Biden completes a round of radiation therapy as part of his prostate cancer treatment

Former President Joe Biden on Monday completed a round of radiation therapy treatment for the aggressive form of prostate cancer he was diagnosed with after leaving office, a spokesperson said. (AP)
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Updated 21 October 2025
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Biden completes a round of radiation therapy as part of his prostate cancer treatment

  • Prostate cancers are graded for aggressiveness using what is known as a Gleason score

WASHINGTON: Former President Joe Biden on Monday completed a round of radiation therapy treatment for the aggressive form of prostate cancer he was diagnosed with after leaving office, a spokesperson said.
Biden had been receiving treatment at Penn Medicine Radiation Oncology in Philadelphia, said aide Kelly Scully.
The 82-year-old Democrat left office in January, six months after he dropped his bid for reelection following a disastrous debate against Republican Donald Trump amid concerns about Biden’s age, health and mental fitness. Trump defeated Democrat Kamala Harris, who was Biden’s vice president.
In May, Biden’s postpresidential office announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and that it had spread to his bones. The discovery came after he reported urinary symptoms.
Prostate cancers are graded for aggressiveness using what is known as a Gleason score. The scores range from 6 to 10, with 8, 9 and 10 prostate cancers behaving more aggressively. Biden’s office said his score was 9, suggesting his cancer is among the most aggressive.
Last month, Biden had surgery to remove skin cancer lesions from his forehead.


South Sudan officers face court martial over civilian massacre

Updated 17 sec ago
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South Sudan officers face court martial over civilian massacre

  • The increasingly unstable country is seeing a surge of fighting between government and opposition forces

JUBA: South Sudanese soldiers, including two officers, will face a court martial over a civilian massacre last month, the army spokesman said Wednesday.

The increasingly unstable country is seeing a surge of fighting between government and opposition forces, much of it in eastern Jonglei state where at least 280,000 people have been displaced since December according to the UN.

At least 25 civilians, including women and children, were killed in Ayod County in Jonglei state on February 21, according to the opposition.

Army spokesman Lul Ruai Koang said that two officers, including a major, and several non-commissioned officers, had been arrested and would face charges in the capital Juba, “before they are arraigned before a competent military court martial.”

He said the deaths were attributed to “some elements” under Gen. Johnson Olony, who was filmed in January ordering troops to “spare no lives” in Jonglei.

Koang said the soldiers had “moved out without the knowledge or authorization of the division commander.”

He also said they had been part of a militia group allied to opposition forces, parts of which had not yet been fully integrated into the army.

Military integration was among the core principles of a peace agreement that ended South Sudan’s five-year civil war in 2018 between President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival, Riek Machar, but it was never implemented.

Koang said the army regretted the loss of lives, adding: “We would like to once again remind our forces that their mandate is to protect civilians and their property, not to do the opposite.”

It followed an impassioned plea from the Sudan and South Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference on recent civilian killings — in Ayod, and also in Abiemnom County near the Sudan border where at least 169 people were killed on Sunday.

“We implore you to deploy resources to protect vulnerable populations and foster a climate of dialogue and reconciliation instead of violence and revenge, consoling the bereaved and supporting the afflicted,” it said in a statement.