FOREST FIRES IN INDONESIA

JAKARTA: Indonesia is battling a rash of forest fires yesterday as it raised an alert over the blazes which occur every year and emit choking smog that can envelop Malaysia and Singapore. Fires have broken out in four provinces – South Sumatra, Riau, West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan – prompting them to declare “alert emergency” status, one notch below the most severe warning. “We are preparing planes for cloud seeding and helicopters for water bombing,” disaster mitigation agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said. – AFP