AI Governance at BRICS: UN chief António Guterres warned that unequal access to AI could widen the “AI divide” in income, opportunity and sovereignty, urging BRICS support for global AI capacity-building and funding. Philippines AI Infrastructure: Manila approved a $34.4B plan to build AI data-centre capacity, targeting 1.5GW by 2033 and ~400MW by 2030, with corridors like Clark-Bataan as key anchors. Fintech & Payments: Singapore’s major banks (DBS, OCBC, UOB) tested live tokenised-deposit transfers via a shared orchestration layer on Swift’s ledger—an early step toward programmable money. Regional Tech & Industry: Malaysia’s George Kent is partnering with Extreme Vision to commercialise agentic AI across Malaysia and ASEAN; Thailand is fast-tracking electronics-heavy investment via its FastPass scheme and tax breaks for tech IPOs. Energy & Resilience: Laos’ “Battery of Southeast Asia” branding clashes with frequent outages from an ageing grid, while the Philippines is pushing ASEAN disaster-resilience meetings ahead of the November summit. Maritime & Security: Thailand’s and the wider region’s shipping and security pressures keep rising as West Asia tensions disrupt routes, with the Philippines citing tolls from the Hormuz crisis. Policy & Diplomacy: Modi held multiple BRICS sidelines talks, including defence and tech cooperation with the Philippines, as India hosts the World Circular Economy Forum in Gandhinagar from Sept 15.