Taiwan Strait Escalation Risk: A new IISS study warns a US-China clash over Taiwan could spiral fast into nuclear confrontation, as both sides lack Cold War-style crisis guardrails. South China Sea Security: The Philippines and Vietnam reaffirmed the 2016 arbitral ruling and UNCLOS, stressing self-restraint as they deepen defense ties amid heightened regional volatility. West Asia Tensions: Kuwait said its air defences intercepted hostile missile and drone attacks, while Iran signaled readiness to ease Strait of Hormuz cargo transit for Japanese-linked ships. US-China Cyber Fallout: The US, EU and allies blamed China-linked hackers for a Microsoft Exchange cyberattack, escalating accountability and security pressure. India-US Trade Talks: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said most details of an interim trade agreement are done, with legal text and remaining issues to be finalized soon. India Domestic Politics: India’s “Cockroach Janta Party” founder Abhijeet Dipke plans a street protest demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over exam irregularities. India-Myanmar Border Security: Modi met Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing, focusing on border security, trade, and cross-border cyber scam networks after India repatriated over 2,400 people. Energy & Industry Moves: India’s CBSE admitted security gaps in its digital marking system after a hacker exposed vulnerabilities; meanwhile, Anant Raj pledged $2.6bn for Haryana data centres and cloud services.