Malaysia gets a breather as haze cover eases

Malaysia got a short breather on Friday from its worst air pollution crisis in eight years as changing winds scattered acrid smoke from forest fires burning in neighbouring Indonesia. The skies cleared over downtown Kuala Lumpur’s iconic Petronas Towers and palm trees shivered in breezes that carried away some of the haze that has shrouded the city for a week, although weather officials warned the respite might be brief. Rain promised to bring more relief over the weekend, as the wind carried the haze away from central Malaysia towards the country’s eastern states of Trengganu and Kelantan, where visibility had fallen sharply. In a bid to speed the rains, the government will try cloud-seeding soon. REUTERS