US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Back in Hospital, Transfers Duties 

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a press conference at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2024. (AFP)
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a press conference at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2024. (AFP)
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US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Back in Hospital, Transfers Duties 

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a press conference at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2024. (AFP)
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a press conference at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2024. (AFP)

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was hospitalized in Washington on Sunday for treatment of "symptoms suggesting an emergent bladder issue", a Pentagon spokesperson said.

Austin, 70, later transferred the duties of his office to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder said in a statement.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers criticized Austin last month for failing to disclose a cancer diagnosis and subsequent hospitalizations in December and January, including to President Joe Biden. Some prominent Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, called for Austin to be removed from his job.

The incident was an embarrassment for Biden, and Austin apologized during a televised news briefing. He is scheduled to testify before Congress on Feb. 29 about the situation.

Biden, a Democrat, has said he has confidence in Austin despite what the president agreed was a lapse in judgment.

With its announcement of the secretary's trip to the hospital and the quick decision to transfer his duties to a deputy, the Pentagon appeared determined to avoid a repeat of last month's political uproar.

It was unclear how long Austin would remain hospitalized, officials of Walter Reed Military Medical Center said in a statement late on Sunday.

Austin's cancer prognosis remained excellent and the bladder issue was not expected to change his anticipated full recovery, the officials added.

Austin, a retired four-star general who led forces in Iraq and is America's first Black defense secretary, was still in hospital last month as US forces launched a retaliatory strike against an Iranian-backed militia leader in Baghdad.

There are now three different investigations into Austin's behavior, including one by the office of the Pentagon's Inspector General, a watchdog agency that tracks military waste, fraud and abuse. The Republican chair of the House Armed Services Committee, Mike Rogers, has called Austin to testify.

Austin is scheduled to travel to Brussels for a Wednesday meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. It was not clear if his hospitalization would affect those travel plans.



Russia Says it Takes Control of 2 Villages in Eastern Ukraine

A man walks at the site of shelling, which local officials called a Ukrainian military strike, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on January 10, 2025, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP)
A man walks at the site of shelling, which local officials called a Ukrainian military strike, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on January 10, 2025, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP)
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Russia Says it Takes Control of 2 Villages in Eastern Ukraine

A man walks at the site of shelling, which local officials called a Ukrainian military strike, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on January 10, 2025, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP)
A man walks at the site of shelling, which local officials called a Ukrainian military strike, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on January 10, 2025, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP)

Russian troops have taken control of the villages of Yantarne in the Donetsk region and Kalynove in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

Reuters could not immediately confirm battlefield reports.

Separately, the ministry said that over the past 24 hours, Russian forces have carried out strikes on Ukrainian military airfields, personnel and vehicles in 139 locations using its air force, drones, missiles and artillery.

Ukrainian air defenses downed 60 out of 94 drones launched by Russia overnight, the air force said on Sunday.

It said that 34 drones were "lost,” in reference to Ukraine's use of electronic warfare to redirect Russian drones.