-The Hindu “People’s tastes have changed and there is no respect for us in society” Chennai: Thanjavur may be a land of classical music and dance, but in three places, particularly in – Vadakku Vaasal, Keezha Vaasal and Reddipalayam – many Dalit folk artists are on the verge of quitting their profession. Though people from all communities perform folk arts, majority of them are Dalits who migrated from Ramanathapuram district around 60...

-The Hindu IAF copter fired at as landing point was not sanitised; chopper and injured wireless operator abandoned There has hardly been a faux pas in anti-Naxal operations in recent months as discomfiting to the forces as Friday night’s tactless act in the Chintagufa area in south Chhattisgarh. Security officials unanimously agreed that there was a ‘serious lack of coordination’ among police, paramilitary and Indian Air Force personnel. On Friday afternoon, during a...

-Al Jazeera UK-based charity says the world's 100 richest people earned enough in 2012 to end global poverty four times over. The world's 100 richest people earned enough money last year to end world extreme poverty four times over, according to a new report released by international rights group and charity Oxfam. The $240 billion net income of the world's 100 richest billionaires would have ended poverty four times over, according to the...

-The Hindu Finally, India seems to have woken up to the urgency of having a single emergency response number on the lines of America’s 911. This number may be called for any emergency — police, fire or ambulance. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is planning to bring a consultation paper in this connection soon to kick-start the process of having a single emergency helpline where a call centre will receive...

-The Hindu In the television newsroom, the promoter’s fancies and political preferences have taken precedence over editorial judgement The Zee “extortion” case in which the news network is alleged to have demanded Rs.100 crore in return for rolling back its campaign against steel tycoon Navin Jindal’s “misdemeanours” in coal block allocations (for the family owned Jindal Steel & Power Limited or JSPL), is a deeply layered story that deserves a closer look...