Lloyd Austin: US defence secretary admits he should have told President Biden about prostate cancer diagnosis

Published

5 months ago

February 1, 2024

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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.

Middle East latest: Austin warns US will take ‘necessary action’ amid ‘dangerous moment’

The defence secretary was diagnosed in early December, and had surgery on 22 December, but did not tell the president and other senior figures until days after complications forced him into intensive care on 1 January.

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.

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.

Back on his defence duties, he briefed reporters today on the latest situation following the deaths of three soldiers in a drone attack on a US base in Jordan.

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.

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.

World

Julian Assange formally admits spying charge as part of a plea deal with US authorities

Published

4 hours ago

June 26, 2024

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Julian Assange formally admits spying charge as part of a plea deal with US authorities

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has pleaded guilty to one count of espionage as part of a plea deal with US authorities.

His court appearance took place on the US territory of Saipan. He left the UK on Monday after being released on bail from Belmarsh high security jail.

Addressing the court, Assange said that he broke US law by encouraging classified leaks, but said he believed the Espionage Act violates free speech.

As per the deal, the judge sentenced Assange to time already served in a British prison and told him he would be able to leave court a free man.

The US request to extradite the WikiLeaks founder on spying charges has been dropped and he is now on his way to his home country of Australia to be reunited with his wife Stella and their two children, Gabriel and Max.

Mrs Assange posted on X after her husband walked out of court: “Julian walks out of Saipan federal court a free man. I can’t stop crying.”

WikiLeaks said Assange is expected to arrive in the Australian capital of Canberra at 6.41pm local time (9.41am GMT).

The 52-year-old arrived at court in a dark suit, with a loosened tie, after flying from Stansted Airport in London on a charter plane and stopping to refuel in Bangkok.

The flight cost him $500,000 (£394,000) with Mrs Assange calling for “emergency” donations to cover the “massive debt” for the jet.

She said her husband was “not permitted to fly commercial airlines or routes to Saipan and onward to Australia” and any contribution would be “much appreciated”.

Inside court, Assange answered basic questions from judge Ms Manglona and appeared to listen intently as terms of the deal were discussed.

As a condition of his plea, he will be required to destroy information that was provided to WikiLeaks.

Assange left court in a white SUV without speaking to reporters, but his lawyer Jennifer Robinson said it was because of support around the globe that “today’s outcome is possible”.

She said: “Julian has suffered for more than 14 years because of risk of extradition to the US… today he pleaded guilty to an offence for having published information in the public interest… this sets a dangerous precedent, this prosecution sets a dangerous precedent.”

Thanking Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Ms Robinson said he “did what he needed to do to ensure Julian’s freedom”.

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Mr Albanese has publicly supported Assange as leader of the Australian Labour Party and as prime minister. He said in a statement earlier on Wednesday: “Regardless of what your views about Mr Assange’s activities, his case has dragged on for too long.

“There is nothing to be gained from his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to Australia.”

The hearing took place in Saipan – the US Commonwealth territory – because of Assange’s opposition to travelling to one of the 50 US states and the court’s proximity to Australia.

The US department of justice said following his sentencing, Assange will leave the US and will be “prohibited from returning” without permission.

American prosecutors had alleged Assange put lives at risk when he helped former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal diplomatic cables and military files WikiLeaks put online in 2010.

He had been locked in a legal battle in the UK over his extradition, which included him entering the Ecuadorean Embassy in London in 2012 prior to his detention in Belmarsh – where he had been since May 2019.

World

North Korea fires potential hypersonic missile towards sea, South Korea says

Published

4 hours ago

June 26, 2024

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North Korea fires potential hypersonic missile towards sea, South Korea says

South Korea has said North Korea may have launched a hypersonic missile towards the North’s east coast.

South Korea‘s joint chief of staffs said the launch on Wednesday morning originated from Pyongyang and appeared to fail before landing in the sea.

The country initially thought North Korea had launched a ballistic missile.

Japan’s defence ministry said the missile had reached an altitude of about 100km (62 miles) and covered a range of more than 200km (124 miles) before falling outside the country’s exclusive economic zone – an area of sea that a country claims the rights over to conduct economic activities.

No damage has been reported.

Earlier this week, North Korea criticised the deployment of US aircraft carrier, the Theodore Roosevelt, to take part in joint military drills with the South and Japan.

It warned of an “overwhelming, new demonstration of deterrence” as a result.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol boarded the US aircraft carrier – the first sitting president to do so since 1994 – and claimed the countries alliance is the world’s greatest, and can defeat any enemy.

Hypersonic weapons are considered the next generation of arms that aim to rob adversaries of reaction time and traditional defeat mechanisms.

What is a hypersonic missile?

Unlike ballistic missiles that fly into outer space before returning on steep trajectories, hypersonic weapons fly towards targets at lower altitudes and can achieve more than five times the speed of sound – or 3,850mph.

They are currently being developed by several countries and have reportedly been deployed by Russia and China, according to the UK Parliament website.

Uses for hypersonic missiles vary, but can include: rapidly striking high-value, time-sensitive or mobile assets, long-range precision strikes and enhancing nuclear deterrents.

Defence analysts disagree about the potential implications of hypersonic missiles for global peace and stability.

Some suggest they could increase the risk of escalating conflict, while others say that they will not alter the strategic balance between nuclear powers.

North Korea has launched various missiles that it claims are hypersonic over the few years. In April, Kim Jong Un watched over a test of what the country said was a new hypersonic-intermediate range missile using solid fuel.

The missile launch came hours after South Korea said the North floated flying balloons – believed to be carrying rubbish – across the border for a second day in a row.

The balloons caused a three-hour delay at the country’s Incheon international airport after one landed on the tarmac near one of the passenger terminals. Runways have since reopened.

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Pyongyang has also deployed a large squad of soldiers to build new fortifications within the heavily armed border between the two countries, according to the South’s military.

Occasional warning shots have been fired from South Korean counterparts.

World

Evan Gershkovich: US journalist seen ahead of trial in Russia

Published

4 hours ago

June 26, 2024

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Evan Gershkovich: US journalist seen ahead of trial in Russia

Evan Gershkovich has been seen before the start of his behind-closed-doors trial in Russia.

Reporters were allowed to briefly film the US journalist on Wednesday before the start of his trial in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on charges of espionage that he denies.

Gershkovich was seen standing in a glass box, with a shaved head.

The Wall Street Journal report was first arrested on espionage charges in March 2023 after Russia claimed he had been “gathering secret information” on orders from the CIA.

Mr Gershkovich faces 20 years in prison if convicted and he has spent over a year in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison.

Last week, the first details of the allegations against Gershkovich emerged as it was claimed that he was seeking information about Uralvagonzavod, a facility that produces and repairs military equipment, the prosecutor general’s office said.

The trial is due to take place behind closed doors – something Russia says is normal in espionage cases.

Mr Gershkovich, his employer and the US government all firmly deny the allegations and Washington designated him wrongfully detained.

“Evan has done nothing wrong. He should never have been arrested in the first place. Journalism is not a crime,” U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said last week.

He added: “The charges against him are false. And the Russian government knows that they’re false. He should be released immediately.”

The Biden administration has sought to negotiate Mr Gershkovich’s release, but Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Moscow would consider a prisoner swap only after a trial verdict.

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