WASHINGTON: US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin worked from his hospital bed as American and British forces readied for strikes against Yemen’s Houthis, the White House said on Friday.

Austin has been hospitalised since Jan 1 for complications from prostate cancer treatment, but did not inform the White House or Congress for several days after he was admitted, sparking calls for him to leave office and raising questions about how significant a role he is playing on national security issues.

“He was fully engaged even from his hospital bed,” National Security Council spokesman

John Kirby told MSNBC, adding that Austin “was involved actively and intimately all day yesterday with the national security team here at the White House and of course with the commander-in-chief, with President Biden”.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2024