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King Charles III Is Being Treated for Cancer, Will Temporarily Halt Public Duties 

Britain's King Charles leaves the London Clinic after receiving treatment for an enlarged prostate, in London, Britain January 29, 2024. (Reuters)
Britain's King Charles leaves the London Clinic after receiving treatment for an enlarged prostate, in London, Britain January 29, 2024. (Reuters)
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King Charles III Is Being Treated for Cancer, Will Temporarily Halt Public Duties 

Britain's King Charles leaves the London Clinic after receiving treatment for an enlarged prostate, in London, Britain January 29, 2024. (Reuters)
Britain's King Charles leaves the London Clinic after receiving treatment for an enlarged prostate, in London, Britain January 29, 2024. (Reuters)

Britain's King Charles III has been diagnosed with cancer and has begun treatment, Buckingham Palace said Monday. Less than 18 months into his reign, the 75-year-old monarch will suspend public engagements but will continue with state business, and won't be handing over his constitutional roles as head of state.

The palace didn't disclose what form of cancer the king has, but said it's not related to his recent treatment for a benign prostate condition.

The palace said "a separate issue of concern was noted" during Charles' treatment for an enlarged prostate last month, when he spent three nights in a London hospital.

"Diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer," it said in a statement.

"His Majesty has today commenced a schedule of regular treatments, during which time he has been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties," the palace said. "Throughout this period, His Majesty will continue to undertake State business and official paperwork as usual."

The king is being treated as an outpatient, the palace said.

It said Charles, who has generally enjoyed good health, "remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible."

The palace added that the king "has chosen to share his diagnosis to prevent speculation and in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer."

Charles became king in September 2022 when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died at the age of 96 after 70 years on the throne.

News of the king's diagnosis comes as his daughter-in-law Kate, Princess of Wales, recovers from abdominal surgery that saw her hospitalized for about two weeks.

Kate is still taking a break from royal duties as she recovers. Her husband, Prince William, who is heir to the throne, also took time off to help look after the couple's three children, but is due to preside over an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle and a charity dinner on Wednesday.

Charles took the throne intending to preside over a slimmer monarchy with fewer senior royals carrying out ceremonial public duties. But with Charles and Kate both temporarily sidelined, Prince Harry self-exiled to California and Prince Andrew largely banished from view because of his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the royal "Firm" risks becoming severely overstretched.

The king personally called both William and Harry — as well as his siblings Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward — to share news of his health.

Harry, who quit royal duties in 2020, has spoken to his father about the diagnosis and "will be traveling to UK to see His Majesty in the coming days," said the office of Harry and his wife, Meghan.

UK political leaders sent messages of support. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted: "Wishing His Majesty a full and speedy recovery. I have no doubt he’ll be back to full strength in no time and I know the whole country will be wishing him well."

US President Joe Biden, traveling in Las Vegas on Monday, said he had just learned about Charles’s diagnosis and said he hopes to speak with him, "God willing."

"I’m concerned about him," Biden told reporters.

The president later posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: "Navigating a cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship takes hope and absolute courage. Jill and I join the people of the United Kingdom in praying that His Majesty experiences a swift and full recovery."

Charles departed from royal tradition with his openness about his prostate condition. For centuries Britain's royal family remained tight-lipped about health matters.

When UK monarchs had real power, news of illness was withheld for fear it might weaken their authority. The habit of secrecy lingered after royals became constitutional figureheads.

The British public wasn’t told that Charles’ grandfather, King George VI, had lung cancer before his death in February 1952 at the age of 56, and some historians have claimed that the king himself wasn’t told he was terminally ill.

In the final years of Elizabeth's life, the public was told only that the queen was suffering from "mobility issues." The cause of her death was listed on the death certificate simply as "old age."

Pat Price, founder of the Catch Up With Cancer campaign, said millions shared the "collective concern" for the king's health.

"The king’s openness about his battle with cancer is a powerful reminder that one in two of us may face cancer at some point in our lives," Price said.

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Varieties

Britain’s Princess Catherine ‘Deeply Grateful’ After Year in Cancer Remission

Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales reacts as she speaks to a patient next to Prince William, Prince of Wales, during an arts workshop at Charing Cross Hospital, in London, Britain, January 8, 2026. (Reuters)
Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales reacts as she speaks to a patient next to Prince William, Prince of Wales, during an arts workshop at Charing Cross Hospital, in London, Britain, January 8, 2026. (Reuters)
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Britain’s Princess Catherine ‘Deeply Grateful’ After Year in Cancer Remission

Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales reacts as she speaks to a patient next to Prince William, Prince of Wales, during an arts workshop at Charing Cross Hospital, in London, Britain, January 8, 2026. (Reuters)
Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales reacts as she speaks to a patient next to Prince William, Prince of Wales, during an arts workshop at Charing Cross Hospital, in London, Britain, January 8, 2026. (Reuters)

Britain's future queen, Princess Catherine, marked her 44th birthday Friday with a video about the healing power of nature, almost a year since she revealed she was in remission from cancer.

Mother-of-three Catherine, who is married to heir-to-the-throne Prince William, released "Winter", the final instalment of her year-long "Mother Nature" video series, on her official Instagram and X.

"Even in the coldest, darkest season, winter has a way of bringing us stillness, patience and quiet consideration," Catherine, also known as Kate, says in the video's voiceover.

"I find myself reflecting on how deeply grateful I am... Fears washed away.

"Come to peace with our tears and discover what it means to be alive. To be at one with nature, a quiet teacher and a soft voice that guides, in memory, helping us to heal," she added.

Catherine is shown walking through wintry English countryside, interspersed with clips of other UK landscapes.

The nearly two-minute-long video posted on social media comes two years after the start of Catherine's health problems.

In January 2024, her Kensington Palace office announced she was facing weeks in hospital after successful abdominal surgery.

The surgery was for a non-cancer-related health issue, the palace said.

Weeks later, however, on March 22 an emotional Kate revealed in a video message that she had been diagnosed with an unspecified cancer and had begun preventative chemotherapy.

Her diagnosis coincided with King Charles III, her father-in-law, also being diagnosed with cancer, which was revealed by Buckingham Palace on February 5, 2024.

Charles, 77, said last month that his own treatment was expected to be pared back this year.

Varieties

Experts Say Oceans Soaked up Record Heat Levels in 2025

People exercise along Sydney Harbour, Australia, 08 January 2026. (EPA)
People exercise along Sydney Harbour, Australia, 08 January 2026. (EPA)
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Experts Say Oceans Soaked up Record Heat Levels in 2025

People exercise along Sydney Harbour, Australia, 08 January 2026. (EPA)
People exercise along Sydney Harbour, Australia, 08 January 2026. (EPA)

The world's oceans absorbed a record amount of heat in 2025, an international team of scientists said Friday, further priming conditions for sea level rise, violent storms, and coral death.

The heat that has accumulated in the oceans last year increased by approximately 23 zettajoules -- an amount equivalent to nearly four decades of global primary energy consumption.

This finding -- published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences -- was the highest reading of any year since modern record keeping began in the early 1950s, researchers said.

To derive these calculations, more than 50 scientists from 31 research institutions used multiple sources including a thousands-strong fleet of floating robots that track ocean changes to depths of 2,000 meters.

Peering into the depths, rather than fluctuations at the surface, provides a better indicator of how oceans are responding to "sustained pressure" from humanity's emissions, said study co-author Karina von Schuckmann.

"The picture is clear: results for 2025 confirm that the ocean continues to warm," von Schuckmann, an oceanographer from French research institute Mercator Ocean International, told AFP.

Oceans are a key regulator of Earth's climate because they soak up 90 percent of the excess heat in the atmosphere caused by humanity's release of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.

All that additional energy has a powerful knock-on effect. Warmer oceans increase moisture in the atmosphere, providing fuel for tropical cyclones and destructive rainfall.

Hotter seas also directly contribute to sea level rise -- water expands when it warms up -- and make conditions unbearable for tropical reefs, whose corals perish during prolonged marine heatwaves.

"As long as the Earth continues to accumulate heat, ocean heat content will keep rising, sea level will rise and new records will be set," said von Schuckmann.

- Humanity's choice -

Ocean warming is not uniform, with some areas warming faster than others.

The tropical oceans, the South Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the northern Indian Ocean, and the Southern Ocean were among waters that absorbed record amounts of heat in 2025.

This occurred even as average sea surface temperatures decreased slightly in 2025 -- yet still remained the third-highest value ever measured.

This decrease is explained by the shift from a powerful, warming El Nino event in 2023-2024 to La Nina-type conditions generally associated with a temporary cooling of the ocean surface.

In the long term, the rate of ocean warming is accelerating due to a sustained increase in greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere caused mainly by burning fossil fuels.

As long as global warming is not addressed and the amount of heat trapped in the atmosphere keeps rising, oceans will keep breaking records, the researchers said.

"The greatest uncertainty in the climate system is no longer the physics, but the choices humanity makes," said von Schuckmann.

"Rapid emission reductions can still limit future impacts and help safeguard a climate in which societies and ecosystems can thrive."

Varieties

‘Hectic’ Bushfires Threaten Rural Towns in Australian Heatwave

Smoke from the Longwood bushfire is seen at a staging area outside Seymour in central Victoria, Australia, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (Joel Carrett/AAP Image via AP)
Smoke from the Longwood bushfire is seen at a staging area outside Seymour in central Victoria, Australia, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (Joel Carrett/AAP Image via AP)
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‘Hectic’ Bushfires Threaten Rural Towns in Australian Heatwave

Smoke from the Longwood bushfire is seen at a staging area outside Seymour in central Victoria, Australia, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (Joel Carrett/AAP Image via AP)
Smoke from the Longwood bushfire is seen at a staging area outside Seymour in central Victoria, Australia, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (Joel Carrett/AAP Image via AP)

Bushfires destroyed houses and razed vast belts of forest in southeast Australia on Friday, firefighters said, as hot winds fanned "hectic" conditions in the tinder-dry countryside.

Temperatures soared past 40C as a heatwave blanketed the region, creating some of the most dangerous bushfire weather since the "Black Summer" blazes of 2019-2020.

Dozens of rural hamlets in the state of Victoria were urged to evacuate while they still could, while three people, including a child, were missing inside one of the state's most dangerous fire grounds.

"If you don't leave now, it could result in your life being lost," Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch told reporters.

Powerful wind gusts temporarily grounded firefighting aircraft trying to contain some 30 different blazes dotted across the state.

Already, firefighters fear at least 20 houses have burnt to the ground in the small town of Ruffy, about two hours' drive north of state capital Melbourne.

Country Fire Authority boss Jason Heffernan said the fire danger was "catastrophic" -- the most severe rating possible.

"Victorians should brace themselves for more property loss or worse.

"Today is going to be quite a hectic and volatile day for firefighters, fire authorities and communities."

One of the most destructive bushfires has already razed some 28,000 hectares (70,000 acres) near the town of Longwood, a region cloaked in native forests.

"Some properties have lost everything," said local fire captain George Noye.

"They've lost their livelihoods, they've lost their shearing sheds, livestock, just absolutely devastating," he told national broadcaster ABC.

"But thankfully, at the moment, no lives have been lost."

The worst bushfires have so far been confined to sparsely populated rural areas where towns might number a few hundred people at the most.

- 'Black Summer' -

Photos taken this week showed the night sky glowing orange as the fire near Longwood -- north of state capital Melbourne -- ripped through bushland.

"There were embers falling everywhere. It was terrifying," cattle farmer Scott Purcell told the ABC.

Another bushfire near the small town of Walwa crackled with lightning as it radiated enough heat to form a localized thunderstorm, fire authorities said.

Hundreds of firefighters from across Australia have been called in to help.

"Today represents one of the most dangerous fire days that this state has experienced in years," said state premier Jacinta Allan.

Allan urged people to flee rather than stay put and try to save their homes.

"You will simply not win against the fires of these magnitudes that are created on days like today."

Millions of people in Australia's two most populous states -- Victoria and New South Wales -- are sweltering through the heatwave, including in major cities Sydney and Melbourne.

Power outages left more than 30,000 houses without electricity on one of the hottest days to hit Victoria in years.

Hundreds of baby bats died earlier this week as stifling temperatures settled over the neighboring state of South Australia, a local wildlife group said.

The "Black Summer" bushfires raged across Australia's eastern seaboard from late 2019 to early 2020, razing millions of hectares, destroying thousands of homes and blanketing cities in noxious smoke.

Australia's climate has warmed by an average of 1.51C since 1910, researchers have found, fueling increasingly frequent extreme weather patterns over both land and sea.

Australia remains one of the world's largest producers and exporters of gas and coal, two key fossil fuels blamed for global heating.