Here are the key headlines from yesterday you may have missed, in brief.

Early salvoes before by-elections

The Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections have not formally begun but salvoes were already fired yesterday with BN candidate Budiman Mohd Zohdi calling PAS and Parti Amanah Negara "secret lovers" of PKR.

Federal Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz, who was also in Sungai Besar, poked fun at PAS' Malay warrior garb and keris stunts at its muktmar, saying that it was a sign PAS is endorsing Umno.

Meanwhile, Amanah's Kuala Kangsar candidate Ahmad Termizi Ramli adopted a warrior spirit of his own, claiming to be the sixth-generation descendant of Maharaja Lela.

In a related development, PKR announced it will mobilise resources to aid Amanah in the by-elections while Save Malaysia secretariat member Zaid Ibrahim claimed former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad has also started campaigning for the party.

PM, DPM behind BN's support for hudud motion

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Azalina Othman Said revealed she was instructed by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to fast track PAS' Hudud Bill motion.

Umno information chief Annuar Musa said he will be meeting other BN component parties to discuss the bill, after the unilateral decision by Umno sparked outrage among BN partners.

Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz, who are among the handful of Umno leaders that do not favour hudud, sarcastically suggested Kelantan wants the Islamic penal code because there was more crime in the state, while Muslims in other states are “more devout” and therefore do not need hudud.

Mahathir also voiced against the Hudud Bill, stating that it would see Malays getting their hands chopped while the Chinese would only get short jail terms for committing the same crime.

Detained after clowning around

Artist and activist Fahm Reza suprised Mahathir when he presented a colouring book bearing a caricature of the former premier holding up his middle finger with the word ‘dictator’.

Fahmi and three others were subsequently detained by police, not for the stunt on Mahathir, but for T-shirts bearing an image of a clown-faced Najib.

Other Kini bites

A man claimed he was brutally beaten up by police in Nilai and woke up with over 50 stitches.

Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali gets a ‘tan sri’ title.

The government has yet to decide if civil servants will get a bonus for Hari Raya this year.

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali passed away at age 74.

Looking ahead

It's nomination day for the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections and BN, PAS and Amanah are all expected to field candidates.

Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad will be launching Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali's autobiography entitled ‘The Misunderstood Man’ this afternoon.