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October 27, 2015

Indonesia: Wildfires Threaten Orangutans, Cause Respiratory Illness 
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The visit by Indonesia President Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, comes
amid raging forest fires in Indonesia, the world's largest producer of
palm oil. Fires are often set on purpose to clear land for palm oil, but
amid dry conditions and the strongest El Niño on record, thousands of
fires have burned into national parks and other sensitive areas.
Environmentalists warn the fires are threatening a third of the world's
remaining wild orangutans. The fires have created a dense haze across
Malaysia and Singapore and are believed to be responsible for up to
500,000 respiratory infections. We'll have more on the fires and
President Obama's meeting with Jokowi later in the broadcast.

 

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