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NEW YORK (AP) — All 18 of the nation’s largest and most complex banks are strong enough to withstand a severe economic downturn and would be able to stay in business without collapsing, the Federal Reserve said Friday.

The results are from the first round of the central bank’s annual stress tests, which showed the 18 big banks have benefited from an improving economy and have balance sheets strong enough to withstand a deep global downturn and the U.S. unemployment rate rising to double digits.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 20 (APP): The head of the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan has emphasized that the goal of all ongoing peace efforts must be to start formal negotiations between the Afghan Government and the Taliban to reach an agreement that would end the long-running war in the strife-torn country.

UNITED NATIONS, June 19 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that the power and authority to launch international follow-up criminal investigations on Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death lie with UN member states.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson, told the press that the UN chief does not have the power or the authority to launch criminal investigations without a mandate from a competent intergovernmental body.

NEW YORK, June 20. /TASS/: Russian citizen Oleg Tishchenko, whom the United States accused of attempting to smuggle F-16 fighter jet manuals out of the country, has partially admitted his guilt and will be deported to Russia , according to information uploaded to the court database in Utah.

According to court filings, Tishchenko pleaded guilty to two of the five counts brought against him. The remaining three counts were lifted.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 19 (APP): Pakistan threw its full weight behind the new United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action to combat hate speech, saying that language was being used to secure narrow political and electoral gains in many parts of the world, including the South Asian region.

“An inevitable consequence is to fan the flames of bigotry, intolerance, anti-Muslim hatred and xenophobia,” Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi said after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres unveiled the strategy at a special meeting held in the packed ECOSOC chamber on Tuesday.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia and China have blocked the U.N. Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea from declaring that Pyongyang breached the annual limit for importing refined petroleum products which are key for its economy, two U.N. diplomats said Tuesday.

The diplomats said the Russians and Chinese notified the committee before Tuesday’s deadline for objections.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 18 (APP): More than 2 billion people across the world still have no access to safe drinking water, according to a United Nations progress report released on Tuesday.

Significant gains have been achieved since the turn of the century, with 1.8 billion people getting access to basic drinking water services reachable by foot within 30 minutes since the year 2000, the report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

NEW YORK (AP) — Chipmakers suffered broad declines Friday after Broadcom warned that its business is being hurt by the U.S. trade dispute with China, including the Trump administration’s efforts to curb sales to the Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

NEW YORK (AP) — NBC set the lineup for its two-night debate of 2020 presidential contenders later this month, with a top-heavy second session that will pit former Vice President Joe Biden onstage against 2016 Democratic runner-up, Bernie Sanders, the youthful Mayor Pete Buttigieg and California Sen. Kamala Harris.

The first night, June 26 in Miami, is headlined by Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Cory Booker of New Jersey, along with former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks ended a choppy week of trading with modest losses Friday as investors look forward to getting more clues about the direction of interest rates.

Technology shares drove the declines, and energy stocks also fell a day after leading the market. Some late-day gains in banks and insurers helped temper the market’s losses.