Unveils

• Banijay Entertainment announced the launch of Live Better for Less, a pan-European lifestyle entertainment format, on August 24, 2026. • The project is produced by Banijay UK’s Electric Robin in collaboration with Vinted and WPP Media. • The format utilizes Adapt's AI voice synthesis and lip sync technology to localize content across multiple European markets including France, Italy, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland.

• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese introduced "my feed, my way" rules to allow social media users to opt in or out of platform algorithms. • The digital duty of care bill requires tech companies to protect children from harmful material, including pornography and content promoting eating disorders. • These regulations give individuals direct control over how their social media feeds are curated rather than relying on automated platform decisions.

• Distributor Well Go USA Entertainment will release the Teochew-language film 'Dear You' across the U.S. and Canada starting September 4. • The movie previously served as the closing night film at the New York Asian Film Festival and won Best Asian Art Film of the Year at the Asian Art Film Festival. • This release expands a global theatrical rollout that has already reached markets including Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei.

• The Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) introduced Doc Square and Asia Impact Day, featuring 16 works-in-progress documentaries and two new awards. • The Documentary WIP Showcase operates through the Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund with partners from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, and the Philippines. • These initiatives provide a platform for documentary filmmakers to secure funding and visibility within the Asian cinema market.

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has unveiled ‘RAKSHA’, a strategic roadmap designed to make defence diplomacy a more structured component of India's international engagement. • The roadmap outlines a strategic focus spanning the next decade to enhance global partnerships and maritime security. • This shift aims to increase the export of Indian-made defence equipment and assist friendly nations in developing their own military capabilities.

• Lan Hongchun's Teochew-language film 'Dear You' will be released across the U.S. and Canada on September 4, distributed by Well Go USA Entertainment. • The North American launch follows a global rollout in markets including Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, with future releases planned for the U.K., France, and Japan. • The film has gained critical acclaim, winning Best Asian Art Film of the Year at the Asian Art Film Festival and a Special Jury Honor at the China Movie Channel Media Awards 2026.

• The 31st Busan International Film Festival has unveiled its full guest roster and official programming, featuring high-profile stars such as Isabelle Huppert, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Fan Bingbing, and Michelle Yeoh. • The lineup includes five gala presentations and 14 films competing in the Asian Cinema Competition, with world premieres such as "The Burning Giants" and "Dhara." • The selection highlights a diverse range of international collaborations, featuring films from Thailand, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Indonesia, among others.

• The UK Chancellor has unveiled the Sovereign AI R&D Procurement Scheme to attract and support home-grown tech startups specializing in artificial intelligence and cyber security. • To lower barriers for British founders, the government will provide early-stage funding and upfront payments to help companies build and prove their technology. • A key feature of the plan is that successful companies will retain ownership of the AI models they create, allowing them to develop commercial products for global markets.

• The Busan Film Festival has announced its 14-title competition section, featuring world premieres from directors Majid Majidi, Hirose Nanako, and Yosep Anggi Noen. • The festival will be attended by notable stars and filmmakers, including Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michelle Yeoh, and Japanese anime master Rintaro. • BIFF's Vision Korea and Vision Asia have selected a total of 23 films, including Kim Hyomi's debut animated feature Earbug and Inthira Charoenpura's directorial debut Bua.

• The 31st Busan festival announces its guest list, featuring notable figures such as Isabelle Huppert, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Michelle Yeoh. • The festival reveals five gala presentation titles and 14 competition films from across Asia, including "The Burning Giants" by Phuttiphong Aroonpheng and "Dhara" by Anuruddha Jayasingha. • The competition films represent a diverse range of countries, including India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, with many films making their world premiere at the festival.

• The 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has announced 23 titles for its "Vision" sections, showcasing independent cinema from Korea and across Asia. • Featured films include "1982" by Vietnamese director Nguyen Hoang Diep, "After the Song Ends" by Ryohei Kumamoto, and "Dead End," the feature debut of Hong Kong's Isabella Lam Lok-hin. • These selections highlight diverse narrative themes, ranging from psychological anxiety and family confusion to the search for missing parents and inner emotional scars.

The Republican Senate candidate announced the plan with a graphic X flagged as ‘Made with AI’US politics live – latest updatesKen Paxton, a Republican candidate for the US Senate in Texas, has unveiled plans to tackle the “negative impact” of datacenters amid a growing backlash across the political spectrum.Paxton, endorsed by Donald Trump but facing a close contest against Democrat James Talarico, posted a “Texas first” datacenter plan on X with a graphic that the social media network flagged as “Made with AI”. Continue reading...

• Banijay Entertainment has announced "Live Better for Less," a new pan-European lifestyle entertainment format produced by Banijay UK’s Electric Robin. • The project is a strategic collaboration between Banijay, the online marketplace Vinted, and WPP Media. • The series is scheduled for a simultaneous launch across seven European territories in September 2026.

• The Busan International Film Festival has announced a lineup of 23 Korean and Asian independent films for its Vision section. • The Vision-Asia category features directors from 10 different countries and regions, including debut features from Japan's Kumamoto Ryohei and Hong Kong's Isabella Lam Lok-hin. • Notable selections include "1982" from Vietnam, "After the Song" from Japan, "Dead End" from Hong Kong, and "Ria" from the Philippines.

• Actor Yash has released the English-language trailer for his upcoming film, "Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups." • Prime Media Studios has been appointed as the official distributor for the movie in North America. • The film is scheduled for a North American release on August 26, expanding its reach to a global audience.

• The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced $1.5 billion in funding dedicated to science and engineering research. • The agency is implementing more flexible grant structures specifically designed to support emerging research and long-term projects. • This initiative aims to accelerate innovation by reducing rigid constraints on how research funds are allocated and managed.

Lord mayor says public square will be ‘fantastic’ – but business advocate says project’s scale of demolition presents ‘unwanted disruption’Sydneysiders have been given a first glimpse of a new public square set to “unify” the CBD, more 40 years after the project was initially conceived.The City of Sydney on Tuesday released new renders of a plaza that will be built opposite Sydney Town Hall after the council began finalising discussions with the owners of the last of seven buildings that need to be acquired and bulldozed for the project. Continue reading...

• Campaign Asia-Pacific has announced its most extensive regional judging panel to date for the Agency of the Year Awards 2026. • The initiative aims to enhance the prestige and objectivity of the awards by leveraging a broader range of industry expertise across the Asia-Pacific region. • This expansion is critical for ensuring a fair and comprehensive evaluation of agencies as the final entry deadline approaches.

• Fast Track Entertainment has officially unveiled Launchpad, a new artist growth platform targeting South Korea and South-East Asia. • Developed in partnership with Sony Music Entertainment, the platform integrates live showcase experiences, brand partnerships, and new media engagement to support emerging talent. • Kenny Ong, Sony Music's managing director for the region, stated that showcase editions will progressively roll out from late 2026 through early 2027.

• Alibaba has unveiled its largest AI model to date, featuring 2.4 trillion parameters, as it seeks to compete with U.S. AI leaders. • Simultaneously, DeepSeek is challenging the market by focusing on dramatically lowering operational costs for AI systems. • This shift indicates that the Chinese AI sector is moving beyond raw capability to a new battleground centered on balancing performance, scale, and affordability.

Local councillor who says he used to work on Daniel Andrews’ security team also part of upper house lineup for November’s state pollA former Liberal party candidate, the animator behind Pauline Hanson’s anti-woke film and a local councillor who says he worked on former premier Daniel Andrews’ personal protection team have been unveiled as One Nation candidates for the Victorian election.Pauline Hanson held a press conference on Monday to announce the eight candidates who will lead One Nation’s upper house tickets at the November state election. Continue reading...

Federal government plan outlines cuts to California, Arizona and Nevada but fix is likely to be only temporaryThe US government released its anxiously awaited plan for how to manage the Colorado river crisis on Friday, outlining cuts in water supplied to California, Arizona and Nevada.The proposal from the US Bureau of Reclamation spares Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming from facing mandatory cuts, for now. But it is a temporary fix as the states that rely on the river continue to fight over a long-term management plan for the dwindling resource that supplies huge swaths of the western US. Continue reading...

• The Asian Project Market (APM) has announced 30 selected feature projects for its 2026 edition, showcasing a diverse array of filmmakers from across Asia. • Notable selections include Mouly Surya’s “The Wife Who Can See Dead People (Or Jinn),” Reza Rahadian’s second feature “Casparina,” and Tan Seng Kiat’s “One Fine Day,” which previously won the APM Next prize at TCCF 2025. • The slate features a broad international mix, including seven Korean projects alongside contributions from Cambodia, the Philippines, Iran, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

• The Asian Project Market (APM) in Busan has announced 30 selected feature projects for its 2026 edition, showcasing a diverse range of cinematic works. • Notable selections include "Casparina" by Reza Rahadian Matulessy, "Little Phnom Penh" by Chheangkea, and "One Fine Day" by Tan Seng Kiat, which previously won the APM Next prize at TCCF 2025. • The slate features a strong international presence with projects from Cambodia, the Philippines, Iran, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and seven projects from South Korea.

• Microsoft has launched Project Perception and its first specialized cybersecurity AI model, MAI-Cyber-1-Flash, designed to deploy red, blue, and green agents for rapid cyber defense. • Project Perception utilizes a multi-model architecture that optimizes for quality, speed, and cost by combining frontier models with smaller, task-specific AI. • The MAI-Cyber-1-Flash model is integrated into MDASH, achieving a 96% score on the CyberGym industry benchmark, outperforming Mythos by 12 percentage points.

• Microsoft has unveiled new A.I.-powered cybersecurity tools designed to protect organizations from increasingly sophisticated digital threats. • Mustafa Suleyman, who leads Microsoft’s A.I. development, is spearheading the initiative to integrate advanced A.I. capabilities into the company's security suite. • The move comes as executives express growing concern over the safety of A.I. systems and the potential for hackers to use these tools for malicious attacks.

• Microsoft launched the Perception platform and the MAI-Cyber-1-Flash model at a small event in San Francisco to identify complex vulnerabilities in codebases. • Analysis of 22 media outlets, including GeekWire, reveals that many reports focused on Microsoft's claims while omitting critical details regarding third-party testing. • This discrepancy matters as it highlights a gap between corporate marketing and independent verification of the AI cybersecurity system's efficacy.

• South Korean companies have unveiled plans for $950 billion in investments focused on semiconductor supplies, AI data centers, and physical AI projects following a recent AI Summit. • Key partnerships include Hyundai Motor Group collaborating with Nvidia to create a standardized robot reference platform and working with Waymo to manufacture autonomous vehicles. • Samsung SDS has partnered with Anthropic to explore new AI markets and jointly train a new generation of AI engineers.