SRK appointed goodwill ambassador

Plus: Gomez fires parents as managers, Fast & Furious actor to receive MTV tribute and Karan Johar rants about Shuddhi rumours.

Sources say the South Koreans wanted SRK to receive the honour before their president Park Geun-hye visits India next January. AFP

The Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan has been appointed a goodwill ambassador for South Korea, according to a tweet from his fan club. The South Korean government reportedly had to pursue Khan for more than two months before he agreed to accept the offer. Sources say the South Koreans wanted SRK to receive the honour before their president Park Geun-hye visits India next January. Geun-hye will visit New Delhi in a bid to strengthen political and strategic relations. – The National staff

Gomez fires parents as managers

Selena Gomez has reportedly fired her parents as her managers, the Daily Mail reports. The 21-year-old singer's career has been overseen by her mother Mandy Teefey since her big break on the Disney show Wizards of Waverly Place. Sources told TMZ that Gomez fired her mother and stepfather last month and that the move is permanent. The source said: "Selena feels she's outgrown her parents". The move comes as Selena is alleged to have renewed her relationship with her troubled former boyfriend, Justin Bieber. – The National staff

Fast & Furious actor to receive MTV tribute

The late actor Paul Walker, who was killed in a car crash last November, will be honoured at the MTV Movie Awards 2014 on Sunday. "Paul Walker was a role model for the MTV audience since the very beginning of his too-short career," said MTV president Stephen Friedman in a statement on the channel's website. "Our audience grew up with him, from Varsity Blues to the Fast & Furious franchise. He was a movie star, but one they could relate to. Paul's humanity & kindness clearly showed through every role." Walker was a presenter at last year's MTV Movie Awards alongside Jordana Brewster, Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez. – The National staff *For more on Walker's Fast & Furious 7 co-stars in Abu Dhabi, turn to p7

O’Brien endorses Colbert for Late Show host

Conan O'Brien, who has hosted his talk show Conan on TBS since 2010 and famously took over The Tonight Show only to be later replaced by the previous host Jay Leno, said he believes Stephen Colbert is the "right person" to take over Late Night with David Letterman when Letterman retires next year. "I wasn't up for it," O'Brien said backstage on Friday, during a break from rehearsing for Sunday's MTV Movie Awards, which he's hosting for the first time. "I'm very happy where I am, but I love Stephen. I think Stephen is great. I'm a huge fan of his as a comic and as a human being." – Associated Press

Karan Johar rants about Shuddhi rumours

The filmmaker Karan Johar took to Twitter last week to quell speculation about his forthcoming project Shuddhi, after Indian media reported that the actor Hrithik Roshan had demanded a share of the film's revenues and then opted out of the film. "Article insinuating that Hrithik asked for a large percentage of profit for Shuddhi is baseless, untrue and completely uninformed," the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai director tweeted on Wednesday. – IANS