ASEAN Culture Diplomacy: Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam helped stage ASEAN Summer Festival 2026 in Astana, drawing 1,000+ visitors to the Indonesian Cultural Centre with food, crafts and Muay Thai. Art & Identity: At Kalakaar Art Salon, “Performing Belief” brings 22 artists together to rethink ritual, memory and labor through tantric geometry, folk pigments and reclaimed-page works. Film & Memory: Director Hu Lu’s Chinese short “Pile On” is framed as a dark mirror of childhood “animality,” built from his 1990s Tiexi memories. Devotional Music: Aushim Khetarpal releases “Maya Moh,” a Gita-inspired bhajan ahead of Janmashtami, with plans for multiple language versions. AI & Learning Reality Check: A large Chinese study finds generative AI boosts homework grades and speed, but later drags down closed-book exam results. Court & Culture Clash: India’s Supreme Court set aside an NGT ruling that held Art of Living liable for Yamuna floodplain damage, ordering a ₹5 crore refund. Regional Heritage Tourism: A Japanese delegation tours Varanasi’s Sarnath and Namo Ghat for Buddhist history and Ganga Aarti, spotlighting India–Japan cultural ties. K-pop Momentum: BIGBANG kicks off “XX: COSMOS” in Goyang with “BiiiG,” while izna announces its first Singapore tour.