State enterprise mafia has destroyed Pakistan Railways, Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati said, as he pushes for the commercialization of stations as part of his bigger reforms to overhaul the sector
Navigating the Intelligent Tide: How AI and Generative AI are Reshaping Maritime Mobility in South Asia
The integration of AI and Generative AI is not a distant aspiration — it is an active investment already reshaping how ports operate, how cargo moves, and how supply chains absorb shocks. For India and its neighbours, the imperative is clear: build the data foundations, governance frameworks, and human capabilities that allow intelligent mobility to reach not just the terminal gate, but every link in the maritime supply chain.
The Splinternet and Fractured Digital World: Will Sovereignty Serve People, or the State, or Whoever Owns the Server?
Companies like Google, Meta, and X constantly shape public opinion and thoughts, and store public data for commercial usage. Amazon, Microsoft, and Google host the cloud infrastructure on which states and businesses depend. These are not ordinary companies anymore; they have access to critical intelligence and data. And now AI companies like Palantir use this data for surveillance, intelligence, monitoring, and on battlefields.
Non-Material ‘Presence’ in the Age of AI: A South Asian Reclamation of the Spirit Against the Machine
While TiME FLiES travels from 18th-century Boston to 20th-century Michigan and 21st-century Provence, its soul remains anchored in South Asian philosophy. It argues that while AI may simulate the "heart and mind," the true "presence" of consciousness—the Turiya—cannot be reduced to code.
Fighting Fire With Fire: How South Asia Can Use AI to Fight Cybercrime
The same generative AI that allows criminals to craft perfect phishing emails in Sinhala (or Hindi, Bangla and Urdu) or clone a Chief Financial Officer's voice from a YouTube clip, can also detect those emails before they reach an inbox and flag that voice as synthetic before a payment is authorised. The technology exists. The question is whether South Asia's institutions will deploy it in time.
More on AI and Innovation
Bangladesh to Sri Lanka’s rescue; gives three months extensions on $200 million currency swap deal
In what comes as a significant relief to the embattled Sri Lankan economy, Bangladesh Bank (BB) has extended the validity of the $200 million credit facility it had extended to Sri Lanka by three months
Amid severe forex crisis, Sri Lanka shuts down three missions abroad; shortages of essentials feared
Sri Lanka will temporarily close down three of its missions in Nigeria, Germany and Cyprus in what seems a desperate bid by the government to save its fast-declining foreign currency reserves amid a severe economic crisis
Amid declining forex, Nepal introduces measures to cut imports
Weeks after Nepal’s central bank introduced measures to cut imports, traders and importers have hiked the prices of goods, fueling an artificial shortage in the coming days
Food insecurity up by 22 percent in rural Bangladesh; poverty still an issue despite growing economy
Food insecurity has risen by around 22 percent in rural Bangladesh in comparison to the pre-pandemic period, finds a survey, indicating people are unable to eat enough and healthy nutritious food
Turkish-Qatari delegation in Kabul to discuss deal to run Afghanistan's airports
A joint delegation of Turkish and Qatari officials is in Kabul as both countries try to explore the possibility of jointly running five airports in Afghanistan with the ruling Taliban
Pakistan railways’ total losses touch $6 billion; political neglect, unprofessional heads, mismanagement behind slide
Once a lifeline for the people of the subcontinent, the part of railways that went to Pakistan now stares at a bleak future
World Bank approves $500 million loans to Bangladesh for modernising power distribution
The World Bank on Wednesday approved $500 million in loans to Bangladesh for expanding, modernizing, and sustainably transforming the country's electricity distribution system
Tea for oil: Sri Lanka signs deal with Iran to clear over $250 million oil dues
Sri Lanka has signed a tea for oil deal with Iran, allowing the former to settle its huge pending oil imports dues worth over $250 million, by exporting tea to Tehran over the next several months
Maldives inches closer to its 2021 target of 1.3 million tourists
The Maldives is all set to achieve its tourist footfall target of 1.3 million in the year 2021 as it witnessed remarkable growth in recent months
Pakistan to get $252 million in loan from Islamic Development Bank
Cash-strapped Pakistan, staring at a major economic crisis with mounting inflation and yawning fiscal deficit, will soon receive $250 million in loans from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) which has cleared two proposals for loans to be used for dam construction in Pakistan and vaccine procurements
Pakistan's current account deficit at a three-year high, records $1.9 billion in November
In what seems a troubling sign for the already struggling economy, Pakistan in November recorded a whopping $1.9 billion deficit in its current account—the highest in the last 40 months—as the authority struggled to contain ballooning import bills, which outpaced growth in exports and inward remittance flow
Fitch downgrades Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating to ‘CC’; Colombo says ‘hasty’ move
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating to ‘CC’ from ‘CCC’ and warned there is an increased probability of Colombo defaulting on its external debt obligations unless it receives additional external financing
Pakistan, China firms to bolster ties in agriculture, food processing and embroidery
Pakistani and Chinese enterprises have expressed their intention to cooperate in the deep processing of potato starch at an online business-matching meeting jointly held by the Ruzhou International Trade Enterprise Association and the trade mission of the Embassy of Pakistan, Beijing
Under SASEC, Bangladesh to boost capacities of land ports to increase trade with neighbours
To increase trade with its neighbouring countries at a sub-regional level, Bangladesh will upgrade three land ports--Akhaura, Sonamasjid and Tamabil-- to international standards, according to a plan made by Bangladesh Land Port Authority
