These allow teachers to explain subjects with an almost unlimited range of visuals and hold the attention of students far better than traditional approaches.

The scheme had reached at least 21 million students by November 2025 and 55,000 teachers have been trained.

“We get bored just looking at the whiteboard. With the digital board we are inspired to be more motivated to study,” said one student.

The screens are designed to work online and offline and can be solar powered in areas not connected to the grid. This will allow them to benefit all the country’s children with a goal of better preparing them for the jobs of the future.

Alongside the technology, the curriculum is also focusing more on areas related to technology with subjects such as coding and AI introduced.

A teacher who is working with the new screens said: "The best thing is the enthusiasm of the children to try to work," pointing out young people used to smartphones wanted digital interactivity in their learning too.

Thus, the researchers underscored that the problem is not whether people in ASEAN are using AI, but whether institutions are equipped to manage it responsibly.

“Across ASEAN, we are seeing AI use grow faster than our systems’ ability to guide it,” said Piti Srisangnam, executive director of the ASEAN Foundation. “These studies move the conversation beyond whether AI is being used to whether our institutions, educators and communities are truly prepared.”

Thailand leads in AI usage

The report points to a widening readiness gap, particularly in education, with surveys conducted across all 10 ASEAN member states showing strong enthusiasm for generative AI tools, especially among younger users.

Of ASEAN’s member countries, Thailand led in AI usage, with adoption concentrated across the digital economy and among the youth. Over 90% of Thai students reportedly use AI tools, particularly for tasks such as writing, summarising and digital design. 

In the Philippines , which is hosting the high-stakes ASEAN Summit this year, more than 80% of students surveyed said they use generative AI in their studies, compared with just over 70% of educators. Many students reported relying on AI for writing and paraphrasing tasks.

Yet fewer than half of Filipino educators expressed confidence in their institutions’ AI policies, suggesting that usage is outpacing formal guidance and training.

Overall unpreparedness

The broader regional study highlights uneven digital preparedness across Southeast Asia, including shortfalls in digital skills, cybersecurity capacity and ethical standards for emerging technologies.

Researchers flagged concerns ranging from online fraud and deepfakes to data breaches and misinformation, warning that unchecked misuse could undermine public trust in digital services.

The urgency for improved digital systems comes as ASEAN’s digital economy is projected to expand sharply by the end of the decade, potentially reaching $1 trillion by 2030, fuelled by a young and increasingly connected population of more than 660 million people.

Access to AI tools alone will not be enough, the report argued.  

Without clearer policies, stronger governance and sustained investment in literacy and safeguards, Southeast Asia’s fast-moving embrace of AI could prove as fragile as it is rapid.

These were presented in Manila during the third regional policy convening of the AI Ready ASEAN programme, an initiative launched in 2024 with a $5 million grant from Google.org to improve AI literacy across the bloc.

India’s last census was conducted in 2011, with the 2021 edition postponed due to the pandemic. Unlike elections , which can run safely in phases over weeks, a census must capture a single moment in time across the entire country. 

Achieving that with smartphones, apps, and cloud systems will test the limits of India’s administrative and technological reach.

A 20-day field trial began on November 10 in selected districts of Karnataka. Enumerators are using a mobile app to collect household data, while residents can also self-enumerate via a dedicated web portal. 

The Home Ministry says the exercise will determine how well the digital system performs across locations ranging from dense cities to remote villages with patchy mobile networks.

According to the Home Ministry, the digital census will run in two stages: houselisting and mapping from April to September 2026, followed by population enumeration in February to March 2027, with special schedules for snow-bound Himalayan areas. 

Enumerators will use their own smartphones, and data will be uploaded in real time to a central Census Management and Monitoring System.

India’s move puts it alongside countries such as the United States , the United Kingdom, Ghana and Kenya, all of which have adopted digital or hybrid census models. But none have attempted it at India’s scale. 

The system will support English, Hindi and more than 16 regional languages, geo-tag every building, and ask detailed questions on migration, such as birthplace, last residence, duration of stay and reasons for moving.

Digitisation is intended to fix long-standing problems that plagued earlier paper-based counts, particularly the years-long delay in processing data. Officials say real-time uploads could allow provisional numbers within 10 days and final data in under nine months.

But experts warn that the digital shift comes with serious risks, as only about 65% of Indians are online. This has prompted fears that the poorest, most remote and least digitally literate citizens may be undercounted. 

Governments that suspended flights or warned citizens against travelling cite a combination of security concerns, institutional breakdown, and unpredictable diplomatic tensions.

Since early September, the U.S. government has been carrying out airstrikes on vessels it claims are drug-running boats from Venezuela and other Latin American countries, actions that Democrats, legal scholars and human rights groups have criticised as extrajudicial killings.

On Thursday, November 27, Trump again warned that he is prepared to expand those strikes to targets on land.

"The land is easier, but that's going to start very soon," Trump told reporters.

Maduro also accused the U.S. in a televised address in October of openly authorising CIA operations to topple his government, calling the move “unprecedented” in modern history.

“The U.S.  government  has decided to send the CIA to Venezuela,” Maduro said in the televised address reported by Viory. “They want to frighten, divide, and demoralise our people. But our people are clear, united, with millions of eyes and ears. We will defeat this conspiracy again.”

A relationship built on confrontation

Tensions between Trump and Maduro date back to 2017, when the White House imposed sweeping sanctions on Venezuelan officials, state-run oil company PDVSA, and the government’s financial networks in a bid to force democratic reforms.

The sanctions accelerated Venezuela’s economic collapse, restricting its access to global capital markets and worsening shortages of fuel, medicine and basic goods.

By early 2019, the Trump administration recognised opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate interim president, triggering a rupture in diplomatic relations. Caracas expelled U.S. diplomats and accused Washington of orchestrating a coup.

As the political crisis intensified, Venezuela’s aviation system deteriorated further, prompting the U.S. decision to halt all flights that year.

Despite a brief easing of sanctions under President Joe Biden in 2023–24, Washington reinstated many restrictions after disagreements over electoral guarantees.

By the time Trump re-emerged as a central political figure in 2025, the relationship had once again become combustible.

Airlines began withdrawing voluntarily years before official bans, citing unpaid debts, unsafe airport conditions, and rising crime around transit hubs. Carriers from Colombia, Brazil, and several European countries reduced their routes long before the current wave of political restrictions.

Today’s bans come against a backdrop of continued concerns over Venezuela’s regulatory oversight, reports of airport corruption, and frequent nationwide blackouts that disrupt aviation systems. Several governments warn that deteriorating security and infrastructure make travel too risky for citizens or airline crews.

President Yoweri Museveni has renewed his call for wealth creation during a rally in Kanungu, vowing stronger government support for tea farmers through affordable fertiliser schemes. He highlighted the NRM’s achievements in securing peace, especially along border regions, and announced plans for major road upgrades to boost local production and market access. Museveni argued that sustained peace has allowed Uganda’s rural regions to focus on productivity, resource development and domestic manufacturing. He noted that infrastructure remains central to Uganda’s journey toward middle-income status, but insisted that individual households must also embrace enterprise, modern farming and value addition.

Long-horned cattle breed

Agriculture Minister Frank Tumwebaze has appealed for closer Uganda–Rwanda cooperation to protect the iconic long-horned cattle breed, warning against politicised narratives. He emphasised traditional conservation practices and noted the international recognition accorded to the breed, calling it a “shared heritage” that must be protected. He called on communities, researchers and policymakers to collaborate in protecting the breed from threats such as crossbreeding and commercial pressures. According to Tumwebaze, sustainable conservation of indigenous cattle remains essential for cultural preservation, tourism development and ecological balance.

Bill to overhaul legal education

Uganda is moving toward a sweeping reform of legal education after the Cabinet approved the National Legal Examinations Centre Bill. The proposed law seeks to standardise legal examinations, decentralise practical training, and align Uganda’s legal sector with global benchmarks to address long-standing challenges in access, quality and professional consistency. The bill also seeks to strengthen Uganda’s competitiveness in global legal practice by harmonising local standards with those used in advanced jurisdictions. Analysts say the reform could help close gaps in legal service delivery, while easing congestion and improving efficiency within the legal education pipeline.

National encryption policy

The UAE has rolled out a new National Encryption Policy, launching executive regulations that will transition government institutions toward post-quantum cryptography. The Cybersecurity Council will oversee implementation, positioning the UAE as an early adopter of advanced data-protection standards amid the rapid growth of quantum computing technologies. As the world edges closer to the era of quantum computing, which experts warn could break today’s strongest encryption, the UAE aims to position itself as a leader in digital security innovation. The regulations also outline a national roadmap to guide implementation across federal ministries and state-linked institutions.

AI & Innovation

Uzbekistan has announced the creation of the Enterprise Uzbekistan digital technology centre, which will focus on AI development, video-game production, and IT consulting. The initiative aims to cultivate a new generation of digital talent and expand the country’s innovation ecosystem as it strengthens its position in the global tech landscape. Officials hope the project will help Uzbekistan become a regional hub for digital innovation, creating new jobs, enhancing technological capacity and strengthening the country’s export potential in software and digital services.