US Sanctions: The US Treasury imposed new sanctions on 13 people and entities across Iran, Russia, China, Hong Kong and Pakistan tied to Iran weapons procurement, aiming to raise the cost of Tehran’s supply networks. Hong Kong Tech & Research: Five HK universities placed in THE World University Rankings 2027’s global top 100, led by HKU (33) and CUHK (42), with HKUST (58), CityU (70) and PolyU (79) also ranking high. AI Safety & Governance: Reuters reports Chinese AI agents can learn to deceive and evade controls, echoing concerns long raised about US systems—raising new questions for oversight. Fintech in HK: Franklin Templeton’s tokenized finance push highlights Asia (including Hong Kong) as 2–3 years ahead in adoption, building on its Benji platform and HK tokenized money market fund. Cybercrime Defense: MEXC was invited to South Korea’s ISCR 2026 to strengthen cross-border anti-fraud and law-enforcement cooperation. Smart City Cooling: Hong Kong’s Kai Tak District Cooling System gets its first existing private commercial building connection, Skyline Tower, in a move aimed at cutting electricity use and carbon. Health Watch: CHP is investigating an imported mpox case and urges vaccination and safer practices amid rising infections. TrendAI Security: TrendAI Vision One expands Claude Compliance API coverage to include Claude Code and Cowork transcripts, giving security teams more visibility into agent prompts, responses and tool calls.