War in the Middle East: latest developments

The director of the first Argentine film to win an Oscar, Luis Puenzo, died on Tuesday aged 80, the main organization representing Argentine creatives said Tuesday.

"With deep sorrow we bid farewell to the outstanding screenwriter, director, producer and partner in our organization, Luis Puenzo, who passed away today in the city of Buenos Aires at the age of 80," the General Society of Argentine Authors said in a statement.

No cause of death was given but Puenzo had been absent from public life for an extended period due to health issues.

His drama "The Official Story," about the adoption by military families of children snatched from activists during Argentina's 1976-1983 dictatorship, won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1986.

He also directed the 1989 drama "Old Gringo" starring Jane Fonda as an American teacher who becomes swept up in the Mexican Revolution and "The Plague" (1992) based on the Albert Camus novel of the same title, starring William Hurt and Robert Duvall.

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Prosecutors in the rape retrial of disgraced US movie mogul Harvey Weinstein told Tuesday how he wielded his power to prey on then-aspiring actress Jessica Mann. 

Weinstein, a central figure of abuse allegations that spurred the MeToo movement, appeared at the New York City courtroom wheelchair-bound due to ill health. 

He is being retried on a count of third-degree rape against Mann that allegedly happened in 2013 in a Manhattan hotel room. 

Last June, a judge declared a mistrial on the charge after the jury foreperson refused to return to deliberate the case amid a jury-room feud.

Weinstein, 74, is already imprisoned for other sex offenses, so he will remain behind bars regardless of the retrial verdict. 

"This case will come down to power, to control and manipulation," said Assistant District Attorney Candace White.

She told how Weinstein used his Hollywood clout to take advantage of Mann -- then a 27-year-old "barely scraping by" -- including by enticing her with a role in a movie that she had no chance of getting. 

Mann's childhood background of abuse and a sexual assault made her the "perfect target" for Weinstein, the prosecutor told the jury. 

"The defendant preyed upon a fragile and sheltered young woman," White said. 

Weinstein, who wore a suit, appeared engaged through the proceedings and watched along as lawyers delivered their opening statements. 

His attorney Jacob Kaplan sought to dismiss Mann's rape allegation by pointing to four years of contact between her and Weinstein, ending after other actresses came forward with claims against him in 2017. 

He countered that the case is actually "about consent, about choice and about regret."

Kaplan said the pair had a consensual sexual relationship and pointed to "loving and supportive" messages they exchanged by email. 

"This case will be her word against her own word," he said, arguing that Mann masked her ties with Weinstein as "she didn't want others to think that she was sleeping her way to success."

- Avalanche of allegations -

The trial is set to demonstrate the power dynamics of the movie industry, particularly for young women, as well as the complexities of rape trials.

In a bid to clarify Mann's relationship with Weinstein, the prosecution said it will call a forensic psychologist to explain the sometimes "counterintuitive behavior" of sexual assault victims.

Weinstein is already serving a 16-year prison term in a California case for the rape of a European actress more than a decade ago. 

He is appealing that conviction, and another from the trial in June.

Before their foreperson quit, the jury convicted Weinstein of sexual assault against movie producer Miriam Haley and acquitted him of the same alleged crime against Polish-born actress Kaja Sokola.

Weinstein has hired a new legal team including Marc Agnifilo, who represents high profile figures including rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs.

The Oscar-winning Weinstein has claimed to be under threat at the notorious Rikers Island jail complex in the Bronx where he is being held, leaving him mostly in solitary confinement.

"I'm constantly threatened and derided. I wouldn't last long out there," he told the Hollywood Reporter at the start of the year.

Weinstein was known for his fiery temper, and the industry had long been rife with suggestions that he took advantage of his power to sexually exploit women.

In 2017, blockbuster investigations by the New Yorker and the New York Times laid bare a series of claims by young women that triggered an avalanche of allegations from more than 80 complainants and prompted the global MeToo movement.

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Iran has stepped up repression during the Middle East war with high-profile executions and hundreds of arrests, activists said on Tuesday, urging Washington to put human rights at the centre of any talks with the Islamic republic.

There has been no let up during the two-week ceasefire now due to end, with hangings of convicts seen as political prisoners a near daily occurrence and people arrested on charges such as simply sending videos to a media outlet abroad, according to rights groups.

This has come against the background of severe internet restrictions that monitor Netblocks said was a blackout that had now left Iranians disconnected from global networks for 53 days.

"The immediate release of all political prisoners arrested before or after the outbreak of the war must be a central condition of any agreement with the Islamic republic," said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights.

IHR said on Tuesday that at least 3,646 people had been arrested since the war broke out on February 28, with at least 767 of the cases reported after the start of the ceasefire on April 8.

Charges include espionage, transmitting images or coordinates of sensitive locations to foreign-based media, attempting to establish operational cells or possessing a Starlink internet terminal.

Iranian authorities on Tuesday also executed an eighth man over protests in January, which rights groups said were put down in a deadly crackdown that left thousands of people dead.

Amir Ali Mirjafari was accused of setting fire to the Gholhak Grand Mosque and also of working with the Israeli espionage agency Mossad, the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported.

Since executions resumed on March 19, Iranian authorities have also executed eight members, all men, of the the People's Mujahedin (MEK) opposition group, which is banned in Iran.

IHR warned that there was a risk of more executions with "hundreds of protesters currently facing death penalty charges, with at least 30 having already been sentenced to death".

Iran's hardline judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, who ordered fast-track trials for those arrested over the protests, said on Monday that those deemed to "cooperate with a hostile aggressor" will be treated "without leniency".

- 'Silence on fate of Iranians' -

As the clock ticked to the end of the ceasefire, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday told Iran it could boost the chances of success in peace talks with Washington by freeing eight women that he said face execution.

It was still unclear whether the talks would go ahead.

Trump's statement accompanied a re-posting of a claim on X by a pro-Israel youth activist in the United States that eight women faced death by hanging. Photographs of eight unnamed women were posted.

According to rights groups including the US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, one woman named as Bita Hemmati has been sentenced to death over the protests on charges of throwing concrete blocks from a building onto police.

IHR and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) said last week Iran in 2025 executed at least 48 women, the highest number recorded in more than 20 years.

IHR said more than 100 civil society activists had been arrested since the war broke out, including prize-winning rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who was detained on April 2.

Sotoudeh's daughter Mehraveh Khandan wrote on Instagram on Saturday that her mother had telephoned for the first time since her arrest, saying she was being held by the intelligence ministry but was not allowed to disclose where.

"The Islamic republic showed in January that it has no qualms about killing protesters on a massive scale," said Roya Boroumand, co-founder of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center.

"In that context, the silence around the fate of Iranians in the current negotiations can only reassure the regime that the political cost of another mass crackdown will be low," she said.

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Singapore's Daren Tang was reappointed Tuesday for a second six-year term in charge of the United Nations' patent and innovation agency.

The World Intellectual Property Organization's 194 member states reappointed Tang, who was the only nominated candidate, during the agency's general assembly.

Established in 1967, Geneva-based WIPO helps creators and entrepreneurs protect their intellectual property (IP) across borders.

"In my first term, I worked with member states to transform IP from a technical and legal matter into a business, economic and financial asset that helps drive innovation and creativity, and serves as a catalyst for jobs, investments, growth and development," Tang said in a statement.

"For the second term, this work will continue, so that WIPO's IP systems are efficient and effective in serving users, global IP standards continue being updated to meet the needs of innovators and creators in a fast changing world driven by AI, IP continues to be protected and used by millions around the world and harnessed to address global challenges, and IP moves from the periphery to the centre."

Tang, who was previously the head of Singapore's national patent agency, will begin his second term as WIPO chief on October 1.

Last month, WIPO said international patent applications had risen 0.7 percent in 2025 to 275,900 filings worldwide.

China filed the most, with 73,718, ahead of the United States, Japan and South Korea.

Chinese tech giant Huawei has been the top filer since 2017, ahead of Samsung, Qualcomm and LG Electronics.

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Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has postponed an official trip to Eswatini, the democratic island's only diplomatic ally in Africa, after several countries revoked overflight permits following "intense pressure" from China, a senior aide said Tuesday.

China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and opposes the self-governed island's participation in international organisations and exchanges with other countries.

Lai was due to visit Eswatini from April 22 to 26 for the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III's accession and his 58th birthday.

Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is among Taiwan's 12 remaining allies that still recognise its claim to statehood, after Beijing convinced others to sever diplomatic relations with Taipei.

"According to sources, Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar unexpectedly and without prior notice revoked the charter's overflight permits," Pan Men-an, secretary-general to the president, told a news conference.

"The real reason is that the Chinese authorities exerted intense pressure including economic coercion," he said.

Eswatini, Africa's last absolute monarchy, said it "regrets" Lai was not visiting, but stressed the setback "does not change the status of our longstanding bilateral relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan)".

"We fully understand that international travel arrangements can at times be affected by a range of logistical and diplomatic considerations beyond the control of the parties involved," acting government spokeswoman Thabile Mdluli told AFP.

A Taiwanese security official, who requested anonymity in order to speak to the media, said China had threatened "to revoke substantial debt relief granted to (the three countries), halt financing and impose further economic sanctions".

Pan said Taipei "strongly" condemned Beijing's "crude actions," describing the situation as "virtually unprecedented in the international community".

"Using coercive means to force a third country to change its sovereign decisions not only undermines aviation safety and violates relevant international norms and practices, it also constitutes a blatant interference in another country's internal affairs, disrupts the regional status quo, and harms the feelings of the people of Taiwan," Pan said.

A special envoy will be appointed to attend the celebrations in Eswatini on Lai's behalf, Pan said.

Lai said on Facebook he had accepted the advice of his national security team to postpone the trip, but added: "No threats or repression can change Taiwan's determination to engage with the world."

- Last African ally -

Lai's last official overseas trip was in November 2024, when he visited Taiwan's Pacific allies and transited through the US territory of Guam.

US President Donald Trump's administration reportedly denied permission for Lai to transit in New York last year as part of an official trip to Latin America.

Taiwan's foreign ministry denied he had been blocked, insisting at the time he had no plans to travel overseas "in the near future".

Lai had planned to fly direct to Eswatini so as to "avoid those areas in the Middle East where the risks from ongoing conflict are relatively high," National Security Council chief Joseph Wu told reporters.

The Taiwanese leader had been expected to meet and exchange views with other heads of state attending the event.

King Mswati visited Taiwan to attend Lai's inauguration ceremony in 2024.

The last visit by a Taiwanese president to Eswatini was in 2023, when former president Tsai Ing-wen travelled to the landlocked country of around 1.3 million people.

Taiwan has sent an anti-viral drug that helped the king recover from Covid-19 in 2021 and provided aid to the nation.

Eswatini was left as Taipei's last African ally in 2018 when Burkina Faso switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing.

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(The Center Square) — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a lawsuit against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, claiming he was responsible for nursing home deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The high court announced Monday that it won't be taking up a legal challenge filed by families who lost loved ones to COVID-19 in nursing homes during the pandemic. The lawsuit was filed by a Brooklyn man who claimed that policies put in place by Cuomo and the Greater New York Hospital Association caused the death of his father and thousands of other elderly residents. 

The justices didn't reveal their rationale for declining to take up the case, as tradition dictates. It upholds a lower court ruling that dismissed the case and granted Cuomo qualified immunity from prosecution over the nursing home deaths. 

Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi praised the ruling, saying it vindicated claims the then-governor didn't mismanage the state's COVID-19 response and that critics had targeted him for political reasons.

“For six long years, families have had to deal with unimaginable losses of loved ones from COVID and it doesn’t get easier, especially when that pain was manipulated and politicized," Azzopardi said in a statement. "Every investigation and every court to examine these claims has reached the same conclusion: there was no wrongdoing by Governor Cuomo or his administration. The facts are settled and the highest court has spoken." 

Last year, a federal judge rejected the lawsuit after determining that the plaintiffs didn't have standing to sue the former governor. In the ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Failla said she has the "deepest sympathy" for the plaintiffs and their families for COVID-19-related deaths, but said, "the fact remains that their proffered claims are not legally viable."

Cuomo has faced myriad legal challenges over a March 25, 2020, directive requiring nursing homes to begin accepting "medically stable" patients recovering from COVID-19 as they were discharged from hospitals. 

The order was rescinded after several weeks, but Cuomo was widely criticized for contributing to the high death toll in the state's long-term care facilities.

More than 80,000 New Yorkers died of COVID-19 from the beginning of the pandemic to May 2023, including 15,000 nursing home residents, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The U.S. Justice Department investigated whether Cuomo's policy violated residents' civil rights in New York's nursing homes and found no wrongdoing. The Manhattan District Attorney's office also conducted a probe, which was later abandoned. Both investigations found that New York's directive was in line with federal health policies in place at the time.

An independent report slammed Cuomo's "top down" response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, saying it caused "unnecessary confusion" for New Yorkers in the early days of the public health emergency.

In September, House Republicans grilled Cuomo over the policy, saying it ignored the science on infection control in nursing home settings and federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare guidance that conflicted with his directive.

But Cuomo pointed the blame for the high number of COVID-19 deaths nationwide on then-President Trump, whom he claimed "willfully deceived the American people" during the pandemic.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday warned he would hit back with reciprocal measures after Washington expelled a Brazilian police attache in the latest spat between the two countries.

The leftist leader's comments came after the United States ordered Commissioner Marcelo Ivo, a liaison officer in Miami for Brazil's federal police, to leave the country.

According to Brazilian media, Ivo was involved in the arrest in the United States of Brazil's fugitive ex-spy chief Alexandre Ramagem, a close ally of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Ramagem, who fled Brazil after being sentenced to 16 years in prison on charges of helping Bolsonaro attempt a coup to overthrow Lula, was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on April 13.

He was released two days later.

The episode has stirred longstanding tension between US President Donald Trump's administration and Lula's left-wing government.

Lula lashed out Washington's expulsion of Ivo.

"If there has been an abuse of power by the United States against our police officer, we will retaliate against their police officers in Brazil," Lula, currently on a European tour, told a press conference in Hanover, Germany.

"We cannot accept this interference, this abuse of power, which certain US officials wish to exert over Brazil," he added.

The US State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said on Monday it had asked a Brazilian official to leave the country for attempting to manipulate the American immigration system to prolong what it termed a "witch hunt".

In 2025, Trump used the same term to describe the Brazilian Supreme Court trial that led to the conviction of Bolsonaro, Ramagem and other former officials for attempting a coup after Bolsonaro's 2022 election defeat by Lula.

Bolsonaro is now under house arrest.

The ex-president's son Eduardo Bolsonaro said he was "especially grateful" to Trump for the US authorities' handling of Ramagem, whom he called a "true national hero".

Lula, who previously served as Brazil's president from 2003 to 2011 and returned to office in 2023, will seek another term in October elections that will see him go up against another son of Bolsonaro senior, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro.

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Mizzou Athletics has announced it will implement a new system for student tickets starting in the fall of 2026.

The system will work on a loyalty basis. Those who attend home games at the start of the year will earn loyalty points for doing so. Loyalty points for every student will be tracked on a leaderboard, and those at the top of the leaderboard will get the first chance to purchase football and basketball tickets.

“We reward students who actively support Mizzou Athletics,” the Mizzou Athletics website states.

Many sports will be free-entry with a student ID. Students won't need to buy tickets to get into baseball, gymnastics, volleyball, softball, women's basketball, wrestling, soccer, golf, tennis, track and field or cross country. Attending these games earn loyalty points.

The number of points attached to a student's name at the start is decided by seniority, with seniors getting priority, then juniors, sophomores and freshmen. Football and men’s basketball have slightly different processes for securing a ticket.

Football 

For each of the seven home games, a window to request a ticket opens eight days before game day and ends three days later. In that window, students will make an official request for a ticket.

Once the window closes, every request will be sorted into a list ranked by number of loyalty points. An email, text and push notification will be sent out to those who made the cut and are awarded the chance to buy a ticket. Those who have been selected to buy a ticket will have 24 hours to do so once they receive a link to the purchasing portal.

Tickets, which can only be purchased on a single-game basis, will range from $10 to $50. The average ticket price sits at $20 to $30, according to Mizzou Athletics.

If, after that 24-hour period, there are tickets remaining, they will be offered to the next-highest point earner that didn’t make the original cut.

Men's basketball

Men’s hoops will follow a similar process. There still will be blocks of games released one at a time. Students will be alerted to the release of blocks by text, email and push notifications. Once a block is released, the top loyalty-point holders will have a 72-hour window to purchase tickets. After the window closes, the tickets are made available to the rest of the student body.

Some games will remain free to enter. Some games will cost between $5 and $30 to enter. For certain high-demand games, the football model will be implemented. Students will request a ticket, and tickets will be allocated based on point rankings. Mizzou Athletics has not released which games will fall under which pricing models.

Change spurred by student demand

Mizzou Athletics is making these changes after student backlash over the lottery model used in the 2025-2026 academic year. On its website, MU athletics says students were frustrated over lotteries they had no control over. They also didn't like waiting in queues to find out if they got a ticket or not.

The athletic department saw the need to change the system after collecting data from student surveys. The department conducted workshops with a student-ticketing advisory group to “rebuild the process from the ground up.”

Questions answered by Mizzou Athletics

The ticketing site includes answers to frequently asked questions, including information on the new loyalty program. The system is designed to meet growing student demand for athletic events, which stems, in part, from increased enrollment and the success of the football and basketball programs.

When can students beging earning points

Students enrolled at the university may begin earning points by attending home games at the start of the 2026-2027 academic year. Base points will be awarded by seniority. Seniors and graduate students begin with 600 loyalty points, juniors with 400 loyalty points, sophomores with 200 and freshman with 0.

Each individual Mizzou home game is worth 50 points, and 20 bonus points will be awarded to students who arrive early and stay until the conclusion of games. Some games may be designated double-point games, with that point value beginning at 100 points.

There will be opportunities before the first football game for all students to earn points, to be announced at a later date. Select campus events will be designated as point-earning throughout the year.

While there is no punishment for failing to use one ticket, multiple missed events can result in a loss of existing loyalty points.

Where do excess points go?

At the conclusion of the academic year, 25% of a student’s point total will carry over into the following year. This creates incentives for students to continue attending home games at the conclusion of football and basketball seasons to start the following year with more points.

Can students utilize their student accounts?

No, student-charging will be unavailable for any Mizzou Athletics ticketing purchases. A payment link will be provided once a ticket is awarded, and the price for the ticket must be paid in full.

When a ticket is awarded to a student, the student has a 24-hour window to complete the purchase.

For further questions or information on the new system, Mizzou Athletics encourages students and parents to contact the ticket office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. (CT), Monday through Friday at 1(800) CAT-PAWS or by email at tickets@missouri.edu.

(The Center Square) – With just hours left before the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is set to expire, President Donald Trump still says a deal can be made but is ready to continue striking the Islamic Republic.

Despite conflicting reports that Iran will participate in the next round of negotiations, the president said “representatives” from the U.S. will soon meet with Iranians. However, Iran continues to send mixed messages about whether it will participate in talks Wednesday.

As of Tuesday afternoon, it remains unclear whether Vice President JD Vance will once again lead the American delegation, following reports over the weekend that he would travel to Pakistan.

While Iran continues to give mixed messaging on participating in further talks, Trump appears optimistic a deal will be struck, telling CNBC that he believes “we’re going to end up with a great deal…I think they have no choice.”

“I think we’re in a very strong negotiating position to do what other presidents should have done during a 47-year period,” the president added.

In a lead-up to the talks, Trump accused Iran of violating the ceasefire “numerous times” on Truth Social Tuesday morning.

The president appears to be prepared for further strikes if a deal isn’t struck, acknowledging Iran appearing to use the ceasefire to restock its arsenal.

“They probably have done a little bit of restocking. We caught a ship yesterday that had some things on it, which wasn’t very nice. A gift from China, perhaps, I don’t know. But I was a little surprised, because I have a very good relationship, and I thought I had an understanding with President Xi,” the president said during his phone interview with the network.

The ship named Touska was intercepted Sunday in the Gulf of Oman after the U.S. Navy “gave them fair warning to stop,” according to the president. Trump claims the “nearly 900 feet long” ship attempted to get through the naval blockade put in place over a week ago at the direction of Trump.

A U.S. Navy destroyer intercepted and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship en route to an Iranian port originating from China, raising concerns that China could be resupplying the Islamic Republic with weapons.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Navy intercepted and boarded a “stateless” sanctioned boat in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the Department of War.

“As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran,” the DOW wrote in a social media post.

U.S. Central Command has said since the start of the Naval blockade on Iranian ports, the U.S. has intercepted 28 vessels to “turn around or return to port.”

Aeoden Sinclair, who lost his Real American Freestyle (RAF) match Saturday to Zahid Valencia, headlines this weekend's field of Tigers at the U.S. Open. He will be wrestling in the senior and U20 divisions.

Sinclair lost the RAF match 8-2 and is now 1-1 all-time in RAF.

The senior division of the U.S. Open starts Friday and goes until Saturday.  Sinclair will be wrestling in the 92-kilogram weight class. The weight classes are in kilograms because this is a freestyle wrestling tournament, with an opportunity for the winners to represent the U.S. on the international stage in this Olympic sport. 

Other Tigers joining Sinclair in the senior division are assistant coach Keegan O'Toole (79 kg.) and director of recruiting Jarrett Jacques (74 kg.)

The U20 division competes on Saturday and Sunday. Sinclair will be wrestling in the 86-kilo weight class there. Tiger Style has a few more wrestlers from its club, competing in this division. Seth Mendoza and David Gleason will be wrestling in the 70-kilogram weight class. Danny Heiser and Peyton Westpfahl will be wrestling in the 79-kilogram weight class.

Seltzer is a Chippewa

Missouri's lone wrestler to enter the transfer portal, Zeke Seltzer, has announced that he will be transferring to Central Michigan.