Asia

ASEAN foreign ministers are developing benchmarks and considering a long-term special envoy to revive the stalled Five-Point Consensus peace plan for Myanmar, aiming for more effective implementation of regional goals.

Negeri Sembilan holds state elections on August 1. PH, BN, and PN compete for 36 seats, focusing on economic issues and shifting political alliances in a critical test before the next general election.

DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng has become a multibillionaire, yet remains a reclusive figure. His rapid rise reflects a new generation of secretive, highly successful Chinese tech entrepreneurs dominating global AI.

Japan revised its Imperial House Law to allow royal women to retain status after marriage and permit the adoption of male relatives, while strictly maintaining the male-only succession system.

Taiwan is amending telecommunications laws to remove ownership restrictions, aiming to allow Starlink to operate and bolster national communication resilience against potential conflicts with China.

Malaysia is exploring new overland export routes to China to reduce logistics costs and clear a record domestic durian glut, though industry players remain divided over potential impacts on fruit quality.

At the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, President Xi Jinping urged international cooperation, stating AI should not be dominated by one country and must remain under human control to ensure global security.

Chinese start-up Moonshot has launched Kimi K3, a 2.8 trillion-parameter open-weight AI model. This powerful system rivals top US models, highlighting China's rapid progress in closing the global AI development gap.

Australia’s push to become an AI hub is straining its construction sector. Rising demand for data centers competes with housing projects for skilled labor, threatening national targets amid severe workforce shortages.

Thailand’s cabinet has halved the visa-free stay to 30 days for 59 countries, citing security concerns. The policy grants new privileges to six nations, including India, replacing previous visa-on-arrival requirements.

The Ma Xingrui corruption case highlights risks in China’s government-business ties. As the economy shifts from property to AI, China must reform resource allocation to prevent new forms of systemic rent-seeking.