Indonesian police arrest 72 people suspected of starting forest and peatland fires, according to multiple reports. The arrests relate to blazes that have spread across parts of central and western Indonesia and have contributed to widespread haze.
Officials quoted by outlets say many of the suspects are accused of deliberately burning land, including areas used for plantation clearing. Reporting also links the suspected activity to efforts to clear land at lower cost. While all accounts describe the same arrest figure and the fire-related setting, they differ mainly in emphasis: some foreground the alleged motive of land clearing for plantations, while others focus on the public impact of the haze and the scale of the fires.
