Woman ends 16-year hunger strike to run in India elections

A 44-year-old woman who has been on hunger strike for nearly 16 years in protest at alleged brutality by India’s military has said she will end her fast and run in state elections.

Irom Sharmila told a court in the north-eastern state of Manipur that she will give up her fast on August 9 and stand as an independent candidate in elections early next year.

Ms Sharmila has not eaten any food voluntarily since November 5, 2000, when she began her protest against a law that suspends many human rights protections in areas of conflict.