US defence secretary Lloyd Austin has admitted he “did not handle this right” and should have told President Biden and the public about his prostate cancer diagnosis.
However, he said he didn’t order his staff to hide his condition.
“We did not handle this right and I did not handle this right. I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I take full responsibility,” Mr Austin said.
Mr Austin admitted his error in his first news conference since he was diagnosed.
His slow disclosure of his condition has prompted an internal Pentagon review and an inspector general review into his department’s notification processes.
Mr Austin was taken back to hospital by ambulance with severe pain 10 days after his surgery.
Image: Mr Austin is a step below the president on defence matters – and must be available
It emerged one of his staff asked paramedics not to use lights and sirens when collecting him from his Virginia home.
The 70-year-old passed decision-making authority to deputy defence secretary Kathleen Hicks, but did not inform her why.
Mr Austin is just below the president in the military chain of command and is required to be available at a moment’s notice to respond to any national security crisis.
“I never directed anyone to keep my January hospitalisation from the White House,” he told reporters on Thursday.
President Biden previously said it was poor judgement from Mr Austin not to tell him he was in intensive care.
However, he said he still had confidence in him.
Mr Austin worked from home for two weeks after being discharged on 15 January and returned to the Pentagon on Monday.
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2:32
How will US respond to drone attack?
He said “terrorist groups backed by Iran and funded by Iran” had been increasing attacks in the Middle East during a “dangerous moment” for the region.
However, he stopped short of blaming a particular group for the attack in Jordan.
“We will respond where we choose, when we choose and how we choose,” said the defence secretary.
But he stressed the US wanted to avoid a wider conflict while taking “necessary” action to protect their interests.
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Biden decided on response to drone attack
Mr Austin said that included freedom of navigation in the Red Sea – where the US and UK have targeted Houthi forces from Yemen who have been attacking commercial ships.
The response to the Jordan attack would be “multi-tiered”, Mr Austin said, and America would have the ability to strike back a number of times.
President Biden indicated this week that he had already decided how the US would hit back.
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
Image: US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indianand Israelirepresentatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.
The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.
The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Image: Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Image: The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.