Melaka's year-end tourist arrivals down

MELAKA • Tourist arrivals in Melaka, especially from Singapore, fell by 28 per cent during the 2018 year-end peak period, and a tourism-based non-government organisation claims this is mainly due to the recent spate of rallies and racially-tinged speeches by opposition leaders and Malay rights groups in the Klang Valley.

President of Melaka Tourism Business Club Chew Chert Fong said tourist arrivals peaked from Dec 22 to 28, a far cry from previous years when holidaying started in November.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

Plaintiffs in WWII case apply to seize assets

SEOUL • South Korean plaintiffs in a World War II forced labour court case against Japan's Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp have applied to seize some of its Korean assets, a South Korean newspaper reported yesterday.

The application for the asset seizure, if approved by the court in Seoul, could further strain already frosty bilateral relations between Japan and South Korea over the issue.

REUTERS

Rescued women must pay for passage home

LONDON • Britain is charging young women rescued from forced marriages abroad for the cost of their repatriation, The Times newspaper revealed yesterday.

Victims are told they have to fund their flight back to Britain and basic food and shelter costs, it reported. Those who are aged over 18 and cannot pay have to sign emergency loan agreements with the Foreign Office.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE