live from washington, this is bbc news. britain's king charles is undergoing treatment for cancer. it was discovered last week when he was being treated for an enlarged prostate. the us secretary of state is meeting with leaders in the middle east. antony blinken�*s visit comes as washington carries out retaliatory strikes on iran—backed targets. and a deadly storm hammers california, with more than a million people without power. and more rain is to come. i'm sumi somaskanda. thank you forjoining us. the world has been reacting to the news that britain's king charles has been diagnosed with cancer and will postpone public—facing duties. buckingham palace says the king, who is 75 years old, began treatment on monday and that he remains wholly positive about his treatment. he is set to continue his state duties, meeting weekly with prime minister rishi sunak.

the cancer was idenitified during the king's recent hospital treatment for a benign enlarged prostate. the palace has not said what type of cancer the king has, only that it is not prostate cancer. our royal correspondent daniela relph is at buckingham palace with more. the king is staying overnight in london after his first day of cancer treatment. the news of cancer treatment. the news of his diagnosis came as a real shock to the king himself but also to the wider royal family. many will now have to step up as the monarch steps back from royal duty. there was little sign yesterday of the announcement about to be made. the king was pictured on his sandringham estate in norfolk walking to church with queen camilla. it was thought to be recovering after a hospital stay. exactly a week ago today, the king left a private hospital in central london, where he had spent three nights being treated for

an enlarged prostate. we now know during his stay here cancer was discovered. in a statement, released at six o'clock this evening, buckingham palace said: although open about his diagnosis, buckingham palace says the form of cancer of the king has will be kept private, as will the nature of his treatment. all of his public engagements have been cancelled. last week, the queen was asked how her husband was recovering from his prostate condition, during a visit to a new cancer support centre

at a north london hospital. how's the boss doing? she said he was doing his best. the king's condition means royal duties will have to be picked up elsewhere. with the prince of wales and others taking on some of the king's engagements. prince william himself has been away from royal duty for three weeks, following his wife's stay in hospital after surgery, but he returns to work this wednesday. i think there will be a team effort. i think queen camilla is central to this. i think the princess royal, too, is crucial. and the duke and duchess of edinburgh will be stepping up. it is a slimmed down monarchy, but it is a team, and it will have to regroup and adapt. the king will have a visitor this week as well. it is understood the duke of sussex will be travelling to the uk from his home in california to see his father, who contacted him personally with news of his diagnosis. it is the first time prince harry has seen the king

since the coronation. this is a testing time for the king and the wider royal family, as they balance personal, private challenges, with the need to continue with the public duties. daniela relph, bbc news. well, it's not the first health problem the king has had in recent years — it's been a week since the king left hospital after undergoing the procedure for an enlarged prostrate. in 2020 and 2022 he caught covid twice, but only experienced mild symptoms. in 2008, he had a minor surgery for a growth in the bridge of his nose. and in 2023 he underwent a routine surgery for a hernia. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh is outside the london clinic where charles had his treatment, and doctors diagnosed his cancer. the king spent three nights here and it was during that time that he had diagnostic tests that picked up the cancer. the palaces and seeing what form of cancer the king

has, only that it isn't prostate cancer. nor are they saying how early it was caught. —— palace isn't saying. clearly the palace doesn't want to invite speculation. they have said that he began today a series of scheduled regular treatments for the cancer and he is being treated as an outpatient, and most cancer therapy these days is given as outpatient therapy, most commonly things like chemotherapy, drug treatment to kill cancer cells, and radiotherapy. age, of course, is the number one risk factor for most cancers. the king is 75, and just over a third of all cancers diagnosed are in people aged 75 and over. the king is one of around 1000 people a day diagnosed with cancer in the uk. senior doctors have praised him

tonight for mentioning his cancer and highlighting the indiscriminate nature of this disease. news of the king's health has led to an outpouring of support from world leaders, including from uk prime minister rishi sunak, who said — quote: and us presidentjoe biden posted on social media, saying — quote: with me now is autumn brewington, former washington post editor and royals newsletter writer. good to have you with us, autumn, to talk about this. it has been just autumn, to talk about this. it has beenjust nine months since the coronation. how unusual is it to see this kind of turbulence, especially after

such stability during the elizabethan error? there was such stability, _ elizabethan error? there was such stability, and _ elizabethan error? there was such stability, and it - elizabethan error? there was such stability, and it isn't - such stability, and it isn't just that this is unusual early in a rain, it is unprecedented. —— era. it is unusualfor the palace to be so forthcoming about a health diagnosis like this. , ., _, this. they were forthcoming about the — this. they were forthcoming about the fact _ this. they were forthcoming about the fact that - this. they were forthcoming about the fact that the - this. they were forthcoming about the fact that the king | about the fact that the king was being treated for an enlarged prostate. but they haven't released information about the type of cancer that he was diagnosed with. correct. and they have _ he was diagnosed with. correct. and they have said _ he was diagnosed with. correct. and they have said they - he was diagnosed with. correct. and they have said they are - he was diagnosed with. correct. and they have said they are not| and they have said they are not going to say, at least right now, what type of cancer it is, and what type of treatment, which i think could lead to a lot of confusion. you saw a lot of questions immediately rising today. it was noted this was not a prostate cancer, that this was, you know, spotted during the treatment for the benign enlarged prostate. the fact that we're being told the king has cancer when, you know, two generations ago, the king had cancer, and people not

told, his hour was not told, and the king, i think, had been told by his doctors. —— gregory. told by his doctors. -- gregory-— told by his doctors. -- greao . ,, . gregory. so they are respecting the kin: gregory. so they are respecting the king public— gregory. so they are respecting the king public privacy. - gregory. so they are respecting the king public privacy. it - gregory. so they are respecting the king public privacy. it is - the king public privacy. it is a tricky situation _ the king public privacy. it is a tricky situation to - the king public privacy. it is a tricky situation to be - the king public privacy. it 3 a tricky situation to be in. —— heir. the fact that you would say it as a type of cancer but not tell people what type of cancer or what the treatment might be or what the prognosis is what stage it is, those i also think that could be really reassuring to people do know this is something that he could fight or perhaps it isn't something that, you know, is expected to keep him out of the public eye for long. he expected to keep him out of the public eye for long.— public eye for long. he will step back _ public eye for long. he will step back from _ public eye for long. he will step back from public - step back from public commitments, carrying out private duties only. it is expected then that prince william would have to start up, and other members of the royal family. what do you expect to see their?— family. what do you expect to see their? ~.,, , , ., see their? most members of the brain family _ see their? most members of the brain family who _ see their? most members of the brain family who are _ see their? most members of the brain family who are working - brain family who are working are in their50s brain family who are working are in their 50s older. the member of the royal family who

carried out the most engagements last year was princess anne, the king public 73—year—old sister. his 76—year—old wife will be expected to do more. prince william i think is a142. the william i think is 4142. the picture out of the coronation that showed all of the working royals are in buckingham palace, it was a group of octogenarians.— palace, it was a group of octogenarians. except for prince william _ octogenarians. except for prince william and - octogenarians. except for prince william and his - octogenarians. except for l prince william and his wife, who has also been in hospital recently. who has also been in hospital recentl . w , who has also been in hospital recentl . , . , , recently. exactly. the princess of wales recently _ recently. exactly. the princess of wales recently had - recently. exactly. the princess l of wales recently had abdominal surgery and is effected to be recovering until easter. she is sidelined from royal duties for maybe the next two months. william had been expected to take more time but it was announced this morning, a couple of hours before the announcement about the king's cancer, that he would be coming back to public duties. i think because they really need all the people they can call on right now. the people they can call on right nova— right now. 0k. what about seeinu right now. 0k. what about seeing harry _ right now. 0k. what about seeing harry going - right now. 0k. what about seeing harry going over. right now. 0k. what about seeing harry going over to | seeing harry going over to visit his father? this would be the first time they said cover since the coronation? i the first time they said cover since the coronation?- since the coronation? i think

that is one — since the coronation? i think that is one of _ since the coronation? i think that is one of the _ since the coronation? i think| that is one of the reminders, and that it is a health issue is a reminder. —— they will have seen each other. but there is also a family. family dynamics. harry is going swiftly to the uk. it could be he wants to be close to his father. it could be out of concern for the type of cancer. we just don't know right now. i also want to ask space that we have seen an outpouring of international support from world leaders, sending well—wishers to the king, at a time when especially during the coronation were asking about the importance of the monarchy. what do you think that tells us about the relevance of the rails notjust in the uk but abroad? rails not 'ust in the uk but abroad? ., ., abroad? one of the former archbishon _ abroad? one of the former archbishop of _ abroad? one of the former archbishop of canterbury l abroad? one of the former. archbishop of canterbury put out a statement about the importance of the monarch as symbolic of stability and unity. —— royals. ithink it symbolic of stability and unity. —— royals. i think it is a reflection of how people feel

about either the king himself or the person in that role, kind of, you know, if this is something that leads people to rally nationally and internationally, the summit of britain, i think, internationally, the summit of britain, ithink, is probably the most well—known in the world. elizabeth had more than 70 years only drones i was easy for people to know her and recognise her. but prince charles was also the longest king in waiting. it charles was also the longest king in waiting.— king in waiting. it tells us the power _ king in waiting. it tells us the power the _ king in waiting. it tells us the power the symbol - king in waiting. it tells us| the power the symbol still holds. all right, autumn, interesting to get yacht uptake tonight. thank you forjoining us here at bbc news. thank you. you can aet more at bbc news. thank you. you can get more on _ at bbc news. thank you. you can get more on the _ at bbc news. thank you. you can get more on the story _ at bbc news. thank you. you can get more on the story by - at bbc news. thank you. you can get more on the story by adding i get more on the story by adding to our website or the bbc news app to our website or the bbc news app where you can find our latest reporting on king charles. —— heading to our website.

turning to events in the middle east, and us secretary of state antony blinken arrived in saudi arabia on monday. it's his fifth visit to the middle east since the conflict between israel and hamas began. mr blinken met with saudi arabia's de facto ruler, crown prince mohammed bin salman. officials say they spoke for about two hours. while mr blinken did not comment following the meeting, it is believed that the discussions included humanitarian aid to gaza, negotiations for a possible ceasefire and a hostage deal between israel and hamas. mr blinken's stop in saudi arabia is the first of five — with visits to israel, egypt, qatar and the west bank expected later in the week. the trip comes as the us said it carried out a strike in self—defence against two houthi explosive surface vehicles. those are drone boats or ships. it come after strikes against houthi missiles in yemen on sunday — a day after the us and uk attacked houthi targets as part of a joint operation for the third time in recent weeks. we can speak now to barbara bodine, former us ambassador to yemen and current director of the institute for the study of diplomacy at georgetown university.

good to have your own bbc news tonight, ambassador. we have seen further strikes in self defence, as the us as. we have seen the houthis after the structure remained defiant and so they will continue to retaliate. are these extracts achieving the intended goal of degrading houthi capabilities? —— and strikes. i think they probably are. the latest round of strikes was about 40 different targets and has been going on for some time. so the houthis have a fine out amount of weaponry. ——by night. it will be slow. another element will be slow. another element will be slow. another element will be to be able to intercept any resupply. but ultimately it will have a degrading. what it probably won't have is any dissuading power over the houthis. —— finite. they will

continue this until they have their last missile to fire. i think we need to understand that. ~ , _, ., that. will they continue to get restocked _ that. will they continue to get restocked and _ that. will they continue to get restocked and supported - that. will they continue to get restocked and supported by i restocked and supported by orion as well, then? i would exect orion as well, then? i would exoeet that _ orion as well, then? i would expect that there _ orion as well, then? i would expect that there are - orion as well, then? i would expect that there are going l orion as well, then? i would l expect that there are going to be attempts to resupply them, absolutely. —— iran. at the beginning of all of this, we did, the us navy, intercepted a dower with uranian resupply. i would be surprised if they are trying to resupply them now. —— iranian. we will be dealing with this for a long time. in the senate bill it includes aid to israel, ukraine, and the border. the administration just added 2.4 point billion dollars for ritzy security. —— $2.44 billion. there is a clear signal that this will be a long

game. —— red sea security. compromise the region's safety and 0man being a partner of the us in the region. what you make of that? i us in the region. what you make of that? ~ ., us in the region. what you make of that? ~ . , us in the region. what you make of that? ~ ., , ~ of that? i think that is kind of that? i think that is kind of dashed _ of that? i think that is kind of dashed the _ of that? i think that is kind of dashed the kind - of that? i think that is kind of dashed the kind of - of that? i think that is kind - of dashed the kind of statement 0man would be making. they are very focused on anything they can do to de—escalate and there is a concern that many of us share that this ratcheting up on the side of various irradiance proxies and partners, particularly in iraq and syria, and the retaliation necessary following that is that this could spin out of control. that is notjust, interestingly armani's did not

say america, please stop doing this. it was a signal i think to all sides to be very wary of further escalation and the possibility of an inadvertent major escalation in the region. that risk as we have heard is very high. antony blinken is backin very high. antony blinken is back in the region now for the fifth time. the first time since the us launched the strikes. he has said of course he sees the need to push for a ceasefire in the israel gaza war is central to his mission. what you think he needs to do on the ground to gather momentum behind thati think the major players in this are going to be qatar and egypt, tried to get a ceasefire or pause dashed a 6—week pause or whatever length dashed a formal ceasefire.— length dashed a formal ceasefire. �* , . , ., ceasefire. and be able to get humanitarian _ ceasefire. and be able to get humanitarian assistance - ceasefire. and be able to getj humanitarian assistance back ceasefire. and be able to get i humanitarian assistance back in and hostages released. that will be the immediate focus is

to, if we can work with our partners in the region to de—escalate that conflict... d0 de-escalate that conflict... do ou de-escalate that conflict... do you think _ de—escalate that conflict... dr? you think the secretary of state will be able to achieve that? �* ~ ., that? don't know if he can achieve it _ that? don't know if he can achieve it on _ that? don't know if he can achieve it on the - that? don't know if he can achieve it on the strap. i l achieve it on the strap. i think it will keep travelling to the until he does. we know our various aero partners want this to happen. we are working with the israelis for them to agree to a ceasefire. this has been an all hands on deck effort. i do not know when it will be achieved but i know the effort will continue until there is some sort of deescalation in gaza with two with israeli operations in the release of hostages. ambassador, thank you so much forjoining us tonight on bbc

news. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some top stories in the uk. the british pm rishi sunak and the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, have visited stormont to mark the return of power—sharing. mr sunak said the new deal would protect northern ireland's place in the union, and the return of devolved government was a cause for optimism. a 22—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of assisting the alleged suspect in last week's chemical attack in clapham that left a mother and her two girls injured. the metropolitan police said a man was detained on suspicion of helping the attacker abdul shokoor ezedi, who is still at large. police are appealing for any information on his whereabouts. prime minister rishi sunak has been criticised by opposition parties for a bet over his rwanda policy. asked by talktv�*s piers morgan if he would bet £1,000 for a refugee charity that deportation flights would take off before the next election, the pm shook hands with him. labour said it showed he was

"totally out of touch with working people". the snp has reported mr sunak for a potential breach of ministerial rules. you're live with bbc news. the president of el salvador, has been celebrating a re—election victory, even though the official results have been delayed. nayib bukele is believed to have won sunday's election in a landslide. his party, the new ideas party, is also believed to have crushed opposition at the polls. such results would be an overwhelming show of support for the president's draconian policies to fight the country's gangs. in the capital, san salvador, residents took up morning newspapers to reflect on something that's never happened in el salvador�*s history — the re—election of a president. we are very happy and

satisfied. translation: i hope that the government has a plan so that the economy can flourish and that today, with security, people can invest more, more, and continue to grow economically. and that foreign companies will come and see that there is a way to invest here. translation: it is a nefarious re—election because, according to our country'sl constitution, a president's re—election is not allowed. this does not exist in the constitutionl of el salvador. el salvador�*s constitution previously barred presidents from running for a second term. but in 2021, bukele stacked the supreme court with judges who have allowed him to seek re—election. such actions have drawn criticism from international watchdog groups, who have also criticised bukele for imposing mass arrests, arguing that security has come at the expense of human rights. but as the bbc�*s hugh grant explains, bukele's crackdown on gang violence has made the 42—year—old president wildly popular across a much safer el salvador. very soon after he made the

declaration, congratulations started coming in from other countries in south america like what amallah and honduras and from washington, where the secretary of state antony blinken �*s road congratulations to president—elect nayib bukele on his electoral victory. we look forward to continuing to prioritise good government,... and interesting subtext there about the state of exception, these draconian security law that has been so popular for nayib bukele and helped them garner so many votes. after he cast his own ballot, he had a press conference, a news conference where i was able to ask him about that draconian laws. eli ask him about that draconian laws, ,,., ., ., ask him about that draconian laws. . ., . laws. el salvador was trained from the _ laws. el salvador was trained from the most _ laws. el salvador was trained from the most dangerous - laws. el salvador was trained | from the most dangerous part laws. el salvador was trained - from the most dangerous part of the world to the safest in the western hemisphere. nobody in the world has ever done that before, so vast and so clean as we have done here.—

we have done here. while mr bukele has — we have done here. while mr bukele has won _ we have done here. while mr bukele has won with - we have done here. while mr bukele has won with an - bukele has won with an unprecedented margin in el salvador, there are still voters who did not back him. they particularly were pointing to the issues of economic circumstances in the country. rising inflation, the rising cost of living dashed it is not that the security situation is not appreciated, that that was the first and most important step, but there will be things in mr nayib bukele's inbox for the second term. nevertheless, he has unheard—of amounts of support in his second term in office. let's turn to some other news around the world. us senators have unveiled a bipartisan plan to combat illegal immigration at the country's border with mexico. the $120—billion deal would also provide new aid to ukraine and israel. republicans had insisted on tougher border policies for any further military assistance to those countries. illegal crossings are at record levels. but house republicans have already rejected the plan,

saying it will be �*dead on arrival�*. lawmakers in senegal have delayed the country's presidential elections until december. the vote was originally scheduled for the end of this month. but senegal�*s president had said he would push it back due to a dispute over the eligibility of some opposition candidates. that announcement led to protests in the street over the weekend. police used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators. chile has begun two days of mourning for the victims of recent wildfires. more than 120 people are known to have died and hundreds more are still missing. the fires started on friday in the coastal region of valparaiso. firefighters are still tackling dozens of fires. the full scale of the devastation is still being assessed as emergency crews reach areas that were previously inaccessible. rio dejaneiro has declared a public health emergency due to soaring cases of dengue fever. the announcement comes just days ahead of the start of this year's carnival celebrations. officials announced the opening of ten care centres to address the outbreak. they'll also use of cars to spread insecticide to counter the mosquito— borne disease.

brazil recently approved a dengue vaccine, with millions due to be jabbed this year. back here in the us, three people have been killed in california, as torrential rain continues to pound the region. more than a million people remain without power. officials have warned residents to stay inside, and flash flood warnings remain in effect. a state of emergency has been declared in ten of california's counties. here are some locals reacting to the weather. we had no idea — heard it was raining but did not know there was anything like that. looked outside and there was 1.5 veep of running water outside the house. it started seeping through the doors in the evening when we woke up and my car was in five feet of mud. this happens rarely but there are three _ this happens rarely but there are three cracks in the top of the hill— are three cracks in the top of the hilt so _ are three cracks in the top of the hill so much has come down and too — the hill so much has come down and too much rain and not enough _ and too much rain and not enough places for it to go. about six months of rain was expected to fall

in los angeles and its surrounding areas in just 24 hours on monday. more rain is expected, until showers begin to ease expected to be starting on tuesday. and before we go, we want to show you one of the most—watched videos on our website. drone footage shows this unfinished luxury high—rise in lost angeles that was covered in graffiti last week. this was before those storms we were just talking about. police said that more than a dozen people broke into the 0ceanwide plaza and spray—painted the window. the buildings were once set to be the tallest residential towers in the city. the site has been abandoned in 2019. it's located downtown, and across the street from where the music industry hosted the grammy awards on sunday night — so it's pretty hard to miss. thank you for watching. i'm sumi somaskanda. i'll be back in 30 minutes with more. stay with us here on bbc news.

hello there. monday was a day of significant contrasts across the country. mild, dry, but windy across england and wales. pretty wet across northern and central scotland. in fact, highlands seeing over five inches of rain since sunday. and this very slow weather front will gradually drift its way steadily southwards through the day on tuesday. behind it, introducing colder air all the way down from the arctic. that could have an impact later in the week. but tuesday will start off with rain sinking south out of northern ireland into northern england, gradually pushing its way down into wales and the midlands. ahead of it, it stays blustery, cloudy but mild. behind it, quite a clearance, crisper with some sunshine coming through. a few scattered showers turning wintry with elevation. 1—5 degrees generally in scotland, 7—9 celsius under the rain, but still double digits, 12 or 13 celsius ahead of it.

now, that frontal system will continue to bring some rain steadily south and then pushing that colder arctic air pretty much right across the country. the exception is the far southwest. but wednesday will certainly be a brighter day. more sunshine coming through. to be wintry with elevation in scotland. here we'll likely see temperatures 2—4 degrees, but generally around 2—9 celsius. milder in the southwest, and that weather front then tries to squeeze back north into that colder air. and that is going to potentially have quite an impact, as it bumps into the colder air on the leading edge, we could see some snow for a time. favoured spots at the moment look likely to be across wales, the midlands and stretching up into the north of england. to the south of that, it will always stay as rain. but the met office has issued an early yellow warning — be aware that there could be some impacts with some snow through the midlands, north wales and northern england. two centimetres widely at lower levels,

maybe a little more with any elevation. so we'll need to keep an eye on that on thursday. it looks likely that scotland will stay in the colder, brighter, sunnier conditions, and to the south we're likely to continue to see rain. it may well stay relatively mild down to the south as we move into the weekend, but still noticeably colder the further north you go. keep watching the forecast. take care.

this showing strength — we look at the state of australia's economy as its central bank decides its next move on interest rates. plus the shares of an indian digital payments company plunge amidst the news of a wider investigation. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai. let's start with australia, where later this morning the central bank will review its benchmark interest rate. higher mortgage payments in australia are hitting savings and spending for low—income households, but the economy has also shown surprising strength. i spoke withjun bei liu from tribeca alpha plus fund earlier, who gave us her outlook for markets and the economy this year. australian economy has been incredibly resilient. 0ne difference though between here and the us,

the us is a little bit further along than us,