Trump-Kim Summit 2.0 in Vietnam

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will hold a second summit in the Vietnamese coastal city of Da Nang by February end, a senior administration official said here on Friday.

The plan for the summit is being finalised, CNN quoted the official as saying.

Vietnam had been widely believed to be the location ever since the second summit was announced.

White House officials announced on January 18 that the two leaders will hold the second summit following discussions with Kim Yong-chol, North Korea's lead negotiator on nuclear talks. 

The first such meeting took place last June in Singapore.

Another informed source said that there were no current discussions for Trump to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping around the summit.

Trump's agenda for the summit and the actual date were yet to decided.

Soon treatment for obesity, fatty liver disease

Israeli researchers have discovered 27 new molecules, which may lead to a potential treatment for fatty liver disease, obesity and to heal wounds.

The findings, led by Professor Amiram Goldblum at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, were made possible by a new algorithm, which chose the 27 molecules with the strongest therapeutic potential from a database of 1.56 million molecules. 

These molecules, which are undergoing pharmaceutical evaluations to treat obesity and the incurable fatty liver disease, all activate a special protein called PPAR-delta (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta).

PPAR-delta activation has the potential to increase physical endurance and trim waistlines by getting muscle cells to burn more fat, according to the study published in the Scientific Reports journal. 

"With such a large group of highly active molecules, there is a high probability to find treatments for several common diseases. However, we should wait till all the experiments are done before we get our hopes up too high," said Goldblum.

Future evaluations will hopefully include testing treatments for improved wound healing, and to prevent kidney toxicity in diabetics, the researchers said.

There is much pharmaceutical interest in Goldblum's new molecules. 

Integra Holdings, Hebrew University's biotech company, determined that 21 of the 27 have the potential to reach pharmaceutical success, especially as a possible cure for fatty liver disease. 

In addition, Israel's Heller Institute of Medical Research is currently testing PPAR-delta's physical endurance properties on mice. 

Goldblum predicts that in a few years we will hopefully be seeing several of these molecules in the pipeline for clinical studies on humans.

1,330 cr provided for women protection, empowerment: Goyal

Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said the government has provided Rs 1,330 crore for the protection and empowerment of women, an increase of Rs 174 crore from last year.

"An amount of Rs 1,330 crore has been provided for 2019-20," Goyal said while presenting the Interim Budget it in the Lok Sabha.

"While taking several welfare initiatives for women, the emphasis of the government has been to move from 'women's development' to 'women-led development' during the last four and a half years."

Goyal said that more than 70 per cent of the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana were women who were getting affordable and collateral-free loans to start their own businesses.

The Minister also added that maternity leave of 26 weeks have provided financial support to women while empowering them to participate in work.

He noted that the government embarked upon the Ujjawala Yojana to deliver eight crore free LPG connections and six crore connections have already been provided while the remaining will be given by next year.

Balanced budget will stimulate India's growth: Parrikar

 Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday congratulated the Modi government for presenting a budget that will stimulate India's economic growth.

"A balanced budget that will uplift every section of the society and further stimulate India's economic growth. Farmers, poor, middle class and youth are all set to benefit from #BudgetForNewIndia," Parrikar tweeted.

Another reports said  Parrikar has been admitted to the cancer department at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

According to AIIMS sources, Parikkar, who was taken to the hospital on Thursday evening, is under the observation of Dr Atul Sharma, Oncologist, at the Dr. B.R.A IRCH (Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital) of AIIMS and will remain admitted for a few days.

The former Defence Minister is suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer which was diagnosed in February last year. He has been in and out of hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, Delhi and New York since then.

Trump enters 2020 election cycle with massive fundraising

US President Donald Trumps campaign and affiliated committees raised over $21 million in the last three months of 2018, entering the 2020 presidential election cycle with a massive head start, the media reported.

According to new Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings made public on Thursday night, the latest fundraising disclosures bring the total haul for Trump's re-election effort to more than $129 million, a record amount for a sitting American President at this point in the election cycle, reports The Washington Post. 

Trump's enormous haul in the fourth quarter came even as the Republican Party lost its majority in the House during the November midterm, and as Trump's demand for a wall at the US-Mexico border led to a partial shutdown of the federal government and sagging presidential approval ratings.

Nearly 75 per cent of the money raised came from donors giving in sums of $200 or less, FEC filings revealed.

"This is a true testament to President Trump's fulfilment of his promises made to the forgotten men and women of America," Michael Glassner, chief operating officer for the campaign, said on Thursday.

Unlike his predecessors, who waited until after the midterms to raise money for their re-election campaign, Trump began raising money for 2020 shortly after winning the presidency.

Advani reminds Goyal of 'Uri...' during Budget presentation

Finance Minister Piyush Goyal was reminded of the recent Bollywood release "Uri: The Surgical Strike" by former Deputy Prime Minister and veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani just as he was about to speak on the entertainment industry during the Interim Budget presentation.

A known movie buff, Advani, who was a film critic at 'Organizer', a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) publication, was spotted at a cinema hall with his daughter soon after the film on India's surgical strike on terror launch pads in Pakistan, was released.

After Advani's nudging, Goyal praised the film saying: "I had the opportunity too, to watch the film recently. 'Kya josh tha, kya mahaul tha' (the atmosphere was great)."

This was greeted by several BJP leaders, including Paresh Rawal, who was also part of the cast, by thumping their desks in Parliament.

In the past also, several politicians such as Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have praised the film. In fact Modi used the war cry in the film "How's the Josh" to greet the film fraternity at an event here.

"Uri:..." is based on the 2016 surgical strike carried out by the Indian Armed forces in the aftermath of the Uri attack by militants based in Pakistan in which several soldiers died.

The movie, released on January 11, also starred Vicky Kaushal, Yami Gautam and Mohit Raina.

Budget 2019: Tax rebate for income up to Rs 5 lakh per year

In a popular decision ahead of the general elections, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday announced that all those earning less than Rs five lakh will get a full tax rebate.

In the interim budget for 2019-20, the Finance Minister enhanced the  limit of individual income tax from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs five lakh per annm.

The Minister said the move would benefit 30 million people from the middle class.

Also, Standard deduction for salaried persons has been increased from Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000. 

''Individuals with gross income up to Rs 6.5 lakhs will not need to pay any tax if they make investments in provident funds and prescribed equities,'' the minister added.

In an initiative to help farmers, Rs 6,000 per annum would be given to every farmer having up to 2 hectare land.  A sum of Rs 1.7 lakh crore would be set apart to ensure food for all.

Some of the other highlights of the budget are;

26 weeks of Maternity Leave to empower the women,

More than Rs 3 lakh crore allocation for defence,

One lakh digital villages in next 5 years,

Single window for approval of Indian filmmakers,

Minimum 14% revenue of GST to states by Central government,

Custom duty abolished from 36 Capital Goods,

Exemption on tax on second self-occupied house,

Ceiling Limit of TDS u/s 194A increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000 for women, 

Ceiling Limit of TDS u/s 194I increased from Rs 180,000 to Rs 240,000,

Capital tax Benefit u/s 54 increased from investment in one residential house to two residential houses and

Benefit u/s 80IB increased to one more year i.e. 2020.