Articles by Focus Washington

The number of confirmed coronavirus infections worldwide topped 600,000 on Saturday as new cases stacked up quickly in Europe and the United States and officials dug in for a long fight against the pandemic, The […]

Trump Boosts Virus Aid, Asks Governors to Be ‘Appreciative’

After days of desperate pleas from the nation’s governors, President Donald Trump took a round of steps to expand the federal government’s role in helping produce critically needed supplies to fight the coronavirus pandemic even […]

Japan’s Abe Pledges ‘Unprecedented’ Stimulus to Combat Virus Fallout

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Saturday his government will compile an unprecedentedly big economic stimulus that will include cash payouts to households and small firms hit by the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, […]

Alleged Maduro Accomplice Surrenders to U.S. Agents, Will Help Prosecution

U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency agents on Friday remanded in custody retired Venezuelan general Cliver Alcala, three people familiar with the matter said, after he agreed to work with prosecutors who charged him, President Nicolas Maduro […]

U.S. Virus Cases Exceed 100,000, Doctors Decry Scarcity of Drugs and Equipment

Doctors and nurses on the front lines of the U.S. coronavirus crisis pleaded on Friday for more protective gear and equipment to treat waves of patients expected to overwhelm hospitals as the sum of known […]

Historic $2.2 Trillion Coronavirus Bill Passes U.S. House

The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday approved a $2.2 trillion aid package – the largest in history – to help cope with the economic downturn inflicted by the intensifying coronavirus pandemic, and President Donald […]

Ilhan Omar Calls for ‘National Lockdown’ amid Coronavirus Outbreak

Rep. Ilhan Omar on Thursday urged the Trump administration to introduce a “national lockdown” in response to reports that the United States is now leading the world in confirmed coronavirus cases, Fox News informed. She also suggested that the country […]

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Tests Positive for Virus

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for the new coronavirus, but remains in charge of the U.K.’s response to the outbreak, The Associated Press reported. Johnson, 55, said Friday that he was tested […]

Support for Hong Kong Protesters’ Demands Rises Even as Coronavirus Halts Rallies: Poll

Support for the demands of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong has grown even as rallies have paused due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to a survey conducted for Reuters that also showed a widespread lack […]

Trump Says He Might Stop Calling Coronavirus the ‘Chinese Virus’

President Donald Trump said at a briefing Thursday that he might refer to the coronavirus as “Chinese virus” if it bothered the Chinese community, Fox News informed. Although he said he would consider abandoning the […]

Canada Attacks ‘Damaging’ Trump Plan to Deploy Troops at Border

Canada on Thursday slammed a U.S. proposal to deploy troops along their undefended border to help fight the spread of the coronavirus, saying the idea was unnecessary and would damage relations, Reuters writes. The uncompromising […]

U.S. Officials Says Ex-FBI Agent Who Went Missing in Iran, ‘May Have Passed Away Some Time Ago’

Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who went missing in Iran in 2007, “may have passed away some time ago,” according to U.S. intelligence officials. The statement came after Levinson’s family released a statement of […]

Trump Says U.S. Working Closely with China on Coronavirus after Call with Xi

President Donald Trump said on Friday that he made a telephone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping describing it as “very good”. The call comes after reports emerged that the two presidents have not spoken […]

UN Sends Humanitarian Aid to Idlib, Northwest Syria

The UN on Thursday dispatched a total of 51 truckloads of humanitarian aid to Idlib, a northwestern Syrian city where millions of people are in desperate need of assistance, Anadolu Agency reported. Trucks entered the […]

Russia Calls for New Enlarged OPEC Deal to Tackle Oil Demand Collapse

A new OPEC+ deal to balance oil markets might be possible if other countries join in, Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund said, adding that countries should also cooperate to cushion the economic […]

Half-Million Infected Worldwide as Economic Toll Surges

The human and economic toll of the lockdowns against the coronavirus mounted Thursday as India struggled to feed the multitudes, Italy shut down most of its industry, and a record-shattering 3.3 million Americans applied for […]

Pelosi Expects Bipartisan House Vote for $2 Trillion Coronavirus Bill on Friday

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she expected the chamber to pass an estimated $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill when it meets on Friday, after the Senate overwhelmingly approved the unprecedented economic rescue legislation Wednesday […]

U.S. Claims for Unemployment Hit Almost 3mn

U.S. jobless claims hit record levels on Thursday as economists warned that the unemployment rate could reach its highest levels since the financial crisis amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Newsweek reported. New data released by the […]

‘Ridiculous’ for Trump to Say ‘We’re Rooting against Him in This Crisis,’ CNN Host Slams President

CNN host Gloria Borger slammed President Donald Trump after he made claims that the media is turning the public against him amid the coronavirus crisis, hoping that it will ruin his chances to be reelected in […]

Kazakhstan Foils Islamic State Bomb Attack

Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee has detained a man suspected of planning a bomb attack in the capital, Nur-Sultan, on behalf of Islamic State, the security body said on Thursday, Reuters reported. The man had an […]

U.S. Braces for Record Surge in Jobless Claims Amid Coronavirus Fallout

The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits likely raced to as high as a record 4 million last week as strict measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic ground the country to a sudden […]

Massive U.S. Coronavirus Bill Moves to the House

The U.S. Senate’s unanimous passage of a $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill sent the unprecedented economic legislation to the House of Representatives, whose Democratic leaders hope to pass it on Friday, Reuters reported. The Republican-led […]

U.S. Senate Offers $58 Billion Aid to Airlines

The U.S. Senate offered struggling airlines unprecedented aid worth $58 billion that will helping cover their staff wages, as carriers around the world seek state support and turn passenger planes into cargo liners in their […]

New York Sees Glimmer of Progress Against Coronavirus

New York state, leading the nation in coronavirus infections and deaths, is showing tentative signs of curbing the spread of the disease, the governor said on Wednesday, even as fatalities in New York City jumped […]

Trump Says Reopen by Easter, Corporate America Defies Him

President Donald Trump wants America to get back to business by Easter, suggesting some efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus outbreak will no longer be needed by then, but Corporate America is taking its […]

Wall Street Gains as Washington Reaches Deal on $2 Trillion Aid

Wall Street on Wednesday extended its massive bounce from the previous session as Washington reached a deal for a $2 trillion stimulus package to help businesses and millions of Americans hit by the economic fallout […]

Afghans Angry With Their Warring Leaders After U.S. Pulls $1 Billion in Aid

A wave of shock and anger spread here Tuesday as Afghans learned that U.S. officials plan to cut $1 billion in aid after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a brief visit here Monday, had failed […]

Prince Charles Tests Positive for COVID-19

Prince Charles has tested positive for coronavirus, as Clarence House confirmed that the 71-year-old heir to the throne was diagnosed with the COVID-19 disease in a statement released this morning, Sky News reported. The royal […]

Lockheed Secures $933m for U.S., Saudi Missile Defense Tech Production Services

Lockheed Martin has secured a six-year, $932.8 million contract modification from the Missile Defense Agency to manufacture ballistic missile interceptors for the U.S. government and Saudi Arabia to fulfill a foreign military sales case requirement. […]

China Lifting Last Controls in Province at Outbreak’s Center

Trains carrying factory employees back to work after two months in locked-down cities rolled out of Hubei province, the center of China’s virus outbreak, as the government on Wednesday began lifting the last of the […]