A human rights group has expressed concern over brutal attacks in India by self-appointed "cow protectors" against Muslims and lower castes over rumours that they sold, bought or killed cows for beef.

THE opening pages of Conquerors are brimming with eye-popping facts, images and incidents.

There is so much to report in local nature, and so much worldwide that concerns us at home, writes Damien Enright

At least 40 people have died and hundreds of thousands have been evacuated as floods hit vast swathes of central and eastern India.

Some of the stranger stories from around the world

Indian police arrested eight people and were searching for two more after villagers allegedly beat a Muslim farmer to death and severely injured his son on hearing rumours that the family was eating beef, a taboo for many among India’s majority Hindu population.

More than a thousand engineers have been checking damaged houses in Nepal’s capital and advising people about whether they are safe.

Rita de Brún sought the views of some therapists as she looked at the dark world of sadomasochism and BDSM

Authorities are investigating how more than 100 bodies, many of them children, ended up floating in an offshoot of the Ganges River in northern India.

Authorities are investigating how more than 100 bodies, many of them children, ended up floating in an offshoot of the Ganges River in northern India.

Judges at the highest UN court ordered Japan to halt whaling in the Antarctic, rejecting the country’s long-held argument that the catch was for scientific purposes and not primarily for human consumption.

The International Court of Justice has ruled that Japan’s Antarctic whaling programme is not for scientific purposes and has ordered a temporary halt.

The International Court of Justice has ruled that Japan’s Antarctic whaling programme is not for scientific purposes and has ordered a temporary halt.

Bangladesh has executed a top leader of the country’s biggest Islamic party for war crimes that took place four decades ago, sparking violence in Asia’s fifth-most populous country.

Hundreds of Hindu nationalists have clashed with police outside India’s parliament after being barred from conducting a religious march at a disputed holy site at the heart of deadly clashes between Hindus and Muslims.

Fresh clashes have erupted between groups of Hindus and Muslims in the Indian portion of Kashmir, wounding three people.

More than 5,700 people missing since last month’s devastating floods that ravaged northern India are presumed dead, the government has said.

An air force helicopter returning from a rescue mission in flood-ravaged northern India hit the side of a mountain and fell into a river today, killing eight people, officials said.

Anxious relatives were searching for missing family members today in a northern India city that is home to one of the world’s largest religious gatherings after a stampede killed 36 people.

Millions of devout Hindus led by naked ascetics with ash smeared on their bodies plunged into India’s holy River Ganges today in a ritual they believe can wash away their sins.

The Government has launched diplomatic efforts to repair the country’s reputation in India after the parents of Savita Halappanavar blamed Ireland’s abortion laws for her death.

India’s exterior affairs minister is monitoring Ireland’s response to the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar — as her heartbroken husband warned the “whole Indian community” will react if actions are “inadequate”.

A truck carrying pilgrims returning from a Hindu shrine in the Himalayas has veered off a mountain road and plunged into a gorge in northern India, killing 16 people.

Thousands of tearful devotees, including top politicians, gathered today for the funeral of Sathya Sai Baba, one of India’s best-known Hindu ascetics revered as a divine incarnation with miraculous healing powers.

A police officer in a central Kenyan town went on a shooting rampage, killing 10 people in three different bars, officials said today.

AN Indian court ruled a disputed holy site that sparked bloody riots in the past should be divided between the Hindu and Muslim communities.

A holy site that sparked riots across India in the past should be divided between the Hindu and Muslim communities, a court ruled today.

At least 32 people were killed when a blaze erupted at a fireworks warehouse in southern India ahead of a major Hindu festival.

Hindu scholars have joined Catholics around the world by condemning the filmmakers of 'Da Vinci Code' prequel 'Angels & Demons' for "playing with the sentiments of the faithful for mercantile greed".

The great-grandson of India’s first prime minister was in custody today over his “Muslim hate speech”, it was reported.

An alleged hate speech at an election rally has fuelled a feud in India's oldest political dynasty, it was reported today.

The great-grandson of India's first prime minister spoke out today after being charged with inciting hatred against Muslims during a speech at an election rally.

Rioters in southern India killed six members of a Muslim family by setting fire to their home after earlier clashes between Hindus and Muslims left four others dead and 15 injured in the same village, officials said today.

Three-year-old Matani Shakya, the newly appointed “kumari” or living goddess in Nepal, has been carried from her parents home to an ancient palace in the heart of Kathmandu which will be her new home.

Leading Hindu groups are urging film bosses not to release Mike Myers' comedy flop 'The Love Guru' in India for fear of riots on the streets.

Suspected Hindu hard-liners set an orphanage run by Christian missionaries on fire in eastern India on today, killing one nun and seriously injuring a priest, police said.

Soldiers and police fired at Muslim protesters demanding an end to Indian rule in Kashmir overnight killing three people.

Security forces fired tear gas and used batons to try to break up protests in Indian Kashmir today.

At least six Hindu worshippers were trampled to death today as a crowd of pilgrims rushed toward the statue of a goddess in eastern India.

ENVIRONMENT Minister John Gormley proposes to reduce carbon emissions in Ireland by reducing the number of cattle.

Hanuman, the popular Hindu monkey god revered for his strength and valour, has been named official chairman of the new Sardar Bhagat Singh College of Technology and Management in northern India, a school official said today.

One of Nepal’s ’living goddesses’, who sparked controversy by breaking tradition and travelling overseas, has retired at the age of 11.

Violence between Hindus and Christians erupted again today in eastern India.

Hindu extremists attacked six village churches in eastern India during Christmas celebrations, leaving one person dead, officials said today.