Daily Bulletin: Kerala CM sticks to claim on UAE aid; Rahul to address diaspora in UK; Saina Nehwal in action at Asian Games today

UAE aid controversy: Kerala CM sticks by claim, cites PM’s tweet as proof The controversy over UAE’s reported offer to release Rs 700 crore aid to flood-hit Kerala refuses to die down. The UAE’s ambassador to India told the media on Friday that the West Asian nation never offered a specific amount yet, and was waiting for an official panel’s report to officially formalise an amount to be paid. However, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who first told the media about the Rs 700 crore offer, has stood by his claims. He has again reiterated the claim citing a tweet by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On 18 August, Modi had tweeted: “A big thanks to @hhshkmohd for his gracious offer to support people of Kerala during this difficult time. His concern reflects the special ties between governments and people of India and UAE.” The issue is likely to remain in the news through today with reactions from the state and Centre coming through. [caption id=“attachment_4942801” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. PTI[/caption] Rahul Gandhi in UK Congress president Rahul Gandhi is on a two-day visit to the United Kingdom since Thursday and has remained in news for his various comments. He attacked Modi, the BJP, and the ruling party at Centre’s ideological parent the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Friday. Rahul equated the RSS to the radical Islamist outfit Muslim Brotherhood while addressing students in London. On Saturday, the Congress president is scheduled to address the Indian diaspora at a public event at a hotel in South Ruislip. Asian Games 2018, Day 7 Day Seven of the Asian Games promises to be an action-packed one with track and field events getting underway. The likes of Hima Das, Nirmala Sheoran and Dutee Chand will be in action on Saturday. Apart from the athletes, Saina Nehwal and Dipika Pallikal Karthik are the other major stars in action. Twitter ends support for iOS 9 or lower In a new update, Twitter has announced that it will end support for all iPhones and iPads running on iOS 9 or its lower versions. This means that while you will be able to access the microblogging website, you will not receive updates for it if your device is running on iOS versions below iOS 10. This step has been taken by Twitter to streamline the app development for all its clients. Donald Trump abruptly cancels Mike Pompeo’s North Korea visit US President Donald Trump on Friday pulled the plug on a weekend trip to North Korea by his top diplomat, Mike Pompeo, while taking a swipe at China over efforts to disarm the nuclear state. “I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula,” Trump said in a tweet. This came hours after Pompeo announced that he will visit the Pyongyang next week for the next stage in ensuring the “final, fully verified denuclearisation of North Korea”. The trip would have been Pompeo’s fourth to North Korea, and the second since a historic summit on 12 June between Trump and the country’s strongman leader Kim Jong-un. US cuts more than $200 million in aid to Palestinians The United States has said that it had cancelled more than $200 million in aid for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, leading their ambassador to accuse Trump’s administration of being “anti-peace”. A senior State Department official said that the decision, made “at the direction of the president”, came after a review of aid programmes to the Palestinian territories. The funding previously allocated for programmes in the West Bank and Gaza will “now address high-priority projects elsewhere”, said the official. Elton John biopic Rocketman, the biopic on legendary singer Elton John, which was earlier scheduled to release on 17 May, 2019, will now open on 31 May, 2019. Being helmed by Dexter Fletche, the film will see Kingsman actor Taron Egerton portray the famed singer-songwriter from his days at the Royal Academy of Music to his rise on the rock ’n’ roll scene of the 1970s and 1980s and his recovery from drug and alcohol addiction in the 1990s to international superstardom.