Asian Games Basketball: Gilas Pilipinas’ men’s title defense stumbled in its opener, falling 89-85 to Bahrain after a rough stretch between the second and third quarters; Calvin Oftana still led with 31 points, but Bahrain’s naturalized-heavy lineup and JaKarr Sampson’s 24 points plus eight assists proved decisive. ASEAN Health & Tech: Malaysia is pushing deeper ASEAN-South Korea cooperation on AI and digital health to build more connected, secure health systems and improve early disease detection. BRICS Business Forum: India’s Jaishankar and Piyush Goyal urged BRICS to boost resilience through self-reliance, diversified supply chains, and easier market access, including linking payment systems and using local currencies. Central Asia Pivot: South Korea will host the first Korea-Central Asia Summit in Seoul to focus on critical minerals, energy, and supply-chain diversification. Central Asia Tourism: CAREC talks in Tashkent mapped cross-border tourism upgrades, including an AI-enabled “Visit Silk Road” portal and new seamless travel routes. Sports Diplomacy: North Korea’s athletes began arriving in Japan for the Asian Games, with pro-Pyongyang supporters expected to cheer them despite no diplomatic ties. Islamic Finance Push: Kazakhstan’s EDB and IsDB Institute discussed attracting Islamic capital via a regional investment platform using the Astana International Financial Centre. Food & Investment: Bengaluru’s Popo Global raised ₹532 crore from Artal Asia to expand its restaurant brands across India.