Author: Yanik Swati

ISLAMABAD: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) adopted a collaborative approach to developing a regulatory framework for startups and FinTech companies by issuing preliminary guidelines on Friday with an aim to test them against innovative products and business models before adopting the final set of rules. The SBP’s “regulatory sandbox” approach is designed to provide a controlled environment for innovators to test their products and technologies, making it easier for the regulator to understand their implications for financial stability and consumer protection. “State Bank of Pakistan has issued draft guidelines on regulatory sandbox for public consultation,” it said in a…

The Maldives Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed resigned on Monday, days before the swearing-in of a new President following a fiercely contested election in the Indian Ocean archipelago. Parliamentary elections are not due until the second quarter of next year, meaning that President-elect Mohamed Muizzu — who takes power on Friday after winning September polls — will have to work with an Opposition-controlled parliament. Mr. Nasheed, who is also a former President, decided to quit from the number two position in the country to head off a no-confidence motion by ruling party legislators, a close aide told AFP. “He didn’t want…

Valencia, Turin, Madrid (28/11 – 25) Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia retained his MotoGP world title with many records; there are nevertheless signs that the Ducati rider will face sterner competition next season. The Italian rider won the 2023 season-ending MotoGP Grand Prix in Valencia on Sunday to clinch his second world title in a row. The protege of Valentino Rossi becomes the third rider to take back-to-back MotoGP titles since the introduction of the class in 2002. Only Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez previously managed to do that. Bagnaia is the first rider to successfully race and defend #1 in the…

You can now use passkeys to sign into your Amazon account, the company announced on Monday. Amazon is following suit from other big tech players who are moving away from passwords and towards biometrics, such as your fingerprint or face, as well as pins to secure your digital identity. “While passwords will still be around in the foreseeable future, this is an exciting step in the right direction,” said Amazon’s Senior VP of Ecommerce Dave Treadwell. “We are thrilled to be an early adopter of this new authentication method, helping to realize our vision for a more secure, passwordless internet.” Passkeys are…

More than 1,000 people have died from dengue in Bangladesh’s worst outbreak on record, official data shows, with rising temperatures due to the climate crisis driving the ongoing spread as more cases are reported away from dense urban centers for the first time. Since January, 1,017 people have died from the mosquito-borne disease, including more than 100 children, with infections rising over 208,000, according to figures from the Bangladesh Directorate General of Health Services released Monday. While dengue fever is endemic in the South Asian country, with infections typically peaking during the monsoon season between July and September, this year the uptick in cases…

Frequent boundary-related meetings between Bhutan and China seem to reflect their seriousness in wanting to resolve their boundary issues. Their territorial disputes revolve around the 495 square kilometres in north-central Bhutan and 269 square kilometres in western Bhutan. Since 2020, Beijing has extended its claim on 740 square kilometres in the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in eastern Bhutan. In an effort to resolve their boundary demarcation issues, Bhutan and China signed the Guiding Principles on the Settlement of the Boundary Issues in 1988 and the Agreement on Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity along the border areas in 1998. These agreements form…

Mahendra Neupane had invited his sisters for a Teej party at his home on Thursday, and so he went to the grocery to buy sugar to make the Nepali doughnut that is the special dish of the festival. When the grocer told him the price of the popular sweetener, Neupane had to open his mouth wide in amazement. “I was stunned when the shopkeeper said Rs130 per kg. Just one-two weeks ago, I had bought sugar for Rs105 per kg,” said Neupane who lives in Tikathali. But there was little he could do and paid Rs260 for 2 kg. “The…

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday advised the country’s president, Arif Alvi, to dissolve parliament, setting the stage for a general election as the world’s fifth-most populous country wrestles with deepening political and economic crises. When is the election likely to be held? Legally, an election should be held within 90 days of parliament’s dissolution, but the outgoing government has already warned that polling day is likely to be delayed. Speculation has lingered that there could be a delay to elections as the establishment contends with overlapping security, economic, and political crises. The unlikely coalition between Pakistan’s usually bickering dynastic parties, which combined forces to force Khan…

The public debt owed by the government amounts to more than Rs 2.221 trillion. According to the data released by the Public Debt Management Office, the government’s internal loans amount to more than Rs 1.1 trillion and external loans stand at Rs 1.093 trillion. In the fiscal year 2022/23, the size of public debt witnessed a significant increase of over Rs 200 billion. A year ago, the total public debt stood at Rs 2.012 trillion. However, during the last fiscal year, the internal debt rose by Rs 140 billion, and the external loan saw a substantial increase of Rs 675 billion,…

An interfaith coalition of civil society leaders gathered earlier this month in Kathmandu to discuss the state of religious freedom in Nepal and collaborate on next steps.   More than 200 people attended the seminar, including attorneys, human rights defenders, and religious leaders from the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Kirat, and Muslim communities as well Dalits and members of many ethnic minority groups. Members of the Nepalese parliament, representatives from various government agencies dealing with human rights and social issues, attorneys, and officials from all seven of Nepal’s provinces also attended and even spoke. Speakers and attendees remarked on the strong turnout and…