Indonesia arrests 72 suspected of starting forest fires as haze persists

Indonesian authorities arrested 72 people suspected of starting some of the forest and peatland fires as huge blazes in central and west Indonesia triggered choking haze. Indonesia has been battling fires driven by an intensifying El Nino pattern and a prolonged dry season, generating dense smoke that crossed into Malaysia, according to Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency, or BNPB. Fires are a regular problem in Indonesia that strain relations with neighbouring countries. Plantation…