KINI ROUNDUP | Key headlines that you may have missed yesterday, in brief.

Rosmah's aide barred from Rafizi PC

Rizal Mansor, aide to the PM's wife Rosmah Mansor, cried foul when he was barred from PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli's press conference in Kuala Kangsar yesterday, where the Pandan lawmaker made more allegations against his boss.

Stopping short of calling him a coward, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi claimed what transpired yesterday afternoon spoke volumes about the gumption of Rafizi, who is often heralded as a hero for his supposedly daring exposes.

Rafizi hit back that he wasn't afraid of Rizal, whom he dismissed as "an officer whose task is to carry Rosmah's bag", but that he would like to debate either Rosmah or a more senior aide on allegations that she used a private jet to fly to Turkey.

PAS defends 'God's wrath' on voters warning

Sungai Besar PAS election director Iskandar Abdul Samad has defended the party's use of divine retribution as a means to coax support for its candidates in the twin by-elections.

Meanwhile, PAS' Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah took a swipe at Amanah for choosing orange as the party’s official colour, which he said was similar to the saffron attire of priests.

He described Amanah as nanar or “mad” and urged voters in Kuala Kangsar to reject the party’s candidate in the June 18 by-election.

Umno veteran Shukur Siraj wants his son Azhar, who is Amanah candidate for the Sungai Besar parliamentary seat, to take down the Islamic party. He quipped that his son can "cut off PAS' head", during a chat with Opposition Leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who visited him yesterday.

More Kini bites

The Wall Street Journal won the Scoop Award for its report on the 1MDB scandal and its Asian edition economics editor Tom Wright was honoured as Journalist of the Year at last night’s Society of Publishers in Asia (Sopa) Awards 2016.

An air of mystery has arisen over donations raised to help secure the release of the four Sarawakian hostages previously held by the Abu Sayyaf. Family members say they handed the money to police, but the cops claimed no ransom was paid for the hostages' release and kept mum when quizzed about the matter.

PKR vice-president Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin confirmed receiving a letter from party de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim warning him about ex-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, though other party leaders, including Wan Azizah, appeared clueless about it.

Islamic NGOs notably led by Perkasa and Isma are holding a roundtable discussion on how to move amendments to Act 355, or the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdictions) Act 1965, in Putrajaya's Palace of Justice.

It’s the final lap for contestants in the Sungai Besar (Selangor) and Kuala Kangsar (Perak) twin by-elections. They have two more days to campaign before polling on Saturday.