NewsBytes

Communication channels remain open between India and the US and efforts will continue to resolve the ongoing tariff issue, government sources said on Wednesday. The US government has imposed a total of 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports to America, barring a few sectors, beginning Wednesday.  "The impact (of the tariffs) is unlikely to be as severe as feared given the diversified nature of Indian exports," the sources said, adding the communication lines are open between India and the US to resolve the issue. The sources further said that there is no cause for panic as far as exporters are concerned, stressing "it is a temporary phase in a long-term relationship" between India and the US.

Global airlines' grouping IATA has proposed increasing the upper age limit to 67 years for pilots who are operating multi-pilot commercial flights. Amid a shortage of available pilots compared to the rising demand spurred by aviation sector growth, the proposal has been made by IATA to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The International Air Transport Association (IATA) represents around 350 airlines worldwide, including Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet. In a working paper titled 'Proposal to Raise the Multi-Pilot Commercial Air Transport Pilot Age Limit to 67 years', IATA said the growth of the aviation industry worldwide is causing the demand for pilots to outstrip supply. In 2006, the upper age limit for pilots for operating multi-pilot flights was increased to 65 years from 60 years.

Denmark publicly apologised on Wednesday to Greenlandic women who were victims of a decades-long involuntary birth control campaign, amid efforts by Copenhagen to repair relations with the island and fend off US interest in taking it over. The birth control campaign came to light in 2022 when records showed that thousands of women and girls as young as 13 had been fitted with intrauterine devices without their knowledge or consent between 1966 and 1991, the year Greenland was given authority over its healthcare system. The case is one of several that have emerged in recent years of allegations of misconduct by Danish authorities against the people of Greenland, now a semi-autonomous Danish territory.

Routine eye tests may reveal early signs of Alzheimer's disease, well before symptoms appear, according to a study in mice that researchers said strengthens the case that one's retina can be a powerful biomarker for the neurodegenerative disease. The study, published in the journal Alzheimer's and Dementia, links abnormal changes in blood vessels of the retina in mice with a common gene variant known to increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease. "If you're at an optometrist or ophthalmologist appointment, and they can see odd vascular changes in your retina, that could potentially represent something that is also happening in your brain, which could be very informative for early diagnostics," said lead researcher Alaina Reagan, a neuroscientist at The Jackson Laboratory, a US-based biomedical research institution.