AJA Newsbites is a curated roundup of major news and developments from across Asia, brought to you by members of Asia Journalist Association (AJA)
Lee Sang-ki, THE AsiaN, Korea
Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, founder of next-generation nuclear company TerraPower and chair of the Gates Foundation, arrived in South Korea on August 13, his first visit in a year. Gates entered the country through the Gimpo Business Aviation Center. Expanding cooperation on small modular reactors, or SMRs, is expected to be a key agenda during his visit. He is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Han Sung-sook on August 14, while a meeting with National Assembly Speaker Cho Jung-sik is reportedly being arranged. Gates will also meet HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun to discuss SMR cooperation. Talks with senior SK Group executives are also expected, as SK is a major shareholder in TerraPower. The visit highlights growing cooperation between Korean industry and TerraPower in advanced nuclear energy.
Norila Daud, Malaysia World News, Malaysia
The Johor state government will install about 5,000 smart CCTV cameras across Greater Johor Bahru over the next five years to boost security.
State Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor said the installation covers local authorities under the Greater JB region: the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB), Pasir Gudang City Council (MBPG), Iskandar Puteri City Council (MBIP), and Kulai Municipal Council (MPKu). “With more smart CCTVs installed, city residents, tourists, and visitors will feel safer, thereby improving public well-being,” he said at a press conference after officiating the Johor Smart City Forum 2026 in Pasir Gudang on August 13, as reported by the New Straits Times.
Jafni said the state will also install more smart traffic lights in high-density areas, particularly in city and town centres, to ease congestion. Smart traffic lights deployed in recent years have proven effective in ensuring smoother traffic flow, he said. The state will also roll out more smart streetlights across Johor. “With smart streetlights, local authorities and contractors receive immediate notifications via smartphone, enabling quicker repairs,” he said.
All 16 local authorities in Johor have achieved at least a Level 1 rating in the national Smart City framework, with MBJB being the only local authority in the country to achieve a Level 3 rating, he added.
Chhay Sophal, Cambodia News Online, Cambodia
Leaders, civil servants and citizens of Cambodia’s Pursat Province have been invited to undergo personal health tests using a modern InBody body composition analyzer donated by South Korea through the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH).
According to the Pursat provincial authority on August 13, the equipment is based at the Pursat Provincial Referral Hospital and was officially inaugurated on June 9. The InBody analyzer provides detailed measurements of body fat percentage, muscle mass, and intracellular and extracellular water levels, which can indicate fluid retention or kidney problems. It also helps in planning exercise and diet, and in early detection of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.
The Non-communicable Disease Building at Pursat Referral Hospital was donated by the South Korean government. Construction began on June 27, 2023 and was completed in April 2026.
Bob Iskandar, Indonesia Global News, Indonesia
President Prabowo Subianto has nominated Bank Indonesia Senior Deputy Governor Destry Damayanti to become the central bank’s next Governor, following Perry Warjiyo’s resignation. State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said Destry was selected because of her decades of experience in Indonesia’s financial sector and her two terms as Senior Deputy Governor. She is currently serving as Acting Governor of Bank Indonesia.
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has expressed support for Destry’s nomination, saying he is confident they can work effectively together. The nomination will now require approval from the Indonesian parliament. Her appointment will be closely watched by financial markets, particularly regarding monetary policy independence, exchange-rate stability, inflation management and investor confidence during a period of heightened global economic uncertainty.
Shakil Yamin Kanga, APNEC, Pakistan
Iran has declared Pakistan “a great asset of the Islamic world.” Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaee said during a meeting with Pakistan’s Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi that Iran and Pakistan are strategic partners. He added that the Pakistani government, military and people are “a great asset of the Islamic world.”
Rezaee said Iran desires to take bilateral cooperation with Pakistan to new heights, is committed to further strengthening security and mutual cooperation, and seeks extraordinary progress in Iran-Pakistan relations. Naqvi said relations between the two countries have strengthened further over the past few months.
Naqvi earlier met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran and delivered a special message from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir to the Iranian President. Naqvi also briefed Pezeshkian on the recent Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
Bhanu Ranjan Chakraborty, Asia Journalist Association, Bangladesh
Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has launched an AI-based traffic signal system to ease congestion and restore order in traffic management in the capital. The system is initially being installed at eight major intersections.
DSCC Administrator Md. Abdus Salam said at the trial inauguration of the AI signal system at Shahbagh intersection on August 13 that the aim is to make vehicle movement more systematic and dynamic through an automated system. The workload of traffic police, who must perform their duties on the road regardless of weather, will also be reduced, he said. DSCC has set a goal of installing such modern traffic signals at 50 more major intersections in Dhaka.
Kuban Abdymen, Centralasianlight, Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan’s transport portfolio includes 23 projects worth approximately $10.8 billion, with implementation planned through 2035. The projects cover international transport corridors, railways, roads, airports, border crossings and logistics infrastructure.
Railways account for more than half of the planned investment, at $5.49 billion, followed by roads with $2.93 billion, airports with $1.57 billion, border crossings with $770 million, and logistics facilities with about $42 million.
The China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway, estimated at $4.7 billion, is the largest project, representing nearly 44% of the country’s total transport portfolio and about 86% of planned railway investment. The North–South highway between Balykchy and Jalal-Abad is estimated at $900 million, while the Issyk-Kul Ring Road reconstruction is valued at $500 million.
Projects worth $4.64 billion are currently under implementation, while $960 million are at the design stage. Another $5.2 billion remains in planning, highlighting the scale of financing and implementation challenges ahead.
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THE AsiaN Korean : 아자뉴스바이트 20260814 – 아시아엔 THE AsiaN
