India, Aug. 23 -- Indonesian police arrested 72 people on Sunday suspected of starting some of the recent forest and peatland fires, as large-scale blazes across central and western parts of the country triggered a hazardous haze cloud.

Indonesia has been grappling with fires fuelled by an intensifying El Nino pattern and a prolonged dry season, generating dense smoke that has drifted into neighbouring Malaysia, according to the country's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB). Fires are a recurring problem in Indonesia and frequently strain relations with neighbouring countries, as plantation owners and traditional farmers often resort to burning land to clear it for cultivation, said Mohammad Irhamni, director of special crimes at ...