Durga Sob was just 10 when she realized she was from the Dalit, or 'untouchable', class of Nepal: 'I drank from a water pot that other people used, and by sharing this water, I'd made it 'unclean'. I was screamed at and chased away. I told my mother and she said: "God made us Dalit, that's just the way it is." It was then I knew the pain of being a Dalit, and had to do something to change things.' Durga Sob
For weeks in Thailand armed troops have encircled thousands of anti-government protesters who in turn have been busy fashioning makeshift fortifications with tires and cement blocks. The equally entrenched opposing forces are gearing up for what many see as an inevitable confrontation.
Soldiers armed with live and rubber bullets attacked the peaceful pro-democracy Red Shirt protests in the centre of Bangkok on April 10. At least 12 people, including a Japanese Reuters reporter, have been shot dead. Tanks were used against peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators. Hundreds more people have been injured. Some soldiers have been taken prisoner and weapons seized. Red Shirt protesters outside Bangkok have seized many provincial headquarters. Protests in Thailand
The essays in a new book by the brilliant Indian writer Arundhati Roy cover topics that range from the attack on the Indian Parliament to the Armenian genocide, and the terrorist attack on Mumbai to George Bush's "triumphant" visit to Arundhati Roy
The struggle for Tamils in
On May 27, 2009, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva held a Special Session to analyse the human rights situation in Sri Lanka after the military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). A Special Session is the prime method that the Human Rights Council has to attract attention to a country situation and to give its resolutions added weight as only one country is considered. Sri Lankan Refugees
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