India Youth Protests: India’s “cockroach” movement pressed the Modi government after Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan faced renewed calls to resign over exam paper leaks; Reuters reports talks offered the protesters time until Saturday afternoon, after Sonam Wangchuk ended a 26-day hunger strike. Digital Crackdown: Authorities ordered GitHub to block Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat repositories as mobile internet curbs pushed students toward Bluetooth-based messaging to keep organizing. ASEAN Diplomacy: In Manila, Asean foreign ministers wrapped talks that reaffirmed dialogue on the South China Sea and advanced a long-awaited Code of Conduct track, while the US stressed any outcome must not undermine its interests. US-China Security Tensions: The Pentagon added 130 research entities in China, Russia and Iran to a funding ban list, citing risks to US-funded science. Japan Strategic Moves: Japan advanced a “secondary capital” law to keep government functions running after major disasters, while also flagging rare-earth potential from deep-sea mining. India Tech Investment: HCLTech will invest $1.48b in an AI data centre in Odisha with Sarvam AI, signaling India’s push to build domestic AI infrastructure. India-Education Policy: Delhi CM Rekha Gupta launched “Project Manobal,” a mental health education program for government schools. South China Sea Flashpoints: China and the Philippines traded fresh accusations after water cannon incidents near disputed shoals.