king charles's cancer treatment has begun. the prime minister rishi sunak says he wishes the king well. thankfully this has been caught early and now everybody will be wishing him...that he gets the treatment that he needs and makes a full recovery. i'm live outside buckingham palace. prince harry is reported to be travelling back to the uk to see his father. meanwhile, well—wishers are gathering outside buckingham palace to leave messages of support for the king. our other main stories this hour: the us secretary of state antony blinken meets the egyptian president as part of his latest push for a ceasefire in gaza. three people have been killed and more than a million are without power as torrential rain causes disruption across southern california.

a year on from turkey's deadliest earthquake that killed more than 53,000 people, aid agencies say major rebuilding still hasn't begun. hello, i'm ben thompson. welcome to the programme. king charles has spent the night at home in london after starting cancer treatment. the prime minister, rishi sunak, has told the bbc that the king's illness was "caught early", and that his thoughts are with the monarch and his family. we'll have the very latest from buckingham palace. maryam moshiri is there for us and maryam will be speaking there to our health reporter philippa roxby. royal historian kelly also joins us on the programme — she'll tell us more about how our monarchy works in these situations. and the news of the king's diagnosis has prompted lots of questions — we'll try to answer as many

as we can, in a special edition of your questions answered. all that to come, but we begin our coverage with this report from our royal correspondent, daniela relph. this was the last time we saw the king in public — on sunday, going to church with queen camilla on the sandringham estate in norfolk. just 17 months into his reign, he now faces a serious health challenge. just over a week ago, the king left this private hospital in central london, where he'd spent three nights being treated for an enlarged prostate. we now know, during his stay here, cancer was discovered. in a statement, buckingham palace said...

although open about his diagnosis, the type of cancer the king has will be kept private, as will the nature of his treatment. all of his public engagements have been cancelled. his son, the duke of sussex, is expected to visit him this week — travelling to the uk from his home in california to see his father, who contacted prince harry personally with news of the diagnosis. it is the first time harry has seen the king since the coronation. in times of crisis, families do come together, and i think everyone will be happy to see that. i think, you know, there is a sort of sense of business as usual going on — that's very much a message that sort of the palace is trying to put out. but if along the way we can see some bridges being built, then that's got to be a good thing.

but it will now be down to other working members of the royalfamily to pick up some of the king's work. his wife, queen camilla, has done a number of her own engagements in recent weeks, but may now find herself doing some of her husband's duties, too. it will be the same for the king's son, the prince of wales — who himself has been away from royal engagements for almost a month, following his wife's stay in hospital after surgery. he is due to return to public duty tomorrow in windsor and london. this is going to be a testing time for the king and the wider royal family, as they balance personal, private challenges with the need to continue with public duties. daniela relph, bbc news. as promised, let's take you to buckingham palace — maryam moshiri is there.

world leaders have wished the king well. we heard from the us president, joe biden, and also justin trudeau, the prime minister of canada. earlier today, the archbishop of canterbury also extended his warmest wishes for the king and said that he was praying for king charles., many people around the world are thinking of the king at this difficult time. we know not a lot of detail about exactly what is happening right now. buckingham palace have not made any further statements today, but we do know that the king personally informed both his sons, prince william and prince harry, about his cancer diagnosis. prince harry, of course, currently residing in los angeles. we believe that he has left los angeles and is now on his way to the uk to visit his dad at what must

be a very difficult time for him and, of course, the rest of the royal family. and, of course, the rest of the royalfamily. as i mentioned, people have been wishing the king well from across the board. no least the prime minister, rishi sunak. he himself has been talking to the bbc earlier on today, to bbc five live, and he was asked for his reaction to the health of the king. well, like everyone else, shocked and sad and just all our thoughts are with him and his family. and you know, thankfully this has been caught early and now everyone will be wishing him...that he gets the treatment that he needs and makes a full recovery. that's what we're all hoping and praying for, and i'm of course in regular contact with him, and will continue to communicate with him as normal. practically speaking, what does it mean for the day—to—day running of the country? no, ithink, i'm in regular contact with the king and that will continue. we'll crack on with everything, but he'll be in our thoughts and our prayers, and many families around the country who are listening to this will have been touched

by the same thing and they know what it means for everyone, so we willjust be willing him on and hopefully we can get through this as quickly as possible. that was an interesting bit of information that was not released by buckingham palace, and that is that the cancer diagnosis, this some form of cancer that we have been told about, was thankfully caught early. it is important to stress that cancer is, as we all know, a horrible disease. 3 million people live with it across the uk and many families will be waking up today with the news that one of their loved ones has cancer, so it is an all too common issue. it has to be said that cancer charities and those working in the fight against cancer have welcomed the decision by king charles to be open about this treatment and what is happening to him because they believe that this could potentially inspire people to come forward, to try and get

life—saving checkups. but what exactly does this diagnosis mean? again, not a lot of detail. 0ur health reporter philippa roxby is here with me now. asi as i say, cancer is an all too common illness so what does this diagnosis mean for king charles? well, we do know the prime minister said it had been caught early and that has not yet been confirmed by the palace but if it is true, that is good news. he has already started his first treatment for this type of cancer. it has not been specified what kind, but we do know it was discovered during a procedure for an enlarged prostate, which is not cancerous, but during that procedure they found another cancer. we are hoping that it is caught early, which many cancers are, and then hopefully his prognosis will be good. hopefully his prognosis will be aood. ., ., , hopefully his prognosis will be aood. ., ., , good. how common is cancer in this count ? good. how common is cancer in this country? i — good. how common is cancer in this country? i read _ good. how common is cancer in this country? i read 3 _ good. how common is cancer in this country? i read 3 million _ good. how common is cancer in this country? i read 3 million people - country? i read 3 million people live with cancer in this country. it's actually a common disease

because one in two of us will develop cancer in our lifetimes, and actually, the older you are, the greater your risk is. a third of cancer cases in the uk are people aged 75 and older. we can't change our age, aged 75 and older. we can't change ourage, or ourfamily aged 75 and older. we can't change our age, or ourfamily history of cancer but there are other things we cancer but there are other things we can do to reduce our risk of cancer, to lead healthy lives. the can do to reduce our risk of cancer, to lead healthy lives.— to lead healthy lives. the king is 75 ears to lead healthy lives. the king is 75 years old- _ to lead healthy lives. the king is 75 years old. what _ to lead healthy lives. the king is 75 years old. what are _ to lead healthy lives. the king is 75 years old. what are the - to lead healthy lives. the king is 75 years old. what are the most| 75 years old. what are the most common types of cancer that people suffer from? the common types of cancer that people suffer from?— common types of cancer that people suffer from? , _, ., , , , suffer from? the most common types are breast cancer. _ suffer from? the most common types are breast cancer, lung _ suffer from? the most common types are breast cancer, lung cancer, - are breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, and bowel cancer. of course, there are hundreds of of course, there are hundreds of different types of cancer, may be over 200, and they are all treated and detected in a slightly different way, and all have slightly different symptoms. way, and all have slightly different s mtoms. ., ., , ., . symptoms. how important is to catch cancer early? — symptoms. how important is to catch cancer early? italy _ symptoms. how important is to catch cancer early? italy important. - symptoms. how important is to catch cancer early? italy important. if- cancer early? italy important. if ou can cancer early? italy important. if you can catch— cancer early? italy important. if you can catch it _ cancer early? italy important. if you can catch it early _ cancer early? italy important. if you can catch it early at - cancer early? italy important. if you can catch it early at stage i cancer early? italy important. ifi you can catch it early at stage i, before it has spread to other organs and tissues in the body, then treatment can start quickly and that

can be anything from chemotherapy to hormone therapy. it might be immunotherapy. there have been some fantastic advances in cancer treatment over the years, so the sooner you can start that process, then the better. i think the fact that king charles has decided to be open about this will encourage other people. open about this will encourage other --eole. ., �* , open about this will encourage other neale, ., �* , ., open about this will encourage other --eole. . �*, ., ., open about this will encourage other n-eole. . �*, . . ., . people. that's what i wanted to ask ou people. that's what i wanted to ask you because _ people. that's what i wanted to ask you because i _ people. that's what i wanted to ask you because i read _ people. that's what i wanted to ask you because i read somewhere, - you because i read somewhere, correct me if i am wrong, that when we heard about him going in for the benign prostate enlargement treatment, we had a rise in men coming forward to take psa tests, the blood test that can be an indicator of prostate issues. that can only be a good thing in of prostate issues and for cancer, i have heard cancer charities talking about how grateful they are to the king for being so open. yes. about how grateful they are to the king for being so open.— king for being so open. yes, it is imuortant- _ king for being so open. yes, it is imuortant- you _ king for being so open. yes, it is important. you always _ king for being so open. yes, it is important. you always see - king for being so open. yes, it is important. you always see a - king for being so open. yes, it is. important. you always see a spike king for being so open. yes, it is - important. you always see a spike in hits on the nhs website and other cancer websites when people are open about their diagnosis, and i think thatis about their diagnosis, and i think that is because people go and check for the symptoms they should be worried about, and then go and see their gp. 0f

worried about, and then go and see their gp. of course, there are screening programmes all the time in the uk and people are invited, women for breast cancer screening, but also bowel screening and certain age groups. the screening is there and it is important that people take up that offer. find it is important that people take up that offer. �* ., _, , it is important that people take up that offer. �* ., , that offer. and of course, looking ahead, that offer. and of course, looking ahead. we _ that offer. and of course, looking ahead, we know— that offer. and of course, looking ahead, we know that _ that offer. and of course, looking ahead, we know that the - that offer. and of course, looking ahead, we know that the king, i that offer. and of course, looking ahead, we know that the king, ori ahead, we know that the king, or buckingham palace at least, has said that the king will take a step back from public engagements. how gruelling can cancer treatment before people going through it? it can be very tiring, it can leave people feeling very fatigued. you can feel as well. we obviously don't know what kind of treatment he is having, but it is hard to keep up the normal dayjob when you are having cancer treatment, so it is understandable that he might want to step back for a little while, at least. it step back for a little while, at least. ., ., ~' step back for a little while, at least. ., ., ~ , ., least. it took me three timings. you know, least. it took me three timings. you know. one — least. it took me three timings. you know. one can't _ least. it took me three timings. you know, one can't speculate _ least. it took me three timings. you know, one can't speculate about. least. it took me three timings. you | know, one can't speculate about how long can treatments take. is it a matter of weeks or months? yes. long can treatments take. is it a matter of weeks or months? yes, it can be weeks- _ matter of weeks or months? yes, it can be weeks- it — matter of weeks or months? yes, it can be weeks. it is _ matter of weeks or months? yes, it can be weeks. it is usually - matter of weeks or months? yes, it can be weeks. it is usually months. | can be weeks. it is usually months. we are told that he is beginning a

regular schedule of treatment as an outpatient, which means he will be going in and out of hospital to have some kind of treatment for this cancer and that will probably take weeks or months, we can't specify, but in the long term he seems very positive about it, and he is clearly hoping to get back to work quickly. absolutely. in the statement from buckingham palace we heard the words that he is positive about this. it is important to underline the fact that many people suffer from cancer around the world, it is common and it is notjust a royalfamily around the world, it is common and it is notjust a royal family issue. it is important to stay positive, isn't it? , ., �* , it is important to stay positive, isn't it? , . �* , , isn't it? yes, that's right. it is really important _ isn't it? yes, that's right. it is really important and - isn't it? yes, that's right. it is really important and doctors l isn't it? yes, that's right. it is - really important and doctors would say that, too. if you can keep up and maintain a normal existence whilst having cancer treatment, and eat healthily and do exercise as much as you can, then that puts everyone in good stead. thank you very much indeed. as i mentioned earlier, they have

not been any further statements from buckingham palace today, but what we have heard from the palace over the last 12 or so hours since the announcement was made last night, is that 17 months into his reign, just nine months since that coronation at westminster abbey, nine months since that coronation at westminsterabbey, king nine months since that coronation at westminster abbey, king charles has been diagnosed with cancer. we know that the palace have confirmed he will be stepping back from public engagements, engagements that are considered gruelling and that take a lot of energy. he will, however, continue constitutional affairs and that means that the administration work, the day—to—day state papers, he will still receive those and still receive the prime minister, rishi sunak, once a week. but other members of the royal family will now have two step up, if you like, to take over some of those royal duties. it is, of course, a difficult time for the royal family, as it would be for any family who get a shock diagnosis like this. you are watching bbc news.

we'll be back as buckingham palace a little later and tried to answer some of your questions about that diagnosis. the manhunt for corrosive liquid attack suspect — abdul ezedi — is continuing into its sixth day — with a £20,000 reward in place for anyone with information leading to his arrest. metropolitan police officers have been searching for him since last wednesday after a woman and her two daughters were hurt in clapham. the former chancellor, kwasi kwarteng, is standing down as an mp at the next election. he served at the treasury forjust ten weeks in 2022, after being sacked by liz truss following their much—criticised mini budget. more than 80 current mps have already said they will leave parliament at the next election. the dentists' union says a queue of hundreds of people trying to access a new nhs practice is a "perfect snippet" of the situation nationwide. police had to be called to manage the crowds after the st paul's dental practice opened for the first time

in bristol yesterday. you're live with bbc news. let's look at the middle east now. the us secretary of state antony blinken is in cairo as part of his latest push for a gaza ceasefire. this is his fifth visit to the middle east, which began in saudi arabia, where he held talks with the saudi crown prince, mohammed bin salman. they discussed efforts to achieve an lasting end to the conflict. meanwhile, the israeli defence minister, yoav gallant, has warned hamas fighters who are hiding in rafah, that they would meet their end there. hundreds of thousands of palestinians have fled to the southern city, which borders egypt. mr gallant claimed that half of hamas's fighters had been killed or seriously wounded in israel's offensive. live now to our correspondent nick beake, who's injerusalem.

a pretty significant one, but it is something we have seen before as if israeli forces push further south into gaza. it israeli forces push further south into gaza. , , , into gaza. it is, yes. the politicians _ into gaza. it is, yes. the politicians here - into gaza. it is, yes. the politicians here in - into gaza. it is, yes. the politicians here in israel| politicians here in israel indicating that there will be a new focus in the weeks to come in the fighting in gaza, in their operation. we have seen it really focused on the city of khan younis in the past few weeks with aid agency is warning of a very bleak situation, basically for the two hospitals in the city of khan younis. but as you say, the defence minister in israel is now saying that in the days to come, if the israelis believe that top hamas commanders and other fighters, israelis believe that top hamas commanders and otherfighters, and other teams, commanders and otherfighters, and otherteams, really, commanders and otherfighters, and other teams, really, are further southin other teams, really, are further south in the city of rafah on the border with egypt, they will pursue them to that city. that is problematic in that many, many people from other parts of gaza have

gone to rafah for safety. we are talking about something like a million people. lots of them were being. —— forced out of their communities which were completely annihilated in some cases, so there is concern about what would happen to all of those people if this was to all of those people if this was to become the new theatre of the next stage of the war. find to become the new theatre of the next stage of the war.— next stage of the war. and all the while, the — next stage of the war. and all the while, the us _ next stage of the war. and all the while, the us secretary _ next stage of the war. and all the while, the us secretary of- next stage of the war. and all the while, the us secretary of state l while, the us secretary of state continuing his visit to the region. his fifth visit. i wonder what he feels he can achieve this time that he was not able to achieve on the previous four visits.— previous four visits. yes, slightly different dynamics, _ previous four visits. yes, slightly different dynamics, bend, - previous four visits. yes, slightly i different dynamics, bend, because previous four visits. yes, slightly - different dynamics, bend, because of what we have seen in the middle east over the past couple of weeks in terms of interconnected events making the temperature really rise here. so the united states have been hitting iranians backed groups in syria and iraq. we have also seen the americans, along with the british, targeting the houthii

rebels who have been firing at red sea shipping. the main focus of this trip for antony blinken, according to the white house, is to try and get some sort of peace deal in the short term in gaza, some sort of level in the hostilities there. they believe if you get that, that will help to ratchet down the tensions that we have seen and eased some of the pressure in the middle east, and he is in egypt today and travelling to qatar later today because those two countries are central to the peace talks going on at the moment and the hopes of getting a deal. i know you will keep us update, thank you. at least three people have been killed in california after a powerful storm brought torrential rain, flooding, mudslides and power outages. it's the second major storm to hit the us state within days. a state of emergency has been declared in several of california's counties. 0ur reporter courtney bembridge has more from the newsroom.

sunday was one of the wettest days in los angeles's history and it's causing life—threatening flash flooding. have a look at this video from the la fire department. you can see here a man being lifted to safety after he got stuck in the flood waters. now this river through los angeles normally flows at a crawl well, not now. you can see the power behind that water there as he is winched to safety. also in la, mudslides causing widespread damage. the cars here stuck and also homes having been damaged by that. in the hollywood hills nearby, a piano was washed from a home with the force of that water. and, close to that, a home was washed off its foundations. we spoke to one resident in this area about his experience. oh, my gosh. it was like thunder like... makes whoosing sound. and then the sound of trees snapping like twigs. it was just this house just completely disintegrating. the storm has been caused by what is known as an atmospheric river where water evaporates and is carried along by the wind to form a kind of current in the sky

similar to a river on land. that was the flash flooding in parts of southern california. it's one year on from turkey's deadliest earthquake. president erdogan will visit the affected area in the next few hours. survivors have held a pre—dawn vigil in the remains of the city. it was punctuated by outbursts of anger that the turkish government has done too little to rehouse the hundreds of thousands to living in tents. it's an accusation that the president denies. 0ur correspondent anna foster covered the fallout from the earthquakes at the time and she joins us now from southern turkey. we can see behind you, one year on, there is still so much work to do. there is, it is huge. it is extraordinary when you look at scenes like this replicated notjust

around this city, but right across southern turkey. to think they have been working solidly for 12 months and there are still so much that has not been touched yet. i talked a lot over the last year about trying to find the right words to explain the scale of this earthquake, which affected millions of people in southern turkey and northern syria, which killed more than 56000 and which killed more than 56000 and which left hundreds of thousands injured and displaced, and even now it is still hard to find the words to really give the scale and the context to understand it. sometimes i think it is good to go for the big numbers down to the very smallest and remember that each one of those people had a life, a family, you know, and sometimes when you really focusing on the small things, those small stories of tragedy, it gives you an insight into the bigger picture. this isjust one you an insight into the bigger picture. this is just one story of one young boy and how his life was changed a year ago.

mohammed lost everything in the earthquake a year ago. luckily he is too young to remember much of the ordeal he went through. mohammed was the much loved first and only child of his mother, a pharmacist, and his father who was an engineer. they fled from syria to turkey to escape the war. 0n the early morning of the sixth, mohammed and his family were asleep in theirflat sixth, mohammed and his family were asleep in their flat on the third floor of the building, and when the earthquake happened, the power of it destroyed the whole thing. each of those floors collapsed down into the one below, leaving just a huge pile of rubble. mohammed was only found by rescuers five days later, wrapped in his father �*s arms. since then, he has had hours of operations to

try and repair his broken body. without a family, a succession of activists are taking care of him. right now, he is with a doctor who works in a refugee camp. translation: there are some difficulties.— difficulties. sometimes he gets an: and difficulties. sometimes he gets angry and cries _ difficulties. sometimes he gets angry and cries and then - difficulties. sometimes he gets angry and cries and then starts| angry and cries and then starts banging his head on the floor, but in general, he is a social kid. he behaves the same way anyone his age would. he sleeps and plays like any other child. mostly he calls on his arm and leg. his struggle will grow with him when he sees people walking on the street while he only has one leg, or using their arms while he can't. mohammed has just one surviving relative. his aunt in saudi arabia. but local turkish laws means she has struggled to take him out of the

country, or return herself to look after him. and that makes his future an uncertain one. the city where mohammed lived was one of the worst hit areas. 85% of its infrastructure was destroyed. homes, schools, hospitals, gone. the clean—up is still going on. more than 300,000 new homes were promised, but less than a quarter have been built. the government says the scale of the task is making reconstruction slow. a year after the earthquake, mohammed remained a young boy surrounded by tragedy. a small example of the devastation that still is felt here every day. and there are stories like that right across southern turkey and northern syria. at that point about the housing is an important one to pick up on as well because you saw

this morning people hold individual and the anger and frustration breaking through, the slow pace of rebuilding. it looks sunny here today and it is, but i am wrapped up against a bitterly cold wind. it is not warm here. it was raining yesterday and there is mud on the ground here. hundreds of thousands of people are still living in tents, in containers, in makeshift buildings, with no sign yet that there are going to be houses rebuilt for them to move into anytime soon. anna, thank you for that update one year on. anna foster, in southern egypt. much more on all those stories on the bbc news website, including the live page that is up and running with the very latest on the health of king charles, including the details of a special your questions answered which comes up next on bbc news. we will put your questions to the experts and get as many answers

as possible. stay with us. including introduction to the today, blizzard —like conditions here and across the north of scotland with coastal gales and blustery winds. across the south of england we are likely to stay in the milder air until we get to the end of the night. you can see the colder air sinking southwards behind the cold front, marked in blue. just displacing the yellow milder air further south. they will be heavy rain on that cold front pushing south across wales, through the midlands and into east anglia for the rest of the afternoon. blustery winds ahead of the front. to the north there will be some sunshine around and it will feel colder with so showers piling into the higher ground of scotland and temperatures ranging between three and 14 celsius. there will be heavy rain through the evening rush hour.

clearing away from the south of england there and snow showers piling into western scotland. watch out for icy stretches here. they could be icy stretches further south as well, as temperatures dip to load single figures. so a colder night ahead. tomorrow a much quieter day of weather with lighter winds. they will be some time for many, but still a legacy of cloud towards the south coast. and wintry showers pushing into scotland and perhaps across northern ireland. feeling cold across the board, 4—10 c and we keep the milder air across the south—west of and the channel islands with rain returning. it pushes further north as a warm front end as it bumps into the colder air, it is likely to turn to snow as we head through the first part of thursday morning across northern ireland, wales and into the north midlands and the north of england, particularly over higher ground. milder air towards the south but this is where we are likely to see the snow full stop to— five centimetres, even to low levels.

10-20 centimetres, even to low levels. 10—20 centimetres perhaps over the hills, so the cold air continues to push further north. quite a deep area of low pressure and it will bring heavy rain to the south, and also strong, gusty winds. perhaps blizzard —like conditions for a while, physically towards eastern areas. the snow moves across scotland, rained towards the south, and there will be strong, gusty winds as well, and again, a range of temperatures.

this is bbc news, the headlines... king charles�*s cancer treatement has begun. the prime minister rishi sunak says he wishes the king well. thankfully, this has been caught early, and now everyone will be wishing that he has the treatment he needs and makes a full recovery. but what does the diagnosis mean for the king, the wider royal family and the uk? the fossil of a unique flying reptile has been discovered on the isle of skye in scotland. let's return to our main story this

hour.