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
South Korea’s national psychiatric hospitals are struggling to admit emergency patients because of a severe psychiatrist shortage. Gongju National Hospital has only three psychiatrists out of ten authorized positions, with just 33 patients occupying its 100 beds. Across five national psychiatric hospitals, the psychiatrist staffing rate fell to 49.1 percent in 2025, while average bed occupancy dropped to 25.5 percent. Meanwhile, emergency psychiatric admission requests reached 20,839 last year, 3.8 times the level five years earlier. Lower pay than private hospitals, reluctance to work outside major cities, and the burden of acute psychiatric care are cited as key causes. National psychiatric hospitals are the last public safety net for high-risk patients. Empty beds without doctors show that the staffing crisis has become a broader social-safety problem.
Norila Daud, Malaysia World News, Malaysia
About 98.8 percent of Malaysia Airlines cabin crew have undergone drug screening, with all tests returning negative, said Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) managing director and chief executive Captain Nasaruddin A Bakar. Drug screening would be made a mandatory annual requirement for all cabin crew, he said.
Safety remained a non-negotiable priority for the group, Nasaruddin said, adding that MAG had also completed drug screening for more than 1,500 pilots across its airlines, including all pilots and cabin crew of Firefly, by August 15. “As of yesterday, about 98.8 percent of Malaysia Airlines cabin crew had undergone screening, and we hope to reach 100 percent today,” he said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur on September 5.
All tests involving Malaysia Airlines and Firefly crew have returned negative results to date. “We also conduct random testing almost every week. Safety requires discipline in every decision we make, the standards we set and how we respond when something does not go as planned,” he said, as quoted by the New Straits Times.
Nasaruddin said focusing on operational fundamentals was increasingly important as the aviation industry faced external pressures including fuel price fluctuations, supply chain constraints and geopolitical uncertainty. “Fuel alone accounts for almost 40 percent of MAG’s total operating costs. Every $1 increase in fuel prices has an impact of about RM50 million on our costs,” he said.
Chhay Sophal, Cambodia News Online, Cambodia
Cambodia has briefed military attachés from 18 countries on the fragile border situation with Thailand despite the ceasefire.
Lieutenant General Rat Dararath, Secretary of State for National Defence, briefed nearly 20 military representatives from the Military Attachés Corps in Phnom Penh at the Ministry of Defence on September 3. Dararath stated that continued Thai troop movements, the installation of barbed wire and container trucks, the construction of fortified structures, and alterations to ground conditions require urgent resolution. He added that these actions are actively preventing displaced civilians from returning to their homes.
Kuban Abdymen, Centralasianlight, Kyrgyzstan
The Chinese engineering company Sichuan Petroleum & Natural Gas Construction Engineering has imported specialised anti-corrosion materials for a major gas pipeline project in Turkmenistan.
The country has received 2,000 polyethylene heat-shrinkable sleeves and 3,000 metres of anti-corrosion tape from Langfang Zhongyou Jiayu Anti-Corrosion Technology. The materials are designed to protect pipe joints, reduce corrosion risks and extend the service life of gas transportation infrastructure.
The delivery highlights the growing technological dimension of Turkmenistan-China energy cooperation. China remains the main destination for Turkmen natural gas, while the Central Asia-China gas pipeline network is essential for supplying the Chinese market. Modern pipeline protection is particularly important given Turkmenistan’s harsh climate and long transportation distances. Reliable anti-corrosion technologies can help prevent operational failures, maintain stable gas supplies and strengthen the infrastructure supporting the countries’ long-term energy partnership.
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THE AsiaN Korean : 아자뉴스바이트 20260905 – 아시아엔 THE AsiaN
