The royal titular head of a Malaysian state has criticised an Islamic opposition party for opposing a planned music concert, dismissing the protest as “hypocritical” and “trivial” in a rare outburst.

A leading politician was forced to resign today after admitting unwittingly starring in a secretly filmed sex video which has embarrassed the Malaysian government.

About 300 Islamic opposition party activists staged peaceful protests outside the British and US embassies in Malaysia today, denouncing Salman Rushdie’s knighthood and Washington’s policies in the Middle East.

About 3,000 Malaysian Muslims burned an effigy of US President George Bush and called for an international boycott of Danish products today to protest against the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.

Asian governments called on Hamas to renounce violence and work toward peace today after its victory in Palestinian elections, while hard-line Muslim groups hailed the result as a reward for decades of armed resistance against Israel.

Malaysia’s largest Islamic opposition party denounced the Thai government today after 85 Muslims died during a military crackdown on protesters in the country’s south.

Activists in three of Asia’s main Muslim countries today decried US and British forces’ alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners as a “despicable” show of Western hatred toward Muslims, and demanded that the coalition leave Iraq immediately.

Incumbent Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was sworn in today as Malaysia’s fifth prime minister, a day after scoring a landslide election victory that handed the fundamentalist Islamic opposition its worst defeat in more than a decade.

Mohawk-style haircuts may be coming back in style, but officials in north-eastern Malaysia have deemed them “un-Islamic”.

The leader of Malaysia's opposition Islamic fundamentalist party has died.