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Prosecutors have opened inquiries into the kiss by Spanish FA boss Luis Rubiales, whose mother has gone on hunger strike over the treatment of her son.

Spanish prosecutors announced on Monday they believe the facts of the case may constitute an offence of sexual harassment.

There has been widespread criticism of Mr Rubiales, 46, after he kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the lips following Spain’s Women’s World Cup final win.

Jenni Hermoso  is kissed by president of the RFEF Luis Rubiales during the FIFA Womens World Cup 2023 Final football match
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Luis Rubiales kissed player Jenni Hermoso after Spain’s World Cup final win

The prosecutors said Hermoso now has 15 days to formalise the complaint.

The prosecutor’s office said: “It was agreed to approach Jenni Hermoso so as to inform her of her rights as a possible victim of the offence of sexual harassment… and to offer her the opportunity should she wish within the next 15 days to file a complaint with the Prosecutors Office of the Spanish High Court.”

The prosecutor’s office said it opened pre-trial enquiries because of “public statements made by Jenni Hermoso that the sexual act she experienced and was carried out by Mr Rubiales was non-consensual”.

Hermoso has said that in “no moment” did she consent to the kiss.

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Rubiales ‘under pressure’ to resign

FIFA suspended Mr Rubiales on Saturday.

In response, the Spanish football federation boss said he would defend himself after his suspension.

A statement released by the Spanish Football Association said: “Luis Rubiales has stated that he will legally defend himself in the competent bodies, he fully trusts FIFA and reiterates that, in this way, he is given the opportunity to begin his defence so that the truth prevails.”

He has remained defiant in the face of mounting criticism, saying he’s the subject of a “witch hunt” by “false feminists”.

Rubiales’ mother ‘on hunger strike’

Amid the controversy, Mr Rubiales’ mother reportedly locked herself in a church on Monday and is going on a hunger strike over the “inhuman and bloody hunt” against her son.

Angeles Bejar told news outlet EFE she will remain in the Divina Pastora church in the southern Spanish town of Motril “indefinitely, day and night” until the situation is resolved.

She said the “hunt” against her son is “something he does not deserve”.

Mr Rubiales’ mother has requested that Hermoso “tell the truth” and “maintain the version she had at the beginning of the events”.

Ms Bejar also told EFE her son “is incapable of harming anyone” and claimed there was “consent on both sides”.

Victor Francos, of the Spanish Sports Council, said at a news conference on Monday: “That is what a mother does for her son. I don’t think there is any doubt about that.”

He added that he “simply can’t imagine” a mother who “does not defend her son”.

‘Urgent meeting’ called

Following days of criticism and calls for Mr Rubiales to quit following the Women’s World Cup final, the Spanish football federation called an “extraordinary and urgent” meeting into the situation.

Read more:
Who is Luis Rubiales?

Who said what in World Cup kissing row
Spanish FA calls ‘extraordinary’ meeting

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Minister: Rubiales kiss ‘deplorable’

Mr Rubiales was widely expected to resign at a meeting on Friday but instead made a defiant speech, claiming he was the victim of a witch-hunt by “false feminists” and insisting the kiss with Hermoso was consensual.

The federation’s interim president Pedro Rocha has called the meeting in Madrid on Monday “to evaluate the situation in which the federation finds itself” and look at “the decisions or actions to be taken,” a spokesman said on Sunday.

An internal investigation is also under way after the federation’s sexual violence protocol was activated.

Maria Dolores Martinez Madrona, the protocol’s protection delegate who is conducting the investigation, said in a statement “we demand the utmost respect for the right to privacy and dignity of every person involved”.

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Canada might be the second election Trump wins in six months

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Canada might be the second election Trump wins in six months

When Canada goes to the polls today, it might be the second election Donald Trump wins in six months.

The US president has transformed Canada’s political landscape, and the “Trump effect” looks like it will be the difference between winners and losers.

Tariffs, and his threat to annexe the country as the 51st state, have provoked a surge in Canadian nationalism, and it’s made a favourite of the candidate styled anti-Trump.

Step forward, Mark Carney: Former governor of the Bank of England, now Canadian prime minister.

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‘Canada will win’

His ruling Liberal party had been written off as an electoral contender. Canadians had turned their back on the party after a decade in power under Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau.

The opposition Conservative Party, under the effective leadership of Pierre Poilievre, grew to a 25-point lead in the polls on the promise of change on the economy, crime and a chronic housing crisis.

However, his conservative politics are more aligned with the neighbour in the White House and, in Canada right now, it’s not a good look.

Read more: Everything you need to know about the election

Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre and his wife Anaida in Keene, Ontario. Pic: Reuters
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Pierre Poilievre led the Conservatives to a 25-point lead before Trudeau stepped down. Pic: Reuters

In a stunning reversal of fortune, the Conservative Party’s lead vanished within weeks, as Canadians turned to Carney as the choice to take on Trump.

If he wins, the swing from Conservative to Liberal will be the biggest swing in the polls in recent democratic history.

Carney, 60, is the former governor of the Bank of Canada, as well as England. He replaced Mr Trudeau as Liberal Party leader and Canadian prime minister after his predecessor stepped down last month.

Polls indicate that Canadians see Carney as a stronger choice to negotiate with Donald Trump. He is a veteran of economic turmoil, having dealt with the 2008 financial crisis and Brexit.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and liberal Leader Mark Carney shake hands after the English-language federal leaders' debate in Montreal. Pic: Reuters
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Pierre Poilievre and Mark Carney after an English-language leaders’ debate in Montreal. Pic: Reuters

At a weekend news conference, Sky News asked the Canadian prime minister what lessons he’d learned from Brexit that could be applied to his dealings with Donald Trump.

He replied: “The lessons of Brexit are beginning to be applied. When you break off, or substantially rupture, trading relationships with your major trading partners, including the most important trading partner of the United States, you end up with slower growth, higher inflation, higher interest rates, volatility, weaker currency, a weaker economy.

“We’re in the early stages of that in the United States, and that’s one of the important things here. With respect to influencing the president, with respect to the dynamics of a negotiation, America’s going to get weaker as time goes on, we’re going to get stronger.”

Canada’s vote is as close as it gets to a single-issue election.

Carney’s position as favourite is reinforced consistently by the opinion polls, although the gap narrowed as election day approached.

It could yet be tight.

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Trump ‘very disappointed’ in Russian strikes on Ukraine and calls for Putin to ‘sit down and sign a deal’

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Trump 'very disappointed' in Russian strikes on Ukraine and calls for Putin to 'sit down and sign a deal'

Donald Trump has said he’s “very disappointed” with Russia as he continues to push for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.

On Saturday, the US president met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican for their first face-to-face meeting since their explosive White House summit.

The Ukrainian president said the meeting ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral could end up being “historic.” Hours later, Mr Trump questioned Vladimir Putin’s appetite for peace in a Truth Social post.

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From Saturday: Trump meets Zelenskyy at funeral

Speaking before boarding Air Force One on Sunday, Mr Trump again said the meeting went well, and that the Ukrainian leader was “calmer”.

“I think he understands the picture, I think he wants to make a deal,” he said, before turning to Mr Putin and Russia.

“I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal,” the US president said, adding he was “very disappointed that they did the bombing of those places (including Kyiv, where nine people were killed in a Russian airstrike on Friday) after discussions”.

However, Mr Trump said he thinks Mr Zelenskyy is ready to give up Crimea, which the Ukrainian leader has repeatedly said he would refuse to do.

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He added that “we’ll see what happens in the next few days” and said “don’t talk to me about Crimea, talk to Obama and Biden about Crimea”.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, while Barack Obama was president.

Meanwhile, US secretary of state Marco Rubio told Sky’s US partner network NBC News that a peace deal to end the war was “closer in general than they’ve been any time in the last three years, but it’s still not there”.

“If this was an easy war to end, it would have been ended by someone else a long time ago,” he added on the Meet the Press show.

Read more:
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It comes after North Korea confirmed it had deployed troops to fight for Russia, months after Ukraine and Western officials said its forces were in Europe.

State media outlet KCNA reported North Korean soldiers made an “important contribution” to expelling Ukrainian forces from Russian territory, likely to be the Kursk region.

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KCNA said leader Kim Jong Un made the decision to deploy troops to Russia and notified Moscow, and quoted him as saying: “They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland.”

It also quoted the country’s ruling Workers’ Party as saying the end of the battle to liberate Kursk showed the “highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship” between North Korea and Russia.

Last June, Mr Kim and Mr Putin signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty after a state visit – his first to the country in 24 years.

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From June 2024: Putin drives Kim around in luxury limo during state visit

The North Korean leader promised at the time “full support and solidarity to the Russian government, army and people in carrying out the special military operation in Ukraine”.

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40 killed in blast at Iran’s biggest port as Tehran denies explosion ‘linked to fuel for missiles’

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40 killed in blast at Iran's biggest port as Tehran denies explosion 'linked to fuel for missiles'

At least 40 people have been killed and several hundred more injured after an explosion and fire at Iran’s largest port, according to state media.

The blast, at the Shahid Rajaei container hub near the southern city of Bandar Abbas, happened on Saturday as Iran held a third round of talks with the US in Oman about Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Shipping containers burned, goods inside were badly damaged and the explosion was so powerful that windows several miles away were shattered, reports said.

Iranian Red Crescent rescuers work at the site of the blast. Pic: Reuters
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Iranian Red Crescent rescuers work at the site of the blast. Pic: Reuters

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The blast at the Shahid Rajaei port happened as Iran and the US met for the third round of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Helicopters and aircraft dumped water from the air on the blaze and by Sunday afternoon it was 90% extinguished, the head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society told state media.

Officials said port activities had resumed in unaffected parts of Shahid Rajaei.

Out of the 752 people who had received treatment for their injuries, 190 were still being treated in medical centres on Sunday, according to Iran’s crisis management organisation.

Chemicals at the port were suspected to have worsened the blast, but the exact cause of the explosion was not clear.

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Iran’s defence ministry denied international media reports that the explosion may be connected to the mishandling of solid fuel used for missiles.

The reports were “aligned with enemy psyops [psychological operations]”, according to a ministry spokesperson, who told state TV the blast-hit area did not contain any military cargo.

Firefighters work to extinguish the fire. Pic: AP
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Firefighters work to extinguish the blaze. Pic: AP

Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

Read more:
Nine die after vehicle hits crowd at Vancouver street festival
Pictures of Pope Francis’s tomb released as it opens to public

According to the Associated Press, British security company Ambrey said that the port in March received sodium perchlorate, which is used to propel ballistic missiles and the mishandling of which could have led to the explosion.

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The Financial Times previously reported two Iranian vessels had shipped from China enough of the ingredient to propel up to 260 mid-range missiles.

It was reportedly to help Tehran replenish stocks after its missile attacks on Israel in 2024.

Iran’s military has sought to deny the delivery of sodium perchlorate from China.

Iran’s state-run Irna news agency reported on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin deployed several emergency aircraft to Bandar Abbas to provide help.

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