Articles by Focus Washington

As the U.K. enters its fourth round of trade talks with the U.S. this week, Washington will be looking to push its own regulatory standards on the country, and drive it away from EU’s, an […]

U.S.-China Tensions Don’t Eliminate Opportunities for Investors

Investors should not be “too bearish” about the markets even if tensions between the U.S. and China continue to rise, the chief executive of South Korea’s sovereign wealth fund said this week, CNBC reports. That’s […]

Trump Courts Latino Voters in Key State of Arizona

President Donald Trump on Monday intensified his efforts to win over Latino voters as polls show their support increasingly up for grabs ahead of the November presidential election – a flashing warning light for Democrat […]

IAE Says Oil Demand Recovery Set to Slow for Rest of 2020

The International Energy Agency (IEA) trimmed its 2020 oil demand forecast on Tuesday, citing caution about the pace of economic recovery from the pandemic, Reuters writes. The Paris-based IEA cut its 2020 outlook by 200,000 […]

China Coronavirus Vaccine May Be Ready for Public in November

Coronavirus vaccines being developed in China may be ready for use by the general public as early as November, an official with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said, Reuters informs. China […]

AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Trial in U.S. on Hold Until at Least Midweek

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine trial remains on hold in the United States pending a U.S. investigation into a serious side effect in Britain even as other trials of the vaccine resume, sources familiar with the details […]

UAE and Bahrain to Move Toward Normal Ties With Israel

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on Tuesday will become the latest Arab states to break a longstanding taboo when they sign agreements toward normalizing relations with Israel in a strategic realignment of Middle Eastern […]

Trump and Biden Clash Over U.S. Wildfires

Democratic candidate Joe Biden branded President Donald Trump a “climate arsonist” on Monday for refusing to acknowledge global warming’s role in deadly wildfires sweeping the western United States, while Trump blamed lax forestry and declared, […]

Trump Defies Nevada Governor with Indoor Rally Near Las Vegas

President Donald Trump on Sunday night held an indoor rally at a warehouse outside Las Vegas where he called the state’s governor a “political hack” and urged him to “open up your state,” Fox News informed. Speaking to […]

Iran Considering Plot to Assassinate US Ambassador to South Africa, Report Says

Iran is allegedly plotting to assassinate the United States’ ambassador to South Africa as retaliation for the American drone attack earlier this year that killed Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force, […]

Gilead to Buy Cancer Drugmaker Immunomedics in $21bn Deal

Gilead Sciences will acquire biotech company Immunomedics in a $21 billion deal that will expand Gilead’s availability of cancer treatments, the companies announced on Sunday, CNBC informs. The deal will provide Gilead access to the […]

Coronavirus Cases Growing in 11 U.S. States as Fauci Warns of ‘Disturbing’ Data

Coronavirus cases continued to grow over the weekend in nearly a dozen U.S. states as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, warns about the nation’s worrying level of new infections, CNBC reports. […]

Bloomberg to Spend $100 Million in Florida to Help Biden

Michael Bloomberg, who spent $1 billion of his own money on a failed 2020 presidential bid, will inject at least $100 million to help Democrat Joe Biden’s campaign against President Donald Trump in Florida, Reuters […]

Trump Signs New Executive Order to Lower U.S. Drug Prices

President Donald Trump signed a new executive order on Sunday aimed at lowering drug prices in the United States by linking them to those of other nations and expanding the scope of a July action, […]

Pandemic Preparedness Panel Slams Collective Failure to Heed Warnings

A collective failure by political leaders to heed warnings and prepare for an infectious disease pandemic has transformed “a world at risk” to a “world in disorder”, according to a report on international epidemic preparedness, […]

Trump Visits California, Biden Talks Climate Change as Wildfires Take Campaign Focus

President Donald Trump will travel to California on Monday to be briefed about its devastating wildfires while Democratic rival Joe Biden plans a speech on the matter from Delaware, bringing climate change to the forefront […]

Pompeo Says U.S. Ambassador to China to Leave Post

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said early Monday U.S. ambassador to China Terry Branstad would leave the post, Reuters reported. “I thank Ambassador Terry Branstad for his more than three years of service to the […]

ByteDance Drops Tiktok’s U.S. Sale, Considers Partnership With Oracle

ByteDance has abandoned the sale of TikTok in the United States to pursue a partnership with Oracle that it hopes will spare it a U.S. ban while appeasing China, people familiar with the matter told […]

Afghan Peace Talks Open With Calls for Ceasefire, Women’s Rights

Afghan government representatives and Taliban insurgents gathered on Saturday for historic peace talks aimed at ending two decades of war that has killed tens of thousands of combatants and civilians, Reuters informed. Ahead of face-to-face […]

Pompeo Says U.S. ‘Deeply Concerned’ Over Turkey Actions in East Mediterranean

The United States remains “deeply concerned” about Turkey’s actions in the eastern Mediterranean, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Saturday, urging a diplomatic end to a simmering crisis over offshore natural resources, Reuters informs. […]

AstraZeneca Resumes UK Trials of COVID-19 Vaccine Halted by Patient Illness

AstraZeneca has resumed British clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine, one of the most advanced in development, after getting the green light from safety watchdogs, the company said on Saturday, Reuters informed. The late-stage trials of […]

Facebook Removes Posts Linking Oregon Wildfires to Activist Groups

Facebook has started removing false claims that the deadly wildfires in Oregon were started by various left-wing and right-wing groups, a spokesman for the social media company said on Saturday, after the rumors left state […]

Trump Rallies Supporters in Nevada

Republican President Donald Trump rallied his backers in Nevada on Saturday in a bid to drum up support in a state where polls show his Democratic rival Joe Biden is ahead, Reuters reported. Going through […]

Canada Reports Zero COVID-19 Deaths for First Time Since March

Canada reported zero COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours for the first time since March 15, according to public health agency data released late on Friday, Reuters reported. Canada’s death toll from the pandemic […]

Key Aide to Prosecutor Reviewing Origins of Trump-Russia Probe Resigns

A senior aide to the Connecticut federal prosecutor in charge of investigating the origins of the FBI’s probe into contacts between Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia has resigned from the Justice Department, a spokesman […]

U.S. Lawmakers Question Disney CEO Over Xinjiang Connection to ‘Mulan’

A group of bipartisan U.S. lawmakers urged Walt Disney Co CEO Bob Chapek to explain the company’s connection with “security and propaganda” authorities of China’s Xinjiang region during the production of live-action war epic “Mulan”, […]

Bahrain Follows Emirates in Normalizing Ties With Israel

Bahrain joined the United Arab Emirates in agreeing to normalize relations with Israel on Friday, a move forged partly through shared fears of Iran but one that could leave the Palestinians further isolated, Reuters reported. […]

Afghan Peace Talks Open in Doha, 19 Years After 9/11 Triggered War

Afghan government representatives and Taliban insurgents gathered on Saturday for historic peace talks aimed at ending two decades of war that has killed tens of thousands of combatants and civilians, Reuters informed. “The choice of […]

September 11, 2020 Focus Washington

Biden, Pence Attend New York 9/11 Memorial, Trump at Pennsylvania Crash Site

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and Vice President Mike Pence, both masked, joined New York’s somber 19th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, while President Donald Trump marked it at the Pennsylvania crash site of […]

September 11, 2020 Focus Washington

Trump Says Everyone Knew the Coronavirus Was Airborne in February

President Donald Trump on Thursday defended comments he made to reporter Bob Woodward in early February in which he acknowledged the coronavirus “goes through air” despite publicly downplaying the threat in public and telling Americans […]