Indonesian police arrest 72 people suspected of starting forest fires

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian authorities arrested 72 people suspected of starting some of the forest and peatland fires as huge blazes in central and west Indonesia triggered choking haze.

Indonesia has been battling fires driven by an intensifying El Niño pattern and a prolonged dry season, generating dense smoke that crossed into Malaysia, according to Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency, or BNPB.

Fires are a regular problem in Indonesia that strain relations with neighboring countries.

Plantation owners and traditional farmers often start fires to clear land for farming, said Mohammad Irhamni, director of special crimes at the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency.

The arson suspects were being investigated in connection with 89 forest and land fire cases across five provinces on the island of Borneo and four on Sumatra, Irhamni said.

He said most of the suspects were accused of deliberately burning land to clear areas for plantations at lower cost. Investigators were still tracing financial records to determine whether companies financed or ordered the land clearing, signaling the probe could expand beyond those arrested.

“We will not stop at the perpetrators on the ground,” Irhami said in a news conference in the capital, Jakarta, on Sunday. “We will determine who benefited from these activities and who was ultimately behind them.”

The suspects face charges that carry penalties ranging from hefty fines to prison terms of up to 15 years, he said.

Blazes on Sunday blanketed parts of Borneo, the world’s third-largest island shared by Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Indonesia administers about three-quarters of the island, where the country’s Environment Ministry recorded more than 3,700 hot spots on Sunday.

BNPB chief Suharyanto said fire activity had increased in West, Central and South Kalimantan provinces on Borneo, where many blazes worsen due to peatlands, prolonging haze in several areas.

“Land that appears extinguished on the surface may still contain embers underneath, so sufficient rainfall is crucial to rewet the peat and fully suppress the fires,” said Suharyanto, who, like many Indonesians, uses a single name.

The western island of South Sumatra also battled blazes, with more than 1,700 hot spots detected on Sunday, causing choked haze and reducing visibility to only 10 meters (33 feet) in some areas, the ministry said.

Cloud-seeding operations resumed over Kalimantan on Sunday, deploying 30 helicopters for water-bombing and aerial patrol missions over Kalimantan and another 22 helicopters covering Sumatra.

Meanwhile, Malaysia has suffered severe smoke from the blazes, with its eastern state of Sarawak among the hardest hit. One district recorded “very unhealthy” air quality Friday, while eight others posted unhealthy readings, prompting the closure of nearly 600 schools and affecting about 200,000 students, the Sarawak government said.

A man is silhouetted against the haze from wildfires that blankets Musi River in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Fajri)

People walk along the Ampera Bridge as haze from wildfires blankets the city of Palembang, in South Sumatra, Indonesia, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Fajri)

In this aerial photo released by Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, smoke billows as a wildfire rages through a peatland forest in Bulungan, North Kalimantan, Indonesia. (BNPB via AP)

A boat cruises on the Kapuas River as haze from wildfires blankets the city of Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Indonesia, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Stefanus Taman)

Motorists ride on a road as haze from wildfires blankets the city of Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Indonesia, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Stefanus Taman)

In this aerial photo released by Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, smoke billows as a wildfire rages through a peatland forest in Bulungan, North Kalimantan, Indonesia. (BNPB via AP)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Devdutt Padikkal scored his second test century and shared two crucial partnerships to help India to 300-5 at stumps on the opening day of the second cricket test against Sri Lanka on Sunday.

Continuing his top form from the first match when he scored 167 runs in the first innings to set up a big win, Padikkal made 117 off 193 deliveries. He spent nearly five hours at the crease and hit 12 boundaries.

He got reprieves as soon as he came to bat when Sonal Dinusha at covers and captain Dhananjaya de Silva at slip dropped two sharp catches. From there he batted with concentration, sharing 120 runs for the third wicket with captain Shubman Gill and 74 runs for the fourth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja, before being bowled by off-spinner Keshara Nuwantha.

Gill was out for 50, his ninth test half-century, when he edged fast bowler Asitha Fernando to wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella.

Rishabh Pant, who came in to bat at No. 5 when Gill fell, was retired hurt when he went across to pull fast bowler Lahiru Kumara only to take a hit on his forearm.

Sri Lanka took the second new ball after 80 overs and saw quick results when Fernando bowled Ravindra Jadeja (43) with an inswinger that the left-handed batter misjudged and attempted to leave.

India went to lunch at 88-2 with Padikkal and Gill trying to steady the innings after India lost two wickets for 66 runs after Gill had won the toss and elected to bat first on a good batting pitch at the Sinhalese Sports Club.

.Opening batters Yashaswi Jaiswal and KL Rahul added 37 runs for the first wicket before Rahul (18) slashed at a wider delivery from Kumara for a catch to Dickwella. Jaishwal (45) was bowled by a sharp inswinger from Fernando, leaving India at 66-2.

Fernando had the best bowling figures for Sri Lanka with 3-46 as Kumara and Nuwantha picked up a wicket each.

India leads the two-match series having defeated Sri Lanka by 165 runs in the first match in Galle.

Sri Lanka recalled Pasindu Sooriyabandara for his first full test after he replaced the injured Dinesh Chandimal as a concussion substitute in the series opener.

With Chandimal still unavailable, Sooriyabandara retained his place for the second test, which Sri Lanka must win to level the series.

Opener Nishan Madushka has also been replaced by Kamil Mishara who makes his test debut.

India have left out left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav for spin-bowling allrounder Saransh Jain, who is also playing in his first test.

He has scored 2,223 runs and 188 wickets in first-class matches.

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India's Yashasvi Jaiswal, second right, and Sri Lanka's Asitha Fernando (78) exchange words during day one of the second cricket test match between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

India's Yashasvi Jaiswal plays a shot during day one of the second cricket test match between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's Lahiru Kumara, left, celebrates taking the wicket of India's KL Rahul during day one of the second cricket test match between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

India's Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sri Lanka's Asitha Fernando exchange words during day one of the second cricket test match between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

India's Yashasvi Jaiswal plays a shot during day one of the second cricket test match between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)