the incident, India killed several innocent civilians in unprovoked attacks on Pakistan for three days before the Pakistan Armed Forces retaliated in defence with the successful Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos.
Pakistan downed seven IAF fighter jets, including Rafale, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the two nuclear-armed nations ended on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement brokered by the US.
Pakistan has consistently credited Trump with securing a ceasefire and even nominated him for the Nobel Prize.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has described Trump as a “genuine man of peace”, saying that the US president worked “relentlessly and untiringly” to end global conflicts, including the war in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the US president praised Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and PM Shehbaz, calling them “great people”.
Entertainment
Eddie Murphy announces the latest addition to family: ‘Blessings’
Eddie Murphy is having quite the year for new arrivals.
The comedy legend has revealed he has welcomed not one but two grandchildren in the space of a fortnight, a grandson and a granddaughter, and he could not be happier about it.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight at the American Film Institute Achievement Award Ceremony on Saturday, 18 April, Murphy, 65, shared the news with characteristic warmth.
“I just had my first grandson two months ago,” he said, referring to the baby boy born to his daughter Bria, 36, and her husband Michael Xavier, who married in July 2022.
Bria had offered a glimpse of her pregnancy at the November premiere of her father’s documentary Being Eddie.
He also confirmed the birth of his third granddaughter, just two weeks ago, to his son Eric and Jasmin Lawrence, daughter of comedian Martin Lawrence.
The couple married last May and announced they were expecting in February. Murphy revealed the baby girl’s name to E! News: Ari Skye.
“So all this stuff is happening,” Murphy said, grinning. “I’m like it’s raining blessings on me. Raining blessings.”
When asked whether he had been dispensing parenting wisdom to the new arrivals, Murphy was direct.
“Oh, you don’t give advice like that. You know, your kids don’t go by your advice. Your kids go by the example you set. They watch you. The stuff you be saying, they don’t even pay that s— no mind. They watch and see what you do. So, I don’t give a lot of advice.”
Murphy is father to ten children across several relationships, including sons Eric, 36, Christian, 35, Myles, 33, and Max, 7, and daughters Bria, Shayne, 31, Zola, 26, Bella, 24, Angel, 19, and Izzy, 9.
Entertainment
Singer D4vd charged with murder in death of 14-year-old found in his car
Entertainment
Christina Applegate exhibits strength amid ‘health issues’
Christina Applegate has broken her silence following reports of a recent hospitalisation, reassuring fans that she is on the mend and determined as ever.
“Thank you for the outpouring of love and well wishes,” the actress wrote on Instagram on Monday.
“Health issues are a constant for me, but I’m a strong chick and I’m getting stronger and better every day. I’m taking a moment to focus on my health, but I’ll be back with more to say soon enough.”
The post comes after reports began circulating that Applegate had been hospitalised in late March, with outlets reporting that those close to her had been deeply concerned.
The 54-year-old did not specify the nature of the latest health episode, but her MS diagnosis, which she made public in August 2021, has been an ongoing part of her life in the years since.
Applegate has been notably open about her journey with multiple sclerosis, both through her 2026 memoir You with the Sad Eyes and the podcast she co-hosts with Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who also has MS.
Her final acting role was in the comedic thriller series Dead to Me, a job she finished while her diagnosis was still new territory.
Season three was already in production when she found out, and she has spoken candidly about how difficult that period was.
She used a wheelchair to get to set, was “sleeping all the time,” and had to call the cast and crew to tell them what she was dealing with.
“I had to call everybody and be like, ‘I have multiple sclerosis guys. Like, what the fuck!'” she told Variety in 2022.
Best known for her long-running role in Married… with Children, which ran on Fox for 11 seasons from 1987 to 1997, Applegate has since retired from acting.
Her message on Monday was short but carried the same directness that has defined how she has handled her illness throughout, no sugarcoating, and no backing down either.
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