Indonesia deploys 60,000 personnel after Malaysia urges action on fires

Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir said Indonesia has briefed Malaysia on its response to forest and land fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan, following talks between President Prabowo Subianto and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Arrmanatha said more than 60,000 personnel and 48 helicopters and aircraft have been deployed for water bombing and weather modification. He said the fires remain a challenge, despite forecasts of rain. Earlier, Anwar said the haze spreading into Malaysia was a major public health concern and asked the ASEAN Secretariat to speed up a meeting of environment ministers. Malaysia also said it was ready to help, while Indonesia continues to deploy firefighters, security personnel and weather operations to contain the blazes.