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 Assassin(s) fell to second place at South Korea’s daily box office six days after its release. On September 28, Tazza: Beelzebub’s Song drew 68,911 viewers, narrowly ahead of The Assassin(s), with 67,407, according to the Korean Film Council’s box-office data. Both films opened on September 23. The Assassin(s) still leads in cumulative admissions, with 1,633,622 viewers compared with Tazza’s 901,927. The film follows a fictional investigation into the 1974 shooting of First Lady Yuk Young-soo and has drawn allegations of historical distortion. Some critics say it implies that former President Park Chung-hee was involved. Director Hur Jin-ho denies that the film contains such a portrayal, while its producer rejects claims of a political agenda. One day’s box-office rankings cannot establish whether the controversy caused the decline.
Norila Daud, Malaysia World News, Malaysia
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim met with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) Governor Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan on September 28, discussing opportunities to strengthen economic ties between the two countries.
PIF, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds with assets under management exceeding US$900 billion, is a driver of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 economic diversification programme. The two leaders discussed cooperation in construction, infrastructure, facilities management, energy and the halal economy, Anwar said in a social media post.
PIF’s wholly owned subsidiary RUA AlHaram AlMakki and Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) signed an agreement on the same day to explore a transit-oriented development in the Jabal Al Kaabah area of Makkah, within the King Salman Gate project. The proposed development, with an indicative gross development value of about 21 billion Saudi riyals (US$5.5 billion), would include a public bus terminal alongside residential, commercial and retail components to improve transport connectivity for pilgrims and visitors.
The agreement was signed in Kuala Lumpur by RUA CEO Bambang Kajairi and MRCB Group Managing Director Dato’ Imran Salim. “I hope more Malaysian companies will be able to enter the Saudi Arabian market, expand their partnerships there, and participate in projects that bring benefits to the people of both countries,” Anwar said.
Chhay Sophal, Cambodia News Online, Cambodia
Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on September 26 on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York.
The two discussed strengthening bilateral relations, including diplomatic ties, trade and cultural exchanges, according to the Cambodian side. They also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.
Araghchi held a series of bilateral meetings at the Assembly. On the same day he also met with Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan and Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA.
Shakil Yamin Kanga, APNEC, Pakistan
Two Pakistani pilots are in the final stage of training to become the first foreign astronaut aboard China’s Tiangong space station and Pakistan’s first astronaut in space.
Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, selected from about 20 finalists out of an initial pool of Pakistani pilots and scientists, have spent months training at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center in Beijing, the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) told Reuters. Training includes learning Mandarin, spacecraft systems, centrifuge drills for high-G endurance, and techniques for eating, sleeping and repairing equipment in microgravity.
Final selection of one of the two pilots is expected by mid-to-late October. The chosen astronaut will serve as a payload specialist — conducting four Pakistani biotechnology experiments on food security and climate rather than flying the spacecraft — during a roughly one-week mission aboard Tiangong on the Shenzhou 24 mission later this year.
The mission was conceived by Pakistan and China in 2019, and SUPARCO and the China Manned Space Agency signed a formal agreement in February 2025. Each experiment was built and tested in SUPARCO’s laboratories before being approved by Chinese engineers.
Kuban Abdymen, Centralasianlight, Kyrgyzstan
Turkmenistan publicly displayed China’s FK-2000 short-range air defense system for the first time during the September 27 Independence Day military parade in Ashgabat, marking the 35th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union.
Eight FK-2000 vehicles appeared in the parade’s air defense formation alongside three other Chinese-built systems already in service: the FD-2000, KS-1A and FM-90. The FK-2000, developed by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), combines missiles and automatic guns with radar and electro-optical detection on a single mobile platform, designed to engage aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles and drones at ranges of up to 25 kilometers.
Turkmenistan is the fifth publicly identified operator of the FK-2000, following the United Arab Emirates, Chad, Ethiopia and Sudan. Chinese-made systems now form the core of Turkmenistan’s air defense network.
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