More than 160 million people in India are considered "Untouchable"โpeople tainted by their birth into a caste system that deems them impure, less than human.
Human rights abuses against these people, known as Dalits, are legion. A random sampling of headlines in mainstream Indian newspapers tells their story: "Dalit boy beaten to death for plucking flowers"; "Dalit tortured by cops for three days"; "Dalit 'witch' paraded naked in Bihar"; "Dalit killed in lock-up at Kurnool"; "7 Dalits burnt alive in caste clash"; "5 Dalits lynched in Haryana"; "Dalit woman gang-raped, paraded naked"; "Police egged on mob to lynch Dalits".
Spain's election on Sunday is provoking political tremors even before polls open.
The most likely government to emerge - most analysts predict - will be a coalition including a hard-right nationalist party for the first time in Spain since the death of fascist dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.
More left-leaning Spaniards are frantically texting contacts, urging them to make sure to vote - despite the heat and it being holiday time for many - to "stop the fascists" in their tracks.
The British defense ministry reported that Russian former intelligence officer and military blogger, Igor Girkin, (pictured) being arrested for 'extremism' is expected to provoke anger within the serving military, who regard Girkin as a knowledgeable military analyst and patriot.
Girkin has been a vocal critic of the defense ministry's conduct in the Ukraine conflict, but his recent comments escalated to direct criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his leadership. "The taboo against unmasked criticism of the Putin regime has significantly weakened," the ministry stated.