Biden news – live: President to accompany First Lady for medical procedure as US climate envoy visits China

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Tom Batchelor
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Joe Biden speaks as he participates in the virtual CEO Summit on Semiconductor and Supply Chain Resilience from the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington (REUTERS)
Joe Biden speaks as he participates in the virtual CEO Summit on Semiconductor and Supply Chain Resilience from the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington (REUTERS)

Joe Biden is to accompany his wife, Jill, for a “common” medical procedure but the couple will both return to work at the White House shortly, officials said. There was no immediate detail offered about the nature of the first lady’s treatment.

It comes as US climate envoy John Kerry is heading to China for talks between the world’s two biggest carbon emitters ahead of an environmental summit of world leaders.

Separately on Wednesday, Mr Biden is expected to formally announce the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan by 11 September – ending nearly two decades of war that killed more than 2,200 US troops, wounded 20,000, and cost as much as $1 trillion (£720bn). Estimates suggest more than 100,000 Afghans lost their lives in the conflict.

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