Southeast Asian nations appealed to the international community to quickly release millions of dollars in stalled financial aid for fighting fires of the kind that recently spread a haze across the region. Although more than $8 million has been pledged by foreign donors, much of it has been either earmarked for studying the fires or has been stalled by a "tortuous bureaucratic process," Singapore Environment Minister Yeo Cheow said at a joint press conference after the group's fifth gathering since December to discuss fighting the fires.