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Biden’s Cancer Diagnosis Prompts New Questions About His Health While in Office

Former US President Joe Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden pose for a selfie photo, in this handout social media picture released May 19, 2025. (Joe Biden via X/Handout via Reuters)
Former US President Joe Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden pose for a selfie photo, in this handout social media picture released May 19, 2025. (Joe Biden via X/Handout via Reuters)
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Biden’s Cancer Diagnosis Prompts New Questions About His Health While in Office

Former US President Joe Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden pose for a selfie photo, in this handout social media picture released May 19, 2025. (Joe Biden via X/Handout via Reuters)
Former US President Joe Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden pose for a selfie photo, in this handout social media picture released May 19, 2025. (Joe Biden via X/Handout via Reuters)

Former President Joe Biden's cancer announcement revived questions on Monday about the extent of his health issues during his tenure, with Vice President JD Vance saying Biden should have been more transparent with the public.

"Why didn’t the American people have a better sense of his health picture? Why didn’t the American people have more accurate information about what he was actually dealing with? This is serious stuff," Vance told reporters as he wrapped up a trip to Rome. He wished Biden "the right recovery."

The remarks by Vance, a Republican, captured the renewed focus on the health of the 82-year-old Democratic former president with the publication of a book that details widespread concerns about Biden's mental acuity among aides and Democratic insiders as he pursued reelection in 2024.

Excerpts from the book have prompted new questions about whether critical information was withheld from the American public about Biden's ability to serve in the White House. Biden's closest aides have dismissed those concerns, saying Biden was fully capable of making important decisions.

A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately return a Reuters request for comment. Biden has appeared on television to rebut accusations that his mental capacity had diminished during his 2021-2025 term. "There's nothing to sustain that," he said on ABC's "The View" on May 8.

Biden, the oldest person ever to serve as president, was forced to drop his reelection bid last July after a stumbling debate performance against Republican rival Donald Trump eroded his support among fellow Democrats. Biden's vice president, Kamala Harris, launched a bid of her own but lost to Trump in the November 2024 election.

DOCTORS SURPRISED

Biden's office said he had been diagnosed on Friday with prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. Several doctors told Reuters that cancers like this are typically diagnosed before they reach such an advanced stage.

"I would assume the former president gets a very thorough physical every year," said Dr. Chris George, medical director of the cancer program at Northwestern Health Network. "It's sort of hard for me to believe that he's had a (blood test) within the past year that was normal."

Dr. Herbert Lepor, a urologist at NYU Langone Health, said that given the available screening options, "it is a bit unusual in the modern era to detect cancers at this late stage."

Some 70% of prostate cancer cases were diagnosed before they spread to other organs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

US guidelines do not recommend annual blood screening for men over 70 and it is unclear whether the annual presidential exam would have included those tests.

The new book, "Original Sin," by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson put a spotlight on Biden's mental acuity in his final months in office.

"It was a mistake for Democrats to not listen to the voters earlier," US Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, said on NBC on Sunday.

Biden faced no serious challenge for the 2024 Democratic nomination, and party leaders repeatedly vouched for his ability to serve a second four-year term even though 74% of Americans in January 2024 thought he was too old for the job, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling.

Biden's cancer diagnosis drew an outpouring of sympathy from supporters and rivals alike, including Trump. Biden thanked the public on behalf of his wife and himself for their support in a social media post released early on Monday.

"Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support," he said.

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World

Bus Accident Kills 14 in Ecuador

Vehicles cross the Rumichaca International Bridge, the border crossing between Colombia and Ecuador, in Tulcan, Ecuador, 10 April 2026. EPA/Xavier Montalvo
Vehicles cross the Rumichaca International Bridge, the border crossing between Colombia and Ecuador, in Tulcan, Ecuador, 10 April 2026. EPA/Xavier Montalvo
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Bus Accident Kills 14 in Ecuador

Vehicles cross the Rumichaca International Bridge, the border crossing between Colombia and Ecuador, in Tulcan, Ecuador, 10 April 2026. EPA/Xavier Montalvo
Vehicles cross the Rumichaca International Bridge, the border crossing between Colombia and Ecuador, in Tulcan, Ecuador, 10 April 2026. EPA/Xavier Montalvo

A bus veered off the road and plunged into a ravine in southern Ecuador Wednesday, killing 14 people and injuring at least 29, emergency officials said.

The accident happened in the Molleturo area in the Andean province of Azuay, whose capital Cuenca is Ecuador's third most populous city, AFP reported.

"At this time, the number of people who have died on the Cuenca-Molleturo highway has risen to 14, and the number of injured to 29," Ecuador's emergency service ECU911 wrote on X late Wednesday.

"Personnel from the coordinated agencies are at the scene searching for more people who may have lost their lives," it added, without specifying the number of passengers on the bus.

Traffic accidents are among the leading causes of death in the South American country, where more than 2,000 people died in road accidents last year, compared to a record 2,373 deaths in 2023, according to official figures.

World

Police Arrest Two over London Synagogue Arson Attempt

Police officers stand on duty at a cordon near to the Finchley Reform Synagogue, in the North Finchley area of north London, on April 15, 2026, following an attack on the synagogue in the early hours of the morning. (Photo by Toby Shepheard / AFP)
Police officers stand on duty at a cordon near to the Finchley Reform Synagogue, in the North Finchley area of north London, on April 15, 2026, following an attack on the synagogue in the early hours of the morning. (Photo by Toby Shepheard / AFP)
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Police Arrest Two over London Synagogue Arson Attempt

Police officers stand on duty at a cordon near to the Finchley Reform Synagogue, in the North Finchley area of north London, on April 15, 2026, following an attack on the synagogue in the early hours of the morning. (Photo by Toby Shepheard / AFP)
Police officers stand on duty at a cordon near to the Finchley Reform Synagogue, in the North Finchley area of north London, on April 15, 2026, following an attack on the synagogue in the early hours of the morning. (Photo by Toby Shepheard / AFP)

Police in London arrested two people on Wednesday over an attempted arson attack on a synagogue in the north of the city, amid an upsurge in “antisemitic” incidents in Britain.

The pair -- a 47-year-old woman and a 46-year-old man -- were detained in Watford, north of the capital, and are being held in custody, police said.

A little-known extremist group with possible links to Iran claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist activity, AFP said.

The attack shortly after midnight on Wednesday came after an arson attack on ambulances run by a Jewish charity in London last month and a deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester in October 2025.

The latest incident, which police said was being treated as an "antisemitic hate crime", was being investigated with support from counter-terrorism detectives.

"I hope the swift action by officers today to identify and arrest two people provides some reassurance and demonstrates how seriously we take attacks of this nature," Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams, who leads policing in the area, said in a statement.

Describing the attack in an earlier statement, police said two people wearing dark clothing and balaclavas approached the synagogue in Finchley and "threw two bottles suspected to contain petrol" which did not ignite, the Metropolitan Police Force said.

- Surge in attacks -

Harakat Ashab al-Yamin (HAYI) group, claimed responsibility for the attack, SITE Intelligence Group reported.

The group previously claimed similar attacks in Belgium, Britain and the Netherlands.

The Community Security Trust recorded 3,700 instances of anti-Jewish hate across the UK last year, a four percent rise on 2024, but down on 2023.

Two men and a boy have been charged over the ambulance attack on March 23, in which four ambulances run by volunteer organization Hatzola were destroyed.

It provides free medical transportation and emergency response to those living in north London.

On October 2, 2025, during the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, the attack on the synagogue in Manchester killed two people and seriously injured three, prompting increased anxiety among Jewish communities.

In February, a court jailed two men for life after police foiled a separate plot to carry out an ISIS-inspired gun attack on a Jewish gathering in Manchester.

Two Iranians also appeared in court in London in March accused of spying on the Jewish community in London on behalf of Tehran.

World

Australia to Boost Defense Spending Citing Growing Threats

This handout image taken on July 23, 2024 and released by the Australian Defense Force shows a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft (top R) in formation flight with an RAAF EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft (bottom R), RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornet (top C), a Spanish Navy AV-8B Harrier II (bottom C), an F-35 Lightning II (top L), a Japan Air Self-Defense Force Mitsubishi F-2 (bottom 2nd L), and a Philippine Air Force FA-50 Golden Eagle (bottom L) over northern Australia during Exercise Pitch Black 2024. Handout / AUSTRALIA DEFENCE FORCE/AFP
This handout image taken on July 23, 2024 and released by the Australian Defense Force shows a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft (top R) in formation flight with an RAAF EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft (bottom R), RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornet (top C), a Spanish Navy AV-8B Harrier II (bottom C), an F-35 Lightning II (top L), a Japan Air Self-Defense Force Mitsubishi F-2 (bottom 2nd L), and a Philippine Air Force FA-50 Golden Eagle (bottom L) over northern Australia during Exercise Pitch Black 2024. Handout / AUSTRALIA DEFENCE FORCE/AFP
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Australia to Boost Defense Spending Citing Growing Threats

This handout image taken on July 23, 2024 and released by the Australian Defense Force shows a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft (top R) in formation flight with an RAAF EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft (bottom R), RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornet (top C), a Spanish Navy AV-8B Harrier II (bottom C), an F-35 Lightning II (top L), a Japan Air Self-Defense Force Mitsubishi F-2 (bottom 2nd L), and a Philippine Air Force FA-50 Golden Eagle (bottom L) over northern Australia during Exercise Pitch Black 2024. Handout / AUSTRALIA DEFENCE FORCE/AFP
This handout image taken on July 23, 2024 and released by the Australian Defense Force shows a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft (top R) in formation flight with an RAAF EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft (bottom R), RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornet (top C), a Spanish Navy AV-8B Harrier II (bottom C), an F-35 Lightning II (top L), a Japan Air Self-Defense Force Mitsubishi F-2 (bottom 2nd L), and a Philippine Air Force FA-50 Golden Eagle (bottom L) over northern Australia during Exercise Pitch Black 2024. Handout / AUSTRALIA DEFENCE FORCE/AFP

Australia will raise defense spending to 3.0 percent of GDP by 2033 as armed conflicts flare worldwide, Defense Minister Richard Marles said Thursday.

The new commitment follows pressure from US President Donald Trump's administration for Canberra to boost military expenditure as a share of total annual economic output.

"International norms that once constrained the use of force and military coercion continue to erode," Marles said in a speech in Canberra, outlining a boost to spending on missile defense, drones and guided weapon stockpiles.

"More countries are engaged in conflict today than at any time since the end of World War II, and this is occurring across every region of the world."

Australia's defense spending had previously been forecast to rise to 2.3 percent of GDP by 2033, AFP said.

But the country will spend an additional AU$53 billion ($38 billion) over the next decade when compared to its 2024 defense strategy, Marles said.

In the shorter term, spending would climb by an extra AU$14 billion over four years.

To reach the 3.0 percent figure, Australia changed how it calculates the defense budget to match a NATO definition that includes factors such as military pensions and defense intelligence.

Marles said Thursday this allowed better comparisons with other countries and put Australia ahead of comparable European and Asian nations with a defense spend this year of 2.8 percent.

- China build-up -

But the new spending still falls short of the 3.5 percent of GDP that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanded Australia shell out last year.

Wary of China's navy build-up, US ally Australia has reshaped its defense force in recent years to focus on its missile strike capability and deterring an adversary from its northern approaches.

It has also embarked on its largest-ever military spending project to build nuclear-powered submarines next decade under the AUKUS agreement with the United States and the UK.

Marles emphasized Australia would focus in 2026 on building greater military self-reliance but was not jettisoning its US security alliance, which he said remained "fundamental".

"There is no effective balance of power in the Indo-Pacific absent the continued presence of the United States," he said.

Spending to build a missile defense system will accelerate -- up to AU$30 billion over the next decade.

Another AU$36 billion will be spent to build guided missiles locally.

Australia's vast coastline and small population have also spurred a focus on developing large autonomous submarines and fighter jets, dubbed the Ghost Shark and Ghost Bat.

This week, Canberra said it would boost spending on drones by up to AU$5 billion in response to shifts in warfare tactics in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Under the AUKUS agreement, the United States will sell Australia two nuclear-powered submarines from 2032.

Australia and Britain will then build a new class of submarine in the 2040s.

Critics have alleged the deal does not guarantee that Australia will ever receive the submarines.