Indonesia suffers setback in fight against haze

Jakarta

INDONESIA'S efforts to penalise the companies allegedly responsible for its annual forest fires suffered a setback on Wednesday after a judge rejected a US$565 million lawsuit against a pulp and paper firm.

Indonesia brought a civil case in a South Sumatra court against PT Bumi Mekar Hijau (BMH), a supplier to Asia Pulp and Paper, one of the world's biggest pulp and paper companies.

The US$565 million in damages would have been the largest financial award ever levied against a company accused of forest-burning …