Indonesia accepts international help to combat fires

Indonesia agreed Thursday to accept international help to combat forest and agricultural fires cloaking Southeast Asia in haze, after weeks of failed attempts to douse the blazes that have infuriated its neighbours. Officials said Singapore and Russia had already offered help and talks were under way with several other countries, an about-face after Jakarta insisted for weeks that it could tackle the crisis alone. For weeks, fires illegally started to clear land for plantations on Sumatra and the Indonesian part of Borneo have shrouded Singapore and Malaysia in acrid smog, worsening air quality, closing schools and forcing the cancellation of outdoor events.

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