Recent research has shown that children born through caesarean section have 80 % more risk of developing childhood asthma as compared to children delivered naturally. Swiss researchers believe that that a natural birth could help to prime a child's immune system, making them more able to fight off illness whereas caesarean section possibly renders youngsters less able to combat common inflections, which scientists believe could act as a trigger for asthma.

The terror attacks on Mumbai seem to have severely affected film business.

The two new releases, ‘Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!’ and ‘Sorry Bhai’, have taken a harsh beating at the box-office. While ‘Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!’ showed 15% - 20% occupancy over the weekend, ‘Sorry Bhai!’ too seemed to be in doldrums almost everywhere. The management of many theatres/plexes were forced to call off shows due to lack of audiences.

As tensions between India and Pakistan continue to soar US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday said the US has told Pakistan to help in the investigation of Mumbai terror attacks in "the most committed and firmest possible way".

"What we're emphasising to the Pakistani Government is the need to follow the evidence wherever it leads, and to do that in the most committed and firmest possible way," said Rice.

In a landmark decision, the state government has decided to give pension to nearly 43,000 HIV patients in Andhra Pradesh.

Giving this information on the eve of World AIDS Day, State Family Welfare Minister Sambhani Chandrasekhar said that the government is preparing a blueprint for treating the HIV patients at various Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) centres across the state.

R R Patil, who submitted his resignation as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Home portfolio on Monday. As a consequence of this event the Nationalist Congress Party called an emergency meeting of its legislature assembly members on Tuesday to decide his successor.

Maharashtra Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh, is also expected to resign on Tuesday afternoon after the President leaves for Delhi. "I had already offered to resign at the CWC meeting. It is now for Sonia Gandhi to take a final call," said Deshmukh on Monday.

According to CNN, United States intelligence agencies had warned India "twice" about a potential maritime attack on Mumbai at least a month before the terror hit the financial capital of India leaving approximately hundred dead and three hundred injured.

"The United States warned the Indian government about a potential maritime attack against Mumbai at least a month before last week's massacre in the country's financial capital," the CNN quoted a US counter-terrorism official as saying.