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      Thomas Watkins

      Thomas Watkins

      Washington Bureau Chief
      Location
      Thomas Watkins is US bureau chief and foreign correspondent at The National. He has worked across America, Europe and South Asia and reported from 30 countries, primarily for Agence France-Presse as Pentagon correspondent and Af-Pak bureau chief. He joined The National in 2021 to help set up the Washington bureau and manage its 10-person team. Thomas holds degrees in psychology and journalism.
      Follow on XLinkedIn

      Articles

      President Donald Trump aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington last year. Reuters
      Trump wants to increase US military spending by 50% next year

      US already spends more on its military than the next nine countries combined

      USJanuary 07, 2026
      US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, alongside Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, speaks to reporters on Wednesday. EPA
      Marco Rubio to meet Danish officials to discuss Greenland

      Meeting comes as the Trump administration reiterates its desire to take over the world's largest island

      USJanuary 07, 2026
      A US Coast Guard officer monitors the Marinera during an operation to seize the ship. Photo: US European Command / X
      Camera7
      US seizes two Venezuela-linked oil tankers including Russian-flagged vessel

      One ship seized in Atlantic had carried fuel for Hezbollah-linked company and evaded interception after US Coast Guard tried to board in Venezuela

      USJanuary 07, 2026
      Maduro Gif 2
      Play02:08
      'Kidnapped' Nicolas Maduro pleads not guilty to US narco-terrorism charges

      Dressed in beige jumpsuit, Venezuelan leader was flown over New York by helicopter

      USJanuary 05, 2026
      US military ground crews in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, on Sunday. Reuters
      Play01:44
      CommentIs Venezuela the first action in new wave of US military interventions?

      Trump turns to the Pentagon to realise his geopolitical vision

      CommentJanuary 04, 2026
      Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro escorted by Drug Enforcement Administration agents at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York. Reuters
      Venezuela must cut ties with Iran and Hezbollah, Rubio demands

      President Nicolas Maduro 'cosied up' to Iran, Hezbollah and drug gangs, and 'rejected numerous chances to live in exile'

      USJanuary 04, 2026
      NA
      Play01:23
      The US turns 250, Trump turns 80, soccer's coming home - America's year ahead

      Can the big events of the next 12 months (well, two of them) unite a polarised nation?

      USJanuary 02, 2026
      President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. Reuters
      CommentMutual flattery masks tension between Trump and Netanyahu

      Despite apparent bonhomie, behind-the-scenes friction may well persist into 2026

      CommentDecember 30, 2025
      Residents inspect the damage after US troops launched a strike against Islamic State militants on Thursday, in Offa, Kwara State, Nigeria. Reuters
      Play00:24
      US strikes ISIS in Nigeria over 'killing of Christians'

      Attack was carried out in co-ordination with Nigerian authorities, US military's Africa Command says

      MENADecember 26, 2025
      The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency used AI to create this image of Santa dressed as an immigration agent. Photo: X
      US authorities use AI Santa to announce new push for 'self-deportation'

      Some observers point out irony of using an immigrant from the North Pole to promote deportations

      USDecember 23, 2025
      US President Donald Trump announces the Trump-class battleship at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Getty Images / AFP
      US President announces plans to build new 'Trump-class' battleships

      Warships will carry nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missiles

      USDecember 22, 2025
      New signage was put up at the Kennedy Centre in Washington a day after the board of trustees approved the change. Getty Images
      Kennedy Centre adds Donald Trump's name to Washington landmark

      Congress named the performing arts centre as a living memorial to John F Kennedy in 1964, the year after he was assassinated

      USDecember 19, 2025
      US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the disarmament of Hamas is 'critical' for an enduring peace in Gaza. Reuters
      Rubio confident first phase of Gaza ceasefire will be completed soon

      Several countries will contribute to international peacekeeping force, US Secretary of State says

      USDecember 19, 2025
      President Donald Trump salutes as troops in Delaware carry the remains of Ayad Mansoor Sakat, a US civilian killed alongside two soldiers in Syria. Getty Images / AFP
      ISIS ambush and extremists in Syrian forces cause alarm in Washington

      Not all Republicans happy with President Trump's unfettered embrace of Syria's new leader

      USDecember 18, 2025
      Massad Boulos, US President Donald Trump's senior adviser for Arab and African Affairs, speaks at an event in Doha. AFP
      US and Saudi Arabia agree on 'practical steps' for truce in Sudan

      Sudanese army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan willing to work with President Donald Trump to resolve conflict

      USDecember 17, 2025
      More Articles

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