Hello. Just days after smartphones were exempted from US tariffs on Chinese goods, President Donald Trump looks set to slap new import taxes on them. From India, my colleague Soutik Biswas reports on how pot bellies have gone from status symbols to silent killers. And finally, watch as a star-studded, all-female crew travels into space, and their reactions when they returned to Earth.

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Trump threatens new tariffs on smartphones days after exempting them

The White House has argued that it is using tariffs as a negotiating tactic to extract more favourable trade terms from other countries. Credit: Getty Images

Stock markets across the world opened higher on Monday after it emerged that imports of Chinese-made smartphones and some other electronics devices would escape tariffs of up to 145%. But the rollback, issued at the weekend, may end up being short-lived after President Trump said these goods were simply being moved into a different tariff "bucket". US officials said these items would be subject to a "semiconductor tariff" - an import tax hitting the microchips that power billions of electronic devices and are central to the global economy, with Trump expected to reveal more details soon.

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YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Pot bellies in India: From status symbol to silent killer

Doctors blame rising belly fat in India on lifestyle changes, including more junk food, takeaways and instant meals. Credit: Getty Images

The Indian pot belly - once a badge of prosperity, indulgence and ageing respectability - has long been a target of satire and social commentary. But what was once dismissed or even celebrated is now raising alarm bells. The obesity crisis in India is ballooning - and the seemingly harmless pot belly may be a far bigger villain than we think. 

How big an issue is obesity in India?

Obesity levels in India are on the rise. A new study predicts that by 2050, one in three people in the country will be overweight or obese - an estimated 450 million. But already, 40% of women and 12% of men have abdominal obesity - an accumulation of excess fat around the stomach area.

Are Indians impacted more than others?

It's not just how much fat you have - it's where it goes. In South Asians, fat tends to collect around the trunk and under the skin, but not always deep in the abdomen as visceral fat. Though South Asians may have less of this more harmful, deep abdominal fat around organs, studies show their larger, less efficient fat cells struggle to store fat under the skin. As a result, excess fat spills into vital organs that regulate metabolism - like the liver and pancreas - raising the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Why is this?

Though numerous studies have been conducted, no single gene has consistently explained fat distribution patterns. One theory offers an evolutionary root. India, for centuries, was racked by famines and food shortages. In such conditions, the human body adapted for survival in extreme scarcity. The body needed a depot for this energy and the abdomen, being the most expandable area, became the prime storage site. 

• Obesity on the rise: More than half of all adults and a third of children and teenagers around the world are predicted to be overweight or obese by 2050.