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WORLD NEWS Thursday 12 sepTember 2019

Indonesian province shuts schools due to forest fire haze

By NINIEK KARMINI test themselves from the
Associated Press smoke, joined mass prayers
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) for rain in Pekanbaru.
— Authorities shut most Authorities in Jambi, an-
schools in parts of Indone- other province on Sumatra
sia’s Sumatra island to pro- island, also ordered several
tect children from a thick, thousand schools to close.
noxious haze as deliberate- About 8,000 people have
ly set fires burned through suffered respiratory prob-
peatland forests, officials lems in the past week
said Wednesday. alone, according to Jam-
Indonesia’s Disaster Miti- bi’s health office.
gation Agency said more Poor visibility caused de-
than 3,600 fires have been lays at several airports on
detected on Sumatra and Wednesday.
Borneo islands by weather The Disaster Mitigation
satellites, leading to very Agency said satellites have
poor air quality in six prov- detected about 5,062
inces with a combined hotspots nationwide on
population of more than Wednesday morning, with
23 million. Nearly every the largest number in Cen-
year, Indonesian forest fires tral Kalimantan on Borneo
spread health-damaging island. It said 37 helicopters
haze across the country have dropped nearly 240
and into neighboring Ma- Firefighters spray water to extinguish brush fires in Kampar, Riau province, Indonesia, Wednesday, million liters (63 million gal-
laysia and Singapore. Sept. 11, 2019. lons) of water as part of the
Authorities have deployed Associated Press firefighting efforts.
more than 9,000 people to Riau provincial secretary districts have been closed The fires burned parts of The haze is an annual prob-
fight the fires, which have Ahmad Syah Harofie said since Tuesday. the Tesso Nilo National Park lem for Southeast Asia. Re-
razed more than 162,000 air pollution hit hazardous He said nearly 300,000 peo- in Riau, home to about cord Indonesian forest fires
hectares (400,000 acres) levels in the provincial cap- ple in the province have 140 endangered wild el- in 2015 spread haze across
of land in the provinces of ital, Pekanbaru, and was suffered respiratory illnesses ephants, according to Ed- a swath of Southeast Asia,
Riau, Jambi, South Suma- very unhealthy in many since January, when it and ward Sanger, the local di- and according to a study
tra, West Kalimantan, Cen- other areas. Several thou- the five other provinces de- saster agency spokesman. by Harvard and Colum-
tral Kalimantan and South sand schools in the capital clared states of emergency Thousands of Muslims, many bia universities, hastened
Kalimantan. and three other cities and due to the forest fires. wearing face masks to pro- 100,000 deaths.q

Thai high court affirms guilt of 2009

Pattaya rioters

By NANNAPAT PUROD government of their opponents stormed
Associated Press a hotel in the resort city of Pattaya hosting
BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Supreme the summit meeting of the Association of
Court on Wednesday affirmed the prison Southeast Asian Nations.
sentences of 12 members of the “Red The ASEAN leaders were forced to flee,
Shirt” political movement convicted in some by helicopter, and the summit was
connection with rioting that disrupted an postponed.
important regional conference in 2009. The defendants were convicted on
The 12 had received four-year prison sen- charges of sedition, illegal assembly, In this April 11, 2009, file photo, anti-government leader
tences for their actions on April 11, 2009, damaging property and trespassing. Arisman Pongruangrong is cheered as he and others march
through the 14th ASEAN Convention Center in Pattaya,
when supporters of former Prime Minister Wednesday’s ruling reversed the convic- Thailand.
Thaksin Shinawatra seeking to force out a tion of a 13th defendant.q Associated Press