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☆ Half of American workers support a ban on talking politics in the office
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Eric Rosenbaum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Office politics have always been a point of frustration for workers, but now it's politics in the office that's getting to many American workers. In an era during which more workers have felt emboldened to challenge bosses over politics — with the recent Google worker protests and arrests a prime example — just under half of American workers polled by CNBC and SurveyMonkey say they would support a ban on political conversations at work. Younger workers show less hesitancy toward political discussions, with 41% of Gen Z workers saying they would choose to bar any political discussions at work. That's lower than millennial workers (46%), Gen X workers (52%), and boomers (49%). The CNBC | SurveyMonkey online poll was conducted April 3-5 among a national sample of 5,993 workers in the United States.

Persons: Lara Belonogoff Organizations: Google, CNBC, SurveyMonkey, Survey, Columbia University Locations: Google's San Francisco, Gaza, San Francisco , California, United States, Israel

☆ Analysis: China worried about return of Trump, but also sees opportunities if he wins 2024 election
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-10 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Then-US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at Beijing's Forbidden City in 2017. “If this decoupling is carried out by Trump 2.0 in a very forceful way, the impact on China is going to be very severe. But experts say China’s business and official sectors are likely already considering contingency plans. Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin leave a reception following talks at the Kremlin in March 2023. “Whoever wins – the structure of (US) confrontation, competition, pressure to China are still there,” he said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Xi, Donald Trump, didn’t, –, Biden, Wang Yi, Trump, He’s, Trump’s, Brian Wong, ” Wong, Lintao Zhang, Obama, Melania, “, Xi Jinping, Peng Liyuan, Xie Huanchi, he’s, ”, Bala Ramasamy, Shen Dingli, Premier Li Qiang, Ronald Reagan, “ Biden, Shen, ” Trump, skeptically, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Pavel Byrkin, Wong, it’s, Wang Yiwei Organizations: Beijing CNN —, Communist Party, Biden, Senior, Trump’s “, University of Hong Kong’s, Contemporary, House, oceanside, Trump, of, Forbidden, Huawei, Oxford Economics, China Europe International Business School, Premier, American, South Korea Navy, Asia –, Russia’s, NATO, Europe, Kremlin, Getty, South Korea –, White House, Renmin University Locations: China, Beijing, State, US, Russia, Communist, Contemporary China, Taiwan, Lago, City, Xinhua, Shanghai, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Europe, China's Qingdao Port, –, Asia, Seoul, Tokyo, Ukraine, United States, AFP, Japan, South Korea, America, Washington, Hong Kong, South China

☆ Biden tries to lay to rest age concerns, but may have exacerbated them
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —A probe that spared President Joe Biden from criminal charges paradoxically dealt him a threatening political blow. The president’s defenders often get frustrated when the political conversation is dominated by Biden’s age – rather than Trump’s repeated challenges to the rule of law. In another CNN poll last week, 46% of Democrats were concerned about Biden’s age. Hur’s report rebuked Biden for willfully retaining classified information, including top secret documents after he left the vice presidency. North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis was kinder but his comments over Biden’s age were also cutting.

Persons: Joe Biden, Robert Hur’s, Biden, ” Biden fumed, Donald Trump’s, CNN’s MJ Lee, “, ”, Hur, Beau’s, ” Biden, he’s, Trump, Kamala Harris, —, Nikki Haley, Nancy Pelosi —, he’d, Trump’s, Hur’s, ” Hur, Beau, Florida Sen, Marco Rubio, North Carolina Republican Sen, Thom Tillis, I’m, ” Tillis, “ I’m, …, I’ve, Arizona Sen, Mark Kelly Organizations: CNN, White, Trump, Republican, Biden, Republicans, GOP, Twitter, North Carolina Republican Locations: Egypt, Mexico, America, Washington, Ukraine, Gaza, Lago, Afghanistan, Maryland, Florida, Arizona

☆ Papua New Guinea to recruit Australia police in security deal - minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape will travel to Canberra on Thursday to sign the security agreement, his office said. "The security arrangement is in the best interest of Papua New Guinea and also for Australia and its regional security interests," Marape said in a statement on Tuesday. The Australian Federal Police and the defence minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the security agreement. "Its a big issue and Australia can help us out considerably," said Tkatchenko, who began negotiations with Australia on the deal last year. They will be contracted officers reporting directly to the police commissioner of Papua New Guinea and they will be under all the laws of PNG.

Persons: James Marape, Lillian Suwanrumpha, Marape, Justin Tkatchenko, Tkatchenko, Kirsty Needham, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Guinea's, APEC, APEC Business, Economic Cooperation, Rights, Papua New Guinea, Australia, U.S, Reuters, Defence, Australian Federal Police, PNG Royal Constabulary, CID, Australian, Thomson Locations: Papua, Asia, Bangkok, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, biosecurity, Papua New, Canberra, United States, China, Solomon Islands, Australia, France

☆ China's Belt and Road Forum: What to know following Beijing's 'grand gathering'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Here are the main takeaways from China’s Belt and Road Forum. No doubt over Putin’s prominenceThe gathering left no question over who was the most important world leader in attendance in the eyes of China’s Xi. In his meeting with Putin, Xi hailed the China-Russia partnership as “a long-term commitment,” stressing “ever-lasting good neighborliness and mutually beneficial cooperation,” and alluding to their shared 4,300-kilometer border and mutual aims. Since then, skepticism about China’s global ambitions has risen in Europe, in particular over Beijing’s economic and diplomatic support for Moscow. “Obviously, competition should not mean working against each other but mutually improving each other,” he said, while touting the quantity of China’s global development projects.

Persons: Beijing CNN —, Xi, Vladimir Putin, –, Putin striding, Putin, ” Putin, Joe Biden’s, ”, Giuseppe Conte, Hungary’s Viktor Orban, Kassym, Joko, General António Guterres, ” Guterres, Zhai Jun, Wang Yi, “ Organizations: Beijing CNN, Initiative, of, Italian, Beijing, United Nations, Hamas Locations: China, Beijing, United States, Ukraine, Russia, China’s, East, Gaza, Israel, Europe, US, Greece, Austria, Portugal, Czech Republic, Moscow, Italy, Africa, Asia, Latin America, Egypt

☆ Oil and natural gas prices are climbing again as risks multiply
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“The oil market is very sensitive to developments with the Israel-Hamas war,” he told CNN. Risks to natural gas supplyThe situation in Israel has also weighed heavily on the European natural gas market. Egypt produces a lot of its own natural gas in addition to imports and processes some of it into LNG for shipping abroad. “This has obviously created a lot of nervousness and heightened the geopolitical risk within the European gas market,” Tomas Marzec-Manser, head of gas analytics at ICIS, told CNN. And Marzec-Manser thinks Europe’s upcoming winter will be bearish for the gas market.

Persons: Edward Moya, ”, —, ” Moya, Brent, Price, ” Sophie Lund, Yates, Hargreaves Lansdown, Massimo Di Odoardo, Wood Mackenzie, Di Odoardo, Frederic J . Brown, ” Tomas Marzec Organizations: London CNN — Global, Brent, Texas, CNN, Israel Defense Forces, Hezbollah, Group, Chevron, Getty, Authorities Locations: Israel, Iran, Tehran, United States, Gaza, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Egypt, Jordan, Europe, LNG, Finland, Estonia, Kern County , California, AFP, Baltic, Germany, Ukraine

Oct 9 (Reuters) - Fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East are threatening more volatility for investors after a painful stretch in U.S. markets. Investors were on guard for the potential of the conflict spreading to embroil other countries, including Iran, and a continued spike in oil prices. Prices for gold, a popular destination for investors during uncertain times, were up 1.2% at $1,854.10 per ounce. Among those is the potential of a rebound in oil prices that could weigh on U.S. economic growth and endanger the so-called soft landing narrative that has helped boost stocks this year. “The worst-case scenario from a geopolitical risk perspective would be a full-scale confrontation between Israel and Iran,” said Tina Fordham, geopolitical strategist and founder of Fordham Global Foresight.

Persons: Brent, ”, Mohit Kumar, Tina Fordham, Paul Nolte, Emmanuel Cau, Althea Spinozzi, Naomi Rovnick, Lewis Krauskopf, Dhara Ranasinghe, Davide Barbuscia, Noel Randewich, Marc Jones, Ira Iosebashvili, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Jefferies, Fordham Global Foresight, Federal Reserve, Murphy, Sylvest Wealth Management, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Treasury, Barclays, Mobileye, Intel, Solaredge Technologies, East, Saxo Bank, Thomson Locations: U.S, Gaza, Iran, Europe, London, Israel, United States, Germany

Oct 9 (Reuters) - Fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East are threatening more volatility for investors after a painful stretch in U.S. markets. Investors were on guard for the potential of the conflict spreading to embroil other countries, including Iran, and a continued spike in oil prices. Prices for gold, a popular destination for investors during uncertain times, were up 0.9% at $1,849.40 per ounce. Among those is a potential rebound in oil prices that could weigh on U.S. economic growth and endanger the so-called soft landing narrative that has helped boost stocks this year. “The worst-case scenario from a geopolitical risk perspective would be a full-scale confrontation between Israel and Iran,” said Tina Fordham, geopolitical strategist and founder of Fordham Global Foresight.

Persons: Brent, ”, Mohit Kumar, Tina Fordham, Paul Nolte, Murphy, Emmanuel Cau, Althea Spinozzi, Naomi Rovnick, Lewis Krauskopf, Dhara Ranasinghe, Davide Barbuscia, Marc Jones, Ira Iosebashvili, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Jefferies, Fordham Global Foresight, Federal Reserve, Sylvest Wealth Management, Treasury, Barclays, Mobileye, Intel, Solaredge Technologies, East, Saxo Bank, Thomson Locations: U.S, Gaza, Iran, Europe, London, Israel, United States, Germany

☆ GOP burns for another culture war fight, pushing bills to 'save' gas stoves
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Matthew Daly | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The House GOP passed a bill to bar federal regulation of gas stoves. Some cities have banned new gas stoves over climate change and attempts to reduce energy use. The White House said the administration "has been clear that it does not support any attempt to ban the use of gas stoves,″ but GOP lawmakers say rules on gas stoves represent classic government overreach. New York state approved a law last month banning natural gas stoves and furnaces in most new buildings. The proposed Energy Department rule would save consumers up to $1.7 billion and cut down on emission that are dangerous to children's health, she added.

Persons: —, ″, Tom Cole, Joe Biden, Kevin McCarthy's, McCarthy, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, McMorris Rodgers, Mary Gay Scanlon, Scanlon Organizations: GOP, Service, Republican, Energy Department, Biden, Green, Democratic, Caucus, Consumer Product Safety, The Energy Department, House Energy, Commerce, DOE, embroil Locations: San Francisco, Berkeley , California, New York, United States, Washington

[1/2] Ukrainian artillery fires towards the frontline during heavy fighting amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 13, 2023. Following Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's visit to Japan during the Hiroshima G7 leaders summit last month, Kishida agreed to donate jeeps and trucks. Japan is one of dozens of friends and allies that Washington is asking to help arm Ukraine as it wrestles with stretched military supply chains. Reuters contacted 22 explosives makers listed on the Japan Explosives Industry Association's website. The only one that said it made industrial TNT was Chugoku Kayaku, an Hiroshima-based firm that supplies Japan's military.

Persons: Kai Pfaffenbach, Lloyd Austin, Washington, Fumio Kishida, Volodymyr Zelenskiy's, Kishida, Tsuneo Watanabe, Austin, Akihisa Nagashima, Tim Kelly, Nobuhiro Kubo, Yukiko Toyoda, Kaori Kaneko, Idrees Ali, David Crawshaw Organizations: REUTERS, TNT, Russian, Reuters, Panasonic, Defense, U.S, Japan's Ministry of Trade, Industry, Technology, Logistics Agency, U.S . State Department, Ukraine, TNT Washington, Japan Explosives Industry, Liberal Democratic Party, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Bakhmut, TOKYO, United States, Japan, Washington, U.S, Tokyo, China, Taiwan, East Asia, Kyiv, Hiroshima, Sasakawa, South Korea, Chugoku, Japan's, Russia, Seoul

☆ Delay in security treaty with Australia as PNG consults 'domestic processes'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Lillian Suwanrumpha/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoSYDNEY, May 30 (Reuters) - Papua New Guinea said a proposed security treaty with neighbour Australia would be delayed as it consults "domestic processes", a week after signing a defence agreement with the United States that sparked student protests. Papua New Guinea (PNG), a few kilometres (miles) to Australia's north, is being courted by China and the United States amid rising tensions between the two major powers. PNG Prime Minister James Marape met with Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles on Monday on the sidelines of the Korea-Pacific Islands Summit in Seoul and discussed the "proposed bilateral security treaty", Marape's office said in a statement on Tuesday. Marape had "conveyed his apologies to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for the delay in formalising this proposed Treaty with Australia", it added. Marles has said Australia wants to strike an "ambitious" security treaty that will see navy, airforce and army personnel from each nation working alongside each other more often.

☆ How to Police Gerrymanders? Some Judges Say the Courts Can’t.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Michael Wines | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — Courts decide vexing legal matters and interpret opaque Constitutional language all the time, from defining pornography and judging whether a search or seizure is unreasonable to determining how speedy a speedy trial must be. And then there is the issue that some judges increasingly say is beyond their abilities to adjudicate. It was on display again last week, in North Carolina. The North Carolina Supreme Court said on Friday that it could find no way to determine when even egregious gerrymanders — in this case, lopsided partisan maps of the state’s General Assembly and its 14 congressional districts — cross the line between skewed but legal and unconstitutionally rigged. political dominance, even though the state’s electorate is split almost evenly between the two major parties.

☆ Montana Governor’s Nonbinary Son Calls on Him to Reject Transgender Bills
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Eduardo Medina | Jacey Fortin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As debates over transgender issues embroil Montana’s legislature, the governor has faced lobbying from someone close to him: his son, who identifies as nonbinary and has pleaded with his father to reject what he called “immoral, unjust” bills backed by Republicans. In an interview with The Montana Free Press published Wednesday, David Gianforte, who uses he and they pronouns, said he had sat down with his father, Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican, last month with a prepared statement in hand to read aloud. David Gianforte, 32, told The Montana Free Press, a nonprofit news outlet, that he had written down why he believed bills that were gaining traction in the State Senate and House would be harmful to the L.G.B.T.Q. On March 27, he began his meeting with Governor Gianforte and his top health adviser with a familial introduction, according to The Free Press: “Hey Dad.

☆ Bud Light sales are falling, but distributors say they’re sticking by the brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Beer distributors are largely sticking by Bud Light and its parent company, Anheuser-Busch, as controversy continues to embroil the brand. Bud Light pours at bars and restaurants declined in early April, according BeerBoard, which tracks sales data at thousands of bars and restaurants. BeerBoard told CNN that the 3,000 locations tracked by the firm poured 6% less Bud Light than rivals, including Miller Lite and Coors Light, from April 2 to April 15. Bud Light had been much more popular than rivals in the weeks before: From March 18 through April 1, customers ordered Bud Light 15% more than rival light beers. Heinerscheid said in a recent podcast interview that Bud Light needs to attract young drinkers to ensure the company’s future by promoting inclusivity.

Many other hospitals were also reported to have come under attack on Monday, the third day of fighting in Sudan. Russia has also been trying to make inroads in Sudan, and members of the Kremlin-affiliated Wagner private military company are posted there. Leaders from around the world called for a cease-fire, but it was not clear who, if anyone, was in control of Sudan, Africa’s third-largest country, by area. “Everyone is afraid,” said Ahmed Abuhurira, a 28-year-old mechanical engineer who went out to try to charge his cellphone. “The humanitarian situation in Sudan was already precarious and is now catastrophic,” he said.

☆ China tells Japan it is troubled by Tokyo's military build up
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Sakura Murakami | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Japanese Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Shigeo Yamada, second from right, speaks to Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, second left, during the Japan-China security dialogue at the foreign ministry Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, in Tokyo. Shuji Kajiyama/Pool via REUTERSTOKYO, Feb 22 (Reuters) - A senior Chinese diplomat told his Japanese counterpart that Beijing was very troubled by Tokyo's military build up and criticised it for adopting a "Cold War mentality" in their first formal security talks in four years. The security talks aimed at easing tensions between the East Asian neighbours come as Tokyo worries, in the wake of Russia's attack on Ukraine, that Beijing will resort to military action to take control of Taiwan, and in doing so embroil Japan. Japan hosts the biggest overseas concentration of American forces outside the United States. Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Writing by Tim Kelly; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China and Japan square off over arms and balloons at first security talks in four years
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

China said it was troubled by Japan's military build up and Tokyo took aim at Beijing's military ties to Russia and its suspected use of spy balloons during the Asian powers' first formal security talks in four years on Wednesday. Japan in December said it would double defense spending over the next five years to 2% of gross domestic product — a total of $320 billion — to deter China from resorting to military action. Beijing, which increased defense spending by 7.1% last year, spends more than four times as much as Japan on its forces. Tokyo plans to acquire longer range missiles that could strike mainland China and to stock up on other munitions it would need to sustain a conflict alongside the large U.S. force it hosts. "The international security situation has undergone vast changes and we are seeing the return of unilateralism, protectionism, and a Cold War mentality," Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong said at the start of the meeting in Tokyo with Japanese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shigeo Yamada.

☆ China, Japan square off at first security talks in four years
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Sakura Murakami | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Japan in December said it would double defence spending over the next five years to 2% of gross domestic product - a total of $320 billion - to deter China from resorting to military action. Beijing, which increased defence spending by 7.1% last year, spends more than four times as much as Japan on its forces. China is Japan's largest trading partner, accounting for around a fifth of its exports and almost a quarter of its imports. “While relations between Japan and China have a lot of possibilities, we are also facing many issues and concerns," Yamada told Sun. He pointed to their territorial dispute over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, Beijing's recent joint military drills with Moscow and the suspected Chinese surveillance balloons spotted over Japan at least three times since 2019.

☆ The divorce lawyer who's represented Johnny Depp, Kim K, and Angelina Jolie charges $1,000 an hour and says tough love is how she gets things done
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Mark Ellwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Laura Wasser is a divorce lawyer whose clients have included Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. "You'd go to someone's bar mitzvah and say, 'You're Dennis Wasser's daughter,' and they'd say, 'You're at that table,' according to whether my dad had represented the mom or the dad," she said. She'd majored in rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley, and realized quickly that what she'd loved most about those studies was vital in divorce cases, as was her age and gender. She's a spokesperson for Divorce.com, the do-it-yourself split site, as its chief of divorce evolution and has hosted several podcasts, including "All's Fair with Laura Wasser" and "Divorce Sucks! With Laura Wasser," where one guest was the Kardashian momager and matriarch Kris Jenner.

LONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - A member of the British royal family's household has left her role after making "unacceptable and deeply regrettable" comments about race and nationality to a woman at a grand reception at Buckingham Palace, a spokesperson said on Wednesday. Ngozi Fulani, who was born in Britain and works for a domestic abuse support group, wrote on Twitter that the royal aide had repeatedly asked her: "What part of Africa are you from?" In this instance, unacceptable and deeply regrettable comments have been made," a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said in a statement. Last year, a senior royal source said Buckingham Palace had not done enough on diversity, although it has been endeavouring to boost the number of staff from ethnic minorities. "We have reached out to Ngozi Fulani on this matter, and are inviting her to discuss all elements of her experience in person if she wishes," the palace spokesperson said.

☆ The Republican far-right is seeking to place new limits on aid to Ukraine after the GOP claimed a narrow House majority
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Far-right Republicans want Ukraine aid restricted, with some saying it should be cut off entirely. But one analyst told Insider that broader bipartisan support for Ukraine aid remains solid. Gunner Ramer, political director of the centrist Republican Accountability Project, told Insider that a narrow Republican majority in the House meant that lawmakers such as Greene would wield outsized influence. Ukraine aid bills have, to date, all passed with broad bipartisan backing. Ayres, meanwhile, cautioned House Republicans hostile to Ukraine aid that pressing the issue could alienate moderate voters, for whom core policy issues like crime and the economy remain key.

☆ The US and Canada are updating a Cold War-era system to keep an eye on Russian and Chinese missiles. Experts say they need to add a lot more territory too.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The US and Canada are modernizing NORAD to watch for Russian, Chinese, and North Korean missiles. At the same time, some experts argue that the command should expand beyond North America to include Denmark and its North American territory, Greenland. North American Aerospace Defense Command, as it's now known, is also responsible for detecting and tracking North Korean missile launches. But the North Pole is still a dagger pointed at North America. The defense of North America is still on NORAD's radar.

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