The Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said Malaysia strongly condemns any inflammatory rhetoric and provocative act that seeks to defame Islam – as the world has recently witnessed in the forms of populist speeches and the publication of blasphemous caricatures depicting Prophet Muhammad.

In a story in the New Straits Times Hishammuddin said: “Malaysia is committed to upholding freedom of speech and expression as fundamental human rights, as long as these rights are exercised with respect and responsibility in order to not infringe on or violate the rights of others.

“In this context, to denigrate and tarnish the Prophet and to associate Islam with terrorism are certainly beyond the scope of such rights. Such acts are provocative and disrespectful towards Islam and more than two billion Muslims all over the world,” he said in a statement Wednesday, October 28.

With elections just over two weeks away, Myanmar’s electoral body, the Union Election Commission (UEC), is under fire for its voter lists errors, early voting of nationals overseas and censorship of political parties’ speeches on the state media.

A report from the news site The Irrawady Monday, October 27, says the latest criticism hurled at the UEC was its decision to cancel voting in areas dominated by ethnic minorities.

Elections in Myanmar are set On November 8 with voting taking place in 1,119 out of 1,171 constituencies, excluding the 25% of seats reserved for the military, across the Union and state and regional parliaments. More than 5,800 candidates from 91 parties and independents will take part.

Hard rains all through October have led to 43 deaths, and forced 47,580 to flee their homes, said the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) in a report on Tuesday, October 27.

Of the 43 deaths, 26 were in Banteay Meanchey province.

19 of the kingdom’s 25 cities and provinces – approximately 594,388 citizens – were affected by the seasonal rains and tropical storms.

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Cyclists and pedestrians stop to pose with a giant rampaging Tyrannosaurus Rex along a new cycling and jogging track in Singapore. Over 20 models from 9 different prehistoric species are installed along the kilometer-long path, including bright blue velociraptors climbing on a buggy, a baby dinosaur hatching from an egg, and a long-necked apatosaurus peering at passersby over the fence.

The Jurassic Mile is part of a new 3.5-kilometer connector that allows visitors to cycle into the city from the airport and vice versa. The attraction has already drawn controversy after it opened earlier this month. Changi Airport Group, which manages the path, installed additional netting after a stray ball from a nearby golf course hit a pedestrian and a dinosaur model was briefly removed for repairs after a video of a woman sitting on it went viral.

Bernama, the Malaysian national news agency, reported that Malaysia will convene the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) on November 20 virtually — the first in Apec history.

The AELM will be chaired by Malaysian Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, and will be participated by all 21 Apec Economic Leaders

The Bernama report said, because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Apec Ministerial-level Meetings for Trade, Health, Finance, Women, and Small and Medium Enterprises this year were all convened in a fully digital format, a feat never before accomplished in Apec.

Not yet recovered from last week’s record floods, the central Vietnamese coast prepares for the arrival of another power-packed weather disturbance from the South China Sea.

Typhoon Molave ravaged Monday, October 26, parts of Luzon and the Visayas in the Philippines, where it was called Quinta. The local National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported 3 drowning fatalities as of Tuesday, October 27.

A report from Vox reported that record flooding in Vietnam has already left at least 114 dead and dozens more missing. Vox quoted Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc: “This is a very strong typhoon that will impact a large area,” referring to Molave.