KOTA KINABALU, April 30 — The Sabah state government has issued a circular banning open burning, including land clearing for agriculture, during the hot weather period linked to El Niño to reduce the risk of forest and plantation fires.

Sabah Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Minister Datuk Jamawi Jaafar said the move is a precautionary step ahead of the hot, dry weather expected between April and August this year.

“Hot weather could trigger small fires from open burning or land clearing.

“We have already issued a circular banning shifting cultivation, land clearing and burning during this period to reduce the risk of forest fires and fires in plantation areas,” he said, replying to Nurulalsah Hassan Alban (Warisan-Sungai Sibuga) in the Sabah State Legislative Assembly session today.

Nurulalsah also asked whether there were incentives to promote Kebun Dapur, a subsistence farming initiative in her constituency and what the state government was doing to ensure Sabah’s food supply remains secure if fuel prices continue to rise.

Jamawi said the ministry had also set up a special committee to monitor the impact of El Niño and the global geopolitical crisis on the state’s agriculture sector.

He said reports from the Malaysian Meteorological Department since January show that Sabah is expected to see hot, dry weather over the next few months, which could affect agricultural output.

Jamawi said global developments have also raised food security concerns, with rice producers such as Vietnam and Thailand considering export limits to meet domestic demand. — Bernama

The Hong Kong government has introduced a string of measures to manage ecotourism hotspots in Sai Kung and Lantau Island, as a surge in visitors is expected during China’s upcoming Golden Week holiday.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said in a statement on Wednesday that it would deploy drones and additional staff to patrol several hotspots – including Sharp Island and High Island Reservoir’s East Dam in Sai Kung, as well as Shui Hau on Lantau – from Friday to Tuesday.

The announcement comes two days before Labour Day, a public holiday in Hong Kong and the start of a five-day Golden Week holiday in mainland China.

“In addition, the AFCD will conduct joint patrols with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) during the holiday to remind visitors not to litter, and the FEHD will also strengthen the cleaning of public areas on the island,” it said. “The AFCD will conduct joint sea patrols with the Marine Department and the Police to maintain order.”

The government has faced criticism over its management of ecological hotspots, especially after overtourism and visitors’ environmentally degrading behaviour during last year’s Golden Week holiday.

Jim Chu, assistant director at AFCD, said on RTHK on Wednesday that authorities expected 1,000 people to descend on Sharp Island daily during the Labour Day Golden Week – far higher than the average of 600 to 800 visitors during regular weekends and public holidays.

Sharp Island, Shui Hau

The coastal areas of Sharp Island and Shui Hau on Lantau Island are currently not designated as country parks, marine parks, or marine reserves, the AFCD said in the statement.

It also said it had installed footfall counters at the pier of Sharp Island and in Shui Hau to monitor visitor numbers and would set up booths and distribute leaflets to educate tourists about environmental protection and conservation.

“The AFCD is currently promoting environmental protection awareness among visitors through various publicity and educational efforts,” it said.

The AFCD will also cooperate with the WWF-Hong Kong to set up public education booths.

AFCD staff will “explain or advise” visitors if they display any potential behaviour that could cause ecological damage, such as damaging, disturbing, feeding, or collecting marine life, or entering the water near corals.

Greenpeace criticised the measures this week, saying they were advisory and lacked deterrence, describing them as “a toothless tiger.”

According to the NGO, the government is promoting 22 sites with high ecological value as tourist attractions, but they are not protected by Hong Kong’s environmental ordinances because they lie outside designated country parks and marine parks.

Sai Kung campsites

The AFCD also said it would step up monitoring of campsites at Ham Tin Wan, Sai Wan, and Long Ke Wan in Sai Kung East Country Park to reduce littering and maintain cleanliness.

“The AFCD will deploy additional staff day and night to patrol, be stationed, enforce regulations against violations, and use drones and CCTV systems to assist in monitoring the campsites,” it said.

Greenpeace said that Ham Tin Wan and Sai Wan campsites suffered from overcapacity and littering during the Lunar New Year holiday in February.

The government announced in March that it would introduce a campsite booking system by National Day.

Learn Cornish launched few months after language given new level of protection

Listeners tuning in to the BBC’s latest podcast offering on Friday may find themselves saying dydh da to a language that is enjoying something of a resurgence. The new programme called Learn Cornish will be fronted by the Radio 1 host Danni Diston and includes guests such as the Bafta-winning director Mark Jenkin.

Diston, who is from north Cornwall, said that she initially did not know any Cornish “other than small words that I’ve learned growing up and mainly dialect … [but] the idea would be to learn alongside other people”. She will be joined by co-presenter Sarah Buck, a fluent Kernewek speaker, throughout the weekly episodes that are designed to introduce basic phrases in the Cornish language.

Musician and his wife, a creative consultant, hope the Hodge Podge can expand ideas of creativity and community

A new exhibition curated by Jarvis Cocker and his wife, the creative consultant Kim Sion, will open at Hepworth Wakefield next year, aiming to encourage people to discover their own creativity.

Opening in May 2027, the Hodge Podge will bring together a personal selection of works challenging conventional ideas of what art can be.

The Pitch Perfect star is being sued for defamation by Charlotte MacInnes, the lead actor of Wilson’s directorial debut, The Deb

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Hollywood star Rebel Wilson has slammed as “outrageous” an accusation she directed a cyber attack on her co-star’s social media account that led to a nude photo leak.

The Pitch Perfect star is being sued for defamation by Charlotte MacInnes, the 27-year-old lead actor of the musical comedy The Deb, which is Wilson’s directorial debut.

Painting by self-taught artist was chosen by Art Gallery of NSW staff who hang finalists for exhibition, ahead of main prize announcement on 8 May

• Archibald prize 2026 finalists: Virginia Trioli, Jan Fran, Ahmed al-Ahmed and more – in pictures

A portrait of actor Jacob Collins by Sean Layh has won the favour of Art Gallery of NSW staff, who awarded it the Packing Room prize on Thursday, ahead of the Archibald prize’s main announcement on 8 May.

Layh, a self-taught painter who has exhibited in Australia and abroad, said winning the prize for his work – an oil painting titled The tragicall historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke – was “one of the great honours of my professional life”. This is the first time he has been a finalist in the Archibald prize.

New court document made public in case of singer charged with murder and sexual abuse of Celeste Rivas Hernandez

Prosecutors described in a new court document how D4vd, who has been charged with the murder and sexual abuse of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, allegedly fatally stabbed her to prevent the teen from speaking out about the abuse.

The singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, killed Celeste to protect his music career, prosecutors said in a brief. He met Celeste when she was 11 and began a “sexual relationship” with her when she was 13 and he was 18, according to the document.