2018 World Cup chief Mutko quits; still involved in planning

Vitaly Mutko bowed to mounting pressure and stepped down as chairman of the 2018 World Cup organizing committee on Wednesday after being dogged by investigations that highlighted his role in a state-backed doping program.

Alexei Sorokin, the chief executive of the committee, will also assume the chairmanship vacated by Mutko. Sorokin also took Mutko's spot on the FIFA Council this year after he was blocked from seeking re-election due to his promotion to Russian deputy prime minister.

The high-ranking government position ensures Mutko will still retain involvement in logistical planning for the World Cup in June and July.

FILE In this file photo taken on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, Vitaly Mutko, Russian Federation Deputy Prime Minister & Russia 2018 WCup Local Organising Committee Chairman, speaks with press during the opening of the WCup Fan ID distribution center in Moscow, Russia. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)

"Mutko will continue to oversee the preparations of the regions as well as coordinate the construction of the necessary infrastructure," the organizing committee said in a statement that expressed "great regret" over his departure.

Mutko's resignation comes two days after he said he would temporarily step down as president of the Russian Football Union while fighting a lifetime ban from the Olympics.

Investigations by the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Olympic Committee alleged Mutko was involved in a state-sponsored doping program during the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Mutko, who served as Russia's sports minister during the Winter Olympics, has strongly denied all doping allegations.

The IOC didn't accuse Mutko of being personally involved in doping, but banned him from the Olympics for life, saying he and his ministry bore overall responsibility for "failure to respect" anti-doping rules.

Mutko had been defiant at the World Cup draw in Moscow this month, dismissing calls for him to leave his role as front-man of the tournament.

FIFA, which has faced calls to open disciplinary proceedings against Mutko, did not mention the doping cases in a statement acknowledging the resignation.

"FIFA thanks Mr. Mutko for his invaluable contribution to the preparations for the competition so far," the governing body said. "FIFA will continue to work in close collaboration with the LOC (local organizing committee) under its new leadership as well as with the Russian government, the Russian Football Union and the host cities with the aim to deliver an exceptional event in June and July."

Russia opens the World Cup against Saudi Arabia on June 14 in Moscow where the final will be staged on July 15.

"The change in the leadership ... will not affect the preparation of the 2018 FIFA World Cup," local organizers said.

BERLIN (AP) — The German parliament voted Thursday to introduce an annual national “veterans' day” to honor people who have served in the military, which often has struggled to gain recognition in the country.

The proposal was drawn up by the parties in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-party governing coalition together with the main opposition conservative bloc, and was approved by nearly all parties in the Bundestag, parliament's lower house.

It says a “veterans' day” should be celebrated “publicly and visibly” every June 15. It also calls for improved follow-up care for people wounded while serving in the German military, the Bundeswehr.

The motion “is a strong, important and, yes, an overdue signal of recognition and appreciation,” Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told lawmakers.

Post-World War II Germany has generally been uncomfortable with militarism and war, and the country emerged slowly from its postwar military shell after reunification in 1990. Then-Chancellor Helmut Kohl broke a taboo against German troops serving abroad by sending military medics to support the U.N. mission in Cambodia in 1992.

More robust military deployments abroad, for example in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Mali, later became a mainstay of the Bundeswehr's activities.

In 2008, Germany introduced a new military decoration for bravery, giving troops the possibility of earning such an honor for the first time since World War II. A memorial to soldiers killed while serving in the Bundeswehr was built at the Defense Ministry in Berlin and inaugurated in 2009.

But even now, “the word ‘veteran’ is little used in our society, and this must come to an end,” said Johannes Arlt, a lawmaker with Scholz's center-left Social Democrats who has served as an air force officer. “We need more visibility and we need more recognition for our soldiers and veterans, and that's why we need a veterans' day in Germany.”

The Bundeswehr was founded in 1955, serving first as West Germany’s military and, since 1990, as that of the reunited Germany. More than 10 million people have served in it over the decades.

Germany launched a drive to modernize the Bundeswehr and increase its military spending shortly after Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

FILE - A soldier is seen in front of the 'Military Memorial of the German Bundeswehr' in Berlin Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009. The German parliament voted Thursday for the introduction of an annual national “veterans' day” to honor the service of people who have served in the military, which often has struggled to gain recognition in the country. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)