Indonesia defends haze-fighting effort after Malaysia urges action

JAKARTA (Reuters): Indonesia is dousing forest fires with water sprayed from helicopters and inducing rain through cloudseeding, its environment minister said on Friday, but denied that hazardous haze was crossing borders, as neighbouring Malaysia has said.

Traditional slash-and-burn methods are used almost every year to clear land in Indonesia for palm oil and pulp and paper plantations that public records show are owned both by domestic and foreign or overseas-listed companies.