Headline

Princess Of Wales, Catherine, Finishes Chemotherapy, Vows To Stay Cancer-free

Published

1 year ago

September 10, 2024

Catherine, Princess of Wales, announced Monday that she had completed her course of chemotherapy following a shock cancer diagnosis earlier this year.

The announcement will provide welcome relief for Britain’s royal family after a troubled year in which head of state King Charles III also revealed he was battling cancer.

“I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment,” Kate, as she is often called, said in a message on X and Instagram.

The princess, 42, said the last nine months had been “incredibly tough” for the family—her husband Prince William and their children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six.

“Life as you know it can change in an instant and we have had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown,” she said.

Catherine, a future queen seen as a key figure in maintaining the royals’ position in a changing Britain, added that “doing what I can to stay cancer-free is now my focus.”

“Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes,” she said.

“I am, however, looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can.”

Catherine announced in March that she was undergoing a course of “preventative chemotherapy” for an undisclosed cancer.

– Solidarity –

The announcement came just weeks after it was disclosed that her father-in-law had also been diagnosed with cancer after undergoing treatment for a benign prostate.

Charles, 75, was given the green light to resume public duties in April after doctors said they were “very encouraged” by his progress.

The video message shows Catherine and William looking relaxed and happy with their children in the Norfolk countryside in eastern England, where they have a home.

The video was filmed last month, their Kensington Palace office said.

Catherine added in her highly emotional message that the months since her diagnosis had “above all reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted. Of simply loving and being loved.”

“Everyone’s kindness, empathy, and compassion have been truly humbling,” she said.

And she expressed solidarity with fellow cancer sufferers.

“To all those who are continuing their own cancer journey, I remain with you, side by side, hand in hand. Out of darkness, can come light, so let that light shine bright,” she said.

Catherine has appeared in public on only a handful of occasions this year.

When she announced her cancer diagnosis in a video on March 22, she had not been seen in public since Christmas.

The disclosure came after royal officials said in January that Catherine would spend two weeks in hospital for abdominal surgery.

That announcement came shortly before a separate statement from Buckingham Palace that Charles was to have surgery.

He later spent three days at the same private hospital in central London. Officials then said in early February that tests had identified “a form of cancer,” without giving further details.

Catherine tentatively returned to UK public life in June, attending a military parade in London to officially mark Charles’s birthday.

In July, she attended the Wimbledon men’s final, at which she received cheers as she walked onto the court to present the trophy to Carlos Alcaraz.

Here is a summary of the key dates for Charles and Catherine’s cancer diagnoses:

January 17: Kensington Palace announces Catherine, Princess of Wales, is hospitalised for abdominal surgery (non-cancer-related). Buckingham Palace reveals Charles will undergo surgery for a benign enlarged prostate.

January 26: Charles undergoes surgery at The London Clinic, where Catherine is also recovering.

January 29: Both Charles and Catherine are discharged from the clinic.

February 5: Charles is diagnosed with cancer and begins treatment. He takes an indefinite break from public duties.

February 6: Charles makes a brief public appearance after his son, Prince Harry, visits him in London.

February 27: William pulls out of a memorial service, with reports suggesting Catherine had received her cancer diagnosis.

March 22: Catherine publicly announces she has cancer and has started chemotherapy, requesting privacy.

April 26: Charles begins a limited return to public duties after positive progress in his treatment.

June 14: Catherine announces progress in her treatment and attends the Trooping the Colour parade.

July 2024: Catherine attends the Wimbledon men’s tennis final.
September 9: Catherine reveals she has completed chemotherapy and is focusing on staying cancer-free while gradually returning to public duties.
PUNCH

Related Topics:Cancer Catherine Princess Of Wales

Up Next

Legendary Actor, Grammy Winner, Jones Is Dead

Don't Miss

US Blocks Nigerian’s Cryptocurrency Fraud, Imposes $50,000 Fine

Comments

Headline

Trump Threatens To Unleash ‘Hell’ On Hamas

Published

17 hours ago

October 4, 2025

Editor

US President Donald Trump has given Hamas until 2200 GMT on Sunday to accept his 20-point plan for peace in Gaza, warning the Palestinian militant group faced “all hell” if it did not agree to the terms.

The US leader set the deadline — which would fall at 1:00 a.m. Monday in Gaza — after an official for the Islamist movement told AFP earlier on Friday that the group still needed time to study the proposal to end nearly two years of devastating war in the Palestinian territory.

“If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

The proposal, backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages within 72 hours, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

That would be followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.

“Hamas is still continuing consultations regarding Trump’s plan… and has informed mediators that the consultations are ongoing and need some time,” the official said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.

On Tuesday, Trump gave Hamas “three or four days” to accept his plan, which has been welcomed by world powers, including Arab and Muslim nations.

Mohammad Nazzal, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said in a statement Friday that the “plan has points of concern, and we will announce our position on it soon.”

As Hamas mulled Trump’s peace plan this week, a Palestinian source close to the group’s leadership told AFP on Wednesday that the Islamist movement wanted to amend some clauses, including the one on disarmament.

Hamas leaders also want “international guarantees” for a full Israeli withdrawal and that no assassination attempts would be made inside or outside Gaza, the source added.

Another source familiar with the negotiations told AFP that the group was split over Trump’s plan.

Structurally, the group’s leadership is divided between officials based in the Gaza Strip and those abroad, particularly in Qatar.

Much of Hamas’s leadership has also been wiped out in Israeli attacks throughout the war.

The source told AFP that “the first (opinion) supports unconditional approval, as the priority is a ceasefire under Trump’s guarantees, with mediators ensuring Israel implements the plan”.

“The second has serious reservations regarding key clauses… They favour conditional approval with clarifications reflecting Hamas’s and the resistance factions’ demands,” the source added.

Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said “ultimately it’s not just about convincing Hamas leadership in Doha, but also the leadership in Gaza, as well as Hamas members and fighters in Gaza.”

“Additionally, Hamas must then be able to convince other factions in Gaza,” he added.

The war was triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 66,288 Palestinians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

Their data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.

Headline

Israeli Forces Strike Gaza Despite Trump’s Ceasefire Call

Published

18 hours ago

October 4, 2025

Editor

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Saturday that Israel carried out dozens of attacks on Gaza City despite US President Donald Trump’s appeal to end bombardments after Hamas accepted a ceasefire deal.

“It was a very violent night, during which the (Israeli army) carried out dozens of air strikes and artillery shelling on Gaza City and other areas in the Strip, despite President Trump’s call to halt the bombing,” civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

Bassal, whose agency is a rescue force which operates under Hamas authority, added that 20 homes were destroyed in the overnight bombardments.

“The situation is very serious in Gaza City,” Bassal said, adding that his teams were not able to reach all the casualties due to the “presence of tanks and the ongoing bombardment”.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was “checking” reports of overnight bombardments on Gaza City.

Gaza City’s Baptist Hospital said in a statement that it received casualties from a strike on a home in Tuffah neighbourhood, including four dead and “several wounded”.

Nasser Hospital in south Gaza’s Khan Yunis said two children were killed and eight people were wounded in a drone strike on a tent in a camp for displaced Gazans.

The peace plan for Gaza, presented by Trump this week and backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages within 72 hours, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Hamas said on Friday it was ready to release hostages held in Gaza under the Trump plan, but wanted negotiations on the details and a say in the future of the Palestinian territory.

AFP

Headline

Prosecutors Seek 11-year Sentence For Diddy, Citing ‘Lack Of Remorse’

Published

1 day ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

Prosecutors urged a federal judge Friday to sentence Sean “Diddy” Combs to more than a decade behind bars for his conviction on two prostitution-related counts, saying the music mogul had shown a lack of remorse.

“This is not a person who has accepted responsibility,” prosecutor Christy Slavik told the New York court at Diddy’s sentencing hearing.

“His remorse was qualified. It’s as though he thinks the law doesn’t apply to him,” Slavik said in arguing for an 11-year prison sentence for the 55-year-old hip-hop innovator. ” “His respect for the law is just lip service.”

Combs’s lawyers have asked the judge for a 14-month sentence, which would effectively be time served.

Slavik said Combs had booked speaking engagements in Miami next week in anticipation of a light sentence, which she called “the height of hubris.”

Judge Arun Subramanian for his part said federal sentencing guidelines suggested a prison term of between six and seven years although he has the latitude to impose more or less.

The judge also noted an apparent lack of remorse, saying Combs has “challenged his factual guilt full-throatedly.”

Combs was expected to address the court at the sentencing hearing after submitting a letter to the judge on Thursday pleading for mercy and saying he had “lost my way.”

Following two months of often searing testimony, jurors in July rejected the most serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering against Combs, sparing him the prospect of life in prison.

Combs’s mother and six of his children were in court on Friday and have submitted letters to the judge in his support.

In his plea to the judge, Combs apologised for his conduct, saying he was “scared to death” to be away from his family and vowing he “will never commit a crime again.”

“I lost my way,” he wrote. “I got lost in my journey. Lost in the drugs and the excess.”

Combs’s former girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, asked the judge in a letter of her own to consider “the many lives that Sean Combs has upended with his abuse and control.”

– ‘Humbled and broken’ –

Ventura, the 39-year-old singer known as Cassie, testified for days while heavily pregnant.

She described in wrenching detail physical, emotional and sexual abuse she suffered while in a more than decade-long relationship with Combs.

Ventura and another woman, identified as Jane, said they were coerced into performing so-called “freak-offs”: sexual marathons with hired men that Combs directed and sometimes filmed.

“The entire courtroom watched actual footage of Combs kicking and beating me as I tried to run away from a freak off in 2016,” Ventura wrote.

“People watched this footage dozens of times, seeing my body thrown to the ground, my hands over my head, curled into a fetal position to shield me from the worst blows,” she said, noting she has nightmares and flashbacks “on a regular, everyday basis.”

Ventura said she and her family had left the New York area for fear of “retribution” from Combs if he is released.

The defense didn’t deny Combs’s sexual activity but insisted it was consensual.

They also didn’t deny Combs’s years of violence against both romantic partners as well as employees — but they said it didn’t meet the legal threshold for the grave charges he faced.

Jurors took their side.

The conviction on lesser if still serious counts stemmed from a federal statute that makes it illegal to transport people across state lines for prostitution.

Combs has been incarcerated in Brooklyn for more than a year.

He said his time in prison has left him “reborn.”

“I have been humbled and broken to my core,” Combs wrote.
AFP