Charles III, Princess of Wales share medical procedures with public
LONDON — King Charles III and the Princess of Wales are dealing with medical issues that will force them to delay previously planned public engagements over the coming weeks.
Charles will undergo a “corrective procedure” next week for an enlarged prostate, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday. The palace said the king’s condition is benign.
Moments earlier, the princess’ office announced that Kate would remain at a private hospital in London for up to two weeks after undergoing planned abdominal surgery. The princess, formerly Kate Middleton, is the wife of Prince William, the heir to the throne.
Her office didn’t offer further details but said her condition isn’t cancerous.
While it is somewhat unusual for members of the royal family to release details about their health, the twin announcements may help to avoid speculation if events featuring Charles, 75, or Kate, 42, have to be postponed or canceled over the coming weeks.
The publicity around the king’s surgery is seen as an opportunity to encourage other men to have their prostates checked in line with public health advice. He sought treatment “in common with thousands of men each year,” the palace said.
Cancer deaths continue to decline in the United States, with more than 4 million prevented since 1991, a new report shows.
But more people than ever are developing cancers, making the disease a continued threat to human health, according to the report published Jan. 17 by the American Cancer Society.
Cancer deaths down:
New cancer diagnoses are projected to top 2 million for the first time in 2024, up from 1.9 million last year. Further, cancer patients are getting younger.
Diagnoses in middle-aged folks (50 to 64) increased from 25% in 1995 to 30% in 2020, at the same time diagnoses in seniors 65 and older decreased from 61% to 58%, the ACS said. Also, people younger than 50 are battling colorectal cancer more frequently.
Higher obesity is driving some of the increased cancer incidence in people born after the 1950s, along with other as-yet-unknown factors, the ACS said.
Zambia is reeling from a major cholera outbreak that has killed 412 people and infected 10,413 since October, leading authorities to order schools across the country to remain shut after the end-of-year holidays.
A large soccer stadium in the capital city, Lusaka, has been converted into a treatment facility.
The government is embarking on a mass vaccination program and says it’s providing clean water — 2.4 million liters a day — to communities that are affected across the southern African nation.
The national disaster management agency has been mobilized.
Cholera is an acute diarrhea infection caused by a bacteria that is typically spread via contaminated food or water. The disease is strongly linked to poverty and inadequate access to clean water.
The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, called the fatality rate of around 4% in the threemonth outbreak “a devastatingly high number.” When treated, cholera typically has a death rate of less than 1%.
Cholera outbreak:
Ukraine war: Russia fired two missiles at Kharkiv during the night, hitting apartment buildings and a medical center and injuring 17 people in the city in northeastern Ukraine, officials said Wednesday.
The S-300 missiles landed after dark Tuesday, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram.
The S-300s, normally surface-to-air missiles, have been adapted by Russia to hit targets on the ground and are cheaper to make than ballistic or cruise missiles. However, they are inaccurate and have a shorter range, analysts say.
Both sides are looking to replenish their weapons stockpiles as fighting along the 930-mile front line is largely bogged down during winter.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been making a diplomatic push for Kyiv’s Western allies to keep supplying weaponry. He recently visited the three Baltic countries and attended the World
Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he met Tuesday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Nightclub shooting: The shooter who killed five people and endangered the lives of more than 40 others at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs in 2022 plans to plead guilty to new federal charges in an agreement that would allow the defendant to avoid the death penalty, according to court documents made public Tuesday.
Anderson Aldrich, 23, made a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to 50 hate-crimes charges and 24 firearms violations. He would get multiple life sentences in addition to a 190-year sentence, under the proposed agreement, which needs a judge’s approval.
The Jan. 9 plea agreement was unsealed by the court after Aldrich pleaded not guilty in court during an initial appearance Tuesday afternoon. The gun charges can carry a maximum
penalty of death.
Aldrich was sentenced to life in prison in June, having pleaded guilty to state charges of murder and 46 counts of attempted murder — one for each person at Club Q during the attack.
Fatal explosion: An explosion at a fireworks factory in central Thailand killed about 20 people Wednesday, according to provincial officials, although the devastation at the scene has made the death toll uncertain.
The information office of the Suphan Buri provincial government initially announced that 23 people had been killed, but later revised its figure to 19 dead and three missing.
Suphan Buri is about 60 miles northwest of Bangkok, in the heart of Thailand’s central rice-growing region.
Rescuers said there were no survivors. None were mentioned by provincial authorities, contradicting the disaster department’s statement that wounded people had been found.
Deadly NW weather: A power line fell on a car in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, killing three people and injuring a baby during an ice storm that turned roads and mountain highways treacherous in the Pacific Northwest.
Rick Graves, spokesperson for the city’s fire department, said a large branch fell on the power line, causing it to fall and crash into the car.
It is believed the car’s passengers died when they exited the vehicle and became charged with electricity, he said.
The baby was taken to a hospital, he said.
A large swath of the region was under warnings Wednesday for as much as an inch of ice, promising only to add to the damage wrought by a storm that hit over the weekend.
The three deaths in Portland came on top of at least seven deaths linked to fallen trees and suspected hypothermia during the previous storm’s frigid cold snap and high winds.