- Crunch time looms for BHP's bid buy Anglo American
- Kane to face old club Spurs for first time in Seoul
- Markets rise as traders cheered by China property plan
- Black farmers in Brazil changing views on coffee production
- Iran's President Raisi declared dead in helicopter crash
- Australia police arrest 554 in domestic violence crackdown
- South Korea, Britain host AI summit with safety top of agenda
- New president Lai vows to defend Taiwan's democracy
- Forever fad: Rubik says his cube 'reminds us why we have hands'
- Trump eyes witness stand as trial draws to a close
- Ryanair annual profit jumps on higher demand, fares
- High-priced Cummins, Starc face off as IPL enters playoffs
- Iran media says President Raisi died in helicopter crash
- Dominican Republic President Abinader re-elected to 2nd term
- New Taiwan president Lai hails 'glorious' democracy
- New Caledonia separatists defy French efforts to unblock roads
- Timberwolves knock out defending champion Nuggets, Pacers oust Knicks
- Trump biopic hits Cannes Film Festival
- Iran President Raisi's helicopter found, 'no sign of life'
- Three talking points ahead of 2024 French Open
- 'Haikyu!!': Comic heroes fuel Japan Olympic volleyball manga mania
- Timberwolves rally to knock defending champion Nuggets out of NBA playoffs
- London court set to rule on Julian Assange extradition
- Business and Bollywood votes in India election
- Pope calls anti-migrant attitudes at US border 'madness'
- Mexico aims to be big economic winner from US-China tensions
- Uncertain future for thousands after deadly Brazil floods
- Schauffele makes the putt of his life for first major win
- Wirtz returns to help unbeaten Leverkusen chase history
- Search for Iran's President Raisi after helicopter goes missing
- DeChambeau's powerful putting has him excited for US Open
- Taiwan to swear in new president as China pressure grows
- Atalanta can end 61-year wait for trophy in Europa League final
- Schauffele birdies final hole to capture PGA for first major win
- Guardiola casts doubt over long-term Man City future
- Hollywood icons Costner and Demi Moore make Cannes comeback
- Pacers shoot down Knicks to reach NBA Eastern Conference finals
- Schauffele birdies final hole, captures first major at PGA Championship
- McLaughlin powers to Indy 500 pole in all-Penske front row
- Monaco footballer tapes over LGBTQ badge
- Korda wins sixth LPGA title of year with win at Liberty National
- Pacers put on shooting show to down Knicks, reach NBA Eastern Conference finals
- US envoy touts 'potential' of Israel-Saudi deal in Netanyahu talks
- Dominicans vote for president in poll overshadowed by Haiti crisis
- Brest secure Champions League qualification, PSG win without Mbappe
- Mbappe absent as PSG win final Ligue 1 game
- Still exhausted after arrest, Scheffler closes with 64 at PGA
- Brest secure historic Champions League qualification
- France's Macron calls fresh emergency on New Caledonia unrest
- Taiwan swears in new president as China pressure grows
UK in shock after Catherine's cancer announcement
After weeks of wild speculation, the UK was on Saturday digesting the shock news that Catherine, Princess of Wales, has cancer, with many praising her courage and others criticising those who spread conspiracies.
Catherine revealed the news on Friday in a highly personal video, which came just weeks after King Charles III revealed he too is battling the disease.
The candid disclosure leaves the British monarchy in an unprecedented crisis in modern times with two of its most senior members simultaneously fighting serious illness.
Head of state Charles -- 17 months into his reign when Buckingham Palace announced in February that he had cancer and would be cancelling all public engagements -- led tributes to his "beloved daughter-in-law".
The ailing 75-year-old monarch spoke of his pride in "her courage in speaking as she did," shortly after Kensington Palace posted the video on social media.
Following other warm words from UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the White House, British newspapers directly quoted Kate on their Saturday front covers while also praising her "courage" on the inside pages.
"Kate, you are not alone" read the front of The Sun.
Inside, the tabloid said it was "hugely comforting" to hear Kate say she was getting stronger, and that "perhaps the world will now appreciate why so much secrecy surrounded her surgery in January".
- 'Privacy' demand -
Others hoped it would end the frenzied rumours, with the Daily Mail tabloid taking aim at the "social media trolls who have been peddling disgusting conspiracy theories to explain her absence from public life."
In her statement Kate, as the 42-year-old is widely known, admitted the diagnosis was a "huge shock" and asked for "time, space and privacy" as she completes chemotherapy for her unspecified cancer.
In the video -- recorded Wednesday in Windsor, west of London, where the future queen and king live with their three young children -- she insisted she was "well".
She said it had taken them time to explain the situation to Prince George, aged 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and five-year-old Prince Louis, "and to reassure them that I am going to be OK".
"William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family," Kate added.
Commentators commended its frank nature, with the princess speaking directly to the camera while sitting on a garden bench.
"So many people will have been so moved by the way that she conducted herself during that two minute plus broadcast," royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told AFP.
"But there's no doubt at all that it's a very, very difficult time for the institution of monarchy," he added.
- Royal health woes -
Buckingham Palace announced on February 5 that tests had identified Charles had "a form of cancer" without giving further details.
He has cancelled all public engagements except audiences with the prime minister and ambassadors, and worked on official papers while receiving treatment.
He has been photographed several times since then, and seen attending church.
Kate was last seen at a public engagement on December 25.
Kensington Palace announced on January 17 that she was facing up to two weeks in hospital and several months' recuperation following abdominal surgery.
She was not expected to be ready to return to public duties until after Easter on March 31, a statement at the time said.
- 'Doing their best' -
But Kate disclosed tests after the operation "found cancer had been present" and that she was now undergoing "preventative chemotherapy".
Kensington Palace said she would return to official duties "when she is cleared to do so by her medical team".
"Preventive chemotherapy after surgery is given to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back in the future," Andrew Beggs, a senior clinical fellow and consultant colorectal surgeon at the University of Birmingham said.
He added it was "a bit like mopping a floor with bleach when you've spilt something on it," noting chemotherapy "kills any spilt cells".
People outside Buckingham Palace on Friday spoke of their shock at the news.
"I think they're really doing their best to balance it," said American tourist Hannah Dickerson, 20.
"That's them juggling how to balance telling the public but also privately making sure they do it in their own terms."
T.Bondarenko--BTB