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• Former Starbucks Corp chief executive Howard Schultz has abandoned plans for an independent presidential run, saying he did not want to split the electorate and help re-elect U.S. President Donald Trump in 2020, according to a statement on his website.


• "My belief in the need to reform our two-party system has not wavered, but I have concluded that an independent campaign for the White House is not how I can best serve our country at this time," he wrote.

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• Presidents and ministers from seven Amazon countries met in Colombia to agree on measures to protect the world's biggest rainforest, under threat from wildfires and rampant deforestation.


• The summit took place in the wake of an international outcry over months of raging fires that have devastated swaths of the Amazon in Brazil and Bolivia.
  
• The gathering aimed "to foster a space for regional dialogue to advance the protection and sustainable use of this region, which is essential for the survival of the planet," Colombia's President Ivan Duque said.

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• A US ballistic missile submarine has tested four life-extended Trident II D5 missiles to validate their performance, the US Navy said in a statement.


• Two tests were conducted by USS Nebraska and respectively off the coast of Southern California, the statement said, adding all tests occurred before sunrise, the Xinhua news agency reported.


• The primary goal of the tests was "to validate performance expectations of the life-extended Trident II strategic weapon system," the statement said.


• The Trident II strategic weapon system, originally designed with a life span to 2024, recently underwent a life extension that will keep it operational through the late 2040s.

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• The US central bank is ready to step in to preserve the American economy's expansion amid mounting risks, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said.


• While the Fed is not expecting a recession, trade frictions as well as slower global growth and persistently low inflation are among the "significant risks" that policymakers are watching, Powell said during a conversation at the University of Zurich.


• The remarks should strengthen widespread expectations that the central bank will cut interest rates later this month.
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• As it becomes increasingly apparent that the US economy has slowed in 2019, President Donald Trump has publicly berated Powell and the Fed for failing to loosen monetary policy fast enough something Powell said Friday policymakers tune out.

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• Hong Kong police fired rubber bullets and tear gas on Friday to clear renewed protests outside a subway station on the densely populated Kowloon peninsula, the latest clashes in 14 weeks of sometimes violent anti-government unrest.


• Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced concessions this week to try to end the protests, including formally scrapping a hugely unpopular extradition bill, but many said they were too little, too late.

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• The senior Congress lawyer has been part of Mr. Chidambaram’s legal defence team who has been arguing the INX-Media bribery case in the Supreme Court and the Special CBI court.


• Former Law Minister Kapil Sibal, who represented his colleague and former Finance Minister P. Chidamabaram in court over the INX-Media bribery allegation, took a dig at the courts.

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• In a late night development, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) called off its agreement with Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janata Party for the upcoming Haryana Assembly election and decided to field candidates on all seats in the state.


• According to the BSP, the agreement reached with Dushyant Chautala for the upcoming Assembly elections in Haryana is inappropriate in terms of the proposed seat-sharing formula, BSP president Mayawati said in a tweet in Hindi, adding that the tie-up is called off.


• The party high command has decided to go it alone with all its strength and contest on all the seats, she said in another tweet.

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• President Ram Nath Kovind will embark on a visit to Iceland, Switzerland and Slovenia from Monday during which he is expected to brief the top leadership in those countries on India’s “national concerns”, especially in view of terror incidents this year, including the Pulwama attack.


• Asked if President Kovind during his talks with the leaders there will also brief them on Kashmir, ministry of external affairs secretary (west) A Gitesh Sarma did not give a direct reply and said “when leaders meet, there is a structure in which regional, international, global, multilateral and issues of national concern” are discussed.


• Ahead of the presidential visit, the Swiss government in a release said the situation in Kashmir will be among the issues that will be on the agenda during the meetings between the top leadership and Kovind.

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• Tech giant IBM and NASSCOM Foundation on Friday announced to launch a new programme where 2,500 students from 23 non-technical institutions will be skilled in new-age technologies like data science, Cloud computing and Blockchain.


• The "New-collar Employability Skills Programme" will engage students through an on-campus approach in a 204 hour-long blended training model at colleges in Karnataka, Haryana and the NCR.


• "If we want India's talent base to compete in the global economy, it becomes imperative to upskill them. We are promoting skilling for the next generation to pursue STEM careers," Rumi Mallick Mitra, Leader, Corporate Social Responsibility, IBM India, said in a statement.

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• The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has barred State Bank of India from selling oversees oil and gas assets of debt-laden Videocon group outside the ongoing insolvency process.


• SBI had advertised to sell the upstream oil and gas assets of Videocon located in Brazil and Indonesia. The bank had taken a view that these assets do not belong to the Videocon group and, therefore, the general moratorium applicable.

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• Next up for the Spaniard is a showdown with big-serving Russian Medvedev, who was a straight sets winner over Grigor Dimitrov earlier in the day


• Rafa Nadal moved to the brink of a 19th career Grand Slam title on Friday by beating Matteo Berrettini 7-6(6) 6-4 6-1 to reach the U.S. Open final.


• Nadal put pressure on the underdog Italian's serve from the start but Berrettini saved six break points to set up a first-set tiebreaker.

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• The Vatican city(smallest country in the world) conferred 2006 Noble laureate of Bangladesh, Prof MuhammadYunus with 2019 ‘Lamp of Peace of Saint Francis ‘ award at the historical Papal Basilica of Assisi,Italy.


• The lamp of peace award which recognizes distinguished work by an individual in promoting peace was first awarded to Polish trade union leader Lech Walesa in 1981. Politicians Mikhail Gorbachev(Russia), Angela Merkel(Germany) and spiritual leader Dalai Lama, were the few other prominent persons to receive this award.

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• An Event Horizon Telescope Team consisting of 347 scientists who produced the world’s first image of a black hole were felicitated with Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.


• It is known as the “Oscars of science” which was launched by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and it is the eighth year of award. They won $3 million.

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• The Chief Justice of Madras High Court, Vijaya K Tahilramani on Friday seems to have expressed her intent to resign from her post, sources said.


• At a dinner meeting of judges in Chennai, Tahilramani is learned to have said that she is going to resign and would like to submit her resignation letter to competent authorities, sources told PTI.


• The dinner was hosted by six additional judges who were made permanent judges two days ago and the meet was held in the Judicial Academy in Chennai, they said.

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• The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of the Government of India, appointed Dr. B. Bala Bhaskar as the next Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Norway.


• He is the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of 1993 batch. He succeeds Mr. Krishan Kumar.

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• A new book, “Phoolpur: Indian Flowers, Their Myths, Traditions and Usage” written by Jhelum Biswas Bose is set to be released on September 8, 2019. It is published by Penguin India. The book’s foreword is written by actor Lisa Ray.


• The book explains the subtle power and meaning of different Indian flowers.


• It teaches the ways to use them in living spaces, food, beauty and healing treatments.

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• The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has released a coffee table book entitled ‘Glorious Diaspora- Pride of India’ on Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awardees in New Delhi.


• The book covers the complete profiles of overseas Indians (politicians, business leaders, scientists, economists )who received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards (PBSA) from the year 2003 – 2019 in various sectors. It has been brought out by Indian Diaspora Club.

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• Abdul Qadir was 63 years old and is survived by his wife, four sons and a daughter Pakistan’s master leg-spinner Abdul Qadir died in Lahore on Friday after suffering from a massive cardiac arrest, his family confirmed.


• Qadir was 63 years old and is survived by his wife, four sons and a daughter who is married to current Pakistan star batsman Umar Akmal.