Moody’s Investor Service on Thursday downgraded Pakistan’s outlook from stable to negative, citing “heightened external vulnerability” and uncertainty around securing external financing to meet the country’s needs. “The decision to change the outlook to negative is driven by Pakistan’s heightened external vulnerability risk and uncertainty around the sovereign’s ability to secure additional external financing to meet its needs. Moody’s assesses …

ANKARA: President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday Turkey was halting talks with Greece, partly over a dispute with the Greek prime minister and what Ankara calls airspace violations, marking the latest reversal in the neighbours’ long-testy relationship. Last year, after a five-year hiatus, the two Nato members resumed talks to address their differences in the Mediterranean Sea and other bilateral …

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to borrow at least $3 billion via the lender’s extended fund facility (EFF), sources familiar with the matter said. The island state’s government expects another round of technical talks with the IMF in early June and hopes to reach to a staff-level agreement as soon as the end …

JERUSALEM: Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian woman after she approached a soldier with a knife in the southern West Bank, the army said on Wednesday, with Palestinian officials pronouncing her dead. A statement from the army said the “attempted stabbing” took place near Al Aroub camp, north of the city of Hebron. “An assailant armed with a knife advanced …

BEIJING: The Chinese military said on Wednesday it had conducted a combat “readiness patrol” in the seas and airspace around Taiwan in recent days, saying it was a necessary action to respond to “collusion” between Washington and Taipei. China, which claims democratically governed Tai­wan as its own territory, has step­ped up its military manoeuvres around the island over the past …

SOLEDAR: Ukraine looked close to losing the key eastern city of Severodonetsk to Russian forces but was boosted on Wednesday by the US decision to send more advanced rocket systems to help with its defence. “The Russians control 70 percent of Severodonetsk,” Lugansk region governor Sergiy Gaiday announced on Telegram, adding that Ukrainian forces were withdrawing to prepared positions. “If …

PESHAWAR: A 57-member jirga comprising sitting and former parliamentarians and elders from the erstwhile tribal region left for Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Wednesday for talks with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The Afghan Taliban’s interim government is facilitating peace talks between Islamabad and the TTP whose leadership is already in Kabul. Prior to the jirga’s visit senior officials held several …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Turkey on Wednesday vowed to enhance their strategic and economic relations and agreed to take measures for eliminating terrorism. The countries made the commitments during a one-on-one meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. They later made their pledge public during a joint press conference at Presidential Complex in Ankara. On an …

A man armed with a rifle and a handgun killed four people inside a medical building in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Wednesday before fatally shooting himself, police said, in the latest of a series of mass shootings to rattle the United States. Police arrived at the St Francis Hospital campus three minutes after receiving a call about the shooting on Wednesday …

Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian during a raid in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the third Palestinian killed in the occupied territory in 24 hours, the health ministry said. The violence erupted in the Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem, a ministry statement said, identifying the dead man as Ayman Muhaisen, 29. He was the third Palestinian killed in …