cryptocurrency exchanges... now currently being sued by the us securities watchdog. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm monica miller. our top story this morning us presidentjoe biden has hailed a new era in relations with india... as prime minister narendra modi prepares to wrap up his visit to the country. both sides inked several defence and commercial deals and even agreed to terminate six outstanding disputes at the world trade organisation. mr modi is expected to be hosted to a state dinner soon. earlier i wasjoined by sadanand dhume, a senior fellow at the american enterprise institute. there are many significant deals, i think most significantly the jet engine technology and also transfer that technology. there is private—sector

initiative to start building semiconductors in india, which is also something to keep an eye on. i think more anything else, the headline is that the fact that modi has been given this very glittering high—profile state visit, underlines how important the india relationship is for the biden administration. india is proving to be a viable option in terms of of supply chains for american companies, should beijing be afraid? i think beijing has a large lead when it comes to supply chains and i think india is still working through some of its problems. it has had a few high—profile successes most importantly apple, but i think in terms of catching up with beijing this is still frankly very early days for india. human rights has become an issue in the recent protests by members of congress but will the business community turn a blind eye to those?

it's clear that both the business community and us is looking in terms of business in terms of market opportunity and the skilled manpower that it provides and in geopolitical terms. the people who are most concerned about the human rights and democracy issues, people and ngos, journalists and so on, certainly have their voices heard but i do not think they are deeply influencing the policy debate. a seniorfellow at a senior fellow at the american enterprise institute. the ftc wants to block the deal from closing until the agency decides that the move hurt competition in the gaming industry. microsoft says the move would only benefit gamers and gaming companies. turkey central bank has increased the country's interest rate by

6.5%. changing course after years. this currently puts the cost of borrowing in the country at 15%. now, that is less than analysts had expected. runaway inflation has soared to a 2k year high. an interest rate hike over in the uk after the bank of england increased the cost of borrowing more than expected. that hike of half a percentage point will have a knock—on effect on homeowners already facing sharp rises in the cost of food and fuel. a subcommittee... meanwhile, a senate subcommittee has asked the key figures of a proposed golf merger to testify on capitol hill next month. the union of the pga tour and the saudi backed liv golf was announced weeks ago and shocked the sports world. the deal is currently under investigation by the us department ofjustice. and the senate finance committee. let's bring

in ben freeman now he's with the quincy institute for responsible statecraft. he explained why the merger raised red flags. we do not know the details of this merger. with the general sense that the saudi investment fund is effectively buying international game of golf. they are buying out, they will be the number one owner of the pga tour, the dp world tour and of course liv. so there is ample reason for the department of justice to investigate this under antitrust laws in the us. the us has a bit of a special relationship with the saudis. can you describe what that is like? the us sells weapons to saudi arabia, has a deep security relationship with saudi arabia and of course gets a lot of oil from saudi arabia and frankly the relationship has contentious as of late biden has not gotten along with the leader there and i think this will be another contentious issue between the saudis and the biden administration and could have ultimately have an impact on us foreign policy with the regime. human rights has been a main issue so how will that play into all of this?

there is a large voice in the us that does not like to do business with the saudis? that was what was so surprising about this merger to begin with. the pga tour had been one of the most outspoken organisations and the players were outspoken about all of the saudi human rights abuses from the murder ofjamaal to killing civilians in the war in yemen, horrible human rights record at home and yet now it is the pga tour that is going to merge with liv it seems hypocritical. and finally we've seen the price of cryptocurrency bitcoin rally recently in fact, it's currently hovering around one year highs. this is even the industry has been caught in the cross hairs of the us securities regulator. the sec has sued trading platforms binance and coinbase. .. on alleged violations of securities law.

but in comments to my colleague aaron heslehurst... coinbase�*s chief legal officer says the current rules must be clearer. as you point out, coinbase has been engaged with our security exchange commission with for some time on these topics. we have sought regulatory clarity over whether certain types of crypto currencies or tokens are securities on the one hand or commodities on the other hand for some time post it as an issue that matters in the united states because we do not havejust one regulator, the securities and exchange commission at the federal but a second, a commodities futures trading commission as well. so the definitions matter and the labels matter and unfortunately even as we have gone through the process of listing as a public company, we have now come to realise that the sec, the market for securities regulation has changed course, has taken a very different view of its authority and it now claims essentially that all digital assets are securities other than perhaps bit coin. a very different perspective than they had when they allowed us to list in 2021.

do you think that the sec have any valid points? that some of the coins that you treat on your exchange are seen as securities and that should be treated like that. coinbase does not list any securities on our exchange today because we operate and apply and exacting listing process. a deep analysis of each asset to confirm that the asset is not a security. it is one reason that for example or two over 90% of the assets is considered for listing. but we do agree with the sec that offering digital asset securities should come to market sooner rather than later. we would like to be able to do this in the future. of course there need to be sensible rules in place to make sure that investors are protected in the process. in the sec has decided to pursue those rules or establish the standards

through litigation. we think that rule—making or lawmaking is a much more efficient and effective process. well, you can catch the full interview with america's largest cryptocurrency exchange this weekend, on talking business with aaron heslehurst on bbc news. well, our next story is for all the gamers out there! the anticipated new game in the best selling final fantasy franchise has been released final fantasy 16 is the latest title in the long running japanese series. and its release could boost sales of sony's popular console the playstation 5. steffan powell reports. games have come a long way in 35 plus years but some things never change. the arrival of a new final fantasy is still a significant moment in the gaming industry. the series now spans 16 main releases were similar to titles being so beloved they have even been

been made for modern consoles. these have always been fantastical action role playing games that won't appeal to everyone. they require patience and investment to get the most but many love their aesthetic, the and gameplay style. even if each for these changes the setting and all of the characters. you make the first final fantasy came out in 2007, thatis final fantasy came out in 2007, that is good innings for a game series but i think it has been so successful because, like a phoenix, it has been reborn and has reinvigorated itself so many times. the final fantasy looks nothing like the final fantasy back then. one element that has been ever present and is especially featured in this little game of thrones inspired iterations the theme of looking after the planet.— after the planet. talking about the environment _ after the planet. talking about the environment and - after the planet. talking about the environment and those - the environment and those issuesis

the environment and those issues is very important. i also think what the game focuses on is that there is a darkness in the world that we have to face so that we can overcome it and move on to tomorrow. each player will take something different from the game and i am not in a position to say what they should feel but if they feel something that makes us very proud and happy. crystals, take more than they give — crystals, take more than they cive. ., , give. for some the messaging is too subtle _ give. for some the messaging is too subtle and _ give. for some the messaging is too subtle and others _ give. for some the messaging is too subtle and others argue - too subtle and others argue that the game is no place to campaign or play real world politics. vermillion is picking up politics. vermillion is picking up their controllers to play today will have to make their own names while also battling some pretty impressive beasts. and that's it for this edition of asia business report. thanks for watching.

we went up and saw a far cry would go for her and within secondsit would go for her and within seconds itjust swooped. it is the talk of the town in this part of london. dozens of people their own terrifying experience. your mother knew they were attack on people but it is women with hair so i thought i was pretty safe. and then suddenly there was a thump on my back, really hard to thump and i thought, what is that and i saw it as a crow. something that my head from the back and when i turned around there was nothing and then it happened to me, like, i don't know, five times, may be, and you think you are becoming delusional because there's literally nothing going on and then, yeah, at some point, i realised it was a black crow. there are around a million pairs of carrion crows in the uk and other people and gospel oak worried, experts say they

are simply protecting their young during nesting season. it might be there just over interpreting women as long here is a threat. they're trying to defend themselves. crows are not aggressive towards humans. they're not attacking for no reason at all. drug safety testing at festivals and paddle boarding. some breaking news. in the past few minutes, ocean gate, the company operating the sub missing in the atlantic has said it believes that all five people on board have died. earlier today, people on board have died. earliertoday, debbie people on board have died. earlier today, debbie was found in the search area of the wreckage near the titanic. ocean gates as our hearts are with these five soles and every member of their families during this tragic time. some stories

now. celebrations to mark 75 years since the first crossing of the windrush boat. the crossing encourage thousands of people to migrate and help with labour shortages after world war drug safety testing will take place at festivals this summer. smallerfestivals take place at festivals this summer. smaller festivals told the bbc they do not think they will be able to do the same because of paperwork. drug testing is a way to identify potentially deadly substances and warn people about them. the most high—profile tech billionaires have agreed to fight each other in a cage match. on twitter even on masks that he was up for it. zuckerberg replied send me the location. and time now to leave you with ten seconds of paddle

boarding because paddle boarders in london had taken to the river thames to help clear plastic so pollution which has found its way into the water. you are all cut up. goodbye for now. have a good night. hello, welcome to

the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme: