Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 11 : Deepavali may still be two weeks away, but the city''s Little India districts of Brickfields and Jalan Masjid India are already buzzing with the holiday spirit.

According to the New Strait Times, colors, sounds and smells are already infusing these areas with festive fervor, and sidewalks are already crammed with Indian traders setting up stalls overflowing with Deepavali products.

Textile shop owners are doing a brisk business and some have even fanned out onto the streets to cater to Indians on the hunt for material for the perfect Festival of Lights outfit.

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian shares dropped 3.6 per cent Friday on panic selling after dips in global markets.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index closed at 934.01, down 34.88 points.

Losses were seen in all sectors of the economy but were particularly strong in the financial and construction industries.

Stock analysts attributed the drop to panic selling by investors because of increasing uncertainty in global markets.

"Everything looks a bit gloomy now," a broker at a local investment institution said.

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 10 ; The Malaysian Government has said that it will take action against the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) under the Societies Act 1966 for causing a disturbance during the Hari Raya function hosted by the prime minister and Muslim ministers in Kuala Lumpur last Wednesday.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh said action would be taken soon against HINDRAF, its committee and its members even though the organisation was not registered.

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 8 : The Malay Indian community is enthusiastically celebrating the nine-day festival of Navratri.

Navratri, which literally means nine (nav) days (ratri), is a festival of worship and dance for the goddess Durga or Durga Maa.

The North Indian community of Kuala Lumpur congregates at the Shree Lakshmi Narayan Temple in Jalan Kasipillay, off Jalan Ipoh, the venue for the celebration of Durga Maa and three of her reincarnations -- Kali (goddess of purity), Lakshmi (goddess of wealth) and Saraswati (goddess of knowledge).

Kuala Lumpur  - A Malaysian man was believed to have burnt down his own home in a fit of rage after his father told him to stop watching videos, a news report said Wednesday.

The suspect, in his 30s, was watching Video Compact Discs (VCDs) at home when his 71-year-old father told him to cut down on his favourite pastime.

After a quarrel, the son allegedly ran to the kitchen and tried to stab his father with a knife, The Star daily newspaper reported.

As his sister broke up the fight, the family left the suspect at home alone.

Kuala Lumpur, Oct 4 : Indian tribal women are being trafficked into Malaysia and Singapore for flesh trade.

The latest case was uncovered when five young women from Manipur and Assam escaped from the clutches of the traffickers recently.

Lured to Singapore with promises of well-paid maid jobs, the five women escaped when they were sent to Malaysia.

The Indian High Commission here is making arrangements to send them home, the NST Online reported.