BRICS Diplomacy: Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi met in New Delhi on BRICS sidelines, with Beijing pushing “shared development” and a longer-term strategic framing while India tied progress to peace along the border and a fair settlement of the dispute. AI Race & Governance: China unveiled an “open-source zone” for BRICS AI and pushed an open ecosystem and governance framework, as the US warned it can’t let China win the AI race and flagged alleged Chinese “distillation” efforts targeting US frontier models. Regional Governance: The Philippines is lining up ASEAN meetings on economic integration and disaster resilience ahead of the November summit, with trade and MSME events in Manila. Trade & Supply Chains: China’s soybean buying from the US is picking up ahead of harvest and expected Trump-Xi talks, while South Korea is extending stock trading hours to attract global investors. Disaster & Security: Heavy rain in China’s Hainan has forced evacuations of 31,000+ people; Nepal and Tibet floods have left hundreds missing. Politics & Human Rights: Tibetans protested Xi’s India visit over repression in Tibet and China’s “ethnic unity” law. Sports: South Korea topped its Asian Games basketball group with a win over Japan; India’s junior hockey teams also claimed titles over China.