Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's new cabinet of 28 ministers and 40 deputy ministers was sworn in Friday before Malaysia's king at the royal palace. The new cabinet is slightly smaller than the previous 31 ministers under Najib's predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and consists of many first timers.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who was also appointed as the education minister, led the newly appointed ministers and deputy ministers in taking their oaths of office before King Mizan Zainal Abidin, the official Bernama news agency reported.

Kuala Lumpur - A Malaysian man was sentenced to 10 years in prison and six lashes of the cane after he was found guilty of raping his then-14-year-old stepdaughter, news reports said Friday. The 47-year-old driver for the government had pleaded guilty to abusing the girl in July 2006 at their home in the northern state of Perak.

After sending the girl's younger siblings out to buy sweets while their mother was away at work, the man was accused of barging into the girl's locked room, overpowering her and raping her.

Kuala Lumpur  - A Malaysian court sentenced two policemen to death Thursday on charges of murdering a Mongolian woman who was blown up with military-grade explosives in 2006.

The murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, 28, created great controversy after her lover Abdul Razak Baginda, who was a political advisor to Prime Minister Najib Razak, was jointly charged along with the two police officers with her murder.

Abdul Razak was acquitted in October of abetting the murder.

Putrajaya, Apr 9 : The youth wing of the Malaysian Indian Congress has said that it will send two post mortem reports on suspected car thief A. Kugan to Australia for advice.

MIC Youth Adviser S. Vell Paari said: "We are sending the reports to Australia as the Health Ministry's 10-man independent committee came out with a different finding."

The Star quoted Vell Paari as saying that the MIC Youth will discuss the next course of action with Kugan's family.

Kuala Lumpur, Apr 9 : The Malaysian Government''s Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General have failed to strike out a RM100 million defamation suit brought against them in the High Court by Hindraf legal adviser P. Uthayakumar.

Judicial commissioner Datin Zabariah Mohd Yusof dismissed their application with costs in chambers after hearing submissions and ordered that the hearing be held as soon as possible.

Kuala Lumpur, Apr 9 : The Malaysian Indian Congress is taking action to ensure a permanent place for the Gelang Patah Tamil school in Nusajaya, the newly developed area in Johor.

The school was originally called Hukla Estate Tamil School, but due to the rapid development in the area, it was moved to its temporary location and renamed, Tamil Nesan quoted Johor MIC chief K. S. Balakrishnan, as saying.