Malaysia–Vietnam Tourism Push: Malaysia’s tourism minister says both countries will expand cooperation on medical and halal tourism after talks in Macao, aiming to unlock more joint promotion and industry links. Sino–ASEAN Culture & Trade: APEC tourism ministers in Macao spotlight digital innovation and connectivity to deepen Asia-Pacific tourism collaboration. South China Sea Tensions: The Philippines renews criticism of China over refusal to comply with the 2016 arbitral ruling, calling Beijing insincere. West Asia Security: Iran’s IRGC claims missile and drone strikes on US targets in Kuwait and Bahrain; Iraq and Iran’s foreign ministers also discuss bilateral ties and regional security. Northeast Asia Defence: South Korea and Japan reaffirm denuclearisation while strengthening defence cooperation, including renewed search-and-rescue drills. AI + Finance Risk: Central bankers warn BIS that debt-fuelled AI data-centre spending could trigger a global financial crisis. India IT Watch: Analysts flag FY27 guidance cut risk for Indian IT as GenAI deflation and geopolitics cloud demand. Nepal Banking: Nepal’s average commercial bank base rate falls below 5% as credit demand stays subdued. Tech in the Region: Firmus Technologies, backed by Nvidia, plans its first Indonesia data centre; OpenAI appoints Prabhjeet Singh to lead India operations. Governance Tech: India launches an AI-enabled Rural Internal Audit Portal to replace paper-based audits.