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. 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. looking it staying overnight in london after his birthday or cancer treatment. london after his birthday or cancertreatment. —— london after his birthday or cancer treatment. —— the king is staying. the diagnosis came as a shock to the king and the wider royal family, many of whom will now have to step up as the monarch stepped back from royal duty.— from royal duty. there was little sign _ from royal duty. there was little sign yesterday - from royal duty. there was little sign yesterday of - from royal duty. there was little sign yesterday of the | little sign yesterday of the announcement about to be made. the king was pictured on the 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, and 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. 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 the stay of his wife in hospitalfor surgery, but he returns to work this wednesday. queen camilla is central to this and also the princess royal is crucial, and the duke and duchess of edinburgh will be stepping up. it's 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's 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

as they balance personal, private challenges, with the need to continue with the public duties. it's not the first health problem the king has had in the last few years. it's a week since the king left hospital after undergoing the procedure for an enlarged prostate. in 2020 and 2022, he caught covid twice, but only experienced mild symptoms. in 2008, he had a minor surgery for a growth on the bridge of his nose. 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... and us presidentjoe biden posted on social media saying...

for more on the story, i spoke to autumn brewington, former washington post editor and royals newsletter writer. it's been just nine it's beenjust nine months since king charles' coronation. how unusual is it to see this type of turbulence? especially after such stability during the elizabethan era?— after such stability during the elizabethan era? there was such stabili . elizabethan era? there was such stability- it's _ elizabethan era? there was such stability. it's not _ elizabethan era? there was such stability. it's notjust _ elizabethan era? there was such stability. it's notjust that, - stability. it's notjust that, this is unusual, it is unprecedented. really unusual for the palace to be so forthcoming about a health diagnosis like this.- forthcoming about a health diagnosis like this. they were forthcoming _ diagnosis like this. they were forthcoming about _ diagnosis like this. they were forthcoming about the - diagnosis like this. they were forthcoming about the fact i diagnosis like this. they were | forthcoming about the fact the king was being treated for an enlarged prostate. however they haven't released information about the type of cancer that he was diagnosed with. thei;i he was diagnosed with. they said they _ he was diagnosed with. they said they are _ he was diagnosed with. they said they are not _ he was diagnosed with. they said they are not going - he was diagnosed with. they said they are not going to i he was diagnosed with. tie: said they are not going to say, at least right now, what type of cancer it is and what type of cancer it is and what type

of treatment, which i think could lead to a lot of confusion. a lot of questions immediately today. it was noted this is not prostate cancer, that it was spotted during treatment for the benign enlarged prostate. but the fact we are being told the king has cancer when two generations ago, the king had cancer and people were not told. i believe the king himself had not been told by his doctors. so it's quite a change in two generations. 50 quite a change in two generations.- quite a change in two generations. quite a change in two uenerations. , ., , generations. so they are being transnarent — generations. so they are being transparent about _ generations. so they are being transparent about one - generations. so they are being transparent about one aspect, | transparent about one aspect, in the other, they are respecting the king's previously, it would seem. which is a tricky position when you are talking about a head of state. �* , you are talking about a head of state. �*, , state. -- the king's privacy. not to tell _ state. -- the king's privacy. not to tell people _ state. -- the king's privacy. not to tell people what - state. -- the king's privacy. not to tell people what the | not to tell people what the prognosis is, what stage it is, those things could be really reassuring to people, to know this is something he could fight or perhaps not something expected to keep him out of the

public eye for now. he expected to keep him out of the public eye for now.— public eye for now. he is stepping _ public eye for now. he is stepping back _ public eye for now. he is stepping back from - public eye for now. he is | stepping back from public commitments, carrying out private duties only. it is expected prince william would have to step up and other members of the family. what do you think we are going to see there? that is one of their challenges right now. most of the working — challenges right now. most of the working members - challenges right now. most of the working members of- challenges right now. most of the working members of the i the working members of the royal family are in their 50s or older. the most public engagements last year was by princess and, the king's 73—year—old sister. his 76—year—old wife will be expected to do more. —— princess and. william is ai, 42. it princess and. william is a1, a2. it was really a group of octogenarians... 42. it was really a group of octogenarians. . ._ 42. it was really a group of octogenarians. .. except for prince william _ octogenarians. .. except for prince william and - octogenarians. .. except for prince william and his - octogenarians. .. except for | prince william and his wife, who has also been in the hospital recently. exactly. the princess of — hospital recently. exactly. the princess of wales _ hospital recently. exactly. the princess of wales recently - hospital recently. exactly. thei princess of wales recently had abdominal surgery and was expected to be recovering until easter. she is sidelined from

royal duties for the next two months. william had been expected to take more time off, but it was announced just before the announcement about the king's cancer that he would be coming back to public duties, because they need all the people they can call in right now. the people they can call in right nova— the people they can call in riaht now. ~ . ., , right now. what about seeing harry going — right now. what about seeing harry going over— right now. what about seeing harry going over to _ right now. what about seeing harry going over to visit - right now. what about seeing harry going over to visit his i harry going over to visit his father? this would be the first time they see each other since the coronation. i time they see each other since the coronation.— the coronation. i think that is one of the — the coronation. i think that is one of the real _ the coronation. i think that is one of the real reminders. i the coronation. i think that is. one of the real reminders. the fact this is a health issue. even though we talk about important aspects of state, there is also a family at work here. family dynamics. that's kind of one of those things people could read into, the fact harry is going swiftly to the uk. he could want to be close to his father, it could be out of concern for the type of cancer, we just don't know right now. of cancer, we 'ust don't know right now.— right now. we have seen this outpouring — right now. we have seen this outpouring of _ right now. we have seen this outpouring of support - outpouring of support internationally from world leaders, sending well—wishers the king. especially during the

coronation, we ask about the importance of the monarchy. what do you think that tells us about the relevance of the royal family in the uk and abroad? i royal family in the uk and abroad? ~' ., ., abroad? i think one of the former archbishops - abroad? i think one of the former archbishops of - former archbishops of canterbury put out a statement today talking about the importance of the monarch as symbolic of stability. i think it's a reflection of how people feel either about the king himself or the person in that role. if this is something that leads people to rally nationally and internationally, the sovereign of britain is generally the most well known in the world... the queen had more than 70 years on the throne so it was very easy for people to know her, but king charles was also... inaudible. it's been quite a while that he has been waiting for the throne. it has been waiting for the throne. , ., , ,., .,

throne. it shows the power that this still holds. _ throne. it shows the power that this still holds. really - this still holds. really interesting to get your takes. thank you so much forjoining us. and you can get more on this story by heading to our website or the bbc news app, where you can find our latest reporting on king charles. including analysis from our correspondents about the possible treatment for the king, and what this means for the royal family as a whole. 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. the white house says president biden pledged federal support to california governor gavin newsom and la mayor karen bass. here are some locals reacting to the weather. we heard it was raining but we didn't know there was anything like that. we looked outside and there was a foot and a half

of running water outside the house and it started sleeping through the doors. we wake up and my car is in five feet of mud. , . , , , , and my car is in five feet of mud. ,, ,~ , mud. this happens very rarely but there _ mud. this happens very rarely but there are _ mud. this happens very rarely but there are three _ mud. this happens very rarely but there are three cracks - mud. this happens very rarely but there are three cracks in l but there are three cracks in the top _ but there are three cracks in the top of— but there are three cracks in the top of the hill, so the mud has come _ the top of the hill, so the mud has come down. there isjust too much _ has come down. there isjust too much rain and not enough places— too much rain and not enough places for— too much rain and not enough places for it to go. for it to go. about six months of rain was expected to fall in los angeles and its surrounding areas in just 2a hours on monday. more rain is expected, until showers begin to ease staring on tuesday. 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. 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. officials say mr blinken met with saudi arabia's de—facto ruler, crown prince mohammed bin salman, for about two hours. while mr blinken did not comment following the meeting, it is believed that humanitarian aid to gaza,

negotiations for a possible ceasefire and a hostage deal between israel and hamas were discussed. 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 to the region comes as the us said it carried out a strike in, quote, "self defence" against two houthi explosive surface vehicles. those are unmanned drone boats or ships. to get an understanding of how these strikes may impact blinken's visit, i spoke to barbara bodine, former us ambassador to yemen and current director of the institute for the study of diplomacy at georgetown university. we have seen further strikes, as the us says, in self defence. after that, the houthis say they will continue to retaliate. what is your sense? are these strikes achieving the intended goal of degrading the houthi capabilities? i degrading the houthi capabilities?- degrading the houthi caabilities? ~ ,

capabilities? i think they probably _ capabilities? i think they probably are. _ capabilities? i think they probably are. the - capabilities? i think they probably are. the latest| capabilities? i think they - probably are. the latest was 40 probably are. the latest was a0 targets and it has been going on for some time. the houthis have a finite amount of weaponry. it will degrade, it will be slow. 0ne weaponry. it will degrade, it will be slow. one of the other element is going to be to be able to intercept any resupply. but it will have a degrading... what it probably will not have is any dissuading power over the houthi. the houthi will continue until they have their last missile to fire, and 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 that. will they continue to get l restocked and supported by iran as well? i restocked and supported by iran as well? ., , . ., as well? i would expect that the are as well? i would expect that they are going _ as well? i would expect that they are going to _ as well? i would expect that they are going to have - as well? i would expect that - they are going to have attempts to resupply them, absolutely. if you remember, the beginning of all of this, the us navy

intercepted an iranian resupply. .. intercepted an iranian resupply... i would intercepted an iranian resupply... iwould be intercepted an iranian resupply... i would be very surprised if the iranians are not trying to resupply them now. we are going to be playing this for a long time. i would note that, in the, which includes aid to israel, ukraine and our border, the administrationjust added $2.a administration just added $2.a billion administrationjust added $2.a billion for red security. so a very clear signal that we know this is going to be a long game. —— for red sea security. the iranian foreign minister saying it is malicious and compromise the region's safety... 0man is a partner of the us in the region. what do you make of that? i the us in the region. what do you make of that?— you make of that? i think it is the sort of — you make of that? i think it is the sort of statement - you make of that? i think it is the sort of statement oman l the sort of statement 0man would be making. they are very

focused on anything they can do to de—escalate. i think there is a concern that many of us share that this ratcheting up, with various iranian proxies and partners, particularly in iraq and syria, and the retaliation necessary following that, is that this could spin out of control. that is not to say... interestingly, 0man did not say, america, please stop doing this. it was a signal to all sides to be very wary of further escalation. the us and its partners, including the uk, have carried out a number of strikes on houthi targets inside yemen, all with the stated goal of stopping houthi attacks on ships in the red sea. of stopping houthi attacks but have these strikes worked? of stopping houthi attacks

0ur bbc verify correspondent nick eardley has been investigating what the strikes have achieved so far. those attacks by the us and the uk on houthi targets have been continuing — there was the joint strikes on friday night, the us launched its own last night, too. at bbc verify, we have been looking at the impact on the strikes, but also the impact of those houthi attacks on vessels. let's start off back in november, in this area off the coast of yemen. this is where houthis backed by iran had been launching attacks on ships. the first few are mostly here in the red sea, many are near a pinch point the bab—el—mandab strait. here is an example, when houthis seized a part israeli—owned cargo ship, the galaxy leader, and released this footage. after the initial attacks, the us and uk launched air strikes on the houthis on the 11th of january, there were a second set on the 22nd. and over the weekend, there were more. this verified video shows air strikes in the city of sana'a on friday night.

the uk's defence secretary said these strikes would further degrade the ability of the houthis. on sunday, the us said they targeted missiles being prepared to launch against ships in the red sea. data, though, shows that houthi attacks have continued in recent weeks, certainly after the initial us—uk strikes. they started to move south into the gulf of aden. one example, the marlin luanda, a tanker with links to the uk, it was set on fire after being hit by a missile. in the three weeks before the first us and uk strikes, there were six attacks on ships. in the three weeks since the us—uk action began, there were nine. no houthi strikes on ships have been confirmed since last thursday, but it is too early to be sure if things are changing. and here is the impact — there is a lot less traffic going through the red sea now. the volume has fallen 30% since mid january. if you look at the red here, vessels are now sailing around africa and that takes

a lot longer. it also costs more, this shows the increased cost for transporting freight. it has shot up. and those growing costs will have an impact here, they could mean higher costs for customers. in gaza, the hamas—run health ministry said more than 27,a00 people have been killed in the territory in nearly four months of war. 0ur correspondent lucy williamson has been looking at the story of six—year—old hind rajab — who fled the fighting in gaza city with her uncle's family. she was last heard in a call to the emergency services. a warning you may find some of lucy's report distressing. alone and underfire, six—year—old hind rajab called for help. surrounded by the bodies of her relatives, she begged paramedics and her mother to come and get her. they tried. a week on, hind's mother still doesn't know what happened to her daughter. the ambulance sent to rescue

her is missing, too. she waits every day at a nearby hospital, hoping her daughter will be brought in. translation: every time i hear the sound of an ambulance, - i think maybe it's her. every sound, every gunshot, every falling missile, every bomb, i wonder if it's heading for my daughter, if she is being hit. hind was in a car with her uncle's family as they fled the fighting in gaza city. at the fares petrol station, their car appears to have come under fire. hind's cousin layan told the palestinian red crescent that she and hind were the only ones left alive. rapid gunfire. the call ended

with heavy gunfire. when operators called back, it was hind who answered. siren wails. it took several hours for israel's army to allow an ambulance to reach hind, trapped inside an active combat zone. hours that operator rana stayed talking to hind on the phone. translation: she kept i saying, "come and get me. if you can't come," she said, "send someone else." she even asked me how far my house was. it shows how she was holding onto hope — the last hope of us talking to her. it was very painful for us. siren wails. as the ambulance approached the area, all connections were lost.

since then, there's been no sign of hind or the paramedics who went to save her. we asked the israeli army for information. they said they were checking. hidden somewhere in gaza is the unfinished story of six—year—old hind rajab, waiting for the fighting to end. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. un secretary—general antonio guterres appointed an independent panel on monday to conduct an assessment of the un agency that helps palestinian refugees, unrwa. the panel comes following accusations that several staff members were involved in the october 7th attacks against israel. a final report of their findings will be made public and is expected to be completed by late april. researchers at the world's biggest particle accelerator in switzerland are aiming bigger. they've submitted proposals for a new, much larger, supercollider.

they're hoping the new facility would discover new particles and help our understanding of how the universe works. if approved, the future circular collider, or fcc, would be built next to the existing one, but would be more than three times its size. it's one of the world's biggest scientific projects. wow! welcome to the large hadron collider. it's huge! it is massive. i can tell you after ten years working here, coming through this tunnel nearly every day, i still get that sort of "wow" as i look at all of it. this experiment has been going on for more than a decade. it's made some important discoveries, such as a particle called the higgs boson. this is one of the detectors that discovered the higgs 12 years ago. it was an incredible scientific achievement. but the lhc was built to do much more than that. it was supposed to discover brand—new particles that would change the theory of physics.

it hasn't. so in that sense, it's failed. so the plan is to build a more powerful machine, in two stages. by the mid 20a0s they will be colliding electrons together with much more energy, to produce lots and lots of higgs bosons. then, in the 2070s, much heavier protons will be smashed together, in order to discover brand—new particles. the head of cern says the initial £12 billion price tag is worth it. there are so many outstanding questions in fundamental physics today, and in our knowledge of the universe, its structure and its evolution, from which we have no answer, and so we need more powerful instruments to be able to address those questions. some scientists say that there are other better options, such as a straight line accelerator.

so first of all, a linear machine could be done stage by stage, and second, the cost profile would be rather different, so the initial stage would cost less, and third, because the tunnel is shorter, you could do it quicker. but cern wants a circular collider, because it's more powerful. it will have to convince european governments that if they fund the research, this time they really will discover the particles that will solve some of the greatest mysteries of our universe. pallab ghosh, bbc news, cern. and before we go, we want to show you one of the most—watched videos on our website. this unfinished luxury high—rise in lost angeles was covered in graffiti last week. the site has been absndoned since 2019. it's located downtown, so it's been hard to miss. police say over a dozen people entered the building to carry out the graffiti, but only two were apprehended.

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, crisp with some sunshine coming through. a few scattered showers turning wintry with elevation. 1—5 celsius generally in scotland, 7—9 celsius under the rain, but still double digits, 12 or13 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. largely dry with a few scattered showers continuing to be wintry, with elevation in scotland. here we'll likely see temperatures 2—a celsius, 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.

the shares of a popular indian digital payments company plunge amid reports of a widening investigation. plus we'll have the latest interest rate decision from the reserve bank of australia as the economy down and continues show strength. welcome to asia business report. we begin with a focus on the popular indian digital payments company after its shares fell more than a0% in the last three trading sessions. last week the reserve bank of india on deal—maker ordered the company to stop having fresh deposits from march and there are reports and investigation into paytm is widening. i willjoined us from mumbai. tell us more about this

widening probe.