Haze again over Sumatra, Kalimantan

INDONESIA: Haze from forest and brush fires blanketed parts of the islands of Kalimantan and Sumatra on Saturday, disrupting flights in western Kalimantan, officials said.

At least five flights in Pontianak city in West Kalimantan province were delayed early Saturday by smoke from fires lit to clear new plantation land, said Kosasi Munir, the city's airport operational chief. Morning visibility was only at 50 to 300 meters, Munir said.

Sumatra and Kalimantan islands -- which border Singapore and Malaysia -- are the areas usually hardest hit by the choking haze, an annual dry-season hazard in parts of Indonesia. -- AFP