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British writer Samantha Harvey won the Booker Prize for fiction on Tuesday with “Orbital,” a short, wonder-filled novel set aboard the International Space Station that ponders the beauty and fragility of Earth. Harvey was awarded the 50,000-pound ($64,000) prize for what she has called a “space pastoral” about six orbiting astronauts, which she began writing during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. The confined characters loop through 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets over the course of a day, trapped in one another’s company and transfixed by the globe’s ever-changing vistas. “To look at the Earth from space is like a child looking into a mirror and realizing for the first time that the person in the mirror is herself," said Harvey, who researched her novel by reading books by astronauts and watching the space station's live camera. "What we do to the Earth we do to ourselves.” She said the novel “is not exactly about climate change, but implied in the view of the Earth is the fact of human-made climate change." She dedicated the prize to everyone who speaks "for and not against the Earth, for and not against the dignity of other humans, other life." “All the people who speak for and call for and work for peace — this is for you,” she said. Writer and artist Edmund de Waal, who chaired the five-member judging panel, called “Orbital” a “miraculous novel” that “makes our world strange and new for us.” Gaby Wood, chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, noted that “in a year of geopolitical crisis, likely to be the warmest year in recorded history,” the winning book was “hopeful, timely and timeless.” Harvey, who has written four previous novels and a memoir about insomnia, is the first British writer since 2020 to win the Booker. The prize is open to English-language writers of any nationality and has a reputation for transforming writers’ careers. Previous winners include Ian McEwan, Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie and Hilary Mantel. De Waal praised the “crystalline” writing and “capaciousness” of Harvey’s succinct novel — at 136 pages in its U.K. paperback edition, one of the shortest-ever Booker winners. “This is a book that repays slow reading,” he said. He said the judges spent a full day picking their winner and came to a unanimous conclusion. Harvey beat five other finalists from Canada, the United States, Australia and the Netherlands, chosen from among 156 novels submitted by publishers. American writer Percival Everett had been the bookies’ favorite to win with “James,” which reimagines Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn” from the point of view of its main Black character, the enslaved man Jim. The other finalists were American writer Rachel Kushner’s spy story “Creation Lake”; Canadian Anne Michaels’ poetic novel “Held”; Charlotte Wood’s Australian saga “Stone Yard Devotional”; and “The Safekeep” by Yael van der Wouden, the first Dutch author to be shortlisted for the Booker. Harvey is the first female Booker winner since 2019, though one of five women on this year’s shortlist, the largest number in the prize’s 55-year history. De Waal said issues such as the gender or nationality of the authors were “background noise” that did not influence the judges. “There was absolutely no question of box ticking or of agendas or of anything else. It was simply about the novel,” he said before the awards ceremony at Old Billingsgate, a grand former Victorian fish market in central London. Founded in 1969, the Booker Prize is open to novels originally written in English published in the U.K. or Ireland. Last year’s winner was Irish writer Paul Lynch for post-democratic dystopia “Prophet Song.” Lynch handed Harvey her Booker trophy at the ceremony, warning her that her life was about to change dramatically because of the Booker publicity boost. Harvey said she was “overwhelmed," but remained down-to-earth about spending her prize money. She said she'd disburse “some of it on tax. I want to buy a new bike. And then the rest — I want to go to Japan.”  

Anti-government protesters in Serbia on Monday demanded arrests and the resignations of top officials over the deadly collapse of a concrete roof at a railway station that killed 14 people in a northern city this month. The rally in Belgrade blamed the collapse on rampant corruption and sloppy renovation work on the station building in Novi Sad — part of a wider deal with Chinese state companies involved in a number of infrastructure projects in the Balkan country. Borislav Novakovic, a former mayor of Novi Sad, accused the ruling populists of “filling their bloody pockets while filling cemeteries in Serbia." The state was "responsible for the crime that took 14 lives,” he added. The crowd chanted “jail” in response. The several thousand protesters demanded that Prime Minister Milos Vucevic and his government step down and that those responsible for the collapse be arrested. Authorities have opened an investigation and Serbia’s construction minister submitted his resignation last week, but no one has been charged or detained in connection with Nov. 1 accident. Monday's rally was peaceful, unlike one last week in Novi Sad when masked people threw rocks, bottles and red paint at City Hall after thousands marched peacefully. Police used tear gas against the rioters. Government officials have promised full accountability, but there is widespread skepticism because the populists control both the police and the judiciary. The train station, originally built in 1964, has been renovated twice in recent years and was inaugurated by Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic and his populist ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, over two years ago as a major stopover for a planned fast train line between Belgrade and Budapest.

Tens of thousands of Spaniards marched in the eastern city of Valencia on Saturday to demand the resignation of the regional president in charge of the emergency response to last week’s catastrophic floods that left more than 200 dead and others missing. A group of protestors clashed with riot police in front of Valencia's city hall, where the protestors started their march to the seat of the regional government. Police used batons to beat them back. Regional leader Carlos Mazón is under immense pressure after his administration failed to issue flood alerts to citizens’ cellphones until hours after the flooding started on the night of Oct. 29. Many marchers held up homemade signs or chanted “Mazón Resign!” Others carried signs with messages like “You Killed Us!” Upon arrival at the regional government seat, some protesters slung mud on the building and left handprints of the muck on its facade. Earlier on Saturday, Mazón told regional broadcaster À Punt that “there will be time to hold officials accountable,” but that now “is time to keep cleaning our streets, helping people and rebuilding.” He said that he “respected” the march. Mazón, of the conservative Popular Party, is also being criticized for what people perceive as the slow and chaotic response to the natural disaster. Thousands of volunteers were the first boots on the ground in many of the hardest hit areas on Valencia’s southern outskirts. It took days for officials to mobilize the thousands of police reinforcements and soldiers that the regional government asked central authorities to send in. In Spain, regional governments are charged with handling civil protection and can ask the national government in Madrid, led by the Socialists, for extra resources. Mazón has defended his handling of the crisis saying that its magnitude was unforeseeable and that his administration didn’t receive sufficient warnings from central authorities. But Spain’s weather agency issued a red alert, the highest level of warning, for bad weather as early as 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning as the disaster loomed. Some communities were flooded by 6 p.m. It took until after 8 p.m. for Mazón’s administration to send out alerts to people’s cellphones. Mazón was with Spain’s royals and Socialist prime minister when they were pelted with mud by enraged residents during their first visit to a devastated area last weekend. Sara Sánchez Gurillo attended the protest because she had lost her brother-in-law, 62-year-old Candido Molina Pulgarín. She said his body was found in a field of orange trees after he was trapped by the water in his home in the town of Cheste, west of Valencia. She wanted Mazón to go, but also had harsh words for the country's leaders. “It’s shameful what has happened,” Sánchez said. “They knew that the sky was going to fall and yet they didn’t warn anyone. They didn’t evacuate the people. We want them to resign!” “The central government should have taken charge. They should have sent in the army earlier. The king should have made them send it in. Why do we want him as a symbolic figure? He is worthless. The people are alone. They have abandoned us.” The death toll stood at 220 victims on Saturday, with 212 coming in the eastern Valencia region, as the search for bodies goes on. Thousands more lost their homes and streets are still covered in mud and debris 11 days since the arrival of a tsunami-like wave following a record deluge.

The catastrophic torrential rains that overflowed rivers and normally dry canals in eastern Spain last week triggered flash floods that submerged entire communities and killed scores of people. The deluge left behind a landscape of devastation, especially in Valencia, the hardest-hit region. The search for the dead and missing continues, more than a week since the Oct. 29 floods hit — as well as a gargantuan cleanup and recovery effort. Here’s a look at Spain’s deadliest natural disaster of the century, by the numbers: At least 219 people are dead and 93 missing The historic floods caused 219 deaths, 211 of them in the Valencia region alone. Another seven people died in neighboring Castilla La Mancha and one more in southern Andalusia. Ninety-three people have been officially declared missing, but authorities admit that the real number could be higher. Another 54 bodies remain unidentified. In total, 36,605 people have been rescued, according to authorities. The cost of damage is in billions The full extent of the damage is unknown, but Spain’s Consortium for Insurance Compensation, a public-private entity that pays insurance claims for extreme risks like floods, estimates that it will spend at least 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 billion) in compensation. The consortium has received 116,000 insurance claims for flood damage, with 60% of the claims for cars and 31% for homes. Spain’s Association of Insurance Companies anticipates the flooding will break a historic record for payouts. The Transport Ministry has so far repaired 232 kilometers (144 miles) of road and rail tracks but the highspeed train line between Valencia and Madrid is still demolished. The central government has approved a 10.6 billion-euro ($11.6-billion) relief package for families, business and townhalls. The Valencia regional government is asking Madrid for 31 billion euros ($33 billion) in aid as well. Record rainfall set off the disaster The drought that has hit the country for the past two years and record hot temperatures helped magnify the floods, scientists say. Spain's meteorological agency says that 30.4 inches fell in one hour in the Valencian town of Turis, an all-time national record for rainfall set on Oct. 29. The devastated village of Chiva also received more rain in eight hours than the town had experienced in the preceding 20 months. Read: Spain searches for bodies after flood of the century claims at least 95 lives The storms honed in on the Magro and Turia Rivers and the Poyo canal, turning them into swift currents that swept away everything in their path. To the human eye, it looked as if a tsunami-like wave of water and mud cut a swath through the southern outskirts of the city of Valencia. The European Space Agency said that, according to satellite images captured on Oct. 31, water covered an area of 15,633 hectares (38,600 acres). About 190,000 people were directly affected, the agency said. In all, 78 municipalities had at least one resident perish in the floods. More than 17,000 troops and police, and an army of volunteers The emergency operation mobilized by central authorities has grown to more than 17,000 troops and police officers. The operation includes 8,000 soldiers — 2,100 of them belonging to military emergency units specialized in disaster response — along with 9,200 additional police officers from other parts of Spain. Thousands of ordinary citizens volunteered, with no definite estimate as to exactly how many, have helped from day one with the cleanup effort. Read: 51 dead from flash floods in Spain The government said that in the first week after the floods, authorities restored electricity to 147,000 homes and distributed some 178,000 bottles of water to places that were still without drinking water. What we still don't know Spanish authorities have yet to say how many calls about missing people they received, give an estimate of the property damage, or release a calculation of how much land was devastated. And at this point, no one can guess when the recovery effort will be concluded.

  Around 50 European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, were reassessing their trans-Atlantic relations at a summit Thursday in the hope that Donald Trump's second U.S. presidency will avoid the strife of his first administration.   European officials will also be seeking a strong common stance on Russia at the one-day gathering.   Rutte, who was Dutch prime minister during Trump's first 2017-2021 presidency, said that “I worked with him very well for four years. He is extremely clear about what he wants. He understands that you have to deal with each other to come to joint positions. And I think we can do that.” And he insisted that the common challenges posed by Russia in Ukraine affected both sides of the Atlantic.   “Russia is delivering the latest technology into North Korea in return for North Korean help with the war against Ukraine. And this is a threat not only to the European part of NATO, but also to the U.S. mainland,” Rutte said coming into the summit. Trump strongly pushed the European NATO allies to spend more on defense during his first presidency, to up and beyond 2% of gross domestic product and to be less reliant on U.S. military cover. That point has totally sunk in. “When he was president, he was the one in NATO who stimulated us to move over the 2%. And now, also thanks to him, NATO, if you take out the numbers of the U.S., is above the 2%.,” Rutte said. Charles Michel, the council president of the 27-nation European Union, agreed that the continent needed to become less reliant on the United States.   “We have to be more masters of our destiny," he said. "Not because of Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, but because of our children.” During his election campaign, Trump has threatened anything from a trade war with Europe to a withdrawal of NATO commitments and a fundamental shift of support for Ukraine in its war with Russia — all issues that could have groundbreaking consequences for nations across Europe. Trump has said he would end the war in Ukraine, now well into its third year, within days of being reelected. Ukraine and many of its European backers fear that this means a peace on terms favorable to Russian President Vladimir Putin and involving the surrender of territory. European allies in NATO hope to convince Trump that if he helps to negotiate any peace, it should be done from a position of strength, for both Ukraine and the United States. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the summit’s host and an ardent Trump fan, said early Thursday that he already had a phone call with the incoming president overnight, announcing that “We have big plans for the future!” So did hard-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who lauded the “deep and historic strategic partnership that has always tied Rome and Washington.” That partnership came under constant pressure during Trump’s first term, from 2017-2021.   Trump’s administration slapped tariffs on EU steel and aluminum in 2018, based on the claim that foreign products, even if produced by American allies, were a threat to U.S. national security. Europeans and other allies retaliated with duties on U.S.-made motorcycles, bourbon, peanut butter and jeans, among other items.   The impact of the U.S. election result could be felt in Europe for years to come, on issues including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as migration and climate change.   Among the leaders, Zelenskyy, who is expected to make another plea for more aid as his country fends off Moscow’s invasion. The timing is laden with significance as Trump has vowed to end the war “within 24 hours” of being elected — something leaders in Kyiv interpret as an impending evaporation of U.S. support following Trump's win.   Further compounding an already complicated situation, Germany — Europe’s troubled economic juggernaut — sank into political crisis after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired his finance minister.   It raises the specter of an election in a few months and yet another standoff between the emboldened hard right and the establishment parties in Europe. Those two combined “adds even more pepper and salt to this situation,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.

  CHICAGO (AP) — For the second year in a row, Earth will almost certainly be the hottest it's ever been. And for the first time, the globe this year reached more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming compared to the pre-industrial average, the European climate agency Copernicus said Thursday.   “It's this relentless nature of the warming that I think is is worrying,” said Carlo Buontempo, director of Copernicus.   Buontempo said the data clearly shows the planet would not see such a long sequence of record-breaking temperatures without the constant increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere driving global warming.   He cited other factors that contribute to exceptionally warm years like last year and this one. They include El Nino — the temporary warming of parts of the Pacific that changes weather worldwide — as well as volcanic eruptions that spew water vapor into the air and variations in energy from the sun. But he and other scientists say the long-term increase in temperatures beyond fluctuations like El Nino is a bad sign.   “A very strong El Nino event is a sneak peek into what the new normal will be about a decade from now,” said Zeke Hausfather, a research scientist with the nonprofit Berkeley Earth.   News of a likely second year of record heat comes a day after Republican Donald Trump, who has called climate change a “hoax” and promised to boost oil drilling and production, was reelected to the presidency. It also comes days before the next U.N. climate conference, called COP29, is set to begin in Azerbaijan. Talks are expected to focus on how to generate trillions of dollars to help the world transition to clean energes like wind and solar, and thus avoid continued warming.   Buontempo pointed out that going over the 1.5 degree Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) threshold of warming for a single year is different than the goal adopted in the 2015 Paris Agreement. That goal was meant to try to cap warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times on average, over 20 or 30 years.   A United Nations report this year said that since the mid-1800s on average, the world has already heated up 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.3 degrees Fahrenheit) — up from previous estimates of 1.1 degrees (2 degrees Fahrenheit) or 1.2 degrees (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit). That's of concern because the U.N. says the greenhouse gas emission reduction goals of the world's nations still aren't nearly ambitious enough to keep the 1.5 degree Celsius target on track.   The target was chosen to try to stave off the worst effects of climate change on humanity, including extreme weather. “The heat waves, storm damage, and droughts that we are experiencing now are just the tip of the iceberg,” said Natalie Mahowald, chair of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Cornell University.  

Each time U.S. philanthropist Amed Khan returns to Ukraine, he begins by offering condolences for those killed in the war since his last trip. Over the past two and a half years, his group has provided over $50 million in aid to civilians and soldiers fighting to survive Russia’s invasion. Some of those are already dead. For Khan, a U.S. government official turned philanthropist, those he supports are like family. He travels to meet them on the front lines and in war-torn cities. His closeness to those enduring the war also exposes him to the pain and loss they experience first-hand. “When you’re involved with people directly, you feel the pain of war,” he says, moments after meeting a father who survived a bombing that killed his son. Khan and many other Americans across the U.S. political spectrum who support Ukraine's war effort, either through financial aid or voluntary combat, say the U.S. — Ukraine’s main ally — hasn’t done enough to help Ukraine defeat Russia. They doubt Tuesday’s U.S. elections will change that. “Since the war began, the United States did manage to rally the allies to support Ukraine, but not in the way it should,” said Khan, who was a campaigner for then-Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton in 1992. “So my belief is that their strategy is not for Ukraine to necessarily win and for Russia to lose.” He spoke to The Associated Press over the weekend in the eastern Kharkiv region, one of several stops on his planned route — all located along the front line. The U.S. has provided over $59.5 billion in military aid since Russia invaded in 2022, yet many say Kyiv’s potential has often been stymied by American politics. Ukrainian officials say that promised weapons frequently arrive late. Zelensky’s requests for an invitation to join NATO and permission to use Western-donated weapons to strike deeper into Russia have been met with caution by the Democratic administration of President Joe Biden over fears of escalation with a nuclear-armed Russia. Biden's vice president, the Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, is likely to pursue a similar policy, while former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, has repeatedly taken issue with U.S. aid to Ukraine and might seek to further limit military support, though he also has cited an undetailed plan to end the war quickly. Meanwhile, Russia has succeeded in strengthening its alliances with Iran and North Korea, the latter reportedly sending troops to aid Russia’s fight. “If the war escalates, then we’re in it … and we’re not even providing Ukraine enough to win,” another U.S. philanthropist, Howard G. Buffett, said during a recent visit to Ukraine, his 16th since the outbreak of the war. “And we’ve never had a strategy on how we’re going to defeat Russia," Buffett said. Buffett, a Republican and son of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, focuses on humanitarian needs like infrastructure, agriculture, and demining, and his foundation has contributed about $800 million to Ukraine. “If Ukraine is not successful, the rest of the democratic world is going to pay a high price,” Buffett told AP. “And the fact that we don’t all collectively understand that, see that, and act on it is going to be the biggest mistake of what will ever occur in my lifetime.” Compelled by this same belief, one American volunteer flew to Poland in August to enlist in Ukraine’s international legion, after ruminating over the choice for about a year. “I feel like the decision was harder than it should have been,” says the 35-year-old fighter, who asked to be identified by the call sign Smoky in keeping with Ukrainian military protocol. A former accountant with no military experience, he now serves in one of Ukraine’s units in eastern Kharkiv region. Smoky, a father of two young daughters, says watching the impact of Russia’s invasion on Ukrainian families “weighed heavily” on him. While the U.S. election campaign rages back home, Smoky says he’s glad to be “away from all that drama.” Instead he is focused on preparing for his first mission as an infantryman. “We’re tying Ukraine’s hands with restrictions on using specific weapons,” he argues. “It feels like we’re just prolonging the war.” Another 25-year-old volunteer fighter from Texas, with the call sign Dima, began a three-month commitment to fight in Ukraine in 2022, and that has since turned into a commitment of years. A former Marine, he has seen some of the war’s fiercest battles, including the longest one for Bakhmut, after which he took his only break. When he flew back to meet his family and friends at home, nobody could relate to his experiences. On top, “the U.S. is dealing with so many problems of our own right now,” he said. “So they’re feeling like less inclined now to send more of our tax money here, which I understand,” he said. “But as an individual that’s been here since the beginning of the war, I see it is definitely needed.” Khan, who now manages about 300 ongoing projects in Ukraine, urged his fellow U.S. citizens to focus on the lives shattered by the conflict in Ukraine, stressing that the war’s outcome could significantly affect global security. Khan said he hopes the winner of the U.S. presidential election will "really, really spend more time understanding what's happening here. I would urge whoever wins to do that and then try and seek a new way forward to end this war.”

Russian forces struck a residential building in Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv on Thursday, killing three, including two teenage boys, and injuring scores of others, and launched scores of other attacks as they continued their grinding onslaught in the country's east. Regional head Oleh Syniehubov said one of the boys, aged 12, was fatally injured when the building was hit by a Russian 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) glide bomb. “He was freed from under the rubble with severe head injuries and fractures," Syniehubov wrote on social media. "Doctors performed resuscitation measures for more than half an hour. Unfortunately, it was not possible to save the child.” Syniehubov said later that rescuers also retrieved the bodies of a 15-year-old boy and an unidentified man from the debris. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said at least 35 people were injured in the attack and others could still be trapped under the rubble. Russia has increasingly used powerful glide bombs to pummel Ukrainian positions along the 1,000-kilometer (600-miles) line of contact and strike cities dozens of kilometers (miles) from the front line. Kharkiv, a city of 1.1 million, is about 30 kilometers (less than 20 miles) from the border. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly urged the United States to allow Ukraine to use long-range American missiles to strike air bases deeper in Russia that are used by warplanes carrying glide bombs. Washington so far has only allowed some strikes close to the border. Zelenskyy repeated his request Thursday, publishing a video showing the ravaged nine-story building, at least three of its floors destroyed and the rest of it seriously damaged. “Partners see what is happening every day," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. "And under these conditions, each of their delayed decisions means at least dozens, if not hundreds of such Russian bombs against Ukraine. Their decisions are the lives of our people. Therefore, we must together stop Russia and do it with all possible force.” Early Thursday, Russia also fired 10 missiles of various types at the Dniester Estuary bridge that connects the northern and southern parts of the Odesa region, Ukraine's air force said, adding that only two of them were intercepted. It didn't say whether the bridge was hit. Russian forces also sent 43 exploding drones over at least nine Ukrainian regions, the air force said. It said 17 were shot down, 23 jammed and three flew back to Russian-controlled territories. The head of Kyiv city administration, Serhii Popko, said debris from some of the drones that were intercepted over the capital fell in the Podil district just north of downtown, causing minor damage. According to Popko, there was only one day in October in which Kyiv residents did not hear an air alert. During the month, Kyiv experienced two air alerts per day on average, repelling 20 actual aerial attacks targeting the city. In the country's east, Russian forces continued their slow but steady assault, trying to capitalize on Ukrainian shortages of manpower and ammunition. In Moscow, the Defense Ministry reported the capture of the village of Yasna Polyana in the Donetsk region that lies on the way to the well-fortified Ukrainian stronghold of Kurakhove. Ukraine struck back Thursday with drone attacks. Authorities in the Russian-occupied city of Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov reported a drone attack on the port early Thursday, saying three people were injured. Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses on Thursday downed 21 Ukrainian drones over several regions and the Black Sea. Zelenskyy, who has rallied support of Ukraine's western allies for his “victory plan,” said Thursday that the country has also worked to prepare a bilateral document with Hungary aimed at “avoiding challenges” between Kyiv and Budapest. Zelenskyy, who made the statement while speaking to the heads of territorial communities and districts of Ukraine’s westernmost Zakarpattia region that borders Hungary, said the prospective document will address the matters of Ukraine's security and its bid to join NATO. “The wording is very gentle, which may allow us to start a dialogue with Hungary," Zelenskyy said, noting that Ukraine would ask Hungary "not to block Ukraine’s invitation to NATO. We’re not asking to support us or to vote for us, just not to block,” Zelenskyy added. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest partner within the European Union, has played the spoiler on showing unity in confronting Russia over its war in Ukraine and spoken strongly against issuing an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO.

At least 51 people have died in Spain’s eastern region of Valencia after flash floods swept away cars, turned village streets into rivers and disrupted rail lines and highways in the worst natural disaster to hit the European nation in recent memory. Emergency services in the eastern region of Valencia confirmed the death toll on Wednesday. Rainstorms on Tuesday caused flooding in a wide swath of southern and eastern Spain. Floods of mud-colored water tumbled vehicles down streets at frightening speeds. Pieces of wood swirled with household articles. Police and rescue services used helicopters to lift people from their homes and cars. Authorities reported several missing people late Tuesday, but the following morning brought the shocking announcement of dozens found dead. Over 1,000 soldiers from Spain’s emergency response units were deployed to the devastated areas. “Yesterday was the worst day of my life,” Ricardo Gabaldón, the mayor of Utiel, a town in Valencia, told national broadcaster RTVE. He said several people were still missing in his town. “We were trapped like rats. Cars and trash containers were flowing down the streets. The water was rising to three meters,” he said. Spain has experienced similar autumn storms in recent years, but nothing compared to the devastation over the last two days. The death toll could easily rise with other regions yet to report victims and search efforts continuing in areas with difficult access. In the village of Letur in the neighboring Castilla La Mancha region, Mayor Sergio Marín Sánchez said six people were missing. A high-speed train with nearly 300 people on board derailed near Malaga, although rail authorities said no one was hurt. High-speed train service between Valencia city and Madrid was interrupted, as were several commuter lines. Valencian regional President Carlos Mazón urged people to stay at home so as not to complicate rescue efforts, with travel by road already difficult due to fallen trees and wrecked vehicles. “The neighborhood is destroyed, all the cars are on top of each other, it’s literally smashed up,” Christian Viena, a bar owner in the Valencian village of Barrio de la Torre, said by phone. "Everything is a total wreck, everything is ready to be thrown away. The mud is almost 30 centimeters deep.” Spain’s central government set up a crisis committee to help coordinate rescue efforts. The rain had subsided in Valencia by late Wednesday morning. But more storms were forecast through Thursday, according to Spain’s national weather service. Spain is still recovering from a severe drought earlier this year. Scientists say increased episodes of extreme weather are likely linked to climate change.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday launched a massive exercise of the country's nuclear forces featuring missile launches in a simulation of a retaliatory strike, as he continued to flex the country's nuclear muscle amid spiraling tensions with the West over Ukraine. Speaking in a video call with military leaders, Putin said that the drills will simulate top officials' action in using nuclear weapons and include launches of nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles. Defense Minister Andrei Belousov reported that the exercise is intended to practice “strategic offensive forces launching a massive nuclear strike in response to a nuclear strike by the enemy.” Putin, who has repeatedly brandished the nuclear sword as he seeks to deter the West from ramping up support for Ukraine, emphasized on Tuesday that Russia's nuclear arsenal remains a "reliable guarantor of the country's sovereignty and security." “Taking into account growing geopolitical tensions and emerging new threats and risks, it's important for us to have modern strategic forces that are always ready for combat,” he said, reaffirming that Russia sees nuclear weapons use as “the ultimate, extreme measure of ensuring its security.” Putin noted that Moscow will continue to modernize its nuclear forces, deploying new missiles that have a higher precision, quicker launch times and increased capabilities to overcome missile defenses. As part of Tuesday's drills, the military test-fired a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk launch pad at the Kura testing range on the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Defense Ministry said. The Novomoskovsk and Knyaz Oleg nuclear submarines test-fired ICBMs from the Barents Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk, while nuclear-capable Tu-95 strategic bombers carried out practice launches of long-range cruise missiles. The ministry said that all the missiles reached their designated targets. Last month, the Russian leader warned the U.S. and NATO allies that allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied longer-range weapons for strikes deep inside Russia would put NATO at war with his country. He reinforced the message by announcing a new version of the nuclear doctrine that considers a conventional attack on Russia by a nonnuclear nation that is supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack on his country — a clear warning to the U.S. and other allies of Kyiv. Putin also declared that the revised document envisages possible nuclear weapons use in case of a massive air attack, holding the door open to a potential nuclear response to any aerial assault — an ambiguity intended to deter the West. Tuesday's maneuvers follow a series of other drills of Russia's nuclear forces. Earlier this year, the Russian military held a joint nuclear exercise with Moscow's ally Belarus, which has hosted some of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons