Two women violated a centuries-old ban on menstruating females by entering the Hindu Sabarimala temple in India following months of protests.

Millions of women in the southern Indian state of Kerala formed a 620-km human chain on New Year's Day amid a simmering row over granting women access to a historic Hindu temple.

India’s prominent Sabarimala temple opened its doors to women of menstruating age on Wednesday, with some 1,000 police on hand to keep protesters at bay.

A Catholic bishop accused of raping a nun in India has stepped down amid growing calls for his arrest.

A war of words has broken out among Catholic officials in India, where a nun alleges she was raped by a bishop in the state of Kerala.

India’s response to deadly floods in Kerala has won praise, but experts say unchecked development contributed to the disaster.

India has sparked controversy by refusing to accept foreign financial aid for flood-stricken Kerala, despite calls from the state for help.

Around 1.3 million are sheltering in thousands of relief camps.

Officials have called it the worst flooding in Kerala in a century.