some breaking news to bring you now. buckingham palace has issued a statement saying king charles will be in hospital next week. i'll bring you the statement in full now. it says, in common with thousands of men each year, the king has sought treatment for an enlarged prostate. his majesty's condition is benign and he will attend hospital next week for a corrective procedure. the king's public engagements will be postponed for a short period of recuperation. so, that statement has just come through in the last few minutes from buckingham palace. just to reiterate, the king is attending hospital next week. as the statement said, it is for a corrective procedure. they say it is for an

enlarged prostate and it says, understandably, that the king's public engagements will be postponed for a short period of recuperation. they've also added that the condition is benign. let's find out more from our royal correspondent sarah campbell. sarah, we earlier had the news about when as catherine and her surgery. had the news about when as catherine and hersurgery. now had the news about when as catherine and her surgery. now we are hearing and her surgery. now we are hearing a statement from buckingham palace about king charles going in. this is something that has only come in in the last few minutes but is there anything else we know at this stage? as you say, we have already had an announcement of princess of wales. if people are just tuning in, will take you to the statement again. the king is seeking treatment for an enlarged prostate. it is benign but he will attend hospital next week for a corrective procedure. in case

people are thinking why enhance it today because we are just getting our head around that the princess of wales has had an abdominal surgery, that was announced around 2p on this afternoon. the reason for that is because the king had a number of engagements tomorrow and friday in scotland which are now being postponed on doctor's advice. whenever a member of the royal family, particularly the king, pulls out of engagements, questions will always be asked. they are putting this information out there to answer those questions before they are asked. i should also say that the palace have made it clear that the diagnosis was wanting to be shared because, obviously, as we know, prostate issues for men of a certain age, the king is 75, are a big issue and keeping a check on these issues are very important. i think his

majesty wanted to share this diagnosis, if you like, in order to... is a bit ofa diagnosis, if you like, in order to... is a bit of a public service announcement but primarily people will be worried because he will have pulled out of engagements tomorrow so that is why the engagement was made today. coming off the back of the announcement about the princess of wales, she was admitted to the london clinic yesterday for planned abdominal surgery and she is expected to stay in hospital for around ten to 14 days. find expected to stay in hospital for around ten to 14 days.- around ten to 14 days. and her ublic around ten to 14 days. and her public engagements _ around ten to 14 days. and her public engagements also - around ten to 14 days. and her| public engagements also being around ten to 14 days. and her- public engagements also being put off because, of course, the scheduling is not compatible with recuperation and recovery. the strain and workload of these royal engagements and the travel involved. absolutely. where these things not happening, the royals will be preparing to get back out on the road after their christmas break. clearly, that is not going to happen either for the princess of wales but

we know that prince william is going to be helping her recovery. she will be heading back to windsor when she is discharged from hospital. he will be helping to look after her and they have three young children so we won't expect to see the prince and princess of wales until that recuperation is really under way. yes, the king as well. we haven't got a timescale as to when he is going to be back carrying out engagements but he will be out of action for the foreseeable. just a “um in action for the foreseeable. just a jump in there. — action for the foreseeable. just a jump in there, what _ action for the foreseeable. just a jump in there, what viewers - action for the foreseeable. just a jump in there, what viewers are l jump in there, what viewers are saying at the moment i live pictures from the hospital where princess catherine is staying at the moment. this is the hospital where she is currently recovering from abdominal surgery. the hospital that you mentioned. do we know how full and how busy the royal timetable of events was for the foreseeable, for both the princess of wales and the king?

both the princess of wales and the kin: ? . , ., , . , king? engagements for security reason whom — king? engagements for security reason whom i _ king? engagements for security reason whom i cannot _ king? engagements for security reason whom i cannot sent - king? engagements for security reason whom i cannot sent outl king? engagements for security i reason whom i cannot sent out far king? engagements for security - reason whom i cannot sent out far in advance. you tend to know with a few days notice. we wouldn't necessarily know where we would have expected them. obviously, it is still relatively soon that the king was crowned and so he is still making his impact as the king. there would have been foreign trips planned this year, the same is true for the prince and princess of wales but i think we have to say that all of thatis think we have to say that all of that is now on hold because health comes first. that is now on hold because health comes first-— that is now on hold because health comes first. thank you so much for brinuain comes first. thank you so much for bringing us — comes first. thank you so much for bringing us up-to-date. _ comes first. thank you so much for bringing us up-to-date. that - comes first. thank you so much for bringing us up-to-date. that is - bringing us up—to—date. that is our royal correspondent sarah campbell. to reiterate for those just joining us. a statement from buckingham palace has been issued in the past few minutes saying that king charles will be attending hospital next week. he has sought treatment for an

enlarged prostate and he will be in hospital next week for a corrective procedure. the condition is benign and his engagements will be postponed for a short period of recuperation. now it's time for your sports news. thank you very much. let's start with the tennis. novak djokovic has extended his winning run at the australian open with a four—set victory over australian alexei popyrin, but the ten—time champion was made to work hard by his unseeded opponent. for the second match in a row, djokovic was taken to four sets with popyrin producing some exceptional tennis as he levelled that match at one set apiece. the world number one edged the third in a tie break before seeing off the australian in a little over three hours. djokovic will face thomas martin etchevarry in the third round. cani can i be satisfied? i can be set aside with a win. with my tennis, not so much. as i said, it is normal

to go through this kind of period or circumstances. wejust to go through this kind of period or circumstances. we just have to embrace it and try to accept what it is and build from there. as the tournament progresses, hopefully things will go in a positive direction in terms of how i feel and play. meanwhile, there were some big shocks in the women's singles. 16—year—old rising star mirra andreeva beat the three—time grand slam finalist ons jabeur to cruise into the third round. andreeva, who lost the girls singles title in melbourne last year, took just 54 minutes to beat the world number six, 6—0, 6—2. it's the first time that andreeva has beaten a player in the top 10 and she will face france's dianne parry in the third round. of course i'm happy i played with ons. it was one of my dreams to play against her because i really like the way she plays and, as i said before, i'm inspired by her and so it means a lot.

today it meant a lot, this match, that i won and i'm excited coming. the second round of group fixtures at the asian cup are under way with two matches taking place in qatar today. hosts and defending champions qatar are currently in action against debuta nts tajikistan. it's currently 1—0 to qatar in al khor. akram afif with the opener. a victory for the hosts will see them seal their place in the knock out stages. in the earlier match, china and lebanon played out a 0—0 draw. india are in bengaluru hoping to seal a 3—0 t20 series win against afghanistan. the hosts won the toss and elected to bat. and initially it looked a bad decision as afghanistan reduced them to 22-4, including virat kohli out for a first ball duck. but, rohit sharma pulled india back into a strong position with 121 off 69 balls.

rinku singh added 69 in a partnership worth 190 that saw the hosts set a total of 212—4 from their 20 overs. in reply, afghanistan's chase has just gotten under way, 14-0 14—0 without loss. and that's all the sport for now. you can follow results and spots from all around the world on the bbc sports pages. the chinese premier li qiang is in dublin for an official visit to the republic of ireland. he met with the irish president michael d higgins ahead of talks with the prime minister leo varadkar. mr li said china wants to deepen economic and trade cooperation with ireland, including in areas of green development and technology. live now to alexander dukalkis, associate professor of politics and international studies at university college dublin. this thank you forjoining us. why ireland? a trade meeting makes sense

but is there any particular reason why china decided to visit ireland? i think china sees ireland for the potentially for a new voice in european union. it has long thought that and has tried to cultivate that. china appreciates that ireland is not a part of nato and is militarily neutral. it is firmly anchored in europe but plays a little bit of a different role from some other european states in that regard. some other european states in that reaard. ., ., i. some other european states in that reaard. ., ., ,, , , , regard. how do you see chinese irish trade relations _ regard. how do you see chinese irish trade relations developing _ regard. how do you see chinese irish trade relations developing in - regard. how do you see chinese irish trade relations developing in the - trade relations developing in the future? ., , trade relations developing in the future? . , ., . ., , future? overall, they are certainly curowin. future? overall, they are certainly growing- in _ future? overall, they are certainly growing- in the — future? overall, they are certainly growing. in the last _ future? overall, they are certainly growing. in the last couple - future? overall, they are certainly growing. in the last couple of- growing. in the last couple of years, they have declined as china's economy has slowed and as the country has come out of the covid lockdown. sometimes, it has a tendency to overstate irish economic relations with china on virtually every metric. trade, investment, exchanges, foreign direct

investments, those numbers are dwarfed by american and european counterparts. it is growing but it is still relatively small, something like 5% of irish trade is with china. i wouldn't want to overstate the importance of china to ireland's economy. pare the importance of china to ireland's econom . �* ., , the importance of china to ireland's econom .~ . , ,, , ., economy. are there any issues that are stumbling _ economy. are there any issues that are stumbling blocks _ economy. are there any issues that are stumbling blocks for _ economy. are there any issues that are stumbling blocks for the - economy. are there any issues that are stumbling blocks for the two i are stumbling blocks for the two nations? ., , are stumbling blocks for the two nations? . , ., , , nations? really the main stumbling block comes — nations? really the main stumbling block comes down _ nations? really the main stumbling block comes down to _ nations? really the main stumbling block comes down to values. - nations? really the main stumbling block comes down to values. irish l block comes down to values. irish foreign policy has a priority of human rights which conflicts with the way the chinese government behaves in many instances. i think the crackdown in hong kong in recent years, the tension of potentially up to 1 years, the tension of potentially up to1 million uyghurs in western china has really sits at odds with the way ireland views human rights. in terms of irish public opinion,

the most recent available polling shows among the irish public a deep scepticism about the chinese government and a deep distrust of the chinese government. i think values really are the main sticking point. so far, i think, values really are the main sticking point. so far, ithink, and values really are the main sticking point. so far, i think, and today's visit, there hasn't really been a major area of discussion, it has mostly been about things like visa, travel, beef, trade, those sorts of issues. , ., issues. looking broader than ireland, how _ issues. looking broader than ireland, how much _ issues. looking broader than ireland, how much of - issues. looking broader than ireland, how much of this . issues. looking broader than ireland, how much of this is| issues. looking broader than | ireland, how much of this is a broader geopolitical strategy and to do with china's relations with the us and the eu? do with china's relations with the us and the eu?— us and the eu? right, so, in the last ear us and the eu? right, so, in the last year or— us and the eu? right, so, in the last year or so. _ us and the eu? right, so, in the last year or so, the _ us and the eu? right, so, in the last year or so, the talk - us and the eu? right, so, in the last year or so, the talk around l last year or so, the talk around europe has been about de—risking from china. notjust at the risk in from china. notjust at the risk in from china. notjust at the risk in from china but from other autocratic states. i think the invasion of ukraine, the full invasion of ukraine, the full invasion of ukraine by russia in 2022 was a major wake—up call about the risks

of being overly reliant on certain authoritarian states. that catalysed authoritarian states. that catalysed a change of thinking in europe with regard to china. it wasn'tjust that but i think it was a big factor. it has been de—risking in regards to china in the last year also. the irish minister gave a speech a few weeks ago where he very much aligned ireland's policy with that approach of de—risking with regards to china. i think chinese officials are worried about that. i think that kind of rhetoric is concerning to them. this visit is part of a charm offensive, a way to show that china is, on its terms, open for business. thank you for your analysis on that, alexander. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

bbc news, bringing you stories from across the uk. the little oaks nursery in penrith, a place of friendship and fun, but for many families, accessing child care is a problem. costs are up, nursery places in short supply as recruiting staff becomes harder. gas and electricity, operational running costs are going up and continue to go up. we are not getting the staff. there seems to be less people coming into the sector now. what do mums and dads here think? it's a shame it hasn't come sooner but, yeah, it's great, especially for parents who are working full—time. it massively helps with increasing bills, etc. the government says it is delivering extra investment and the largest ever expansion of childcare, while labour says it wants more nursery places in primary schools and has set up an independent review. for more stories from across the uk,

head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. some children with a form of leukaemia have become the first in the uk to receive a new type of treatment, which is far less toxic than chemotherapy. as well as being much gentler on the body, the drug is able to be administered at home — meaning children spend far less time in hospital. our health correspondent michelle roberts has the story. life's getting back to normal for 11—year—old arthur. he's been clear of cancer for almost a year now. he was one of the first children in the uk to try out a new type of cancer drug. blinatumomab or blina can replace big chunks of aggressive chemotherapy. the news came that actually there was still some residual cancer, so that particular chemo phase had not worked as expected.

for arthur, blina was then the only real option to tackle his blood cancer. you can see the picc line that goes into his pyjamas and actually there on the right—hand side, the pump that was separately at that point, not yet in the backpack. all of the kit can be carried in a small bag. although he had to wear it day and night, it gave him back his freedom. doctors say it's a much kinder alternative. hello, arthur. come on in. and could be a game changerfor kids with b—cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia who struggle on chemo. chemotherapy are poisons that kill the leukemic cells but also kill and damage normal cells. and that is what causes their side effects. blinatumomab is a gentler, kinder treatment that doesn't have the same side—effects as chemotherapy, but can cure just as many patients as chemotherapy.

inside all of us lurks a serial killer. that's our body's own immune cells. blina helps them seek out and destroy the cancer. this death hunt is precisely targeted. healthy cells are untouched. each bead represents a specific thing. for example, that bead represents chemo. it's been a long, toughjourney for the whole family made somewhat easier by blina. i didn't have to, like, always be attached to, like, a machine. it made it feel like a lot freer. it also freed up some of mum and dads time and they could finally do work again instead of having to go to hospital with me. new year was when we found out that blina had worked and that there was no residual cancer.

and so that was just amazing and so we had double celebrations there. blina's already used in adults, but it's not yet widely available on the nhs for children. given its promise as a kinder, gentler treatment, arthur's medical team hope it could be in the future. michelle roberts, bbc news. live now to dr sujith samarasinghe, a consultant in paediatric haematology at great ormond street hospital. thank you so much forjoining us. we saw there how much of a difference it makes to arthur. how much of a breakthrough do you think this is? it is a huge breakthrough. these medications, these new types of treatments are revolutionary. these medicines enable much gentler, kinder treatments so that children

can go on and lead almost a normal life, despite being treated for the leukaemia. the treatments home in on the leukaemia cells so that the children's immune system will kill just the leukaemia cells, not other cells, and that is what is so brilliant about these new treatments.— brilliant about these new treatments. ~ ., treatments. we saw that the treatment — treatments. we saw that the treatment allows _ treatments. we saw that the treatment allows arthur - treatments. we saw that the treatment allows arthur to i treatments. we saw that the i treatment allows arthur to have treatments. we saw that the - treatment allows arthur to have a bit more of a normal childhood. he can carry blina around in a backpack instead of having to go to hospital. how much of a difference does that make? it how much of a difference does that make? . ~ , . how much of a difference does that make? ., ~' , ., ., ,, how much of a difference does that make? ., ~ , ., ., ,, , . make? it makes a massive difference because they — make? it makes a massive difference because they can _ make? it makes a massive difference because they can do _ make? it makes a massive difference because they can do the _ make? it makes a massive difference because they can do the normal- because they can do the normal things that we expect children to be able to do, like go to school, play with their friends and it makes a huge difference for their quality of life. instead of being in hospital. this is one of the biggest step changes in cancer treatment for children. . , changes in cancer treatment for children. ., , ., , children. that is quite remarkable when ou children. that is quite remarkable when you put _ children. that is quite remarkable when you put it — children. that is quite remarkable when you put it that _ children. that is quite remarkable

when you put it that way. - children. that is quite remarkable when you put it that way. that - children. that is quite remarkable when you put it that way. that is. when you put it that way. that is how much of a breakthrough or development of this is. are there any caveats to this? are there any patients who wouldn't benefit in the same way? patients who wouldn't benefit in the same wa ? , �* ., patients who wouldn't benefit in the same wa ? , ~ ., , same way? yes. at the moment, it is only available — same way? yes. at the moment, it is only available for— same way? yes. at the moment, it is only available for children _ same way? yes. at the moment, it is only available for children who have l only available for children who have had severe side—effects or children in whom chemotherapy hasn't worked that well. we are hoping to launch, in the next few years, a trial to expand it to all children in the uk with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. we will wait to see what those results show in a wider population. the aim is to develop kinder, gentler treatments so that children with acute leukaemia has as much of a normal life as possible. {guild a normal life as possible. could this be rolled _ a normal life as possible. could this be rolled out _ a normal life as possible. could this be rolled out and _ a normal life as possible. could this be rolled out and applied i a normal life as possible. could| this be rolled out and applied to other cancers as well? it is only, at the moment, _ other cancers as well? it is only, at the moment, available - other cancers as well? it is only, at the moment, available for- other cancers as well? it is only, i at the moment, available for acute

lymphoblastic leukaemia. it at the moment, available for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.- lymphoblastic leukaemia. it does make a big _ lymphoblastic leukaemia. it does make a big difference _ lymphoblastic leukaemia. it does make a big difference to - lymphoblastic leukaemia. it does make a big difference to patientsj make a big difference to patients with that, she said. thank you very much for to us.— with that, she said. thank you very much for to us._ a - with that, she said. thank you veryl much for to us._ a review much for to us. thank you. a review is under way — much for to us. thank you. a review is under way after _ much for to us. thank you. a review is under way after a _ much for to us. thank you. a review is under way after a two-year-old i is under way after a two—year—old was found next to his father. they are looking into the circumstances. police are not treating the death as suspicious. our correspondent has the latest. you are outlining that bodies were discovered, the bodies of a six—year—old man and a two—year—old toddler. they have been named as kenneth battersby and two—year—old bronson battersby. it is being reported that they were last seen on or around boxing day. we know that this child was known to social services but it was the type of case that there was contact around

once a month. now, we know that this child was known to social services but it was the type of case where there was contact around once a month and we understand that social workers tried to come to the address on the 2nd ofjanuary and the 4th of january but couldn't get access. there was no response so they made inquiries at other properties where the child might be and also notified the police. but it wasn't until the 9th of january that the landlady of the property was asked to open it up so that paramedics, police and social workers could go inside. now, we have spoken to the landlady and she said the discovery of the bodies was one of the worst days of her life and she talked about how she is heartbroken. she called kenneth kenny and she said she had known him for around a decade and she said that he was extremely helpful. she said that bronson was the light of his dad's eye. now, we have heard from children's services who say they are carrying out a review into the circumstances. they go on to say our thoughts are with the family and friends of those involved. the police have also issued

a statement and they say investigations have been carried out and the deaths are not being treated as suspicious. erosion is sculpting dramatic features into the world's biggest iceberg, in what's likely to be the final months of its existence. none the iceberg, known as a23a, catchy, is being ground down by warmer air and water as it drifts slowly away from the antarctic. but it's not seen as a consequence of climate change — and as it melts, there will be benefits, it's the biggest chunk of free floating ice on earth. after three decades confined to the freezer in antarctica, it is coming out, moving north into warmer waters. the iceberg is now melting and fast. satellite images show the frozen block to have a width of 65 kilometres, or40 block to have a width of 65 kilometres, or 40 miles. that is like the distance from manchester to sheffield. a23 a has a area of 3900

square kilometres. it average thickness is about 280 metres, nearly as tall as the eiffel tower was that it weighs close to 1 trillion tonnes. these dimensions are shrinking all the time. the production and melting of icebergs like a23 ar part of a natural cycle, not a consequence of climate change. as it melts, there are upsides. it will be dropping in the dust in the ocean, this is a fertiliser, stimulating the growth of the very smallest organisms like plankton, all the way up to the biggest creatures on the planet, the blue whales. how long a23a can remain intact is uncertain. the only guarantee is this giant will eventually whether to nothing. just to remind you of the breaking news that has come through in the past half hour. buckingham palace has said that king charles will be attending hospital next week for treatment for an enlarged prostate.

they say his condition is benign and he will have a corrective procedure and his engagement will be postponed for a period. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. although much of the country today and tomorrow will continue to see a lot of dry, sunny and cold weather, we have some concerns for the snow showers piling into the north of the country. showers piling into the north particularly showers piling into the north northern scotland ant into particularly northern scotland and into the northern isles where we have a amber warning in force. this system across france won't pose any issues for southern britain. it will bring an area of thicker cloud. it is the snow showers in the north which we have concerns about and an amberwarning here issued for an extra 5—10 centimetres of snow falling on already deep snow. we could see 15—20 centimetres extra so over the high ground.

ice will continue to be an issue here throughout the day. further south, best of the sunshine, and a very cold day, particularly across the northern half of the uk. this evening and overnight, we lose the cloud and wintry showers from the far south—east. it is cold, dry and clear for most. wintry showers around coastal areas, giving an ice risk and those snow showers continuing to pile into the northern isles and into central and northern ireland. a cold night to come wherever you are, it could be down to —14, —15 in central scotland. a cold, frosty and icy start to thursday. bright with plenty of sunshine. snow showers draped around coastal areas, could see a dusting across eastern coastal counties, newcastle down to norwich. the same for northern ireland and northern and western wales. the heaviest of the snow showers across northern scotland and the northern isles. another very cold day to come. subtle changes into friday. we lose the arctic northerly, high pressure builds in and westerly winds come in. a slightly less cold

the day on friday. quite a lot of centring around thanks to high pressure. snow showers will come in thick and fast across the north and west of scotland with longer spells of snow adding to the snow depth there. elsewhere, temperatures coming up a little bit, four to six celsius. that is the theme for things to come into the weekend. big changes. we start to pick up atlantic low pressure systems, strong to gale force south—westerly winds and pulses of rain. even severe gale force winds. rising temperature with heavy rain and snow melt could lead to localised flooding. certainly turning a lot milder this weekend.

live from london, this is bbc news. the princess of wales is recovering following abdominal surgery. kensington palace says the operation was a success and she will remain in hospitalfor was a success and she will remain in hospital for up was a success and she will remain in hospitalfor up to a was a success and she will remain in hospital for up to a fortnight. and in the past hour, buckingham palace has announced king charles will visit hospital next week to be treated for an enlarged prostate. in other news, iran's foreign minister says houthi attacks in the red sea will only stop when the war in gaza ends. it red sea will only stop when the war in gaza ends-— in gaza ends. if the genocide in gaza stops. _ in gaza ends. if the genocide in gaza stops, then _ in gaza ends. if the genocide in gaza stops, then it _ in gaza ends. if the genocide in gaza stops, then it will - in gaza ends. if the genocide in gaza stops, then it will lead - in gaza ends. if the genocide in gaza stops, then it will lead to | in gaza ends. if the genocide in i gaza stops, then it will lead to the end of other crises and attacks in the region. rishi sunak faces a crucial vote on his plan to deport asylum seekers to

rwanda after two deputy chairmen from his own party resign over the issue. and lincolnshire county council has begun a review after a two—year—old boy and his father were found dead at a property in skegness. hello. i'm luxmy gopal. welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. the princess of wales has had planned abdominal surgery and will be in hospitalfor up to a fortnight. kensington palace says the procedure was successful and took place at the london clinic, a private hosptal in central london. the princess is unlikely to return to public duties until after easter. the prince of wales will not undertake official duties while his wife is in hospital, or in the immediate period following her return home. and within the past hour, buckingham palace has said that king charles will go into hospital next week, to be treated for an enlarged prostate. the palace added that the king's condition is "benign", and he will attend hospital for what's described as a "corrective procedure".

his public engagements will be postponed immediately,