A cutout outside Taj Tashi hotel in Thimpu, where Narendra Modi will stay during his two-day Bhutan visit on Sunday and Monday, read, "Welcome to our close friend, India's prime minister Narendra Modi."

It is a welcoming step, shows Modi ji wants to open a new chapter in strengthening foreign policy, says Sudhanshu Trivedi (BJP) on PM's Bhutan visi

Embarking on his first foreign visit since taking over, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Bhutan on Sunday to cement India's "unique and special relationship" with this SAARC country and his thrust to make the ties more effective.

A grand welcome was accorded to him by the Bhutanese government which rolled out a red carpet and gave a ceremonial guard of honour to him.

Modi, accompanied by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, NSA Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, was received at the Paro airport by Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and several of his Cabinet colleagues.

The Prime Minister drove down from Paro to Thimphu, a distance of about 50 kms, traversing through the picturesque mountainous ranges. Common people, including children, in colourful attire lined up most of the road between Paro and Thimphu, waving Indian and Bhutanese flags.

Big hoardings carrying Modi's photographs also could be seen en route.

Soon after his arrival, Modi called on Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk.
Before embarking on the two-day visit, Modi said Bhutan was a "natural choice" as his first foreign destination because of the "unique and special relationship".

The fact that the Prime Minister chose Bhutan as his first foreign destination assumes significance since China has lately intensified efforts to woo it and establish full- fledged diplomatic ties with Thimphu.

'Modi government will take neighbours along to path of prosperity'

The new Indian government's foreign policy focus on its South Asian neighbourhood and to work towards creating a peaceful, stable and economically inter-linked neighbourhood "bodes well" not only for the collective SAARC but also for Bhutan as the Narendra Modi government will "take everybody along to the path of prosperity", says an editorial in a Bhutanese daily.

The Bhutanese, in an editorial ahead of Modi's two-day visit to the Himalayan country that began Sunday, said that "Bhutan, as an old friend, would want India to do well and surge ahead in the global scene as experience in the past has shown that the economic rise and prosperity of India has translated into benefits for Bhutan, including other countries in the region."

"However, for any major country or regional bloc, they can only ever truly rise on the global platform if their neighborhood is stable and happy, so to speak. The new dispensation in New Delhi led by Mr Modi has wisely realized this, and is thus, focusing with renewed energy and depth in its own neighborhood which is loaded with a lot of potential and unexplored opportunities, apart from the well known challenges," says the editorial.

Modi a friendly person, visit to further strengthen ties: Bhutan PM

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday begins a two-day visit to Bhutan, the Bhutanese leadership has described the Indian leader as "a friendly person and well disposed towards Bhutan" and as one who "gives a sense of purpose and hope".

Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay said that even though there are no specific issues to discuss during the meeting with Modi from Bhutan's side, all commitments made and the generous support that the government receives from India will be discussed, according to The Bhutanese daily.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Islamic Hamas movement, the Palestinian government’s new partner, of kidnapping three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank last week.

 “This morning I can say what I refrained from saying yesterday before the extensive wave of arrests” in the West Bank, Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting today in Jerusalem. “Those who carried out the kidnapping of our youths are members of Hamas,” the prime minister said, according to a text message from his office.

Israeli security forces arrested about 80 Hamas operatives and officials in the West Bank overnight, the army said. Netanyahu’s remarks are “stupid,” Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in an e-mailed statement. He didn’t confirm or deny the allegations.

Hamas held Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit captive in the Gaza Strip for five years before freeing him in 2011 in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Netanyahu has ordered the military to “prepare forces for any scenario.” Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon spoke of “broad intelligence and operational efforts” in the West Bank and Channel Two said a division of paratroopers was sent to the area.

The benchmark TA-25 index dropped as much as 0.5 percent today, the most since April 23, and was down 0.4 percent to 1,391.68 at 11:53 a.m. in Tel Aviv.

Yaniv Pagot, chief strategist at Ramat Gan, Israel-based Ayalon Group Ltd., attributed the decline to “a gut reaction” by investors and said that as long there was no escalation, the kidnapping wasn’t likely to have a long-term impact on the market. The yield on the benchmark government 2024 bond slipped 2 basis points to 2.86 at 12:07 p.m. in Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu has linked the abduction of the teens to Hamas’ entry into the Palestinian government earlier this month.

“What’s happening on the ground since Hamas entered the Palestinian Authority is a disaster,” Netanyahu said yesterday. “This is the result of allowing a murderous terror organization into the government.”

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, teamed up June 2 in a government with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction, which rules over parts of the West Bank, after peace talks with Israel collapsed in April.

Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the U.S. and European Union, and Netanyahu has shunned the new Palestinian government.

Without confirming a kidnapping, Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official in Lebanon, told Al-Quds television yesterday that the disappearance of the teens “proved that resistance to Israel hasn’t been stifled.” He urged the kidnappers, “if there indeed were kidnappers,” to demand the “highest price” for the teens’ return.
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Israel traded more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in 2011 for the return of Shalit, who was captured outside Gaza. Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, who opposed the Shalit deal, said he would oppose any agreement that would release Palestinian security prisoners.

“There will be no more freeing of Palestinian terrorists sitting in Israeli prisons, not in the form of a gesture, or in any other way,” Liberman said on Army Radio today.

The teens disappeared at a time when Palestinians have been holding rallies across the West Bank in support of more than 100 Palestinians staging hunger strikes in Israeli prisons.
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Netanyahu said he holds the Palestinian Authority responsible for the abduction because the kidnappers came from territory under its control. Abbas’s office has said the Palestinian Authority wasn’t responsible for the disappearance of Israelis in an area of the West Bank Israel controls.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war. The territory is home to 2.3 million Palestinians who claim it as part of a future independent state.

 Millions of Afghans turned out to vote Saturday in a presidential run-off election despite Taliban threats and violence that killed nearly 50 people ahead of the withdrawal of NATO troops later this year.

Afghan officials said more than seven million people voted, a higher than expected turnout of 52 percent based on an estimated electorate of 13.5 million voters. But fraud allegations were likely from both campaign teams after the election, and a close count could lead to a contested result as the country undergoes its first democratic transfer of power.

The election will decide whether former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah or ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani leads the country into a new era of declining international military and civilian assistance. On the campaign trail, both candidates had offered similar pledges to tackle rampant corruption, build much-needed infrastructure and protect citizens from violence. Polling day saw no major attacks in cities, but at least 150 other incidents including a Taliban rocket that hit a house near a polling station in the eastern province of Khost, killing five members of the same family.
“Eleven police, 15 ANA (Afghanistan National Army) and 20 civilians were martyred,” Interior Minister Omar Daudzai told reporters, adding that about 60 militants were also killed in fighting.
“Election security was better than the first round despite level of threats being higher,” he said. “People voted to reject the militants. There were some casualties on our side, but the enemy has failed.”

Independent Election Commission chief Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani admitted there had been problems with ballot paper shortages, as in the first round election in April. President Hamid Karzai is due to step down after ruling Afghanistan since 2001, when a US-led offensive ousted the austere Taliban regime for sheltering Al-Qaeda militants behind the 9/11 attacks.
“We are very proud to be choosing our favourite candidate,” he said after voting. “Today Afghanistan goes from a transition period towards long-lasting peace.”

A smooth handover would be a major achievement for the international effort to establish a functioning state after the depredations of the Taliban era.

Afghan officials said the day was proof that the security forces, who have been trained by the US-led military coalition, will be able to protect the country when all NATO-lead combat troops exit Afghanistan this year.

Both candidates cast their ballots in Kabul, dipping a finger in ink to register that they had voted. “We do not want even one fraudulent vote for us,” Abdullah told reporters, while Ghani said via Twitter: “We ask everyone to prevent, avoid and discourage people from rigging.”

On the eve of the run-off, UN head of mission Jan Kubis had issued a stark warning to candidates’ supporters not to resort to the ballot-box stuffing that marred the 2009 election when Karzai retained power.
The two candidates came top of an eight-man field in the April election, triggering the run-off as neither reached the 50 percent threshold needed for outright victory. Abdullah secured 45 percent of the vote with Ghani on 31.6 percent, after investigations into fraud claims from both sides.

A day after an FIR was registered against businessman Ness Wadia following a written complaint from actor Preity Zinta that he molested, abused and threatened her inside Wankhede stadium in south Mumbai on May 30, Mumbai police sources said Saturday they would record IPL CEO Sundar Raman’s statement in the case.

The Marine Drive police, meanwhile, began recording statements of other witnesses. The police have also sought CCTV footage from the Garware pavilion in Wankhede stadium to ascertain what transpired between the two co-owners of the IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab that evening.

“We have started our probe. We are recording statements of Wankhede staff and will record Raman’s statement,” said an officer  from Marine Drive police station.

The FIR against Wadia was registered around 12.10 am on Friday at the station. The complaint was registered under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult modesty of a woman), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the IPC. 
In her complaint dated June 12, Zinta stated she had known Wadia for the last 10 years and had a relationship with him. It reads, “But for some time, we have ended our relationship. Although we are co-owners of Kings XI Punjab, we are no longer in a relationship and only talk for professional reasons.”

“For some time now, we are not even talking to each other. In between, once or twice, we had heated argument regarding work and during that time he tried to abuse me, and used extremely derogatory language and tried to misbehave in a manner where I was put to shame in front of my colleagues, friends and family. I’ve orally warned him during that time and told him I was not comfortable with such behaviour,” the complaint states.

Zinta alleged Wadia threatened her. “During the match on 30th May, 2014 at Wankhede stadium in the evening, Ness Wadia intimidated me by saying he could make me disappear as I was a nobody and only an actress and he’s a powerful person,” her complaint alleges.

Explaining why she did not take up the matter earlier, Zinta said she “tried to be very normal and nice to him” as she wanted peace, but the Wankhede incident left her fearing for her life. She claimed she lodged a complaint with BCCI officials, but stayed calm as she did not want to disturb the morale of her team that had qualified for the IPL finals.

Wadia’s publicist Naveen Soni rubbished the allegations. “It is totally false and baseless,” he said.
Sources close to Wadia claimed he was celebrating his birthday on May 30 and had reserved a few seats for himself and his family. On reaching the stadium late, he found the seats were occupied by Zinta and others, which led to arguments between the

Actor and co-owner of Kings XI Punjab Preity Zinta registered a case of molestation late on Thursday night against former boyfriend and industrialist Ness Wadia, who denied the allegation as "false and baseless".

In her statement to the Maharashtra Police, Zinta said the incident happened during the Indian Premier League (IPL) qualifier for the final between Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium on May 30.

The 39-year-old actor alleged that Wadia not only outraged her modesty but also abused and threatened her. She added that during the match, Wadia came up to her, grabbed her by the hand and started using abusive words in front of other spectators.

Wadia, another co-owner of the Punjab team, said in a statement, "I am shocked at the complaint and the allegations made against me are totally false and baseless."
With the issue snowballing into a major controversy and hogging the headlines, Zinta too issued a statement on Saturday, saying that it was a difficult time for her and that her intention was not to hurt anyone.  She also reportedly requested the media to respect her privacy.

Zinta and Wadia, 44, parted ways after a five-year relationship in 2009, but continued as business partners and co-owners of Kings XI Punjab. They did not cite any specific reason for the break-up.

A case under sections 354, 504 and 506 (assault on a woman, intentional insult and criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code was registered.

An investigating officer said police had started calling witnesses over the issue.

Mumbai Police commissioner Rakesh Maria said an "offence has been registered".

Stunning goals from Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben fired the Netherlands to a 5-1 demolition of Spain who endured a miserable start to their World Cup defence in a pulsating Group B game on Friday.

In complete contrast to the tetchy World Cup final between the sides in 2010 which Spain won 1-0, the Dutch took sweet revenge with a vibrant display capped off by two goals each for Van Persie and Robben and one by defender Stefan de Vrij.

"I certainly didn't expect this result but I did expect us to score in the way we did," Dutch coach Louis van Gaal told reporters.

"Spain were always going to come at us and we catch them on the counter. My players did it perfectly. It's far better than we ever expected," Dutch coach Louis van Gaal told reporters.

Only once before had Spain conceded five times in a World Cup game, on Brazilian turf in 1950 in a 6-1 loss to the hosts. The Dutch mauling at Salvador's Fonte Nova arena was also the worst ever start for defending world champions.
"I can't find words to explain five goals," Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said.

"We have never been a very defensive side but always coped well defending. Today we've been very weak.

"We kept on fighting but they were physically stronger as the game went on and that made a difference... It is now a delicate situation for us which we will and try and overcome in our next game against Chile and then see what happens."

Spain, also 2008 and 2012 European champions, had been expected to dictate proceedings with their slick passing style and normal service looked to be established when a coolly converted 27th-minute Xabi Alonso penalty gave them the lead.

Van Gaal had set his Dutch side up to press and look for the quick ball and it paid dividends just before the break in spectacular fashion when Van Persie equalised superbly.

Diving header
The Netherlands' key man sneaked in between defenders Sergio Ramos and Jordi Alba in the 44th minute to meet a searching Daley Blind cross with a powerful diving header that left goalkeeper Iker Casillas rooted to the spot.

Moments before Van Persie's goal Spain missed a glorious chance to double their lead when midfielder David Silva's cheeky chip was pushed wide for a corner.

It was a wasted opportunity they came to rue.

After the break the Dutch hurried Spain in possession, pouring forward at every opportunity, and went ahead after 53 minutes when Robben got on the end of another superb Blind lobbed pass before turning Gerard Pique and holding off Ramos to fire home from seven metres.

Del Bosque reacted by swapping Alonso for the more attack-minded Pedro and Brazilian-born striker Diego Costa, booed with every touch by the locals, went off for Fernando Torres.

The match opened up but in the Netherlands' favour.

Van Persie rattled the crossbar with a ferocious right-foot volley before De Vrij, whose tackle on Costa had led to the penalty, stole in on 64 minutes at the back post to convert a free kick after Casillas who was pressurised by Van Persie.

British prosecutors say they are charging former pop star Gary Glitter with eight sex offenses involving teenage girls.

The charges against Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, are related to two women who were aged 12 and 14 at the time of the alleged offenses between 1977 and 1980.

The 70-year-old was arrested in October 2012 — the first in a series of arrests under the Operation Yewtree national investigation that was launched in the wake of a child abuse scandal surrounding late BBC entertainer Jimmy Savile.

Glitter is best known for the hit "Rock & Roll (Part 2)," but he fell into disgrace after being convicted on child abuse charges in Vietnam.

It's been 14 years since J.Lo wore that plunging Versace dress to the 2000 Grammys, but this image is still fresh in our minds:

Lopez gave fans green dress déjà vu when she stunned in this plunging leotard at a free performance in the Bronx June 4:

The updated version of her dress wasn't the only thing to bring on the nostalgia, either. Of course, the Bronx native performed "Jenny From The Block" for her hometown crowd along with a slew of her older hits. Lopez also enlisted fellow New Yorkers Ja Rule, Fat Joe and French Montana to perform onstage with her.

The 44-year-old recently gave another nod to her iconic gown with a similar outfit in her video for "I Luh Ya Papi." As for where the real dress is today? Lopez told Harper's Bazaar that it's hanging up on a mannequin in her spa. We can only hope that one day she'll break out the real deal again.

The infighting in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is grappling with its lacklustre showing in the 2014 general elections, has now apparently reached the top leadership.

After AAP leader Yogendra Yadav resigned from the party's Political Affairs Committee (PAC) last Saturday, senior leader Manish Sisodia reportedly questioned his motives and strategies that did not help the party in the general elections.

Yadav, a native of Haryana, resigned from the party's top decision-making body following a tiff with state convener Naveen Jaihind, who resigned from the 18-month-old rookie party's national executive body on the same day.

In a letter sent to Yadav, Sisodia is said to have reprimanded him for taking his fight with Jaihind in public domain and calling party chief Arvind Kejriwal a "supremo".

"You have alleged that the party did not listen to the political affairs committee. But then the PAC also did not want you to contest from Gurgaon.

"In that scenario Arvind supported you. But when Arvind did not support you in you fight against Navin Jaihind, you call him supremo," said the letter dated Thursday.

HT has a copy of the letter, but could not confirm its veracity immediately as both Sisodia and Yadav could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

There is a big talk in the AAP circles that Sisodia's letter was in response to the one written by Yadav clarifying why he had to quit the PAC.

In the fresh letter, Yadav, who contested and lost the Gurgaon seat, was also criticised for his incorrect survey on Haryana.

While the AAP hoped to bag about 23% of the vote share in the state — which is also home to former Delhi CM kejriwal — it managed to get just 3% of the votes and failed to make an impression all the 10 constituencies.

The letter also blames Yadav for pushing Kejriwal to field over 400 candidates against his wish.

The AAP, despite its stellar assembly election debut in Delhi last year, managed to win just four seats — all in Punjab — in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. 

Following the debacle in the general elections, two of the AAP's prominent faces — Shazia Ilmi and GR Gopinath (who launched India's first low-cost carrier) — had recently quit the party in signs of disintegration.

The 50-share Nifty index is expected to open higher on Friday following positive trend seen in other Asian markets. Tracking the momentum, the index is expected to reclaim its crucial psychological level of 7,500 in trade today.

At 07:30 a.m., Nifty India stock futures in Singapore were trading 35 points higher at 7,525.00 a positive opening on the domestic market.

The benchmark Sensex created history on Thursday by closing above the 25,000 mark for the first time on heavy buying in metal, power and oil & gas shares by overseas investors.

The 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 71.85 points, or 0.97 per cent, to close at a new peak of 7,474.10, breaching previous record closing high of 7,415.85 on Tuesday.

"After the initial setback, the markets were seen recovering swiftly from the day's low and witnessed fresh upside break today. On sectoral front, metal, power and realty counters were remained in limelight from the beginning with noticeable recovery in IT and FMCG pack," said Jayant Manglik, President-retail distribution, Religare Securities Ltd

"In absence of any major domestic event, participants are taking cues from the robust global markets. And so far, majorities are trading in line with our market trend," he added.

Manglik is of the view that we are eyeing 7600 level in Nifty, so any decline can be utilize for initiating fresh long positions but keep extra caution in stock selection.