Daily Bulletin: Narendra Modi to receive UAE's highest civilian honour; Rahul Gandhi, Opposition leaders to visit Srinagar after abrogation of Article 370; day's top stories

Narendra Modi arrives in UAE, will receive gulf nation's highest civilian honour

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where he will discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest with the top leadership.

Modi reached UAE capital Abu Dhabi from Paris on the second leg of his three-nation tour to France, UAE and Bahrain, beginning 23 August.

The prime minister would receive the 'Order of Zayed', the highest civilian decoration conferred by the UAE government for playing a "pivotal role" in providing "big boost" to the bilateral strategic ties.

During the visit, Modi will meet the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and also formally launch RuPay card to expand the network of cashless transactions abroad.

File image of Narendra Modi. PTI

From Abu Dhabi, the prime minister, on 24 August, will visit Bahrain where he will hold talks with King Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and also witness the formal beginning of the re-development of the temple of Shreenathji — the oldest in the Gulf region before returning to France on Sunday to attend the G7 Summit meetings.

Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders to visit Srinagar days after abrogation of Article 370 

A delegation of Opposition leaders including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday in order to see the ground reality, days after the Centre abrogated Article 370 from the region.

Parties such as Congress, CPI, DMK, RJD, TMC, NCP and JD(S) will be the part of the Opposition all-party delegation. Leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, KC Venugopal, Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, Tiruchi Siva, Manoj Jha, Dinesh Trivedi, Majeed Memon and Kupendra Reddy will be the part of the delegation.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Department of Information and Public Relations on Friday evening urged the Opposition leaders to not visit Srinagar as it would "disturb the gradual restoration of normal life".

"They would also be violating restrictions that are still there in many areas. Senior leaders should understand that top priority would be given to maintaining peace, order and preventing loss of human lives," the department tweeted.

On 22 August, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad had asked the government to allow all the political parties to visit Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in order to see the ground reality. He made the demand in his speech at the DMK-led all-party demonstration in Jantar Mantar against the arrest of political leaders detained in Jammu and Kashmir in the backdrop of abrogation of Article 370.

Nirmala Sitharaman announces slew of measures to combat economic slowdown

Amid concerns over economic slowdown, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday announced a slew of measures, from ease of doing business to faceless scrutiny of tax returns for startups, to boost the economy.

Echoing Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech talking of respect for wealth creators, she said this was the spirit of her budget for FY20.

She also reiterated that reform was on top of the government's agenda and that the reform process will continue.

Seeking to dispel doubts over the economy and government's growth agenda, Sitharaman said India's GDP continues to grow at a faster pace than the global economy and any other major economy.

Global GDP growth may be revised downwards from the current estimate of 3.2 percent, she said adding that globally the demand was going to be weak. But the Indian economy was growing faster than the global average and all other major economies, Sitharaman added.

B Sai Praneeth guarantees first medal for India in men's singles at World Badminton Championships since 1983

PV Sindhu beats Tai Tzu Ying to advance to the semifinals of the world championships as her hunt for the elusive gold continues.

B Sai Praneeth becomes only the second Indian men’s singles shuttler after Prakash Padukone in 1983 to win a World Championship medal! He does so by beating Jonatan Christie 24-22, 21-14.

Ishant takes five-for as India restrict West Indies to 189-8 in first innings

India is on top in the first Test after the second day's play ends in Antigua. West Indies are 189-8 in their first innings and are still trailing by 108 runs to India's first innings total of 297. Ishant Sharma took his ninth five-wicket haul, ending with figures of 5-42. Earlier in the day, he scored 19 runs and played his part in a 60 run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja who scored 58, to help India to a decent first innings total.