World at a glance

Forest fire sparks haze fears

JAKARTA: A spreading forest fire in Indonesian Borneo8217;s West Kalimantan province has caused increased air pollution in the region and renewed concerns of haze problems, a report said Tuesday. The smoke has not yet disrupted flights in and out of the provincial capital Palangkaraya but the airport staff were on alert, the Kompas newspaper said. It is believed the fire, outside Palankaraya was started in a land clearing operation. quot;The land here has a high content of peat and is infertile unless we clear it with fire. Unfortunately the people don8217;t watch the clearing process and the fire spreads to other fields and later turns into a forest fire,quot; a villager, Sukardi, said. Forest fires in Sumatra and Borneo covered much of the region with a choking haze in 1997 and to a lesser extent in 1998. Smoky haze from the fires, also started in land clearing operations, spread to surrounding countries disrupting business and transport, spawninghealth problems and Driving away tourists.

Chernobyl hits S-Korea

SEOUL: South Korea was hit hard by the Chernobyl computer Virus, with angry computer users blasting the government for failing to issue advance warnings, experts said on Tuesday. The widely-distributed virus, with the potential to make personal computers PCs useless, had been timed to strike on Monday 8212; the 13th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the former Soviet Union. The South Korean government said an estimated 250,000, or 3.1 percent, of its eight million business and home PCs were infected by the virus, and it apologized for not taking hastier action. quot;It is true that the government was not vigilant, without realizing its seriousness,quot; Deputy Information and Communication Minister Ahn Byong-Yop said. Experts said the damage caused by the virus was far greater than necessary because of a lack of understanding and preparation for the coming danger.