Increasing rates of self-harm and a recent spate of suicides reveal a troubling picture of Australian immigration detention centres. Deteriorating conditions are taking their toll on asylum seekers, yet the Australian government is persisting with its policy of mandatory detention. Susannah Waters speaks to some people at the heart of the issue, and discovers the extent to which asylum seekers are dehumanised by the system.

Equality for women is progressing slowly in the Middle East. Even in Egypt women can now vote and there are women in the Egyptian cabinet. However, they are not allowed to travel abroad without their husband’s permission and Egypt still does not have female judges. Lynda Renham-Cook spoke to women’s rights activist, author and blogger Marwa Rakha.

Terms such as ‘people of color’ or ‘non-white’ make people who fall into those categories distinct from simply ‘people’ and allow white people to explain us and our worldviews, while assuming that their presence and worldviews are normal and require no explanation, writes Restructure!.

While the fight for democracy continues in Egypt and Libya, it has been all but snuffed out in Serbia. Eight years after the death of former Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, questions remain as to whether his real killers are behind bars, writes Milly Stilinovic, who was part of the 2000 revolution which saw the overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic's oppressive regime.

As an intern teacher who is a woman of color, Itoro Udofia not only has to hear racist statements from the students, she also hears how white teachers – mostly self-proclaimed liberals – reproduce the same very thoughts and actions they seek to untangle.

In her continuing series on Palestine, Lynda Renham-Cook speaks to Palestinian photographer Ahmad Mesleh who takes photos of his countrypeople as they struggle to fight against an occupation.