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
Delivery riders across South Korea are facing mounting accident risks as an intense heatwave continues. When air temperatures exceed 30 degrees Celsius, asphalt surfaces can reach 60 to 70 degrees, sharply reducing riders’ concentration and judgment.
According to the Korea Road Traffic Authority, August recorded the highest number of traffic deaths last year, while drowsy-driving accidents were concentrated during the summer months. A U.S. study found that traffic accident rates rise by 1.1 percent for every one-degree increase in temperature.
Some riders wear less-protective bicycle helmets to cope with the heat, while others skip meals and work during the hottest hours to earn platform bonuses. Tire blowout accidents also increase by 66 percent when temperatures exceed 30 degrees. Experts are calling on delivery platforms to reconsider peak-hour incentives during heatwaves and introduce mandatory rest periods, heat protections and stronger safety-equipment support.
Norila Daud, Malaysia World News, Malaysia
Malaysian police did not detain or arrest any Rohingya refugees who gathered outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office on Jalan Bukit Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, on July 29.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Fadil Marsus said all the Rohingya individuals were temporarily moved to the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters for documentation purposes before being released once necessary procedures had been completed. “The Rohingyas were not detained and no arrests were made against them. They were only screened. We do not arbitrarily detain refugees,” he said in a statement on August 2, referring to a report by an international news agency that was later carried by a media portal.
The report had claimed that Malaysian authorities detained more than 100 Muslim Rohingya asylum seekers who gathered outside the UNHCR office, alleging they were seeking protection after being evicted from their homes.
On July 28, 113 refugees — mostly Rohingya — who were temporarily housed at Dataran Wira, the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters, were moved to a location designated by a non-governmental organisation. Police had moved the 113 refugees, including an Iraqi man, a Somali woman and an Indonesian woman married to a Rohingya refugee, to the headquarters together with UNHCR representatives, as reported by the New Straits Times.
The Rohingya group comprised 36 adult men, 21 adult women, 31 boys and 22 girls. Police confirmed that checks found they possessed valid UNHCR documents. Reports said the refugees had arrived in three buses and gathered outside the UNHCR office after being evicted by local residents in Penang.
Bhanu Ranjan Chakraborty, Asia Journalist Association, Bangladesh
Bangladesh has joined the Saudi-led multinational maritime defense alliance to counter the Houthi threat, said Humayun Kabir, the foreign affairs advisor to the Prime Minister. “We are also talking to Iran, so there is no reason to see this as excluding or hurting Iran in any way,” he added.
Kabir made the remarks while speaking to reporters at the Foreign Ministry in Dhaka on August 2. He said Bangladesh has a special relationship with Saudi Arabia that will not be limited to pilgrimage, Umrah or Hajj. “The relationship between Dhaka and Riyadh will be a strategic relationship. It will be a very strong relationship,” he said.
On July 30, Saudi Arabia announced the formation of a multinational maritime defense alliance with 14 founding countries, including Bangladesh, to protect the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. The Saudi Ministry of Defense said in a joint statement that the coalition members are Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Turkey and Yemen.
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THE AsiaN Korean : 아자뉴스바이트 20260803 – 아시아엔 THE AsiaN
