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☆ This is the secret to a long and healthy marriage, says Deepak Chopra: 'Your relationship will thrive forever'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Aditi Shrikant | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Deepak Chopra's expertise spans a wide range of physical and mental topics: mediation, nutrition, mindfulness, and, now, psychedelics. But Chopra, 76, also has some acute insights on marriage. His secret to a long marriage? "I have only one tip for healthy, long term relationships," he says. Give up being right and your relationship will thrive forever."

The Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison partner is well-known for representing blue chip clients like Amazon in cases with millions or even billions of dollars on the line. "Widely considered one of the most preeminent litigators of his generation," is how his Paul Weiss bio puts it. Average profits per partner at Paul Weiss last year were $5.73 million, according to The American Lawyer. The case made national headlines, and the ex-judge, Roy Pearson Jr, was subsequently sanctioned by the D.C. Court of Appeals. In a statement filed with the court, Isaacson and McCrocklin's lawyer said the two sides' positions "are both extremely well-known to each other and seemingly very entrenched."

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☆ American Airlines pilots vote for potential strike while airline says negotiations are progressing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Pilots talk as they look at the tail of an American Airlines aircraft at Dallas-Ft Worth International Airport. American Airlines pilots have voted overwhelmingly to allow their labor union to call a strike while the carrier said talks for a new contract are getting close to a conclusion. More than 96% of American's pilots participated in the vote and 99% of them voted to allow the union to call a strike, the Allied Pilots Association said Monday. The APA called the strike authorization vote in March as talks for a new deal dragged on. A spokeswoman for American Airlines said the carrier believes a deal is "within reach" and that a "handful" of issues are left to complete.

☆ Second US government-organized convoy evacuates private American citizens from Sudan conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Aaron Pellish | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington CNN —A second convoy of US citizens organized by the US government arrived in Port Sudan on Sunday as part of an effort to evacuate Americans from the Sudan conflict. “A second USG-organized convoy arrived in Port Sudan today. The US effort – the second convoy in as many days – comes amid mounting anger from Americans in Sudan who felt they were abandoned by the US government and left to navigate the complicated and dangerous situation on their own. The deadly violence between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group that broke out earlier month has left hundreds dead, including two Americans, and thousands wounded. While various official and non official estimates place the Sudanese Armed Forces at around 210,000 to 220,000 troops, the paramilitary forces are believed to number approximately 70,000 but are better trained and better equipped.

The last few years have been hard in our marriage, and he sometimes says he's considering a no-fault divorce. But if you live in a community property state, your husband will be entitled to half. Is your state a fault or no-fault state? You mentioned in your letter that your husband has specifically threatened a "no-fault" divorce, but according to Costas, it isn't up to him. If you live in a no-fault state, outside of criminal factors, it won't matter whether one partner cheated or left.

☆ Armenia and Azerbaijan to hold peace settlement talks in Washington on Sunday
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, April 29 (Reuters) - Armenia and Azerbaijan will hold a new round of talks in Washington on Sunday to try to normalise relations, the spokesperson of Armenia's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. The mountain region is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated mainly by ethnic Armenians. "From April 30 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan will be in Washington DC on a working visit. The next round of discussions on the agreement on normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan is scheduled," the spokesperson, Ani Badalyan, said on her official Facebook page. Despite years of attempted mediation between them, Armenia and Azerbaijan have yet to reach a peace agreement that would settle outstanding issues such as the demarcation of borders and return of prisoners.

At about 8.30 a.m. shooting started at the Soba military camp in the south of Khartoum, according to three eyewitnesses and an advisor within Dagalo's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Burhan's air force was studying where the RSF was gathered, using coordinates provided by the army, two military sources told Reuters, describing plans that have not previously been reported. The RSF, meanwhile, had been locating more and more gunmen at Soba and other camps across Khartoum, the same military sources said. The army also established a small committee of senior generals to prepare for a possible conflict with the RSF, the same sources said. Both the army and the RSF were quick to blame the other publicly for sparking the violence and attempting a power grab.

☆ With Zelensky call, Xi Jinping steps up bid to broker peace – but does he have a plan?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands after signing a joint statement in Moscow on March 21, 2023. But another set of optics, Beijing’s close rapport with Moscow, has already embedded a deep skepticism in the West over China’s potential role as mediator. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Xi has claimed China’s neutrality, but has spoken with Putin five times – including twice in person – without picking up the phone to call Zelensky, despite a years-long strategic-level partnership between their countries. It calls for a ceasefire but includes no provision that Moscow first withdraw its troops from Ukrainian land. But this rapport has also been the reason that some leaders, including Zelensky and Macron, have expressed hope that Xi could leverage his clout to influence Russia to respect international law.

Zelensky, who has long expressed interest in speaking with Xi, said he had “a long and meaningful phone call” with the Chinese leader. Wednesday’s phone call is the first time Xi has spoken to Zelensky since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. China’s positioning as a mediator was also viewed critically as Xi visited Moscow but had still yet to speak with Zelensky. “Xi Jinping doesn’t want to put political capital behind an effort that then blows up in his face. In this case, this could mean Putin indicated to Xi that he was willing to talk to Kyiv, Menon added.

OTTAWA, April 22 (Reuters) - A union representing some 155,000 striking Canadian public workers called on Saturday for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to speed up negotiations over a deal for higher wages and work-from-home guarantees. "I need to see the prime minister getting involved in these negotiations and helping and assisting to move these negotiations along," Aylward said. "There is no time, nor tolerance for stalling and misinformation," the office of Treasury Board President Mona Fortier said in a statement. Tax agency workers want a pay bump of 22.5% over three years, while the Treasury Board workers are seeking a 13.5% pay rise over three years. Apart from wages, PSAC also wants the new agreement to recognize the right to work remotely.

[1/3] People protest outside the embassy of Brazil in Portugal over Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's position on Russia-Ukraine war as he arrives in the country for a state visit in Lisbon, Portugal, April 21, 2023. Two Brazilian officials told Reuters on Thursday that Lula - keen to protect Brazil's neutrality - was expected to avoid criticism of the Western role in the Ukraine war during his visit to Portugal. "Brazil and president Lula have a vocation for peace and the president will work to unite other countries to seek an alternative to end this conflict", Macedo told reporters after receiving the letter. On Tuesday, Ukraine invited Lula to visit, a day after Lula had met with Russia's foreign minister in Brasilia. Asked if the president would visit Ukraine, Macedo said Lula's foreign policy adviser, Celso Amorim, would go.

The remarks brought a strong retort from Washington, where a White House spokesman accused Lula of "parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda." Lula is a pragmatic politician," one of the diplomats told Reuters, requesting anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter. Lula has suggested Ukraine needs to make concessions to end the war and Russia could return recently invaded territory but keep Crimea. The European Union has also rejected Lula's suggestion that both Ukraine and Russia are to blame for the war. Earlier this year, Lula turned down a reported German request to supply artillery ammunition to Ukraine.

The voice on the other end asked Roscoe if he would serve as an eleventh-hour mediator in the massive defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News. “I said yes,” Roscoe told CNN on Wednesday, recalling advice his father gave him at the age of 16 about accepting work assignments while on vacation. Eduardo Munoz/Reuters/Eric Lee/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesIn the lead up to the last-second deal, attorneys for both Fox News and Dominion were fully expecting a trial. Last week, Dominion had notified Fox News that one of its first witnesses would be Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old Fox Corporation chairman, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. “Presence in the courtroom often tends to crystalize the focus of the risks and benefits of litigation,” Roscoe told CNN.

Speaking at a lunch with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Lula said a group of neutral nations must come together to help broker peace between Russia and Ukraine. A White House spokesman accused Lula of "parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda without looking at the facts." Lula has pitched himself as a peace broker to end the war, which began when Russia invaded the neighboring country in February 2022. The European Union has also rejected Lula's suggestion that both Ukraine and Russia are to blame for the war. Among Western nations so far, only French President Emmanuel Macron has welcomed Lula's peace initiative.

☆ Sudan's army says paramilitary mobilisation risks confrontation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz Nafisa Eltahir | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"These movements and deployments happened without the agreement of the leadership of the armed forces or even coordination with it," the army spokesman said. Deputy head of Sudan's sovereign council General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo speaks during a press conference at Rapid Support Forces head quarter in Khartoum, Sudan February 19, 2023. Witnesses told Reuters that they saw a convoy of RSF vehicles including armoured trucks enter Khartoum on Thursday. Political figures issued statements on Thursday about attempts to mediate between the RSF and army high command. Hemedti, who has amassed considerable wealth and expanded domestic and foreign relations, has said repeatedly in speeches that he wants no confrontation with the army.

☆ Kremlin says China has every right to conduct Taiwan exercises, France cannot mediate in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, April 10 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that China had every right to respond to what it called repeated "provocations" against it and carry out military exercises around Taiwan. In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said everyone should respect China and its actions which were in line with international law. "In a very short period of time, you and I have witnessed repeated actions that have been provocative toward the People's Republic of China," said Peskov. "And, of course, China has the sovereign right to respond to these provocative actions, including conducting military manoeuvres in strict compliance with international law." During his visit to China, Macron called on Chinese leader Xi Jinping to "bring Russia back to its senses" over Ukraine.

☆ Factbox: What is known about latest leak of U.S. secrets
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here is what we know and do not know about what appears to be the gravest leak of U.S. secrets in years:ARE THE DOCUMENTS REAL? Materials marked that way would have been seen by thousands of people with security clearances. But because not all of the documents are marked FVEY, U.S. officials believe whoever leaked them could be American. - China: Predictions about how China would respond to Ukrainian strikes inside Russia, along with details about British plans in the Indo-Pacific region. - South America: Information about Brazilian officials' plan to visit Moscow in April to discuss a Ukraine mediation scheme.

☆ The Kremlin throws cold water on China mediating peace in Ukraine as Macron urges Xi to 'bring Russia to its senses'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Moscow threw cold water on the potential for China to play the role of mediator in the Ukraine war. This came after Macron urged Xi to push Russia to see reason when it comes to the Ukraine war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has invited Xi to visit Ukraine and repeatedly expressed a desire to speak with him. China has claimed that it's neutral in the Ukraine war and unveiled a peace plan in February on the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion. That said, Xi showed no signs that China would provide Russia with weapons during a recent visit to Moscow.

☆ Factbox: The struggle for power in Sudan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The following outlines the struggle for power in Sudan in recent years:WHO HAS BEEN IN CHARGE IN SUDAN? Sudan began its halting transition towards democracy after military generals ousted long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir amid a popular uprising in April 2019. Under an August 2019 agreement, the military agreed to share power with civilians ahead of elections. That arrangement was abruptly halted by the 2021 coup, which triggered a new campaign of mass pro-democracy rallies across Sudan. The military has been a dominant force in Sudan since independence in 1956, staging coups, fighting internal wars, and amassing economic holdings.

☆ China brokering a deal between the Saudis and Iran is a message for the US: Change your strategy or get left behind
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Hassan El-Tayyab | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In March, Saudi Arabia and Iran announced they had normalized relations in a deal brokered by China. Hassan El-Tayyab is legislative director for Middle East policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation. By mediating the Saudi-Iran deal, China has demonstrated its ability to play a constructive role in resolving conflicts impartially, rather than relying on arms sales to keep nations in America's corner in geopolitical disputes. There have been some positive signs for diplomacy in Yemen since the Saudi-Iran deal was announced. Hassan El-Tayyab is the legislative director for Middle East policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation.

☆ Exclusive: Johnson & Johnson considers refiling talc-liability bankruptcy after appeals-court defeat
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Mike Spector | Thomson Reuters | Mike Spector Is A Correspondent At Reuters Covering Corporate Crises That Span Bankruptcy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

[1/2] A bottle of Johnson and Johnson Baby Powder is seen in a photo illustration taken in New York, February 24, 2016. In a court filing Tuesday, lawyers representing a creditors committee of talc plaintiffs said they recently became aware of discussions about a second J&J subsidiary bankruptcy. The J&J subsidiary that was to absorb liability for the talc cases, LTL Management, declared bankruptcy almost immediately after it was created. Andy Birchfield, a plaintiffs' lawyer at law firm Beasley Allen, said on Tuesday that claims “could easily be resolved if Johnson & Johnson would stop playing games and abusing the bankruptcy court process." How the J&J subsidiary might square such a move with the appeals court ruling remained unclear.

Gamal Roshdy, spokesperson for the Arab League secretary general, said the organisation is not privy to every move on the bilateral level between Arab countries. Assad's attendance at an Arab League summit would mark the most significant development in his rehabilitation within the Arab world since 2011, when Syria was suspended from the organisation. The Saudi foreign ministry did not confirm an agreement was reached but said it was in talks with the Syrian foreign ministry to resume consular services. Arab League heavyweight Egypt has also resumed contacts with Assad. An Egyptian security source told Reuters the visit was aimed at putting in place steps for Syria's return to the Arab League through Egyptian and Saudi mediation.

☆ Syria foreign minister makes first Egypt visit for more than a decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO, April 1 (Reuters) - Syria's foreign minister met his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo on Saturday, the first such visit in more than a decade and the latest sign of Arab states mending ties with President Bashar al Assad. Faisal Mekdad was embraced by Sameh Shoukry as he arrived at the Egyptian foreign ministry, the first official trip since before the uprising and conflict that began in Syria in 2011. President Assad was shunned by many Western and Arab states due to the war in Syria, which splintered the country and left hundreds of thousands of people dead. The Cairo-based Arab League suspended Syria's membership in 2011 and many Arab states pulled their envoys out of Damascus. But key regional powers including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have recently signalled increasing openness towards Damascus.

☆ Analysis: French pension standoff causing cracks in Macron's camp, insiders say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Elizabeth Pineau | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

With no sign of the protests abating, insiders question whether Borne's government has lost control of the political messaging necessary to appease the street. The situation has deteriorated considerably since Macron decided on March 16 to adopt the reform using special constitutional powers to bypass parliament. When asked about the divisions, the president's office said the majority of Macron's camp remained strong and united. "There are still ministers who are saying 'we should have done this or that', No!," the source lamented. An official in Borne's office said the prime minister had made efforts to preserve unity among ministers and lawmakers.

☆ Inside a shake-up at the world's 'most feared law firm'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Casey Sullivan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +30 min

It's been a tumultuous period for Quinn and the storied law firm he built over the past 37 years — now the world's largest litigation firm with hourly rates that can be north of $2,000. But behind the scenes, a shift at QE has been the talk of elite law firm circles. Indeed, the firm – known as a singular, even freewheeling, institution that brands itself as the "#1 Most Feared Law Firm in the World" — may appear to be less in the image of its founder as a generational shift brings changes. "We all thought it was important that the world understands this is not a one generation law firm." One former firm partner in California says he believes Quinn's inner circle generally got better deals.

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