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Empresas y finanzas

Spanish King to have lung nodule removed for tests


    MADRID (Reuters) - The King of Spain Juan Carlos I is to undergo an operation in Barcelona Saturday to remove a nodule located on his right lung so that it can be examined, the Royal House said.

    The nodule, measuring 19 by 12 millimetres, was found after the 72-year-old monarch went for a scan on April 28 following a routine annual check-up.

    The king's progress after the operation will be announced later Saturday. Nodules are usually benign, but can sometimes affect how an organ works.

    The king has been carrying out his usual duties prior to the operation. Friday he met with U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden who is on an official visit to Spain. Juan Carlos came to the throne and became head of state shortly after the 1975 death of dictator Francisco Franco. He oversaw the country's tense transition to democracy and earned a long standing respect among Spaniards by publicly condemning an attempted coup in 1981.

    (Reporting by Nigel Davies and Teresa Larraz; Editing by Matthew Jones)