Kuala Lumpur  - A Malaysian opposition lawmaker resigned Tuesday in response to a scandal which erupted after her nude photos, believed to be taken without her consent while she was sleeping, were circulated widely via cell phone.

The People's Justice Party, led by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, decided Tuesday to accept Elizabeth Wong's resignation as assemblyman for the central Selangor state.

Kuala Lumpur, Feb. 17: Former UN Under Secretary General and well known writer Shashi Tharoor has given the thumbs up to Danny Boyle's movie "Slumdog Millionaire", saying that for the first time in Hollywood and world cinema history, Indian citizens are in contention for two Oscars - one for best song and for A. R. Rahman''s musical score.

He believes that it is only right that Indians should celebrate the achievement, as they haven''t often had much to root for at the Oscars, Hollywood''s annual celebration of cinematic success.

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian marine police detained seven suspected Indonesian pirates after a high-speed shootout Monday, a piracy watchdog group said.

The suspects, travelling in a speedboat and armed with pistols, machetes and hand grenades, were nabbed after a 30-minute chase, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) confirmed.

Marine police from Malaysia's southern region had waited in ambush for the suspects early Monday, following information and assistance from several shipping companies.

Kuala Lumpur, Feb. 16 : HINDRAF leader and Internal Security Act detainee P. Uthayakumar is in danger of losing his leg, said his wife, who has lodged a police report against the Taiping Hospital in the Kamunting detention center.

According to The Star, S. Indradevi, 38, claimed that Uthayakumar was not given proper medical treatment and could lose his leg due to diabetic gangrene.

"When I visited him yesterday, I was shocked to see his toe swollen and it had turned black. I fear his leg might need to be amputated as it could be diabetic gangrene," she said after lodging the report at the Brickfields police headquarters here yesterday.

Kuala Lumpur - A Malaysian fisherman died and four others were hospitalised after they consumed a meal of puffer fish when they ran out of food while at sea, a news report said Monday.

Nordin Sulong, 43, and four friends had decided to cook the puffer fish when they ran out of food supply after being out at sea for several days, the Star daily said.

All five fishermen began to feel dizzy and numb from the toxins in the puffer fish, but managed to steer their vessel back to the jetty in the northeastern state of Terengganu early Sunday, the report said.

Kuala Lumpur, Feb. 14 : Malaysia's Human Resources Minister Dr. S. Subramaniam has indicated a major breakthrough in request by the Malaysian Indian Congress to increase non-Malay recruitments in the civil service.

Subramaniam said the matter was decided in a meeting attended by the Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Sidek Hassan, Public Services Commission (PSC) chairman Jamaluddin Ahmad Damanhuri and Public Services Department Director General Ismail Adam in Putrajaya on Friday.