Two Texas men convicted by a US jury in November of trying to sell Iranian petroleum in violation of sanctions imposed by Washington and conspiring to launder money were sentenced on Tuesday to 45 months in prison, the Justice Department said.

Chinese national Zhenyu Wang, 43, and Daniel Ray Lane, 42, of McKinney, Texas, conspired with co-conspirators to evade US economic sanctions against Iran from July 2019 to February 2020 by facilitating the purchase of restricted oil from Iran, concealing its source and then selling it to a refinery in China, the department said in a statement.

Lane was chairman of privately owned Stack Royalties, a Texas-based company that sells oil and gas mineral rights to investment funds and private equity groups.

Lane’s lawyer, Paul Hetznecker, told Reuters last year that the case was based on undercover government agents who offered Lane “millions of dollars in profits” if he participated in the scheme, though he initially turned down their offers. The lawyer called the case “an outrageous example of government overreach.”

The two, along with three others, were charged in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 2020. Court records showed that at least two co-conspirators have since pleaded guilty.

China is the world’s only major importer of Iranian oil, despite former US President Donald Trump imposing unilateral sanctions on Tehran’s petroleum exports in 2018 after he withdrew the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers.

Palestinian militant group Hamas has presented its response to a US-backed proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, demanding “modifications” to the agreement. The response, received by mediators Qatar and Egypt, falls short of full acceptance but keeps alive the talks to stop the eight-month-long war.

However, Israel views this response as a rejection, while Hamas officials believe they have reiterated old demands that are not met in the current plan.

The Pope has again used a highly derogatory term against gay people, for which he apologised last month, the ANSA news agency reported on Tuesday.

Italian media credited the pope with using the word “frosciagne,” a vulgar Italian word that roughly translates to “faggotness,” during a closed-door meeting with Italian bishops on May 20.

According to ANSA, Francis repeated the phrase during a meeting with Roman priests on Tuesday, saying there is a “homosexual atmosphere in the Vatican” and that it is better not to allow young men with homosexual tendencies into the seminary.

Asked about the latest report, the Vatican press office referred to a statement issued regarding a meeting with priests on Tuesday, in which the pope reiterated the need to welcome gay people into the church and to exercise caution regarding their becoming seminarians.

Following the initial report of the use of the term, the Corriere della Sera newspaper quoted unnamed bishops present in the room as saying the pope, being an Argentinian, may not have understood that the Italian term he used was offensive.

Francis, 87, is credited with significant initiatives toward the LGBT community during his 11-year papacy. Some Vatican observers say his recent missteps undermine his authority and raise questions about his beliefs and the path of reform he has in mind for the church.

A boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of Yemen on Tuesday, killing at least 49 people and leaving 140 others missing, the United Nations agency said.

The boat was carrying about 260 Somalis and Ethiopians from the northern coast of Somalia and was on a 320-kilometer (200-mile) journey in the Gulf of Aden when it sank off the southern coast of Yemen on Monday, the International Organization for Migration said in a statement.

The group said 71 people had been rescued and the search was ongoing. The dead also included 31 women and six children.

Yemen is a major route for migrants from East Africa and the Horn of Africa reaching Gulf countries for work. Despite Yemen’s nearly decade-long civil war, the number of migrants arriving has tripled in recent years, rising from about 27,000 in 2021 to more than 90,000 last year, the IOM said last month. About 380,000 migrants are currently in Yemen, according to the agency.

To reach Yemen, smugglers take migrants across the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden on often dangerous, overcrowded boats. In April, at least 62 people died when two ships sank off the coast of Djibouti while trying to reach Yemen. At least 1,860 people were killed or missing on this route, including 480 who drowned, the IOM said.

“Monday’s incident is a reminder of the urgent need to work together to address migration challenges and ensure the safety of migrants on migration routes,” IOM spokesperson Mohamedali Abunajela said.

The United States will send another Patriot missile system to Ukraine, two U.S. officials said on Tuesday, a response to Kiev’s desperate demand for more air defenses as it faces an intensifying Russian assault on the northeastern Kharkiv region.

President Joe Biden has approved the move, officials said. This would be the second Patriot system the US has given to Ukraine, though the Pentagon has regularly provided an undisclosed number of missiles for the system. Other allies, including Germany, have also provided air defense systems as well as ammunition for them.

Both US officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been publicly announced. The decision was first reported by The New York Times.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last month sought additional U.S.-made Patriot systems, arguing they would help his military fend off the roughly 3,000 bombs Russia fires at his country each month.

Speaking in Madrid, Zelensky said Ukraine still urgently needs seven other systems to protect against Russian attacks on power grids and civilian areas as well as military targets, including devastating glide bombs capable of causing mass destruction.

He said Ukraine needed two systems to protect Kharkiv, where Ukrainian troops are still present after Russia launched a cross-border invasion on May 10.

“If we had these modern Patriot systems, (Russian) planes would not be able to fly so close to drop (glide) bombs on the civilian population and the military,” Zelensky told a news conference in the Spanish capital.

The decision comes as defense leaders from the US, Europe and other countries prepare for their monthly meeting on Ukraine’s security needs. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will host the meeting in Brussels on Thursday.

The US has regularly pressured its allies to provide Ukraine with air defence systems, but many countries are reluctant to commit high-tech systems – particularly Eastern European countries, which feel threatened by Russia.

The US is also wary of handing over large numbers of the documents because they are used to protect American forces and allies around the world.

Major General Pat Ryder told reporters on Monday that the meeting would also discuss Ukraine’s need for air defense.