National unity concerns in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR • Over two-thirds of Malaysians are worried about national unity and safety, particularly the possibility of violent conflict involving ethnic or minority groups, according to a study conducted by Ipsos Malaysia.

Sixty-seven per cent of respondents in the study held the view that such a threat is quite real, compared to the global average of 60 per cent and the 65 per cent of British respondents who worried about ethnic conflict.

The threat is being felt by a growing number of Malaysians, with the percentage of respondents expressing concern rising by 12 per cent since last year.

SIN CHEW DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

Fire put out at Pattaya hotel

BANGKOK • About 400 guests and employees were safely evacuated from a hotel in Thailand's popular seaside resort of Pattaya whose facade caught fire before dawn yesterday, police said.

Police Captain Sakda Poonya said the blaze at the Holiday Inn Express caused no injuries or deaths.

He said an initial investigation found that a short circuit had sparked the fire, which began in an area overhanging the hotel's entrance and spread along cables to the third floor and then to several higher floors. Three firetrucks took about half an hour to put out the blaze.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Brexit risk for Northern Ireland

LONDON • British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's deal to leave the European Union will be "highly disruptive" to Northern Ireland's economy and threaten its exporters, according to a confidential government document published by the opposition Labour Party yesterday.

Mr Johnson has repeatedly said there would be no Customs checks on goods moving between Northern Ireland and mainland Britain under the divorce deal which he agreed with the EU.

But the document, marked "official, sensitive", says exporters would have to make Customs declarations when moving goods between Northern Ireland and Britain and these new barriers will be "highly disruptive" to Northern Ireland's economy.

REUTERS