-The United Nations More than three million deaths in 2012 were linked to alcohol with a steady increase in alcohol use among women, the United Nations health agency today reported calling on Governments to do more to prevent alcohol-related deaths and diseases. The "Global status report on alcohol and health 2014" found that alcohol consumption increases people's risk of developing more than 200 diseases including liver cirrhosis and some cancers, as well...

-The Hindu   No one can attack India's well-founded Intellectual Property regime as being weak merely because a drug that is claimed to be an invention fails the test of law India and its intellectual property (IP) laws have been the subject of sharp criticism recently. Now, there is talk of the government invoking emergency provisions with regard to Dasatinib, a cancer drug. The decibel level may go up several notches. Let us look...

-Live Mint   Building toilets holds the key to reducing India's malnutrition burden Commenting on the Indian elections in his satire show, British humorist John Oliver remarked, "(Narendra) Modi has managed to inspire people with his populist platform including a pledge to put a toilet in every home. That's a bold move, coming out as pro-toilet." Oliver's wisecrack may have deliberately exaggerated Narendra Modi's pitch on toilets but the focus on sanitation has been...

-The Indian Express   Mortality rate is declining but not enough to meet Millennium Development Goal. India accounts for the maximum number of maternal deaths in the world - 17 per cent or nearly 50,000 of the 2.89 lakh women who died as a result of complications due to pregnancy or childbearing in 2013. Nigeria is second with nearly 40,000, stated the UN report on maternal deaths released on Tuesday. In contrast, China -...

-Frontline   A Delhi High Court verdict says the State government is bound to ensure that poor and vulnerable sections of society have access to treatment for rare and chronic diseases. SEVEN-YEAR-OLD Mohammed Ahmed Khan looked on helplessly as his father, Sirajuddin, narrated the sordid tale of the loss of four of his children to Gaucher's disease, a rare genetic disease that requires lifelong, exorbitantly expensive enzyme replacement therapy. Sirajuddin, a rickshaw...