NEW YORK — Fitch Ratings warned on Tuesday that dozens of U.S. banks, including JPMorgan, the largest bank in the country, could be at risk of sweeping rating downgrades.
Fitch lowered its “operating environment” rating for U.S. banks to AA- from AA in June, citing pressure on the country’s credit rating, regulatory gaps exposed by the March regional bank failures and uncertainty around interest rates, a Fitch analyst told CNBC. (US-Banks-Fitch-Downgrades)
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MOSCOW — The death toll from a gas station explosion in Russia’s Republic of Dagestan rose to 30, including three children, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said on Tuesday.
On Monday evening, an auto repair shop on the outskirts of Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, caught fire, which spread to a nearby gas station and resulted in an explosion. (Russia-Explosion-Death)
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CAIRO — Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Tuesday in Cairo, where they called for Arab unity, solidarity and joint action to resolve crises in the Arab world.
The meeting addressed ways to enhance mechanisms of Egyptian-Saudi consultation and coordination on regional issues, including the conflicts in Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Syria, said the Egyptian Foreign Ministry in a statement. (Egypt-Saudi Arabia-Regional Conflict)
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DHAKA — Bangladesh on Monday registered 18 more deaths from dengue, the second highest in a 24-hour count since January, taking the toll from the disease this year to 416, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) reported.
The total number of dengue fever cases has reached 87,891 since January in the South Asian country. (Bangladesh-Dengue-Outbreak)
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WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that the United States is still “very focused on diplomacy” as the tool to solve the ongoing political crisis in Niger resulting from an attempted coup by a junta.
“We remain very focused on diplomacy for achieving the results that we want, which is the return to the constitutional order,” Blinken told reporters during a press briefing at the State Department, adding that he believed there continues to be space for diplomacy in achieving that result. (US-Niger-Coup)
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JUBA — South Sudan on Tuesday promised that it will meet the December 2024 elections timeline despite slow progress on the implementation of key peace mechanisms required to necessitate free, fair, and credible polls.
Michael Makuei Lueth, the minister of Information, Communication, Technology and Postal Services, said they will go ahead with the election process even if they don’t implement on time key provisions within the 2018 revitalized peace agreement. (South Sudan-Elections Timeline-Pledge)
