ISLAMABAD: Inflation escalates to a 28-month high of 13.8 per cent in May from previous month’s 13.4pc on the back of a steady increase in food and energy prices amid the weakening rupee, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. The inflation — measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) — has been on the …

ISLAMABAD: Amid the finalisation of next year’s development budget for 2022-23, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday said the dire challenges Pakistan faced now were worse than those at the time of the fall of Dhaka in 1971 or economic sanctions after the 1998 nuclear tests. Speaking at a conference organised by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), the …

QUETTA: Pakistan and Iran on Wednesday signed a 32-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) to boost bilateral trade and provide more facilities to people involved in the border trade and other business activities. The MoU was signed at the conclusion of a two-day meeting of the Pak-Iran Joint Border Trade Committee in Zahidan, the capital of Iran’s border province of Sistan …

KARACHI: The rupee on Wednesday maintained its upward drive and gained another 59 paise against the US dollar in the interbank market. The local currency has recovered Rs4.14 in the last four sessions after hitting an all-time low at 202.01 on May 26. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday reported that the dollar price fell to Rs197.87 on …

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 …