Country improves on US human-trafficking ranking, say sources

Jungle hideout: An armed policeman standing guard at an abandoned human-trafficking camp in Wang Kelian, Perlis, in this file picture. — EPA

WASHINGTON: The United States is upgrading Malaysia from the lowest tier on its list of worst human-trafficking centres, US sources said.

The move could smooth the way for an ambitious US-led free-trade deal with the South-East Asian nation and 11 other countries.