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An American Airlines flight from New York to New Delhi was diverted to Rome on Sunday afternoon following an “alleged bomb scare”, an Italian airport spokesman said.The US-based carrier gave no details on the nature of what it called a “possible security concern” on the flight carrying 199 passengers plus crew, which was escorted by two Italian fighter jets before landing.”The flight landed safely at FCO (Rome), and law enforcement inspected and cleared the aircraft to re-depart,” American Airlines said in a statement.Mahesh Kumar, an IT consultant aboard the flight, said the pilot announced the diversion to Rome due to “security reasons” about three hours before landing. “Everyone was afraid. Everyone was staying quiet and obeying the orders,” the 55-year-old from Texas told AFP.”They asked us to sit down and not to roam around while the fighter jets were near us,” Kumar said, adding that Italian police escorted passengers for a security screening in the airport when they landed.The flight had taken off from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Saturday at around 8:11 pm local time (01:11 GMT Sunday), according to flight tracker FlightAware.It turned around sharply while flying over the Caspian Sea, the website showed.An American Airlines official said the aircraft landed in Rome due to Indian protocol requirements.”The possible issue was determined to be non-credible, but per DEL Airport protocol, an inspection was required before landing at DEL,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The flight will stay in FCO overnight to allow for required crew rest before continuing to DEL as soon as possible tomorrow.”Rome airport operations were not affected by the incident, an Italian airport spokesman said.The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the plane had landed safely “after the crew reported a security issue.”American Airlines, one of the largest US air carriers, is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.Its international operations serve more than 60 countries, according to the airline’s website. 

Marvel and Disney’s “Captain America: Brave New World” clung to the top of the North American box office this weekend despite a steep drop from its opening, earning an estimated $28.2 million, analysts said Sunday.That take, on a slow February weekend, was just over one-fourth the $100 million the superhero film earned at its opening. Reviews of the movie, with Anthony Mackie in the title role, have been decidedly weak.Neon Studio’s new comedy-horror film “The Monkey,” based on a short story by Stephen King, opened in second place for the Friday-through-Sunday period, taking in an estimated $14.2 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported.Theo James, Rohan Campbell and Elijah Wood star in the movie about a demonic toy monkey that is linked to a series of horrific deaths.In third place, slipping one spot from last weekend, was Columbia and Sony’s “Paddington in Peru,” at $6.5 million. Ben Whishaw voices the lovable, floppy-hatted bear.Also down one spot was “Dog Man,” a superhero comedy from Universal and DreamWorks, at $5.9 million. The family-friendly animation is a spinoff from the best-selling “Captain Underpants” books.And in fifth, at $3 million, was “Ne Zha 2” from CMC Pictures. The Chinese blockbuster has become the biggest-ever box-office release in China and the highest-grossing animated film of all time.The tale of a rebellious young deity who uses his powers to battle formidable foes, “Ne Zha 2″ has logged worldwide ticket sales of $1.72 billion since its January 29 release in China, according to state news agency Xinhua.  Rounding out the top 10 were:”Heart Eyes” ($2.9 million)”The Unbreakable Boy” ($2.5 million)”Mufasa: The Lion King” ($2.5 million)”One of Them Days” ($1.4 million)”Love Hurts” ($1.1 million)

The Kremlin on Sunday hailed dialogue between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin — two “extraordinary” presidents — as “promising”, and vowed it would “never” give up territory seized in eastern Ukraine.Trump broke with Western policy earlier this month by phoning Putin to discuss how to end the Ukraine conflict — a call hailed by Moscow as ending three years of isolation for the Kremlin leader since he launched his full-scale offensive in February 2022.Top Russian and US officials then met in Saudi Arabia last week to discuss a “restoration” of ties and start a discussion on a possible Ukraine ceasefire — all without the involvement of Kyiv or Europe.”This is a dialogue between two extraordinary presidents,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state TV on Sunday.”That’s promising,” he added.”It is important that nothing prevents us from realising the political will of the two heads of state.”Trump’s overtures to Moscow have triggered alarm in Kyiv and across Europe.But it is unclear whether his moves will be able to bring Moscow and Kyiv closer to a truce.Peskov on Sunday ruled out any territorial concessions as part of a settlement.”The people decided to join Russia a long time ago,” he said, referring to Moscow-staged votes in eastern Ukraine held amid the offensive that were slammed as bogus by Kyiv, the West and international monitors. “No one will ever sell off these territories. That’s the most important thing.”- ‘God willed it’ -Putin said God and fate had entrusted him and his army with “the mission” to defend Russia.”Fate willed it so, God willed it so, if I may say so. A mission as difficult as it is honourable — defending Russia — has been placed on our and your shoulders together,” he told servicemen who have fought in Ukraine. Russia was on Sunday marking “Defender of the Fatherland Day” — a holiday hailing soldiers and veterans — a day before the three-year anniversary of the start of its full-scale offensive.”Today, at the risk of their lives and with courage, they are resolutely defending their homeland, national interests and Russia’s future,” Putin said in a video released by the Kremlin.Moscow’s army had overnight launched a record 267 attack drones at Ukraine, Kyiv’s air force said.Among them, 138 were intercepted by air defence and 119 were “lost”.Ukraine did not say what happened to the remaining 10 but a separate armed forces statement on Telegram said several regions, Kyiv included, had been “hit”.AFP journalists in the Ukrainian capital heard air defence systems in operation throughout the night.- ‘Inappropriate remarks’ -Amid his outreach to Moscow, Trump has also verbally attacked Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky falsely claiming Kyiv started the war and that Zelensky was hugely unpopular at home.The bitter war of words has threatened to undermine Western support for Kyiv at a critical juncture in the conflict.Zelensky on Sunday called for the Western coalition that has been helping Kyiv fend off the Russian offensive for the last three years to hold strong.”We must do our best to achieve a lasting and just peace for Ukraine. This is possible with the unity of all partners: we need the strength of the whole of Europe, the strength of America, the strength of all those who want lasting peace,” Zelensky said on Telegram.Moscow has revelled in the spat between Trump and Zelensky.”Zelensky makes inappropriate remarks addressed to the head of state. He does it repeatedly,” Peskov said Sunday.”No president would tolerate that kind of treatment. So his (Trump’s) reaction is completely quite understandable.”Scrambling to respond to Trump’s dramatic policy reversal, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will travel to Washington next week to make the case for supporting Ukraine.

Elon Musk, the billionaire advisor to Donald Trump, said Saturday that all US federal employees must justify their work or lose their jobs, hours after the president pushed him to be “more aggressive” in slashing government spending.Musk — the world’s richest person and Trump’s biggest donor — has led the effort to fire swaths of the government workforce.”All federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation,” Musk wrote.According to a copy of the email provided to AFP, federal workers were asked to submit “approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week.”The email came from the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM), with the subject line “What did you do last week?”. The deadline to reply was 11:59 pm Monday, though the message did not say failure to do so would lead to termination. The OPM did not immediately reply to AFP’s request for comment on Saturday evening.”A large number of good responses have been received already. These are the people who should be considered for promotion,” Musk posted on X after issuing the deadline. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest federal employee union, vowed to challenge any unlawful terminations in a statement from national president Everett Kelley. Kelley slammed Musk and the Trump administration, saying the move showed “their utter disdain for federal employees and the critical services they provide to the American people.””It is cruel and disrespectful to hundreds of thousands of veterans who are wearing their second uniform in the civil service to be forced to justify their job duties to this out-of-touch, privileged, unelected billionaire who has never performed one single hour of honest public service in his life,” he said. Several federal employees told AFP they were advised by their agencies not to respond to the email and wait for further instruction, a recommendation echoed by the National Treasury Employees Union. “I have so much work to do, I am not going to neglect actual patient care for this drama,” a physician at the Department of Veterans Affairs, who received the email, told AFP.Musk later appeared to downplay the requirements of the request, writing on X that the bar is “very low” and saying, “An email with some bullet points that make any sense at all is acceptable!”- ‘More aggressive’ -Earlier Saturday, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that Musk was “doing a great job, but I would like to see him get more aggressive.”Trump has put the tech entrepreneur in charge of the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) advisory body, tasking him with slashing public spending and tackling alleged waste and corruption.In the latest cuts announced Friday, the US Defense Department is to reduce its civilian workforce by at least five percent starting next week.Trump’s administration has already begun firing many other federal workers who are on probationary status.DOGE is a free-ranging entity run by Musk, though its cost-cutting spree has been met with pushback on several fronts and mixed court rulings.A judge on Thursday denied a union bid to temporarily halt the firing of thousands of people.Musk said this week he would work with Trump for as long as he “can be helpful,” as the pair dismissed concerns over conflicts of interest due to the tycoon’s government contracts.”Elon is doing a great job,” Trump told a meeting of conservative activists on Saturday, running through a list of what he said were “some of the flagrant scams” that had been uncovered.”We love Elon, don’t we? He’s a character,” Trump added. “People said, what official position does he have? I said, ‘Patriot’.”Musk said this week DOGE was publicizing its actions on its website and that the transparency would hold him accountable.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he was trying to get money back for the billions of dollars sent to support Ukraine’s war against Russia.His comments came as Washington and Kyiv negotiate a mineral resources deal Trump wants as compensation for the wartime aid his predecessor Joe Biden gave Ukraine.It was the latest twist in a whirlwind first month since he took office, during which he has upended US foreign policy by making diplomatic overtures towards the Kremlin over the heads of Ukraine and Europe.Trump told delegates at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) near Washington: “I’m trying to get the money back, or secured.”I want them to give us something for all of the money that we put up. We’re asking for rare earth and oil, anything we can get.”We’re going to get our money back because it’s just not fair. And we will see, but I think we’re pretty close to a deal, and we better be close because that has been a horrible situation.”Hours earlier, a source told AFP that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was “not ready” to sign such a deal, despite growing US pressure.- War of words -Trump’s special envoy Keith Kellogg, who met Zelensky this week, said the Ukrainian president understood signing a deal with the United States was “critical.”But the Ukrainian source told AFP that Kyiv needed assurances first.”In the form in which the draft is now, the president is not ready to accept, we are still trying to make changes and add constructiveness,” the source close to the matter said.Ukraine wants any agreement signed with the United States to include security guarantees as it battles Russia’s nearly three-year invasion.The negotiations between the two countries come amid a deepening war of words between Trump and Zelensky that has raised alarm in Kyiv and Europe.On Wednesday, Trump branded his Ukrainian counterpart a “dictator” and called for him to “move fast” to end the war, a day after Russian and US officials held talks in Saudi Arabia without Kyiv.Washington has proposed a United Nations resolution on the Ukraine conflict that omitted any mention of Kyiv’s territory occupied by Russia, diplomatic sources told AFP.- ‘What kind of partnership is this?’ -Trump has asked for “$500 billion worth” of rare earth minerals to make up for aid given to Kyiv — a price tag Ukraine has balked at and which is much higher than published US aid figures.”There are no American obligations in the agreement regarding guarantees or investments, everything about them is very vague, and they want to extract $500 billion from us,” the Ukrainian source told AFP.”What kind of partnership is this? And why do we have to give $500 billion, there is no answer,” the source said, adding that Ukraine had proposed changes.The United States has given Ukraine more than $60 billion in military aid since Russia’s invasion, according to official figures — the largest such contribution among Kyiv’s allies but substantially lower than Trump’s figures.The Kiel Institute, a German economic research body, said that from 2022 until the end of 2024, the United States gave a total of 114.2 billion euros ($119.8 billion) in financial, humanitarian and military aid.- UK support ‘ironclad’ -A senior Ukrainian official told AFP Friday that despite the tensions, talks on a possible agreement were “ongoing.”The row comes as Ukraine is set to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion on Monday, and as Kyiv’s forces are slowly ceding ground on the front line.Moscow’s defense ministry earlier on Saturday claimed the capture of Novolyubivka in the eastern Lugansk region, which is now largely under Russian control.In a call with Zelensky on Saturday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged the “UK’s ironclad support for Ukraine”.Zelensky, in response, praised the United Kingdom for showing “leadership” on the war with Russia.Starmer also said it was in the “interests” of both Britain and the United States to “stand by” Ukraine, which needed a seat at the negotiating table and “strong security guarantees so the peace will last”, writing in a column for The Sun published late Saturday.Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced that Britain will unveil a significant package of sanctions against Russia on Monday.In London, thousands of people marched in support of Ukraine on Saturday, and polls in Britain suggest strong support for Kyiv.France’s Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Saturday that Paris was looking at increasing the number of its frigates and Rafale fighter jets, and stepping up production of drones.The measures were being taken to improve France’s defense capabilities because of threats related to the Ukraine conflict, he was quoted as saying in Sunday’s edition of Le Parisien newspaper.French President Emmanuel Macron is due in Washington for talks with Trump on Monday.The White House said Saturday that Trump had met with conservative Polish President Andrzej Duda backstage at CPAC, and praised Duda for “Poland’s commitment to increase their defense spending”.Duda, a vocal admirer of Trump, said he had told Zelensky in a phone call Friday to cooperate with the US president.

A boat carrying 19 South American migrants blocked from entering the United States sank off the coast of Panama as they returned to their home countries, leaving an 8-year-old Venezuelan girl dead, authorities said Saturday.The boat went down Friday night “due to strong waves caused by bad weather” in Caribbean waters off northeast Panama, the country’s Senafront border service said.Aboard were migrants from Venezuela and Colombia, and two crew members. Aside from the girl who died, the others were all rescued, Senafront said.”The event occurred in the context of the reverse migratory flow,” the agency said.The migrants were returning home from Mexico and Central American countries after giving up on trying to enter the United States amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal entries.They were traveling by boat to avoid crossing Panama’s treacherous Darien jungle, with dangers including fast-flowing rivers, wild animals and criminal gangs.UN children’s agency UNICEF expressed its “solidarity” with those affected by the incident, stressing in a statement “the importance of safety in transit through Panama.”On Friday, AFP witnessed several boats departing from a rudimentary dock at the port of Carti in northern Panama, with dozens of migrants onboard. “What else were we going to do but return (home)?” a Venezuelan migrant said of the decision.”We’ve been stranded for over 15 days, going round and round from Mexico to here (Panama) and scraping together money out of nowhere.”Senafront said the doomed boat was in a group of three bound for La Miel, a Panamanian town on the border with Colombia. Two suspended their trips due to bad weather, but one continued ahead. “That decision led to the unfortunate incident,” the border police said.Since Trump took office on January 20, hundreds of South American migrants denied entry to the United States have begun the arduous journey back home, traveling in stages by foot, bus or boat and passing through shelters along the way.

Dozens of mattresses wait unused in a shelter for deported Mexicans that is still largely deserted a month after US President Donald Trump returned to office vowing to expel millions of migrants.It is a similar situation in several of the other 12 reception centers set up by Mexico in its northern border states to receive its nationals and foreign deportees, according to AFP reporters.Despite Trump’s pledge, so far there has been no jump in expulsions into Mexico, official figures show. And those Mexicans who are sent back often make their own way home rather than stay at the government refuges.In Tijuana, authorities declared an “emergency” in January in anticipation of a possible wave of deportees — a move aimed at freeing up funds to hire personnel and pay for shelters and legal services.But for now, mass expulsions remain more of a threat than a reality, according to Monica Vega, coordinator of the Flamingos shelter in the city just south of California.”So far, there is no indication that it’s happening, simply based on the numbers,” she said.Flamingos, one of nine reception centers opened by the government especially for returning Mexicans, has capacity for 2,600 people but has attended to an average of 55 deportees per day, Vega said.Since Trump took office on January 20, around 12,255 Mexicans and 3,344 foreigners have been deported to Mexico, according to the Latin American country’s immigration authority.In 2024, when Joe Biden was president, an average of 17,200 Mexicans and 3,091 foreigners were sent back across the border each month.Between October 2023 and September 2024, the Biden administration deported 271,484 migrants — the highest number in the past decade.Along with the drop in expulsions, arrivals at Mexico’s borders with the United States and Guatemala have fallen dramatically under Trump, according to official figures.At the southern Mexican border, the decline is 90 percent, according to the Mexican immigration authority.- ‘Mexico embraces you’ -The Mexican government has deployed 10,000 soldiers along the 3,100-kilometer (1,900-mile) border with the United States in exchange for Trump delaying threatened 25-percent tariffs.Along a stretch of the frontier south of El Paso, Texas, Rodolfo Rubio, an expert at the Colegio de Chihuahua in Ciudad Juarez, has observed a 60-percent drop in the flow of migrants.The government has assigned 1,250 officials to assist deportees under the “Mexico embraces you” program.But the absence of new arrivals means that in the Flamingos shelter, the helpers pass time chatting among themselves.In Matamoros, further east along the border, the most deportees that a shelter has seen in one day was 150, when its capacity is for 3,000.In Nuevo Laredo, another border city, a shelter with a capacity for 1,200 migrants has welcomed no more than 50 each day.With little to do, a member of the National Guard deployed to protect the facility was seen dozing at the site.Although there has been no surge in expulsions, the Mexican government has given no sign of wanting to scale down “Mexico embraces you” as long as Trump’s threat remains.It is estimated that at least 11 million unauthorized immigrants live in the United States, including several million Mexicans.Many of those who have been deported were left shocked and confused.”They pointed guns at me as if I were a criminal,” said Jose de Jesus Enriquez, 45, who had lived without papers in California for almost half his life, doing various jobs, including cleaning and construction.”They dragged me out, handcuffed me and treated me badly. I demanded a call with my lawyer, with the Mexican consulate or to go to an immigration judge. They refused it all,” he told AFP in Tijuana. 

Nearly a decade after activists led one of the largest anti-pipeline protests in US history, the fight shifts to court as Energy Transfer sues Greenpeace for $300 million in a case with far-reaching free speech implications.At the heart of the lawsuit is the Dakota Access Pipeline, which transports fracked crude oil from North Dakota to refineries and on to markets worldwide.Contentious from its inception, the project faced fierce opposition from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, which called it the “Black Snake” and warned of dire threats to ancestral lands. Beginning in 2016, protests and legal challenges sought to halt construction. By 2017, hundreds had been arrested and injured, prompting United Nations concerns over Indigenous sovereignty violations.Though the oil has flowed for years, pipeline operator Energy Transfer continues to pursue Greenpeace, accusing the group of leading the protests, conspiring to commit crimes, inciting violence, and defaming the company.Critics call the lawsuit a clear example of a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP), designed to silence dissent and drain resources.”Big Oil is trying to send a message to us, and they’re trying to silence Greenpeace as well as the wider movement,” Sushma Raman, interim executive director of Greenpeace told AFP. “But let us be clear, the limited interventions that Greenpeace entities took related to Standing Rock were peaceful, lawful, and in line with our values of non-violence and our work for a green and peaceful future.”- A legal war to ‘send a message’ -Energy Transfer denies that it is aiming to stifle free speech. “Our lawsuit against Greenpeace is about them not following the law,” the company said in a statement to AFP. “We support the rights of all Americans to express their opinions and lawfully protest. However, when it is not done in accordance with our laws, we have a legal system to deal with that. Beyond that we will let our case speak for itself.”In 2017, Energy Transfer sued Greenpeace in federal court, invoking the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) — a law typically used to prosecute organized crime.CEO Kelcy Warren stated in interviews that his “primary objective” was not financial compensation but to “send a message” — going so far as to suggest that activists “should be removed from the gene pool.”That case was tossed out by a federal court, but Energy Transfer quickly refiled at the state level in North Dakota — one of the minority of US states without anti-SLAPP protections.Waniya Locke, a member of Standing Rock Grassroots, pushed back at the idea Greenpeace led the movement.”I want it to be very clear that there were no NGOs that started or organized our resistance. And it was matriarch-led. It was led by women who stood strong, who stood on the riverbanks unarmed.”- Greenpeace fights back in Europe -Greenpeace is fighting back, becoming this month the first group to test the European Union’s anti-SLAPP directive by suing Energy Transfer in the Netherlands. “We are asking the district court of Amsterdam to declare that ET acted wrongfully by engaging in an abusive process,” Greenpeace International General Counsel Kristin Casper told AFP.The case seeks damages with interest and demands that Energy Transfer publish the court’s findings on its website.Similar lawsuits from fossil fuel companies, including Shell and Total, have targeted Greenpeace in recent years. “The good news is that when we fight back, we win,” said Casper, citing the dismissal of TotalEnergies v Greenpeace France last year.More than 400 organizations, along with public figures such as Billie Eilish, Jane Fonda, and Susan Sarandon, have signed an open letter supporting Greenpeace.”If Energy Transfer is successful in imposing a large monetary penalty on Greenpeace, that would encourage other companies to take similar actions and could significantly chill protests over a variety of issues — not just climate change,” Michael Gerrard, an environmental law professor at Columbia University told AFP. 

Sean Baker, whose low-budget movie “Anora” is the frontrunner for next weekend’s Oscars, delivered an impassioned plea to “keep indie film alive” as he won top prize at the Spirit Awards Saturday.The annual Film Independent Spirit Awards ceremony, held in a giant tent at Los Angeles’ Santa Monica beach, only celebrates movies made for less than $30 million.Baker, long a leading figure of the US independent movie circuit, who is now shooting to mainstream success, won best feature and best director for “Anora,” which was shot for just $6 million. “Indie film is struggling right now more than ever,” said Baker.”I personally do not have children, but I know for a fact that if I did, I would not be able to make the movies that I make,” warned one of the United States’ most respected directors.His latest film “Anora” portrays Ani, a stripper and escort, whose whirlwind marriage to the son of a Russian oligarch rapidly unravels in disastrous circumstances.Mikey Madison, who plays Ani, won best lead performer honors at the Spirit Awards.Having launched at the Cannes film festival last May, where it won the Palme d’Or, “Anora” became an arthouse hit, grossing $40 million worldwide.It is widely tipped to win best picture at the Oscars.But Baker warned that the collapse of DVD sales, which once supported up-and-coming filmmakers, means creatives like him rarely make any money even when their movies succeed in theaters.He warned that major Hollywood studios swallow profits, refuse to “green light” movies tackling controversial subjects, and force directors to cast actors based on “how many followers they have on social media.””I’m an indie film lifer… the system has to change, because this is simply unsustainable,” said Baker.”Let’s not undervalue ourselves any longer,” he said, urging agents, financiers and studios to help creative directors “keep indie film alive.”- Oscars looming -Stars attending the low-key Spirit Awards gala included Emma Stone, Demi Moore, Michelle Yeoh and Jesse Eisenberg, who won best screenplay for “A Real Pain.”Kieran Culkin also won best supporting performance for the comedy, about two polar opposite US cousins retracing their Jewish heritage in Poland.”Flow,” a Latvian, dialogue-free animation about animals banding together to survive a mysterious flood, won best international film.Best documentary went to “No Other Land,” about the destruction of a village in the occupied West Bank.It is the favorite to win the same prize at the Academy Awards on March 2, yet still has not been able to find a distributor in the United States.”Nickel Boys,” another Oscar best picture nominee, about historic abuse at a Florida school and shot entirely from the first-person perspective, won best cinematography.”September 5,” about the terrorist massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, won best editing. The Spirit Awards will not affect this year’s Oscars, as voting has already ended for the season-capping 97th Academy Awards.

The director of a controversial movie about US President Donald Trump’s younger years apologized Saturday after admitting to an “over-familiar” gesture towards an actor who later complained of being groped.Ali Abbasi, a Danish-Iranian filmmaker, said on X that he was “truly sorry” for his behavior at a party that followed the Golden Globes awards ceremony in Los Angeles in January.Abbasi’s biopic “The Apprentice,” released weeks before last year’s US election, caused a stir with its unflattering representation of Trump, portraying him suffering erectile dysfunction and undergoing surgery for hair loss.”I fully understand that my action made someone uncomfortable, regardless of my intent, and for that I am truly sorry,” Abbasi wrote on social media of the groping incident.He said that he “made an over-familiar gesture — a slap on the rear” to a male acquaintance with whom he considered he had a friendly relationship, but said it was “intended as playful and not in any sexual way whatsoever.””I quickly realized I had misjudged the situation. I apologized to him on the spot, and the following day I made sure my apology was reiterated through my representatives,” Abbasi said.The director refuted an account in The Hollywood Reporter that his talent agency, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), had dropped him due to the allegation against him. “My decision to part ways was a long term career decision that was not shaped by short term motivations,” he said.”The Apprentice” is competing for Oscars in the categories of Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. It was released in US cinemas by indie studio Briarcliff Entertainment, as no major Hollywood studios were willing to risk distributing the polarizing movie.The most talked-about scene shows Trump raping his first wife, Ivana, after she belittles him for growing overweight and bald.In real life, Ivana accused Trump of raping her during divorce proceedings, but later rescinded the allegation. She died in 2022.