Climate & EnvironmentDevelopingUpdated Oct 9, 2026

Malaysia closes schools as wildfire haze from Indonesia spreads

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly left-leaning (67%).

3 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Image via Al Jazeera EnglishHow images are chosen Report this image

Malaysia closed schools on Friday in Kuala Lumpur, the administrative capital Putrajaya and several states, as smoke from forest fires in Indonesia pushed air pollution to unhealthy levels. Bloomberg and Al Jazeera put the number of affected students at about two million. Al Jazeera reports that Kuala Lumpur’s Air Pollutant Index reading was about 170. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the haze was at a worrying level and that Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto had agreed to take necessary steps. Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said authorities would keep monitoring the haze and act if conditions required it.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

New to Mantle? It shows who is covering each story across the political spectrum, and highlights loaded words. How to read a storyHide the guide

The coverage spectrum counts the outlets covering a story at each of five points. A short or missing segment means that part of the spectrum is mostly quiet.

Governor Loaded verb“slams”It adds drama to what was said. The governor criticized the lawmakers; “slams” makes it sound like a fight.More neutral: criticizes lawmakers over budget delay

Highlights mark words that carry a judgement. Tap one to see why, and what a neutral writer would say. Here it is “criticizes”.

The 5-point spectrum

Far Left
Voices that strongly advocate for progressive policies and systemic change.
Left
Mainstream liberal perspectives focusing on social equality and regulation.
Center
Sources that prioritize neutral reporting and balanced viewpoints.
Right
Mainstream conservative perspectives focusing on market freedom and tradition.
Far Right
Voices that strongly advocate for conservative values and limited government.

How we measure bias

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

Malaysian authorities closed schools on Friday in Kuala Lumpur and several other states and territories because of haze.
Reported byLeft2Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
Left
Bloomberg, Al Jazeera English
Center
Deutsche Welle
Haze from forest and wildfires in Indonesia caused the air pollution behind the closures.
Reported byLeft2Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
Left
Bloomberg, Al Jazeera English
Center
Deutsche Welle
About two million students were affected by the school closures.
One side only: the leftReported byLeft2See the outletsHide the outlets
Left
Bloomberg, Al Jazeera English
Kuala Lumpur’s Air Pollutant Index reading was about 170, which is at unhealthy levels.
One outletAl Jazeera English· Left
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the haze was at a worrying level and that Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto had agreed to take necessary steps.
One outletAl Jazeera English· Left
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said schools would be monitored and closures could be changed if conditions required it.
One outletDeutsche Welle· Center

How each side tells it

Compare views

the left
2 outlets
Both left-side headlines lead with the government action and the haze, with Bloomberg centering the number of students kept home and Al Jazeera using the more dramatic phrase “chokes Southeast Asia” to describe a regional scale.
Malaysia shuts schools as haze from Indonesian fires chokes Southeast Asia
Al Jazeera EnglishLeftAll left-leaning headlines
the center
1 outlet
The only center coverage is a single Deutsche Welle report, whose headline states the closures and the toxic haze plainly, so this side’s framing rests on that one outlet.
Malaysia shuts schools amid toxic haze from Indonesian fires
Deutsche WelleCenterAll center headlines
the right
No coverage yet
No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

Mantle found no loaded language in this coverage. Every headline and opening was checked against Mantle’s published word list, and Mantle’s AI read all 3 articles in context. Straight reporting often has none.

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

2 outlets

Leads with

Two million students affected
Regional reach of the smoke
Leaders’ talks on the crisis

Leaves out

Education minister’s pledge to give parents advance notice of closures

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

Al Jazeera EnglishLeft
Malaysia shuts schools as haze from Indonesian fires chokes Southeast Asia
Kuala Lumpur's Air Pollutant Index says air quality at unhealthy levels amid smog from forest fires.
Oct 9, 2026Read at Al Jazeera English (opens in a new tab)
BloombergLeft
Malaysia Keeps 2 Million Students Home as Wildfire Haze Worsens
Over 2 million students across Malaysia were forced to stay home on Friday as toxic haze from wildfires in Indonesia blanketed the region and the two nations’ leaders discussed efforts to tackle the crisis.
Oct 8, 2026Read at Bloomberg (opens in a new tab)

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

Health risk from unhealthy air
Education minister’s statement and monitoring
Emergency measures by authorities

Leaves out

Number of students affected
Prime minister’s talks with Indonesia

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the headline from the centerHide the headlines

Deutsche WelleCenter
Malaysia shuts schools amid toxic haze from Indonesian fires
Toxic smoke from forest fires in Indonesia has pushed air pollution to unhealthy levels, prompting authorities in Malaysia to take emergency measures.
Oct 9, 2026Read at Deutsche Welle (opens in a new tab)

From the right

0 outlets

No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

Left
First to report
Bloomberg, Oct 8, 11:02 PM EDT
Center
3 hr 37 min later
Its first report, Oct 9, 2:39 AM EDT
Right
No report yet
From the outlets Mantle follows

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order

BloombergLeftOct 8, 11:02 PM EDT
Deutsche WelleCenterOct 9, 2:39 AM EDT
Al Jazeera EnglishLeftOct 9, 8:53 AM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

Malaysia closes schools as wildfire haze from Indonesia spreads

Coverage spectrum

Key points

Compare views

the left

the center

the right

Language to notice

Side by side

From the left

Malaysia shuts schools as haze from Indonesian fires chokes Southeast Asia

Malaysia Keeps 2 Million Students Home as Wildfire Haze Worsens

From the center

Malaysia shuts schools amid toxic haze from Indonesian fires

From the right

How the coverage built up

Read next

UK government approves Jackdaw gas field in North Sea

UN report says world is set to breach 1.5C warming limit

Witkoff meets Putin in St. Petersburg; Kremlin says it is ready for three-way talks

Officials warn of critical PHP flaws, prompting some websites to go offline

Polling firm Wedgewood admits its midterm polls were fabricated