Foreign Policy Focus Washington from

Israeli Air Strike Hits Residential Block in Gaza, Hamas Fires Rockets at Tel Aviv

May 11, 2021 Focus Washington

An Israeli air strike hit a 13 story residential block in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, which subsequently collapsed, Reuters reported. Later, in a separate retaliatory rocket attack from the Gaza Strip, three people in […]

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US General Warns China Aiming to Establish Atlantic Naval Base in Africa

May 8, 2021 Focus Washington

The top U.S general for Africa is warning that a growing threat from China may come not just from the waters of the Pacific but from the Atlantic as well, Fox News informed. U.S. Gen. Stephen Townsend, […]

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Turkish Minister to Visit Saudi Arabia Amid Push to Mend Ties

May 7, 2021 Focus Washington

Turkey’s foreign minister will visit Saudi Arabia for talks next week, officials told Reuters. The minister’s planned trip will follow Turkey’s talks this week with Egypt, another U.S.-allied regional power, also aimed at normalizing ties […]

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Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Appoints New Government Ministers

May 5, 2021 Focus Washington

Faisal bin Fadel bin Mohsen Al-Ibrahim was appointed as Saudi Arabia’s new minister of economy and planning in a series of new government appointments issued by King Salman on Monday, Arab News reported. Amid the […]

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China Thinks it Should Be the Dominant Country in World, Blinken Says

May 3, 2021 Focus Washington

Secretary of State Antonin Blinken said in an interview that aired Sunday that China represents the only country in the world that can challenge the U.S. militarily, economically and diplomatically, Fox News informed. “I think […]

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Kremlin Critic Navalny Defiant but Gaunt After Ending Hunger Strike

April 29, 2021 Focus Washington

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “naked, thieving king” on Thursday, looking gaunt but defiant in a courtroom video link from prison, his first public appearance since ending a hunger […]

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Biden Recognizes Atrocities against Armenians as Genocide in Historic Break from Past Presidents

April 25, 2021 Focus Washington

President Joe Biden on Saturday recognized the killing of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Empire forces in the early 20th century as a genocide, a historic though largely symbolic move that will likely strain already […]

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US Worried Hundreds of Federally Funded Scientists Could be Compromised by China

April 24, 2021 Focus Washington

U.S. officials on Thursday revealed they are worried that China may have compromised hundreds of federally funded scientists dispersed at colleges and universities across the country, Fox News informed. Officials from the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health […]

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First Batch of COVID Vaccines Lands in Opposition-Held Syria

April 21, 2021 Focus Washington

Syria’s last rebel-held enclave received its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday, with a refrigerated truck offloading over 50,000 of United Nations-secured jabs in the overcrowded province, The Associated Press reported. The AstraZeneca vaccines […]

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Russia’s Putin To Address Nation as Mass Navalny Protests Are Planned

April 20, 2021 Focus Washington

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to address the nation on Wednesday in his annual “State of the Nation” address, a speech that will take place amid growing tensions with Ukraine and a hunger strike […]

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Chinese President Xi To Attend Biden’s Climate Change Summit

April 20, 2021 Focus Washington

China’s President Xi Jinping will attend a U.S.-led climate change summit on Thursday at the invitation of President Joe Biden, in the first meeting between the two leaders since the advent of the new U.S. […]

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Saudi Arabia’s Anti-Corruption Authority Initiates a Number of Criminal Cases

April 19, 2021 Focus Washington

Saudi Arabia’s Oversight and Anti-corruption Authority (Nazaha) said on Sunday it had initiated a number of criminal cases and legal procedures, Arab News reported. Among the most prominent cases, a retired major general and two […]

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Saudi Arabia Must ‘Confront Power With Power’ in Yemen, Says Expert

April 16, 2021 Focus Washington

The international community bears responsibility for prolonging the crisis in Yemen, and Saudi Arabia should not simply wait for the Iran-backed Houthis to cause a disaster, according to a Saudi expert in international relations, Arab […]

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Houthis Attack Saudi Aramco Site in Oil Refinery Town of Jazan

April 15, 2021 Focus Washington

Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities were targeted with drones and missiles for the second time in a week, with Yemen’s Houthi rebels claiming an attack on the south-western refinery town of Jazan, Bloomberg reported. The Houthis […]

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Iran’s Zarif Says Israel Made a ‘Very Bad Gamble’ by Sabotaging Natanz Site

April 13, 2021 Focus Washington

Iran’s top diplomat said on Tuesday that an attack on its Natanz nuclear facility which it blames on Israel was a “very bad gamble” that would strengthen Tehran’s hand in talks to revive a 2015 […]

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Israel Pledges to Work with U.S. on Iran

April 11, 2021 Focus Washington

Israel’s defence minister pledged on Sunday to cooperate with the United States on Iran, voicing hope that Israeli security would be safeguarded under any renewed Iranian nuclear deal that Washington reaches, Reuters writes. “Israel views […]

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Russian Military Buildup Raises Stakes as Fighting in Ukraine Intensifies

April 9, 2021 Focus Washington

Dozens of troop carriers and missile launchers sit on flatbed wagons lining up along tracks running through southern Russia, in a region bordering Ukraine, Reuters informed. Tanks are parked in columns beside the railway, which […]

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China Will Take Necessary Measures to Uphold Rights of Chinese Companies

April 9, 2021 Focus Washington

China said on Friday it would take necessary measures to uphold the rights and interests of Chinese companies, after the United States added Chinese supercomputing entities to an economic blacklist, Reuters writes. Foreign ministry spokesman […]

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U.S. Blacklists Seven Chinese Supercomputing Entities Citing National Security Concerns

April 8, 2021 Focus Washington

The Commerce Department on Thursday added seven Chinese supercomputing entities to a U.S. economic blacklist citing national security concerns, CNBC informed. The department added Tianjin Phytium Information Technology, Shanghai High-Performance Integrated Circuit Design Center, Sunway […]

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Battle for Yemen Desert City Now a Key to Iran, U.S. Tension

April 7, 2021 Focus Washington

The battle for an ancient desert city in war-torn Yemen has become a key to understanding wider tensions now inflaming the Middle East and the challenges facing any efforts by President Joe Biden’s administration to […]

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Global Powers, Iran, U.S. Launch Indirect Talks to Revive Nuclear Deal

April 6, 2021 Focus Washington

European intermediaries began shuttling between Iranian and U.S. officials in Vienna on Tuesday as they sought to bring both countries back into full compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal that Washington abandoned three years ago, […]

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North Korea Drops Out of Tokyo Olympics Citing COVID-19, Dashing South Korea Hopes

April 6, 2021 Focus Washington

North Korea will not join the Tokyo Olympics this year due to coronavirus concerns, the country’s sports ministry said on Tuesday, dashing South Korean hopes the Games could be a catalyst to revive stalled peace […]

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U.S. Caught the Most Migrants in Two Decades at U.S.-Mexico Border in March

April 2, 2021 Focus Washington

U.S. authorities caught more than 171,000 migrants at the U.S. border with Mexico in March, according to preliminary data shared with Reuters, the highest monthly total in two decades and the latest sign of the […]

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Kremlin Says That Any NATO Troop Deployment to Ukraine Would Raise Tensions

April 2, 2021 Focus Washington

The Kremlin said on Friday that any deployment of NATO troops to Ukraine would lead to further tensions near Russia’s borders and force Moscow to take extra measures to ensure its own security, Reuters informed. […]

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Jailed Kremlin Critic Navalny Launches Hunger Strike in Bid for Medical Care

March 31, 2021 Focus Washington

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny went on hunger strike on Wednesday in an attempt to force the prison holding him outside Moscow to provide him with proper medical care for what he said was acute […]

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China State Media Outlet Warns against ‘Crude’ Efforts to Get People Vaccinated

March 31, 2021 Focus Washington

Some local authorities in China have resorted to “simple and crude” measures to push people into getting COVID-19 vaccines, a state media outlet said on Wednesday, warning against such behaviour as China ramps up its […]

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Global Leaders Call for a Pandemic Treaty, Saying Another Outbreak Is ‘Only a Matter of Time’

March 30, 2021 Focus Washington

Global leaders jointly called for a pandemic treaty Tuesday, arguing that the Covid-19 crisis had posed the “greatest challenge for the global community since the late 1940s.” CNBC informed. The joint letter, published in newspapers […]

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Iran Rejects Ending 20% Enrichment before U.S. Lifts Sanctions

March 30, 2021 Focus Washington

Iran will not stop its 20% uranium enrichment before the United States lifts all sanctions, Iranian state TV quoted an unnamed official as saying on Tuesday, after a U.S. media report said Washington would offer […]

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China Warns Firms Not to Engage in Politics over Xinjiang

March 29, 2021 Focus Washington

Chinese officials on Monday said Sweden’s H&M and other foreign companies should not make rash moves or step into politics after the companies raised concerns about forced labour in Xinjiang, sparking a furious online backlash […]

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United States Condemns China’s Sanctions in Dispute Over Uighurs

March 28, 2021 Focus Washington

The United States on Saturday condemned China’s sanctions against two American religious-rights officials and a Canadian lawmaker in a dispute over Beijing’s treatment of Uighur Muslims and other minorities, Reuters reports. China’s moves “only contribute […]

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