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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday inaugurated Mashreq Digital Bank, hailing the UAE-based lender’s entry into the market as a milestone in the country’s ongoing push to modernise its financial infrastructure and pivot toward a fully digital economy. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Sharif lauded the launch of Mashreq’s digital retail operations in Pakistan, describing the bank’s presence as a timely step toward reducing reliance on cash and enhancing transparency across the financial system. “Digitalisation is the need of the hour,” the premier said, underlining his administration’s commitment to fostering a paperless, tech-driven economy. “To strengthen the economy and…

When China held its first Victory Day military parade in 2015, more than 50 generals joined troops to march down Changan Avenue in central Beijing.The generals of all stripes led dozens of formations past the Tiananmen rostrum, saluting President Xi Jinping and other leaders as the official announcer read out each commander’s name.By taking the unprecedented steps, the senior commanders were setting an example for the soldiers, a spokesman for the parade organisers said at the time.The generals were also out in force for the National Day parade in 2019, giving observers a rare opportunity to see the People’s Liberation…

Hong Kong can help Asia fill a staggering climate-financing gap by helping to tap a global pool of more than US$200 trillion to fund sustainable-infrastructure projects, according to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).There was a glaring disconnect between the vast amount of available capital and the low deployment of funds for climate action in the Asia-Pacific region, said Lim Kim-see, the bank’s chief investment officer for public sector and funds clients, in an interview.“We really need the private sector to come into financing, because governments around the world lack fiscal capacity to meet the vast amount of investment needed…

Hong Kong can help Asia fill a staggering climate-financing gap by helping to tap a global pool of more than US$200 trillion to fund sustainable-infrastructure projects, according to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).There was a glaring disconnect between the vast amount of available capital and the low deployment of funds for climate action in the Asia-Pacific region, said Lim Kim-see, the bank’s chief investment officer for public sector and funds clients, in an interview.“We really need the private sector to come into financing, because governments around the world lack fiscal capacity to meet the vast amount of investment needed…

WINDSOR, England (AP) — It’s the sort of experience you just can’t buy.The carriages are being polished, the family silver is being laid out, and diamonds are being dusted off as King Charles III prepares to offer a royal welcome to Donald Trump for what will be the highlight of the U.S. president’s unprecedented second state visit to Britain. Hundreds of soldiers, gardeners and chefs are putting the finishing touches on their preparations to make sure the president and first lady Melania Trump get the full royal treatment. But it’s a spectacle with a purpose: to bolster ties with a…

A night out in Okinawa ended in an ambulance ride for one young woman, her body unresponsive after a single puff from an e-cigarette.She had joined a growing cohort of Japanese youth being ensnared by “zombie juice”: a potent sedative sweeping Asia’s party scene that is now causing alarm in Japan.Etomidate, a drug once reserved for use in operating theatres, has increasingly found its way into the hands of young club-goers, smuggled in by criminal syndicates and inhaled through flavoured e-cigarettes.Its metamorphosis from medical anaesthetic to illicit party drug has been well documented. Called “space oil” in mainland China and…

Tokyo is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, while rural areas of Japan are suffering with ageing populations and declining birth rates.Prisma by Dukas / Contributor / Getty ImagesAsia-Pacific markets were set to mostly open lower Wednesday, tracking Wall Street losses as investors awaited the key monetary policy decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting, where it is expected to cut interest rates.Investors are also looking to Japan’s August trade data and Singapore’s non-domestic oil exports in August, which are due out later today.Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index was set for a lower open, with…

Hesai Group, the world’s largest maker of automotive lidar sensors, plans to double down on production capacity amid a bullish global outlook for intelligent cars after raising HK$4.2 billion (US$531 million) in a Hong Kong share offering.Chief financial officer Andrew Fan said after the Shanghai-based company’s trading debut on Tuesday that the quality and affordability of Hesai’s light detection and ranging sensors – which employ laser beams to measure distances to objects – would effectively extend its reach to all carmakers amid rapid development of autonomous vehicles.“Our lidar sensors, priced at about US$200 a unit, are no longer expensive for…

Hesai Group, the world’s largest maker of automotive lidar sensors, plans to double down on production capacity amid a bullish global outlook for intelligent cars after raising HK$4.2 billion (US$531 million) in a Hong Kong share offering.Chief financial officer Andrew Fan said after the Shanghai-based company’s trading debut on Tuesday that the quality and affordability of Hesai’s light detection and ranging sensors – which employ laser beams to measure distances to objects – would effectively extend its reach to all carmakers amid rapid development of autonomous vehicles.“Our lidar sensors, priced at about US$200 a unit, are no longer expensive for…

Shuimu BioSciences, a Chinese start-up specialising in advanced imaging devices for viruses and smaller biomolecules, is aiming for an initial public offering in 2027 after selling its first self-developed product this year, according to CEO Allen Guo Chunlong.The company focuses on cryo-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM), a technique that involves firing beams of electrons at flash-frozen specimens to capture thousands of images. The images are then used to reconstruct precise three-dimensional structures and dynamics of biomolecules, such as proteins.Cryo-EM represented “the most advanced tool for humanity’s understanding of the underlying microscopic structures of life”, Guo said in an interview, noting that the…