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
The two North Korean prisoners of war who were recently brought to South Korea after being captured in Ukraine reportedly experienced weight gain and depressive symptoms during their roughly 20 months of captivity.
The two were captured by Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region in January 2025 while fighting for Russia. As negotiations over their transfer to South Korea dragged on and requests for media interviews increased, Ukrainian authorities progressively restricted their contact with outsiders. They were also reportedly unable to take regular walks or engage in outdoor activities.
It remains unclear whether the weight gain or depressive symptoms were medically diagnosed, or whether the restrictions directly caused them. The two are now under the protection of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry has said the transfer was a sensitive matter involving the individuals’ safety and has declined to disclose details of their journey or current condition.
Norila Daud, Malaysia World News, Malaysia
Malaysian Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said Malaysia and Kazakhstan are looking to revive higher education cooperation that lost momentum during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking during a three-day official visit to Astana that concluded on September 27, Zambry said the two countries had identified six areas for joint research: artificial intelligence, nuclear science for peaceful purposes, critical minerals and rare earth elements, and agriculture. Cooperation will also include dual-degree programmes, student mobility, industrial training and experience sharing. More than 1,400 Kazakh students are currently studying at Malaysian universities, down from over 10,000 before the pandemic.
Zambry said the two sides agreed in principle to hold an annual ministerial-level meeting on higher education, hosted in rotation, with Malaysia expected to host it next year. It would be the first such regular forum involving Malaysia and Central Asian countries.
Kazakhstan’s Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek said the visit was timely and called for Malaysian universities to establish branch campuses in Kazakhstan, which already hosts about 40 branches of foreign institutions. “Through Kazakhstan, Malaysia can connect with all the countries in the region,” he said.
The visit was held in conjunction with the Malaysia-Central Asia Higher Education Forum 2026 (MAHEF2026), organised by Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS) at Maqsut Narikbayev University in Astana, bringing together education stakeholders from Malaysia and five Central Asian countries, as reported by Bernama.
Chhay Sophal, Cambodia News Online, Cambodia
Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn addressed the 81st UN General Assembly on September 27, calling for the full implementation of bilateral agreements to resolve the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute.
Prak Sokhonn cited the Kuala Lumpur Joint Declaration, signed by both countries’ prime ministers on October 26, 2025, with US President Donald Trump presiding, and the Fuxian Consensus, reached through China-hosted trilateral talks in Yunnan on December 29, 2025, after a second round of fighting shattered the earlier accord. He urged the urgent resumption of the Joint Boundary Commission’s survey and demarcation work.
Prak Sokhonn highlighted threats from unexploded ordnance and damage to cultural heritage in border areas, and repeated that more than 20,000 displaced civilians remain unable to return home — a figure also confirmed by the UN Special Rapporteur on Cambodia following a visit in July. On the maritime dispute, he said Cambodia had initiated compulsory conciliation under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea after Thailand terminated a 2001 memorandum governing the issue.
Additionally, Prak Sokhonn highlighted Cambodia’s partnerships with the UN and INTERPOL in combating transnational tech fraud and announced the country’s readiness to host the 20th Francophonie Summit in Phnom Penh on November 15–16.
Bhanu Ranjan Chakraborty, Asia Journalist Association, Bangladesh
A “Hilsa Festival” celebrating Bangladesh’s national fish was held at the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on September 26. The event took place at the commission’s Maitree Auditorium.
Guests included former Indian External Affairs Minister M.J. Akbar, former diplomat and politician Mani Shankar Aiyar, former Indian Ambassador Ronen Sen, and sociologist Ashis Nandy, alongside other politicians, diplomats, academics, journalists and cultural figures.
Bangladesh High Commissioner to India M. Riaz Hamidullah said hilsa was closely linked to Bangladesh’s identity and deeply connected to the country’s social and economic fabric. He noted that Bangladesh has five hilsa sanctuaries and has undertaken initiatives to boost breeding and production.
During the festival, a book titled “A Fish Called Ilish,” published in Dhaka, was unveiled. Guests enjoyed a variety of hilsa dishes and traditional Bangladeshi cuisine and expressed hope that such cultural initiatives would contribute to strengthening ties between the peoples of Bangladesh and India.
Hamidullah, who took charge as High Commissioner in April 2025, is set to leave New Delhi next month for his new posting as Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva.
Shakil Yamin Kanga, APNEC, Pakistan
Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman met Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir in Riyadh on September 25 to discuss joint defence cooperation amid escalating Houthi attacks on the Kingdom.
According to a statement by the Saudi Ministry of Defence, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to continuing joint efforts to confront attacks targeting Makkah and civilian and economic infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, in accordance with the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement (MJDA). They welcomed the outcomes of a recent meeting of military chiefs of the MJDA member states.
The Khalid-Munir meeting followed trilateral talks between the chiefs of staff of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye in Riyadh — the first high-level military coordination since the three countries signed the MJDA last month. Saudi Chief of General Staff Gen Fayyadh Al-Ruwaili, Field Marshal Munir, and Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen Selçuk Bayraktaroglu reviewed the security situation and threats facing the Kingdom and discussed enhanced intelligence sharing and closer military coordination.
The MJDA expanded the bilateral Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in September 2025, bringing in Türkiye as a third partner and establishing a collective defence framework.
Kuban Abdymen, Centralasianlight, Kyrgyzstan
Timur Turlov, founder and CEO of Nasdaq-listed Freedom Holding Corp., has been elected president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). The election took place on September 26 at the FIDE General Assembly in Samarkand, alongside the 46th Chess Olympiad.
In the first round, Turlov received 96 votes, Wadim Rosenstein of Germany 76, and Jan-Henrik Büttner of Germany 20. In the second round, Turlov won 110 to 85 against Rosenstein. Delegates from 196 national chess federations participated.
At 38, Turlov is the first Kazakh national to lead FIDE and the second-youngest president in the organization’s history. He succeeds Arkady Dvorkovich of Russia, who served two terms from 2018 to 2026. Turlov ran on a joint ticket with five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand, who was elected FIDE deputy president.
Turlov has served as president of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation since 2023 and also heads the International School Chess Federation. Born in Moscow in 1987, he became a citizen of Kazakhstan in 2022. Over the past three years, Freedom Holding has allocated about $30 million (about 408 million won) to chess development in Kazakhstan.
ⓒ THE AsiaN | All rights reserved
This content is copyrighted by THE AsiaN. If you wish to share it, please do so without modifying the original text and always include the source link. Unauthorized editing or sharing without proper attribution may result in legal consequences.
THE AsiaN Korean : 아자뉴스바이트 20260928 – 아시아엔 THE AsiaN
