Asia-Pacific

Indonesians Protest Government Inaction as Wildfires Ravage Borneo

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By John Su/Bryn Thomas

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Wildfires in Indonesia have burned more than 1.9 million hectares across the country in the first nine months of the year, blanketing parts of Southeast Asia in toxic haze and sending hundreds of thousands of people to medical facilities for respiratory issues. In hard-hit Central Kalimantan province, residents are suffering from burning eyes, sore throats and severe coughing as thick smoke covers towns and cities. The ongoing crisis has sparked growing frustration, with hundreds of student protesters taking to the streets of Palangkaraya to demand the government declare a national disaster to unlock more emergency aid.