TEHRAN, Iran — Iran executed a nuclear scientist convicted of spying for the United States, an official said Sunday, acknowledging for the first time that the nation secretly detained and tried a man who was once heralded as a hero.

Shahram Amiri defected to the U.S. at the height of Western efforts to thwart Iran's nuclear program. When he returned in 2010, he was welcomed with flowers by government leaders and even went on the Iranian talk-show circuit. Then he mysteriously disappeared.

He was hanged the same week Tehran executed a group of militants, a year after Iran agreed in 2015 to an accord to limit uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Amiri first vanished in 2009 while on a religious pilgrimage to Muslim holy sites in Saudi Arabia. A year later, he reappeared in a series of contradictory online videos filmed in the U.S. He then walked into the Iranian-interests section at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington and demanded to be sent home.

In interviews, he described being kidnapped and held against his will by Saudi and American spies. U.S. officials said he was to receive millions of dollars for his help in understanding Iran's nuclear program.

Iranian judiciary spokesman Gholamhosein Mohseni Ejehi said Amiri “had access to the country's secret and classified information” and “had been linked to our hostile and No. 1 enemy, America, the Great Satan.”

The spokesman told journalists that Amiri had been tried in a death-penalty case that was upheld by an appeals court. He did not explain why authorities never announced the conviction, though he said Amiri had access to lawyers.

Thai voters overwhelmingly approve junta-backed charter

BANGKOK — Thai voters on Sunday overwhelmingly approved a new junta-backed constitution that lays the foundation for a civilian government influenced by the military and controlled by appointed — rather than elected — officials.

Although near-final results showed that more than 60 percent of voters in a referendum called by the military government approved of the constitution, the vote is likely to be met with some skepticism, with the junta imposing severe restrictions on public discussion of the charter.

Ahead of the referendum, the junta — led by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who has severely curtailed dissent since coming to power in a 2014 coup — banned political rallies and open discussion about the constitution, and criticism of the draft was made punishable by 10 years in jail.

1 of 2 sky divers who fell to their deaths was first-time jumper

SAN FRANCISCO — One of two sky divers who died plummeting into a Northern California vineyard after their parachute didn't open was 18 and jumping for the first time, and his family was there watching when he hit the ground, the owner of the sky diving center and local authorities said Sunday.

San Joaquin County sheriff's officials as of Sunday had not publicly identified the new sky diver or the sky diving instructor killed Saturday in Lodi, 85 miles east of San Francisco. The instructor was in his mid-20s, police said.

The younger man had been jumping in tandem with the sky diving instructor, a veteran who had about 700 previous jumps, said Bill Dause, the owner of the Lodi Parachute Center.

An exact cause will be determined by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Anti-coup rally in Turkey marks end of nightly demonstrations

ISTANBUL — A massive flag-waving crowd, the size of which some Turkish media said had never been seen before, gathered in Istanbul on Sunday for a giant rally to mark the end of nightly demonstrations since Turkey's July 15 abortive coup that left at least 270 people dead.

No official estimate was provided, but Turkish media said millions attended the event. The event was so full that large crowds were turned away and spilled into surrounding streets.

“We will continue on our road in solidarity. We will love each other not for rank or title, but for Allah,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on a stage set up for the event.

The “Democracy and Martyrs' Rally” was billed as a cross-party event of Turkish unity in the wake of the failed coup, in which renegade military officers attempted to seize power.

New storm off Mexico; toll in earlier storm hits 39

MEXICO CITY — The death toll from the remnants of last week's Hurricane Earl grew to 39 in Mexico on Sunday as a new tropical storm formed off its Pacific coast.

At least 28 died in mudslides in Puebla state, National Civil Protection Coordinator Luis Felipe Puente told ForoTV. Rains also set off mudslides in the state of Veracruz that killed 11, officials reported.

Meanwhile Sunday, Tropical Storm Javier formed off Mexico's Pacific coast, and the U.S. National Hurricane Center predicted it would strengthen into a hurricane by late Monday.

Javier was centered about 210 miles southeast of Cabo San Lucas late Sunday. It was moving west-northwest at about 13 mph. Forecasters said Javier would approach the southern part of the Baja California Peninsula by early Tuesday.

Japan warms to possible abdication by emperor, 82

TOKYO — Japanese will tune in to Emperor Akihito's rare video message Monday afternoon after reports that he would abdicate in the next few years, which initially came as a shock but was welcomed by many as a deserved rest for the 82-year-old beloved monarch.

In the prerecorded message, Akihito will talk about his duties as a “symbol emperor” as stipulated by the constitution, palace officials said. He will most likely avoid the explicit expression of abdication, which would involve political and legal procedures that he is not allowed to discuss.

Akihito still works, though his aides have shifted some of his duties to Crown Prince Naruhito — the elder of his two sons and most likely successor. Yet, Akihito has referred to his old age in recent years, admitting to making small mistakes at ceremonies.

Water slide death: A 12-year-old boy died Sunday on a water slide in Kansas City, Kan., that is billed as the world's largest. Kansas state Rep. Scott Schwab and his wife released a statement saying their son, Caleb Thomas Schwab, was the boy who died. Officials didn't provide details about what led to the boy's death.

Stone wall at Walt Disney World: Workers are building a stone wall around a Walt Disney World lake where an alligator attack killed a toddler in June.

Disney officials said that the barrier is a part of the new security plan following the death of 2-year-old Lane Graves of Omaha, Neb.