Five cups of coffee per day can be lethal

Melbourne: Drinking five cups of coffee a day - even when decaffeinated - has been linked to obesity and chronic disease, a new study has found.

It is the first study in the world to look at higher doses of coffee, rather than the equivalent of one or two cups, and it found that five coffees doubled the fat around organs in the abdomen - a type of fat that causes deadly conditions, News.com.au reported.

A compound in coffee known as Chlorogenic Acid (CGA) was thought to have health benefits, such as preventing diabetes, but a new study has found too much may cause a build up of fat and other problems.

Researchers from the WA Institute for Medical Research and the University of Western Australia were hoping to prove the cardiovascular benefits of coffee, but instead discovered it can worsen obesity and its related diseases.

The researchers found that mice given an equivalent dose of five cups of coffee for a human developed twice the amount of visceral fat - the most dangerous form of fat that collects around the organs in the abdomen.

University of WA professor Kevin Croft said that previous studies had only tested small amounts of coffee equivalent to one cup of coffee a day.

"Studies have shown that coffee consumption lowers the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes," Prof Croft said.

"With this in mind, we studied the effects of CGAs, which are very rich in coffee but also found in tea and some fruits including plums.

"The CGAs were previously known for their health benefits - increasing insulin sensitivity and reducing blood pressure and body fat accumulation," he said.

But the study proved the opposite when dosages given to mice were equivalent to five cups of coffee for a human per day, said WAIMR Assistant Professor Vance Matthews.

"We found that the equivalent of five cups of coffee a day had a tendency to increase weight gain, particularly in regards to visceral fat," Prof Matthews said.

"There was also increasing insulin resistance (which can lead to diabetes) and glucose intolerance in mice having high levels of CGA," he said

Passport issue resolved with Saudi Arabia Indian Mission

Riyadh: India and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday resolved the issue of refusal of new Indian passports by immigration authorities in Jeddah which had caused concern among the Indian expatriates in the Kingdom.

Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Hamid Ali Rao met Saudi Deputy Minister of Interior Dr Ahmed Al-Saleh in the wake of reports that immigration officials in Jeddah had refused to accept new Indian passports.

Rao explained that the travel document's format has been changed and that it should be accepted.

The Ambassador raised the issue while discussing the ongoing concessions announced by the Saudi government for correcting the status of overstaying Indian workers and their return to India without any penal action.

Deputy Chief of Mission of Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia Sibi George said a few cases were reported in Jeddah where perhaps immigration authorities were not aware of the new format of the passport but it was resolved and there was no issue at Riyadh or in any other city in the country.

"The Ambassador discussed the issue with the Minister. The issue has been clarified and the matter has been sorted out. There is just no panic amongst Indian community," George said.

According to reports, the problem arose when Saudi authorities declined to transfer data from old passports to the new ones submitted by Indian expatriates for updating, saying they have not received any official information on the modification.

In the old passport, the passport holder's photo was placed on the second page, whereas the newly issued passports have photos placed on the third page.

George said the Embassy was always ready to take up any issues concerning the Indian community with local authorities

Police may quiz N Srinivasan's son-in-law in IPL betting case

New Delhi: 2:21 pm: The Madras High Court has admitted a Public Interest Litigation that seeks a government takeover of the BCCI and the IPL administration. The PIL was filed by a lawyer at the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court.

He has alleged that the conduct of certain activities and receipt of income were totally commercial and there was no element of charity in the conduct of BCCI. The court has sent a notice to the central government, Chairman of the IPL Rajeev Shukla and BCCI President N Srinivasan. They have been asked to respond within two weeks.

1:57 pm: Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court has dismissed a plea asking for the IPL to be brought under the Sports Ministry instead of the BCCI.

Mumbai police may quiz N Srinivasan's son-in-law

New Delhi: It was revealed that Mumbai police would question Chennai Supre Kings owner N Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan for his alleged role in spot-fixing. Meiyappan was the man Vindoo Dara Singh, who was arrested on Tuesday, was in constant touch over phone.

Meiyappan is the Team Principal and CEO of the Chennai Super Kings.

Earlier, in a shocking development, Vindoo Dara Singh, the son of late actor Dara Singh, who was arrested on Tuesday for his alleged role in spot-fixing in IPL, admitted to being in touch with a relative of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) owner.

According to sources, BCCI chief and Chennai Supre Kings owner N Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan is the relative Vindoo Dara Singh was in touch with.

The call details of Vindoo showed that he made several phone calls to the relative of the CSK owner. It was learnt that Vindoo had an easy access to CSK VIP box during their IPL matches.

The police, according to sources, are examining that how Vindoo became close to the CSK team and how he got the access to the team so easily.

Earlier on Tuesday, Bollywood actor Vindoo Dara Singh, had been arrested in connection with the IPL spot-fixing scandal.

"Vindoo was questioned after he was found to be in contact with the bookies and subsequently arrested today," an official said without revealing further details.

49-year-old Vindoo, winner of reality television show Bigg Boss season 3, was on many occasions spotted watching IPL matches and attending post-match parties.

His arrest is the first from Bollywood in connection with the latest scandal to hit Indian cricket.

Rome Open

Rome Open: Mahesh Bhupathi-Rohan Bopanna in semis, Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek-Sands exit

 Rome:  Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna reached the semifinals of the Rome Masters after getting a walkover from rivals Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek even as Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek-Sands crashed out of the women's event, here.

Berdych, who shocked world number one Novak Djokovic in the men's singles in a gruelling three-setter, cited muscle fatigue as the reason for him withdrawing.

Bhupathi and Bopanna will now fight it out with Mexico's Santiago Gonzalez and American Scott Lipsky for a place in the final.

Gonzalez and Lipsky came from a set down to upset second seeded Spaniards Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez 1-6, 6-4, 10-6 in their quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, Sania and Bethanie's campaign ended in the women's doubles after their 4-6 3-6 defeat against top seeds and local favourites Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci.

The Indo-American pair lost in one hour and 15 minutes as they squandered six of the nine break c.ances,

Francois Hollande signs gay marriage bill

Paris: The gay marriage bill has been legalized in France with the French president Francois Hollande signing the bill into a law.

With the signing of the bill, the first gay marriage is expected to take place within next two weeks, as per a BBC report.

The gay marriage bill was passed by the Parliament last month with the conservative lawmakers opposing the legalizing of gay marriage bill.

The challenge motion was rejected by the Constitutional Council.

The gay marriage law must now be published in the official journal. President Francois Hollande, who made legalizing gay marriage one of his campaign pledges last year, has promised to see the law published as soon as possible.

Serena Williams

Serena Williams eases through to Italian Open final

 Rome:  Serena Williams is one victory away from winning her fourth consecutive title this year — with the French Open only one week away.

The top-ranked American overcame an early break of her serve to ease past Romanian qualifier Simona Halep 6-3, 6-0 on Saturday and reach the Italian Open final, extending her career-best winning run to 23 matches.

Williams is coming off consecutive titles in Miami; Charleston, South Carolina; and Madrid last week.

In Sunday's final, Williams will face either third-seeded Victoria Azarenka or seventh-seeded Sara Errani, who were up next on center court on a perfect spring day at the Foro Italico.

In the men's semifinals, six-time champion Rafael Nadal will face sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych and Roger Federer plays 36th-ranked Benoit Paire of France.

Williams' only title at this clay-court event came in 2002, when she beat Justine Henin in the final. That was also the year she won her only French Open title. Last year in Paris, Williams lost in the opening round of a major for the first time, falling to 111th-ranked Virginie Razzano of France.

The tournament at Roland Garros starts next Sunday.

Williams has twice won 21 in a row before, although both of those runs came a decade ago, in 2002 and 2003.

Martina Navratilova established the longest women's win run in the Open Era at 74 matches in 1984.

At 31, Williams is back at the top of her game after missing 11 months in 2010 and 2011 with a right foot injury and a pulmonary embolism.

The 64th-ranked Halep entered with an impressive run herself, having beaten former top-10 player Daniela Hantuchova to qualify, then 2009 French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round. That was followed in succession by fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanksa, 13th-seeded Roberta Vinci and two-time Rome winner Jelena Jankovic.

Solid off both sides and an agile mover, the 2008 French Open girls champion took a set off Williams in their only previous meeting in the second round of Wimbledon two years ago. Halep tested Williams again at the start of this match, angling baseline shots to the corners to force the 15-time Grand Slam winner into errors.

Halep broke to take a 2-1 lead in the first set, but Williams broke right back and cruised from there as she gained the measure of her opponent and began to win the longer rallies.

Francois Hollande

Francois Hollande signs gay marriage bill

Paris: The gay marriage bill has been legalized in France with the French president Francois Hollande signing the bill into a law.

With the signing of the bill, the first gay marriage is expected to take place within next two weeks, as per a BBC report.

The gay marriage bill was passed by the Parliament last month with the conservative lawmakers opposing the legalizing of gay marriage bill.

The challenge motion was rejected by the Constitutional Council.

The gay marriage law must now be published in the official journal. President Francois Hollande, who made legalizing gay marriage one of his campaign pledges last year, has promised to see the law published as soon as possible.

BCCI emergency meet to discuss IPL spot-fixing

Stung by the sensational IPL spot-fixing scandal, the BCCI has called an Emergent Working Committee meeting on Sunday to discuss the "fallout" of the controversy that has tarnished the credibility of the cash-rich league.

"The President, BCCI, has convened an Emergent Working Committee Meeting, at 11:00 am on Sunday, 19 February 2013, at the Park Sheraton, Chennai," the BCCI statement said.

"The Working Committee will discuss, among other things, the fallout of the spot-fixing controversy in the ongoing IPL, in which three players have been arrested by the Delhi Police," it added.

A special cell of the Delhi police arrested India pacer S Sreesanth and his Rajasthan Royals teammates -- Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan -- for indulging in spot-fixing in at least three IPL matches as per arrangements with bookies who have underworld connections abroad.

The players, who have been suspended by the BCCI, have been brought to Delhi and charged under section 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.

The Board has also suspended first-class cricketer Amit Singh, who is allegedly a bookmaker now and was arrested along with 10 other bookies yesterday.

"Mr. Amit Singh, a registered player with the Gujarat Cricket Association, who has also been arrested by the Delhi Police, has been suspended by the BCCI, pending inquiry," the BCCI statement read.

Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar had referred to Amit as Amit Kumar, a bookie yesterday but later it emerged that he was in fact a player who turned up in 23 IPL matches before being released by Rajasthan following the last year's season.

The arrested players are also likely to be booked under the stringent MCOCA, Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, which could land them in jail without bail and their confessions before a DCP level officer will be admissible in court.

Advani downs Parikh to enter final

Mumbai, May 17 Two-time world professional billiards champion Pankaj Advani today trounced giant-killer Siddharth Parikh 7-1 to storm into the final of the Rs 22-lakh RKG-Khar Gymkhana Snooker Masters here today. 

The 27-year-old Bangalore cueist fired four half century breaks and a century run on way to a 48-69 59-19 65-22 87-58 87-29 85-8 119-0 61-9 win in a one-sided semi final. Advani, of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board, would meet either world No. 21 Stephen Lee, the title favourite, or his English compatriot and world No. 26 Michael Holt in the final tomorrow at the Khar Gymkhana.

Giant-killer Parikh, who shocked Asian champion Aditya Mehta 5-4 in the quarter-final yesterday, began well by winning the opening frame in which Advani struck a break of 42. But his challenge ended abruptly as Advani made a break of 44 to win the second frame and never looked back. Parikh was left stranded as Advani dominated the remainder of the best-of-13 frames encounter. 

The 119 clearance – the highest break in the tournament so far – in the seventh frame emphasised the Indian professional's class. "Siddharth has been playing well right through the competition and is the giant-killer of the tournament after he beat Aditya (Mehta). So, I never expected to win so comfortably," he said after the victory.

"Pankaj was just too good for me today," conceded Railways cueist Parikh. "I played with nothing to lose against a formidable opponent who was the favourite. But I am happy with my performance in the tournament. Reaching the semi-finals in a star-studded competition was an honour.

" This morning, Holt overcame Shahbaaz Khan of PSPB 5-2 in the last best-of-nine frames quarter-final. Results: Semi-finals: Pankaj Advani (PSPB) bt Siddharth Parikh (Rlys) 48(42)-69 59(44)-19 65-22 87(56)-58 87(51)-29 85(54)-8 119(119)-0, 61(54)-9. Quarter-finals: Michael Holt (England) bt Shahbaaz Khan (PSPB) 67-41, 53-33, 53-68, 69(69)-1, 44-58, 74(57)-1, 77-15.

After Karnataka win Congress set to rule in 14 states

NEW DELHI: With the Congress looking set to take charge of Karnataka, the number states and Union Territories under its rule will rise to 14, even as the BJP tally will drop by one to four.

The list of 28 states and two Union Territories along with the ruling party and chief minister. In states like in Maharashtra, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir and Bihar, the governments have coalition support.

States/Union Territories ruled by Congress:

01. Andhra Pradesh (N Kiran Kumar Reddy)

02. Arunachal Pradesh (Nabam Tuki)

03. Assam (Tarun Gogoi)

04. Delhi ( Sheila Dikshit)

05. Haryana ( Bhupinder Singh Hooda)

06. Himachal Pradesh ( Virbhadra Singh)

07. Kerala ( Oommen Chandy)

08. Maharashtra (Prithviraj Chavan)

09. Manipur ( Okram Ibobi Singh)

10. Meghalaya (Mukul Sangma)

11. Mizoram (Pu Lalthanhawla)

12. Rajasthan ( Ashok Gehlot)

13. Uttarakhand ( Vijay Bahuguna)

14. Karnataka (Congress rule likely)

States ruled by Bharatiya Janata Party:

01. Chhattisgarh ( Raman Singh)

02. Goa ( Manohar Parrikar)

03. Gujarat ( Narendra Modi)

04. Madhya Pradesh ( Shivraj Singh Chauhan)

State ruled by Communist Party of India-Marxist:

01. Tripura ( Manik Sarkar)

States/Union Territory ruled by regional parties:

01. Bihar ( Nitish Kumar) Janata Dal-United (with BJP)

02. Jammu and Kashmir ( Omar Abdullah) National Conference (with Congrss)

03. Punjab (Parkash Singh Badal) Shiromani Akali Dal (with BJP)

04. Nagaland ( Neiphiu Rio) Naga People's Front

05. Sikkim ( Pawan Kumar Chamling) Sikkim Democratic Front

06. Tamil Nadu (Jayalalithaa) AIADMK

07. Uttar Pradesh ( Akhilesh Yadav) Samajwadi Party

08. Odisha ( Naveen Patnaik) Biju Janata Dal

09. West Bengal ( Mamata Banerjee) Trinamool Congress

10. Puducherry ( N Rangaswamy) All India N.R. Congress

State under President's rule:

01. Jharkhand (Governor: Syed Ahmed)

Fire in CRPF headquarters

New Delhi, A fire engulfed a floor of the CRPF headquarters here this evening. According to fire officials, the blaze was reported from the third floor of the building located in the Central Government Offices (CGOs) complex here at about 6.45pm. A total of six water tenders were rushed to the spot, they said, adding the extent of damage will be known later in the evening.

CRPF sources said some papers and documents of the communication branch located on the floor have been gutted in the blaze and the exact cause of the fire is being ascertained. No casualties have been reported and senior officials have reached the spot, sources said. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) headquarters is a four-storey building and is located next to the National Informatics Centre office in the same complex. A blaze was reported from the same building in June last year and the public relations office of the force on ground floor was gutted.

Diesel dearer by Rs 1.02 per litre

New Delhi, Diesel prices were today hiked by Rs 1.02 per litre, the fourth increase in rates this year.  State-owned oil firms, which had been mandated in January to raise prices by up to 50 paisa per litre every month till entire losses on the fuel are wiped out, skipped raising rates in April to avoid troubles for the government during the second half of Budget session of Parliament. The companies have made up for skipping the April revision by increasing rates by Rs 0.90 per litre, excluding local sales tax or VAT.

The increase comes to Rs 1.02 per litre in Delhi where the fuel will now cost Rs 49.69 a litre compared to Rs 48.67 previously, Indian Oil Corp, the nation's largest fuel retailer, said in a press statement. In Mumbai, diesel will cost Rs 1.12 more at Rs 56.04 a litre, while in Kolkata it will cost Rs 53.97 per litre from tomorrow as compared to Rs 52.91 at present. In Chennai, the price has been raised by Rs 1.10 to Rs 52.92

Diesel prices were last hiked on March 23 when rates were raised by 45 paisa, excluding VAT. Similar hikes had taken place in January and February, but prices were not changed in April when Parliament's Budget session was on. The revision in April may have been avoided, possibly in view of Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily's home state of Karnataka going to Assembly polls. Congress romped back to power in the state. Before the hike, oil firms were losing Rs 3.81 per litre on diesel and today's increase will help cut losses by 90 paisa.

While losses on diesel had declined from Rs 7.34 a litre at the beginning of the fiscal to Rs 3.80 at present, the softening in international oil prices had led to petrol prices being cut by four times - by Rs 3 per litre on May 1, Rs 1.20 on April 16, Re 1 on April 1 and Rs 2.40 on March 16.

Diesel price hiked

Diesel price hiked by 90 paise per litre effective midnight

 This is the fourth hike in diesel prices since January when the government permitted state-run oil companies to hike the price of the fuel by 45-50 paise per litre per month till the losses incurred on the sale of the fuel below market rates are wiped out. Oil firms are currently losing around Rs. 6 on the sale of every litre of diesel.

Diesel prices were last increased in March, by 45 paise (read story).

The price of petrol, on the other hand, is market driven and is revised every fortnight in line with international rates. Petrol prices were last revised on April 30, when they were slashed by Rs. 3 (minus taxes), the highest cut in over five years.

Along with diesel, the government sells cooking gas (LPG) and kerosene at subsidized rates, and compensates the oil firms for selling the fuels at lower prices.

For the last financial year ending March 31, 2013, the under-recovery (losses) on the three products is estimated at Rs. 1,60,000 crore.

Survivor found, 17 days after Bangladesh building collapse: fire chief

Survivor found, 17 days after Bangladesh building collapse: fire chief

 Dhaka: Bangladeshi rescuers on Friday found a woman survivor in the rubble of a garment factory complex which collapsed and killed more than 1,000 people on April 24, the country's fire service chief told AFP.

"She has been located in a gap between a beam and a column. Her name is Reshmi. She may have reserves of water or have drunk some of the water that we've pumped into the building," Ahmed Ali told AFP.

One of the rescuers said that the woman had cried out for help as recovery teams sifted through the wreckage more than 16 days after the nine-storey Rana Plaza complex collapsed on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka.

"As we were clearing rubble, we called out if anyone was alive," the unnamed rescuer told the private Somoy TV channel.

"Then we heard her saying 'please save me, please save me'. Since then she has been talking to us."

Jaya condemns diesel price hike

Chennai, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today described as unjust the latest hike in diesel prices as she slammed the Centre with having failed to take steps to control skyrocketing prices and "scams in all departments." This was the fourth time oil companies have effected hike since January and the measure aimed at mobilising revenue for government would severely affect the poor people, she said in a statement here. "It is unjust for the oil companies to have hiked the prices despite decline in international crude rates," she said, adding, the price of petrol was however in line with international trends.

It was "unacceptable" that diesel prices were being hiked every month as a policy decision despite crude prices getting cheaper, she said while strongly condemning today's hike of more than Re one. The move would result in increase in rail tariff besides those of private transport and freight charges which could further propel the prices of essential commodities upwards, she said. This would lead to worsening inflation and price-rise and in the interest of the people, government should rollback today's hike and also take back the control of fixing diesel prices from oil companies, she demanded. The government took no steps to control inflation and "scams in all departments,".

Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek Sands

Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek-Sands knocked out of Madrid Open

Madrid: Sania Mirza and her American pair Bethanie Mattek-Sands made an early exit from the Madrid Open after losing their second round match in straight sets to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Lucie Safarova.

The fifth seed Indo-American pair lost 5-7 1-6 to the unseeded Russian-Czech pair in one hour and 10 minutes in the second round of the euro 4,033,254 clay court event.

Sania and Bethanie could convert just two of the eighth break chances they had against their rivals while dropped their serve on six occasions.

Sania and her partner shared 12,000 euro as prize money and earned 140 ranking points each.

Before the next Grand Slam of the season, the French Open, Sania and Bethanie have two more tournaments -- Rome and Brussels -- to tune up their game on the red clay.

The Roland Garros is slated to begin from May 26

Five die in Tripura rain

Agartala, Five persons died and as many were injured in incessant rain and hailstorm which battered Tripura, forcing at least 480 people to take shelter in government buildings and elsewhere. A mother and her son died last night at Modipara, about 30 kms from here, when debris from atop a hillock fell down on their house in torrential rain, official sources said today. The other deaths were reported, all yesterday, from the districts of South Tripura, Unakoti and Gomati. Seventy-nine houses collapsed at three villages in the Amarpur sub-division of Gomati district due to cyclone.

Eighty people of 15 families were provided shelter in government buildings after their houses were destroyed. The district administration has distributed food and clothing and also sanctioned Rs 10,000 per family for reconstruction of their houses, they said. Official sources said that about four hundred people of 80 families in Dwarikapur and adjacent villages in Khowai district had taken shelter in schools and government buildings yesterday as their houses were submerged in flood water. Sources in the MET office said, 111 mm of rainfall was recorded at Agartala airport in the last 24 hours. More rainfall and hail storm have been predicted in the next 24 hours.

More Indian Newborns Die

NEW DELHI: More newborns die on the first day in India than in any other country, according to the latest 'State Of The World's Mothers 2013' report. Every year, over 309,300 children (29% of global share) in India don't live beyond the first day because of complications associated with preterm birth, hygiene and maternal health. This makes India infamous for leading both maternal and new-born deaths globally. The report by US based Save the Children which ranks 176 countries on maternal and child mortality will release globally on Tuesday.

Despite being more populated, China ranks 4th and accounts for only 5% of the global share of first-day deaths. Nearly two-thirds of all first-day deaths occur in just 10 countries and most of these countries have very large populations like India, China and Indonesia. Others high up on the list are Pakistan, Afghanistan and African nations like Nigeria and Ethiopia. Predictably, just 1% of the global first-day deaths occur in developed countries and US tops that list.

South Asia is particularly vulnerable because the region has only 14 doctors or nurses per 10,000 people according to the report. Other reasons include pre-term deliveries, low birth weight (28% of babies in India are underweight) and stunting among women. Stunting refers to a height of less than 145 cm. The report says that in Bangladesh, India and Nepal close to 13% of women are stunted and at a higher risk for complications of having smaller babies. In these countries, 20% to 40% of women are also very thin. Early marriage and childbearing heightens the risk for babies further. In India 47% girls marry by the age of 18, in Bangladesh child marriage and early childbearing is most prevalent with 66 % of young women getting married and 40% giving birth by before 18 years.

Dr Rajiv Tandon, senior adviser for health and nutrition at Save the Children, feels that India suffers from systemic problems. "We don't just lack resources but also training of frontline workers, supportive supervision and data for decision making. We need to find out whether our auxiliary nurse midwife (ANMs), Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers and anganwadi workers are motivated? In most districts they lack the supplies required and don't have the skill-sets to deal with such emergency situations," he says.

Tandon also points to cultural issues that most often risk the lives of both baby and mother. "In rural areas there is a culture of applying absolutely anything to the umbilical chord, from cow dung to oils. This can cause acute local infection and even neonatal sepsis. Another such misunderstanding is that in many parts of India people think that colostrum (first breast milk rich in anti-bodies) is not suitable for feeding. These have tremendous effect on the morbidity of newborns," he adds.

The report recommends using simple and effective techniques by frontline workers like when a mother is in preterm labor the attendant can administer an injection of corticosteroids to accelerate lung development of the fetus while the baby is still in the womb. Or, for birth asphyxia when babies don't breathe after birth (kills about 717,000 babies each year), the practice of drying the baby and gently rubbing to stimulate breathing can prevent death.

India is faring very poorly even in maternal health with 56,000 maternal deaths per year followed by Pakistan which has 12,000 maternal deaths per years. India ranks 142 among 176 countries where the first rank goes to Finland and the last rank to Democratic Republic of the Congo for maternal health and well-being. The index for this ranking was developed on the basis of five indicators—maternal health, children's wellbeing, educational status, economic status and political status of women in their country.