'Malacca' to be known as 'Melaka'

MELAKA • "Malacca" will be known as "Melaka" from now on, said the Malaysian state government, which has decided to cease the use of the more common anglicised spelling.

Melaka State Secretary Naim Abu Bakar said yesterday all media outlets - using Bahasa Malaysia, English or any other language - should also use "Melaka" when mentioning the state.

BERNAMA

Myanmar police on hunt for gem thieves

YANGON • Police are hunting five gem scavengers who discovered a huge jade boulder at a mine in northern Myanmar after a senior regulatory official accused them of leading an attempt to steal it. The prospectors found the 8.7-tonne block of the precious stone last week in a mine in Kachin State.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Malaysia nabs Turks linked to failed coup

KUALA LUMPUR • Two Turkish nationals who went missing in Malaysia have been arrested as a security threat, national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said yesterday.

Turkey's state-run news agency said the pair were linked to a US-based preacher accused of organising a failed coup last year.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

India arrests four over mob killing

NEW DELHI • Indian police have detained four members of a hardline Hindu militia on suspicion of killing a Muslim man who had helped an inter-faith couple elope, an investigating official said yesterday.

The 60-year-old farmer was killed on Tuesday by a mob that included members of the Hindu Youth Force.

REUTERS