Suspended Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales has resigned from his post after a kiss scandal tarnished Spain’s victory at the Women’s World Cup.

Rubiales announced his resignation Sunday in a message posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“After my swift suspension by FIFA, and the rest of the cases building against me, it is clear that I cannot return to the post,” Rubiales said in his statement.

Rubiales kissed star player Jenni Hermoso on the lips without her consent during the awards ceremony after Spain beat England to win the title on Aug. 20 in Sydney, Australia.

Spanish state prosecutors accused Rubiales of sexual assault and coercion after the unwanted kiss, the country’s prosecutors’ office said Friday, two days after Hermoso formally accused him of sexual assault.

He had already been suspended from his job by FIFA for his conduct at the final.

Rubiales said he also resigned as UEFA vice president.

Rubiales said that he had told interim Spanish federation president Pedro Rocha — who replaced him when Rubiales was suspended on Aug. 26 — of his resignation late Sunday night.

Rubiales, 46, is a former player and head of Spain’s main players union. He had run the federation since 2018.

Also Sunday, Rubiales said, “I am going to (resign), I cannot continue my work,” in reply to a question from TV host Piers Morgan on Britain’s TalkTV. Clips from the show were released Sunday.
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The family of a Swedish European Union employee detained in Iran has urged the international community to help secure his release after more than 500 days of incarceration for alleged spying, his family said on Sunday.

The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said on Tuesday that Johan Floderus’ imprisonment had been raised repeatedly with authorities in the Islamic Republic.

“The family, friends, and supporters of Johan are calling for urgent international attention to secure his immediate release and safe return to Europe,” the family wrote on a website dedicated to his release, on his 33rd birthday.

They said Floderus was being held without formal charges at Tehran’s Evin prison, where political prisoners and many detainees facing security charges, including Iranians with dual nationality, are jailed.

His family said Floderus had traveled throughout the Middle East to study languages, explore historic sites and to support humanitarian cooperation projects in Iran on behalf of the EU, and was arrested in April 2022 before leaving the country.

“His needs for adequate food rations, outside walks, medical checkups and much more are not respected (in jail),” his family wrote, adding that he had been denied “communicating” with Sweden’s embassy in Tehran, except a few consular visits.

They said that starting in February 2023, Floderus was restricted to making short phone calls once a month.

“He had to go on hunger strike to be allowed to make several of these calls, which have to be in English and monitored.”

For years, Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on espionage and security-related charges.

Rights groups and Western governments have accused the Islamic Republic of trying to extract political concessions from other countries through arrests on security charges that may have been trumped up. Tehran says such arrests are based on its criminal code and denies holding people for political reasons.

Relations between Stockholm and Tehran have been tense since 2019 when Sweden arrested a former Iranian official for his part in the mass execution and torture of political prisoners in Iran in the 1980s. He was sentenced to life in prison last year, prompting Iran to recall its envoy to Sweden in protest.
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The death toll from flash floods that have inundated central Greece due to Storm Daniel has risen to 12 with the number expected to rise. The clean-up task in the Thessaly area comes as health officials warn of infectious diseases that are breaking out as a result of dead livestock scattered across devastated sections.

Hara Petropoulou pleas for assistance after Storm Daniel caused widespread flooding in central Greece.

“Help,” she shouts to the anchor of a Sunday morning show. “Please help.”

“We may have survived the floods that drowned our towns and homes… but the stench of decomposing animal carcasses …. Our chickens, our goats, rabbits and sheep… It is horrific and it is going to kill us,” she adds.

The wife of a farmer in the farming heartland of Greece, Petropoulou says she is left with no other option than to clean up the debris herself.

“I have a bottle of chlorine in my hand… and I’m ready to head out into a meter of mud and floodwaters to clear out our chicken coop and to drag away the dead sheep the storm left behind.”

“I have no other choice,” she says.

Petropoulou is not alone. Thousands of other farmers are following suit.

But that is exactly what health authorities are warning against.

Dysentery, diphtheria, and malaria are just some of the infectious diseases resulting from the floods that ravaged Thessaly, the farming heartland of Greece, and livestock for much of the past week.

On Sunday, state health and veterinary officials said they had deployed dozens of special crews to collect dead livestock, taking decomposing carcasses to special incinerators to be burned.

But with dozens of villages and hamlets still stranded … all devoid of clean water and sewage, fears of further outbreaks grow.

“Authorities alone have been tasked with the cleanup of dead livestock,” said Deputy Health Minister Irini Agapidakishe on public television.

“People have to stay away from dead livestock, and those that have survived… Goats, chicken, sheep, cows even their pets have to be steered clear and away from contaminated fields.”

“The repercussions,” she said, “will be terrible.”

The looming health crisis adds to Daniel’s destruction after walls of water pounded the Thessaly plain. Officials say over a four-day period, the storm drenched the affected areas with more rainfall than London sees in a full year.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis toured the region to inspect recovery operations. He was expected to announce unprecedented aid measures in a late-night address.

Locals though want more. They say the biggest but most pressing challenge is to rebuild the region to fortify it against future natural disasters and climate change.
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Russia launched about three dozen drones over Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, Sunday. The early-morning attack lasted about two hours, with debris falling over the city.

Meanwhile, the British Defense Ministry said Sunday Russia’s Pskov oblast, near the Estonian border, has organized “volunteer security patrols” to bring a stop to drone attacks against Kresty Air Base.  

The ministry said, due to the limited range of quadcopter drones, the attacks on Kresty were almost certainly launched from Russia.  The volunteer patrols will “likely” serve as a deterrence, according to the ministry.

The use of volunteers indicates that it is “highly likely” that there is a shortage of trained security personnel within Russia,” the ministry said.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces will continue in the coming months, regardless of inclement weather when fighting would be harder to conduct, Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said Saturday.

“Combat actions will continue in one way or another. In the cold, wet and mud, it is more difficult to fight. Fighting will continue. The counteroffensive will continue,” Budanov said.

Ukraine’s much-vaunted counteroffensive has seen some success in the south where Ukrainian forces have retaken a dozen villages over the past three months.

Ukraine’s armed forces are making “gradual tactical advances” against Russia’s defensive line east of the town of Robotyne, the British  ministry said Saturday in its daily intelligence update on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But Ukraine’s military operation has been slower than anticipated because of hurdles that include vast minefields and heavily entrenched Russian forces.

Budanov’s comments, made during a news conference in Kyiv, indicate Ukraine does not intend to halt its push when the weather turns harsher later this year.

The slow progress of the counteroffensive has sparked concerns among Kyiv’s supporters that the West could face an uphill battle to maintain its support and the military aid needed to keep Ukraine battling at the same intensity level.

Ukraine’s advances in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, now centered around Robotyne and Verbove, are seen as a crucial part of an operation that seeks to split Russia’s occupying forces in half in the south but remains far from that goal.

“Our counteroffensive is happening in several directions,” Budanov said, acknowledging that progress had been slower than he wanted and describing the situation as difficult.

Apart from the huge concentration of Russian mines, he identified the large number of small Russian “kamikadze” drones as a key factor in slowing Ukraine’s progress so far.

Russian air defense says it shot down three Ukrainian drones over Crimea on Saturday, one in the northwest and two in the west of the peninsula, Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-installed head of the local administration, said on a post on Telegram.

Reuters could not verify the claims, and there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

G20 summit

The leaders of the world’s 20 wealthiest countries adopted a consensus declaration Saturday at the G20 summit, calling on all states to refrain from the use of force to seize territory but stopped short of condemning Russia for its war on Ukraine.

Despite the consensus declaration, the group remains deeply divided over the war. Western nations were pushing for a strong denunciation of Russia in the Leaders’ Declaration, while other countries demanded a focus on broader economic issues.

On the war in Ukraine, the declaration says that all states must refrain from threats or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state. It also called the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons “inadmissible” and urged for peaceful resolution of conflicts using diplomacy and dialog.

The G20 noted “different views and assessments of the situation,” regarding the war in Ukraine.

They called on Russia and Ukraine to ensure immediate and unimpeded deliveries of grain, foodstuffs, and fertilizers from Russia and Ukraine for the sake of global food and energy security and asked for the end of military destruction or other attacks on relevant infrastructure.

VOA White House Correspondent Anita Powell  contributed to this story.
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A year after the death of Queen Elizabeth II triggered questions about the future of the British monarchy, King Charles III’s reign has been marked more by continuity than transformation, by changes in style rather than substance.

Charles, who waited more than 70 years to ascend the throne, moved seamlessly into his new role, avoiding controversy and sidestepping major reforms despite questions about whether an unelected king can still represent the people of modern Britain.

Most people seem to have shrugged off Charles’ occasional faux pas — most publicly when he threw a hissy fit over an aide’s failure to move an ornate pen case during a signing ceremony — focusing instead on successes like his state visit to Germany, where the king wowed his audience by switching effortlessly between English and German during a speech to lawmakers.

The message delivered by the new king’s first year on the throne is clear, said Sally Bedell Smith, author of “Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life.” Change will be subtle, more evolution than revolution.

“The queen was known for incremental change and his incremental change may be a little more obvious in various moments,” she said. “But back in the ’90s, there was a lot of talk about how he just wanted to really shake up the deck and do things in a more radical way and be more outspoken. And I think he has recognized that this is not his role.”

So while Charles has made it clear that he wants to streamline the monarchy, cut costs and reform a system of patronage seen as bloated and anachronistic, there has been no obvious overhaul of Buckingham Palace — at least not yet.

Instead, Charles has focused on building bridges at home and abroad as he embraces the role of diplomat-in-chief. After traveling to each of the four nations that comprise the United Kingdom, the king visited faith communities around the country, greeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in London and staged a successful state visit to Germany.

Charles became sovereign on Sept. 8, 2022, the day Elizabeth died after more than 70 years on the throne.

The following day, the new king telegraphed much of what has happened since in a speech that paid homage to the way his mother honored the history of a 1,000-year-old monarchy while embracing the changes that transformed Britain after World War II.

“In her life of service, we saw that abiding love of tradition, together with that fearless embrace of progress, which makes us great as a nation,” Charles said as he pledged to serve all his people, no matter where they live or what they believe.

Known for speaking his mind during his decades as heir to the throne, Charles also acknowledged that he would have to tone down his support for causes such as conservation and environmental protection.

But he immediately handed that mantle to Prince William, encouraging him to “lead our national conversation” and help “bring the marginal to the center ground, where vital help can be given.”

William accepted that challenge, continuing his fight against climate change and announcing a campaign to end homelessness in Britain.

Charles joined the nation in mourning the late queen at a state funeral that celebrated the life of the only monarch most people had ever known. After the queen’s piper played one final lament, the Westminster Abbey congregation offered a thunderous rendition of the national anthem — though for the first time in seven decades the first line was, “God save our gracious king.”

With that, the queen seemed to slide into the background of history and Charles took center stage in a multi-cultural nation where schoolchildren now speak more than 300 languages.

During his first Christmas Day broadcast, Charles gave a nod to the changing face of Britain, splicing in video of his travels around the kingdom, including scenes of the king meeting with food kitchen volunteers at a Sikh house of worship in Luton, a diverse community 30 miles north of London.

During the coronation ceremony in May, Charles again balanced the traditions of monarchy against the pressure for change.

As Charles sat in the 700-year-old coronation chair at Westminster Abbey, the Archbishop of Canterbury placed a jewel-encrusted crown on his head. Then he was enclosed behind a screen where he was anointed with holy oil.

But the monarch also made sure there was a role for other religions, with non-Christian faith leaders taking part in the ceremony for the first time.

And while the TV cameras focused on presidents and prime ministers, lords, ladies and royals as they trooped into the abbey, the audience also included dozens of people invited in honor of the work they do for charities, schools and youth programs around the country.

More challenges are to come.

The perception of the monarchy itself has changed since Elizabeth took the throne, making it harder for the palace to stick to its mantra of “never explain, never complain” as the media demand more information about royal spending and accountability.

Charles is also facing demands to make the palace staff more representative of modern Britain and to acknowledge the monarchy’s role in slavery and imperialism.

Some of those calls come from within the royal family after Prince Harry, and his wife, Meghan, criticized the palace in a book and TV series released earlier this year. But there is also pressure from republican groups that want to get rid of the hereditary monarchy and some of the 14 Commonwealth realms that bridle at the idea of having an English king as their head of state.

“It seems likely that his reign will end with less realms than it started,” said Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty Magazine. “But, you know, that was also the case with Queen Elizabeth II. It’s just a natural progression, I think. But ultimately, it’s down to the people of the countries who have him as sovereign.”
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The body of a missing 77-year-old man was found Saturday, raising the death toll from floods in central Greece to 11, authorities said. The number of missing increased to six, but there could be more.

The man was living in the seaside village of Paltsi, in the mountainous Pelion peninsula situated between the Aegean Sea to the east and Pagasitikos gulf to the west. He had refused to leave his home, despite the entreaties of his wife, who evacuated. “I have been through storms,” he had told her.

The man’s body drifted in the Aegean, past the island of Skiathos, to another island, Evia, where it was found late Saturday, authorities said.

Pelion was hit by torrential rains Tuesday, with some locations reporting close to 76 centimeters of rain in less than a day. The rest of the region of Thessaly, to the west, was struck later Tuesday and again Wednesday and Thursday.

Another village near a major Greek city was ordered evacuated Saturday afternoon as authorities frantically shored up flood defenses against a rising river.

Rescue crews were evacuating stranded residents from areas already flooded elsewhere in Thessaly.

The village of Omorfochori, about 8 kilometers by road from the city of Larissa, Thessaly’s capital and largest city, was ordered evacuated by SMS alert due to the rising waters of the Pineios river. Residents were directed to a town to the southeast.

But the main concern remains that the already overflowing river could inundate Larissa itself, a city of around 150,000. Authorities placed tens of thousands of bags full of sand and pebbles along the river’s banks, while opening diversion channels west of the city.

The governor of Thessaly, Kostas Agorastos, was visiting the town of Palamas — one of the worst stricken areas in the southwest of the region — when he was evacuated by police Saturday afternoon. A small crowd of protesters had started shouting abuse at him and then jostled him, a video posted on social media showed.

Agorastos, a member of the ruling conservative New Democracy party, said Friday that local and regional elections cannot take place in Thessaly as scheduled on Oct. 8, with runoffs a week later. First elected governor in 2010, Agorastos is running for a fourth term.

The proximity of the local and regional polls has intensified the usual blame game from opposition parties eager to dent New Democracy’s supremacy that was confirmed in national elections in May and June. New Democracy controls 11 out of the country’s 13 regions.

But there has been much criticism about state and local authorities’ response to the latest disaster to hit Greece, hard on the heels of devastating wildfires.

The rescue response to the floods that resulted from torrential rains that hit the area from Tuesday to Thursday was negligible until early Thursday, while people were clinging to the roofs of their stricken homes, according to a report in Greek daily newspaper Kathimerini. The same paper reported Saturday that, of the Air Force’s 12 search-and-rescue Puma helicopters, only four are operational, with the rest either cannibalized for spare parts or grounded for so long that they can no longer fly.

There are also questions about the ability of regional and local authorities to deal with major crises, despite the expansion in responsibilities and funding under reforms enacted over a decade ago. 
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