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Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, appears in this still image from a handout video released March 22, 2024, in which she announced that she is undergoing preventative chemotherapy,
Catherine Middleton, Princess of Wales, undergoes cancer treatment
After weeks of headlines and rumors about her health, Catherine Middleton, the Princess of Wales, released a video message on Friday to share that she is being treated for cancer.
The royal, who had abdominal surgery in mid-January for an undisclosed illness, explained that tests after the surgery had found the cancer, which prompted her medical team to recommend a course of preventative chemotherapy. "I am now in the early stages of that treatment," she explained.
The announcement follows weeks of speculation about her whereabouts, well-being, and an edited Mother's Day photo. Kensington Palace said the princess is expected to make a full recovery, and she said Friday that her family needs "some time, space, and privacy.”
The Graphic Truth: The world's other royals
The UK is set to crown King Charles III on Saturday at Westminster Abbey. The Brits know how to draw eyes with all their pomp and circumstance – although the king himself is largely a figurehead.
Indeed, many of the world's other monarchies — whether absolute like Saudi Arabia or constitutional like Thailand — wield significantly more power than the British sovereign.
While more than three-quarters of the world's countries are republics, there are still 43 functioning monarchies today. Among them are the 16 Commonwealth nations, which have been under the rule of King Charles III since Queen Elizabeth II died last year.
In honor of King Charles III’s coronation, we take a look at the state of monarchies around the world.
Lula’s comeback upends Brazilian politics; Senegal's dicey situation
Ian Bremmer shares his perspective on global politics this week:
We'll start in Brazil. Will Lula run for president and seriously challenge Bolsonaro?
And the answer is, it increasingly looks that way. The Supreme Court threw out former President Lula's former conviction, saying they didn't have jurisdiction. And the court that he was actually charged, court members were surprised by this. Lula's own PT party surprised by this. It means a couple of things. One, he's much more likely to run. He's extremely popular on the left. His PT party has about 20% approval in the country. And that means that between Bolsonaro, the president, and Lula on the left, there's very little room in the center. This is going to be an incredibly contentious and polarized election, much more so than in the United States, even this past November.
What is happening in Senegal?
Well, it's one of the more democratic countries in Africa and in West Africa. And you have a former presidential candidate who didn't do very well, but nonetheless, young guy, quite popular, particularly on anti-corruption issues. This guy, Ousmane Sonko, he's all of in his 40s right now and he has been arrested for and charged with rape. I have literally no idea the merit of the charges, but what we know is that previously around presidential elections and opposition candidates, they've often found trumped up charges to get rid of them in contestation of the sitting president. That together with the fact there is a lot of corruption in Senegal right now and the economy's not doing so well, led to big demonstrations and a number of people, it looks like eight so far, that have been killed and that has the potential. He's been released. But this is a dicey situation. Senegal could be in a lot of trouble going forward.
And did I watch the Harry and Meghan interview?
No, no, I did not. Why? Because it's the Royals and because I don't care about the Royals. The Royals are basically a tourist mechanism in the United Kingdom and that's fine. There's nothing wrong with having something that attracts some money and some eyeballs. But we have that in the United States. It's called Disneyland. And I don't watch interviews with Mickey Mouse, either. So, it's okay. Some people will be annoyed that this is my position, but it is my position. I don't care about the Royals, I don't really want to talk about them and we'll move on to other geopolitical issues that matter next week.
Man held after entering Japan emperor's residence: Media
TOKYO (AFP) - A 29-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly breaking into the Tokyo residence of Emperor Naruhito, where he reportedly spent two hours before being discovered, local media said on Sunday (Jan 3).
More Thai protest leaders charged with royal defamation
BANGKOK (AFP) - More than a dozen leaders of Thailand's pro-democracy protest movement were charged on Tuesday (Dec 8) under the kingdom's tough royal defamation law for headlining demonstrations demanding reforms to the monarchy.
Thai demonstrators plan protest against royal defamation law
They will hold 'an important event' on Dec 10 - Thailand's Constitution Day and International Human Rights Day
Thai protests target king's property investments worth billions
BANGKOK (BLOOMBERG) - Thailand's taboo-breaking demonstrations are about more than the right to criticise the monarchy without fear of going to prison: Protesters want taxpayers to control investments and real estate worth tens of billions of dollars.
Japan Crown Prince Akishino turns 55, approves of Princess Mako's plan to marry
TOKYO (THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Crown Prince Akishino turned 55 on Monday (Nov 30) and during a press conference held ahead of the occasion he said he approves of his eldest daughter, Princess Mako, 29, marrying her de facto fiance, Mr Kei Komuro, also 29.