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☆ Indonesia election: Over 200 million will head to the polls across vast nation in world’s biggest election day
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —More than 200 million eligible voters will head to the polls in Indonesia on Wednesday, in what is billed as the world’s biggest single-day election. Mascots depicting presidential candidate and Indonesia's Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto (L) and vice presidential candidate Gibran Rakabuming Raka (R) in an election event on February 5, 2024. He has strong links with Islamic political groups, and his vice-presidential pick, Muhaimin Iskandar, is the leader of Indonesia’s largest Muslim political party, the National Awakening Party. A presidential candidate needs a simple majority of at least 50% of total votes and 20% of votes in more than half of the country’s 38 provinces to win. The use and abuse of AIWith more than 210 million Internet users, Indonesia boasts one of the world’s largest digital populations.

Persons: Suharto’s, Prabowo Subianto, he’s, Suharto, ” Kenneth Roth, Ganjar, Mahfud, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Adek Berry, Anies Baswedan, Muhaimin Iskandar, Anies, –, Basuki Tjahaja, Joko Widodo, Jokowi, Prabowo, Gibran, Jokowi’s, ”, Adrian Vickers, Vickers, “, Yusof, Maria Monica Wihardja, ” Wihardja, Sayyidatiihayaa, Satya Bumi, ” Sayyidatiihayaa, Ulet Ifansasti Organizations: CNN, Human Rights Watch, Princeton University, Indonesian Democratic Party of, Indonesia's Defence, Getty, Former Jakarta, Islamic, National Awakening Party, University of Sydney, Prabowo, Lembaga, Transparency International, Indonesia Locations: Indonesia, United States, Central Java, Jakarta, Indonesia’s, AFP, Chinese, Indonesian, Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, Nusantara, Borneo

☆ The climate crisis has a price — and it's $391 million a day
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Al Zulkifli | AFP | Getty ImagesDamage from the global climate crisis has amounted to $391 million per day over the past two decades, a report showed. "We find that US$143 billion per year of the costs of extreme events is attributable to climatic change. The research, however, notes that there is an underestimation of the true costs of climate change due to the difficulty of measuring indirect losses. They called for an increase in adaptation policies to minimize these climate-change attributed costs, such as the building of flood protection or improving early warning signal systems heralding extreme weather events. "The planet is far off track from meeting its climate goals," the WMO said in a September report, adding that rising global temperatures have been accompanied by more extreme weather.

Persons: Al Zulkifli, —, Nargis, Fedja Grulovic, Spyros Bakalis, Yuki Iwamura Organizations: AFP, Getty, Nature Communications, International Federation of Red, Red Crescent Societies, Reuters, U.S . Federal Emergency Management Agency, World Meteorological Organization, WMO, Afp Locations: Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Myanmar, Europe, Russia, Somalia, Prevalje, Slovenia, Pournari, Magoula, Athens, Maui, Lahaina , Hawaii

☆ Southeast Asia haze returns as peatland fires fan global warming fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

watch now"The issue is that currently, most governments haven't really looked at the haze and climate change as a unified issue, yet. Something seasonal, that comes and goes, while climate change is something constant and developing," she added. United Nations Environment ProgramMalaysian officials are undoubtedly haunted by the memory of the 2015 and 2019 transboundary haze episodes. School closures were effected in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore — affecting nearly four million students in Malaysia alone. Vicious cycle in the peatlandsThe haze in southern Southeast Asia is emitted mostly from massive peatland fires in Sumatra and Borneo.

Persons: Al Zulkifli, Helena Varkkey, haven't, Siti Nurbaya Bakar, Jusuf Kalla, El Nino, El, Vicious, Varkkey, Sharon Seah, Ulet Ifansasti Organizations: Afp, Getty, El Nino, Universiti, CNBC, ASEAN, Jakarta Globe, United Nations Environment Program Malaysian, World Bank, Kuala, Airport, Nurphoto, ASEAN Specialized Meteorological, Asia, Yusof, Institute, United Nations Environment Program, UNEP, Malaysian, Anadolu Agency, Global, Greenpeace, Oil Locations: Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, Al, Southeast Asia, Asia, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Peninsular Malaysia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Malaysia, Indonesian, Jakarta, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Sumatra, El Nino, Borneo, Palem Raya, Borneo . Forest, Anadolu, Eco

☆ Haze hits Singapore as hot spots in Sumatra increase
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Chen Lin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Transborder haze is a perennial problem in Southeast Asia as regulatory loopholes make it hard for authorities to eliminate Indonesia's slash-and-burn land clearing practices. Singapore's National Environment Agency said 212 hot spots were detected on Indonesia's nearby Sumatra island on Friday, up from 65 on Thursday and 15 the day before. A brief shift in the wind direction on Friday afternoon blew some of the lighter haze toward Singapore, worsening the island nation's in air quality, it said. Earlier in the week Malaysia urged Indonesia to take action on the fires within Indonesia's borders as the air quality in Malaysia hit unhealthy levels. The most severe haze conditions recorded in Singapore were in September 2015, when the 24-hour index exceeded 300 to the hazardous level, prompting school closures.

Persons: Antara, Chen Lin, William Mallard Organizations: Rights, National Environment Agency, Thomson Locations: Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Rights SINGAPORE, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, Malaysia, Indonesia's

Forest and peat fires are an annual problem in Indonesia that strains relations with neighboring countries. In recent years, smoke from the fires has blanketed parts of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and southern Thailand. Hundreds of forest fires in South Kalimantan province in Borneo island made the smoke haze even more widespread, especially during the last week. The local government has also called the students to do online learning because the air quality is unhealthy. “We are still working to handle the forest and land fires in Borneo and Sumatra islands as well as possible.

Persons: Siti Nurbaya Bakar, shouldn't, Bakar Organizations: —, Indonesian, Forestry, Associated Press, Indonesia’s Meteorology, Agency Locations: JAKARTA, Indonesia, — Indonesia, Sumatra, Borneo, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesian, Malaysia’s, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, IQAir, Swiss, South Sumatra, South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan

☆ Indonesia defends haze-fighting effort after Malaysia urges action
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Ananda Teresia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

No haze has been detected heading for Malaysia, however, Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya said, a day after it urged Indonesia and fellow Southeast Asian nations to take action against worsening air quality. "We are already working to prevent and extinguish fires, but not based on Malaysia's request," the minister told Reuters. Indonesia is using helicopters to quench the fires with water bombing while inducing rain with cloud seeding methods, Siti Nurbaya said. In 2015 and 2019, such fires burned millions of hectares of land in Indonesia and sent haze billowing across several Southeast Asian countries, generating record-breaking emissions, scientists have said. Southeast Asian agriculture and forestry officials agreed on Friday to take action to minimise, and eventually stamp out, crop burning.

Persons: Antara, Haze, Siti Nurbaya, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Lax, Rozanna Latiff, Danial, Kanupriya Kapoor, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: ASEAN, Reuters, Malaysian, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Thomson Locations: Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, ASEAN Indonesia, JAKARTA, cloudseeding, Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Singapore, Malaysian, Danial Azhar, Kuala Lumpur

☆ Indonesia denies smog from forest fires drifted to Malaysia
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Indonesia's Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar responded by saying Jakarta has not detected any travelling haze from Indonesia to neighbouring countries. "We continue to follow up any development and there is no trans-boundary haze to Malaysia," she said in a statement. At the moment, Indonesia is focusing on quelling forest fires in some provinces in Sumatra and Borneo with water bombing from helicopters, the minister added. As well as maritime boundaries, Malaysia shares a land border with Indonesia on Borneo island. While forest fires are typically started by farmers to clear land for plantations, authorities say putting out fires this year has been harder due to El Nino.

Persons: Antara, Siti Nurbaya Bakar, El, Ananda Teresia, Danial Azhar, Gayatri Suroyo, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Rights, Environment, El, El Nino, Authorities, Danial, Thomson Locations: Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, REUTER, Rights JAKARTA, Sumatra, Borneo, Malaysia, Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, Jakarta, Central Kalimantan, Jambi, Kuala Lumpur

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