- Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Hezbollah strikes Israel, says it foiled Israeli incursions
- Jurgen Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Sinner to face Medvedev in Shanghai Masters quarter-finals
- US weighs Google breakup in landmark trial
- Record-breaking Root guides England to 232-2 in reply to Pakistan's 556
- Japan PM dissolves parliament for 'honeymoon' snap election
- Chinese stocks tumble on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- 7-Eleven owner confirms new takeover offer from Couche-Tard
- Goodbye Tito? Tomb at risk as Serbs argue over Yugoslav legacy
- Restoration experts piece together silent Sherlock Holmes mystery
- Sinner avoids Shanghai deja vu with assured Shelton win
- Pyongyang to 'permanently' shut border with South Korea
- Trumpet star Marsalis says jazz creates 'balance' in divided world
- No children left on Greece's famed but emptying island
- Nepali becomes youngest to climb world's 8,000m peaks
- Climate change made deadly Hurricane Helene more intense: study
- A US climate scientist sees hurricane Helene's devastation firsthand
- Padres edge Dodgers, Mets on the brink
- Can carbon credits help close coal plants?
- With EU funding, Tunisian farmer revives parched village
- Sega ninja game 'Shinobi' gets movie treatment
- Boeing suspends negotiations with striking workers
- 7-Eleven owner's shares spike on report of new buyout offer
- Your 'local everything': what 7-Eleven buyout battle means for Japan
- Three million UK children living below poverty line: study
- China's Jia brings film spanning love, change over decades to Busan
- Paying out disaster relief before climate catastrophe strikes
- Chinese shares drop on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- SE Asian summit seeks progress on Myanmar civil war
- How climate funds helped Peru's women beekeepers stay afloat
- Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded as wars rage
- Pacific island nations swamped by global drug trade
- AI-aided research, new materials eyed for Nobel Chemistry Prize
- Mozambique elects new president in tense vote
- The US economy is solid: Why are voters gloomy?
- Balkan summit to rally support for struggling Ukraine
- New stadium gives Real Madrid a headache
- Alonso, Manaea shine as 'Miracle Mets' blitz Phillies
- Harris, Trump trade blows in US election media blitz
- Harry's Bar in Paris drinks to US straw-poll centenary
- Osama bin Laden's son Omar banned from returning to France
- Afghan man arrested for plotting US election day attack
- Brazil lifts ban on Musk's X, ending standoff over disinformation
- Harris holds slight edge nationally over Trump: poll
- Chelsea edge Real Madrid in Women's Champions League, Lyon win
- Japan PM to dissolve parliament for 'honeymoon' snap election
- 'Diego Lives': Immersive Maradona exhibit hits Barcelona
- Brazil Supreme Court lifts ban on Musk's X
- Scientists sound AI alarm after winning physics Nobel
Fitch downgrades Israel citing war in Gaza
US credit rating agency Fitch downgraded Israel a notch on Monday, warning that its ongoing conflict against Hamas in Gaza could last "well into 2025" and weigh on economic activity.
Fitch lowered Israel's rating from "A+" to "A".
"The conflict in Gaza could last well into 2025 and there are risks of it broadening to other fronts," Fitch said in a note.
"In addition to human losses, it could result in significant additional military spending, destruction of infrastructure and more sustained damage to economic activity and investment, leading to a further deterioration of Israel's credit metrics."
Public finances have been hit, with Israel projected to run a budget deficit this year, according to Fitch.
International mediators have invited Israel and Hamas to resume negotiations this week on a ceasefire and hostage release deal, which Israel has accepted.
Hamas meanwhile has urged mediators to implement a truce plan earlier presented by US President Joe Biden instead of holding more talks.
Fitch said that the conflict continuing into next year would force Israel to continue its high spending on military and that there would be further disruption to tourism, construction and production in border areas.
Israel has also exchanged near-daily cross-border fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, forcing Israelis to be evacuated from the northern border region.
Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah have vowed revenge for the killing of Hamas's political leader in Tehran, and of a Hezbollah commander in Beirut.
The United States and European allies called on Iran to "stand down" Monday, as fears mounted of an imminent attack on Israel that could spark an all-out war in the Middle East.
The Gaza war began with Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized 251 people, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 39,897 people, according to the territory's health ministry, which does not provide a breakdown of civilian and militant deaths.
X.Karnes--AMWN