Breaking News English

Pollution [level / levels] in Singapore caused by forest fires in Indonesia are continuing to reach new record [heightens / highs] . The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hit 401 on Friday, the highest ever recorded in Singapore. The [previous / impervious] high was in 1997 when the PSI reached 226. A PSI of 150 is [deemed / doomed] to be "unhealthy", while anything [atop / above] 300 is defined [has / as] "hazardous". Singapore's government said a reading above 400 sustained for 24 hours "may be [life-threatening / life-threatens] to ill and elderly persons". It has [advice / advised] all of its citizens to stay indoors and to wear face masks if they [have / must] to go outside. Authorities will distribute one million masks free to the poorest 200,000 [households / freeholders] starting from Sunday.

The haze has [strained / stained] relations between Singapore and Indonesia over who is responsible for the [smoking / choking] smog. Singapore has [accused / abused] Indonesia of recklessness and irresponsibility in letting fires get [so / such] out of control. Indonesia responded by [calling / calls] Singapore hypocritical, as many of its companies own plantations where fires are being [set / let] to clear forests for cultivation. Indonesia's Foreign Ministry would not apologise for the [haze / hazy] crisis, but insisted that everything was being done to [tackle / offence] the problem. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said "all the country's resources" would be mobilised to [extinguish / distinguish] the fires. Singapore's Prime Minister warned that the haze could [past / last] until the end of the dry season in October.