India court drops case against Irom Sharmila,

A court on Thursday ordered the release of an activist who has been on a hunger strike for nearly 15 years to protest a law that gives Indian security forces special powers to fight insurgents in India’s remote northeast and other areas. The court dropped the charge of attempted suicide against the activist, Irom Sharmila, witnesses at the court said. Since beginning her protest against heavy-handed security tactics, Ms. Sharmila, 42, has been kept in custody in a hospital in Manipur State and fed forcibly by a tube since 2000 under the anti-suicide law. She said she would continue her fast until the government scrapped the security law, which is in effect in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir and in northeastern areas like Manipur where separatist insurgents are operating.