United News of Bangladesh

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have reached a divorce settlement, ending one of the longest and most contentious divorces in Hollywood history but not every legal issue between the two. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Scott J. Nord approved the agreement Tuesday, a day after Jolie and Pitt signed off on it. “More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr. Pitt,” Jolie's attorney, James Simon, said in a statement. “She and the children left all of the properties they had shared with Mr. Pitt, and since that time she has focused on finding peace and healing for their family. This is just one part of a long ongoing process that started eight years ago. Frankly, Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over.” The filing says they give up the right to any future spousal financial support, but gives no other details. An email to Pitt's attorney seeking comment was not immediately answered. Jolie, 49, and Pitt, 61, were among Hollywood’s most prominent pairings for 12 years, two of them as a married couple. The Oscar winners have six children together. Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, after a private jet flight from Europe during which she said Pitt physically abused her and their children. The FBI and child services officials investigated Pitt's actions on the flight. Two months later the FBI released a statement saying it would not investigate further, and the U.S. attorney did not bring charges. A heavily redacted FBI report obtained by The Associated Press in 2022 said that an agent provided a probable cause statement to prosecutors on Pitt, but that after discussing the merits, “it was agreed by all parties that criminal charges would not be pursued.” The document said Jolie was “personally conflicted" about supporting charges, and in a later court filing she said she opted not to push for them for the sake of the family. A source familiar with the child services inquiry told the AP in 2016 that the child services investigation was closed without a finding of abuse. A judge in 2019 declared Jolie and Pitt divorced and single, but the splitting of assets and child custody needed to be settled separately. Read: Angelina Jolie lauds Bangladesh’s leadership role in Rohingya crisis Both have been free to marry again since that declaration, but neither has. The marriage was the third for Jolie, who was previously married to Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton, and the second for Pitt, who was previously wed to Jennifer Aniston. Soon after, a private judge that the two had hired to handle the case reached a decision that included equal custody of their children, but Jolie filed to have him removed from the case over an unreported conflict of interest. An appeals court agreed, removing the judge and vacating his decision. The couple had to start the process over. During the long divorce fight, four of their children became adults, negating the need for a custody agreement for them. The only minors that remain are 16-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne. The court will maintain jurisdiction over the child custody even with the finalized agreement, as it does in all California cases. In June, one of their daughters, then known as Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, successfully petitioned to remove Pitt's name from hers. The couple's use of private judges — an increasingly common move among splitting celebrities in recent years — kept the details of the divorce largely under wraps. There had been no official court actions in the case in nearly a year, and no indication that the two were near agreement. Some elements of their disputes, however, have been revealed through a separate lawsuit filed by Pitt over Jolie's sale of her half of a French winery they owned. Pitt had wanted to buy her half of the winery, Chateau Miraval, and said she abandoned their negotiations and sold her part to the Tenute del Mondo wine group. Pitt said it was a “vindictive” and “unlawful” move that should not have been made without his consent and ruined a private space that had been a second home. Jolie and her attorneys said that Pitt had demanded she sign a wide-ranging non-disclosure agreement about him as part of the proposed deal that was an attempt to cover up his abuse of her and the children. Read more: California high court won't hear Brad Pitt divorce appeal The divorce agreement does not affect the winery lawsuit, where the legal battle between the two stars could continue. Publicly, both Pitt and Jolie have been extremely tight-lipped on everything surrounding their split, despite robust promotional tours for various projects. Pitt said in a 2017 interview with GQ that he had had a drinking problem at the time of the plane incident and the split, but had since become sober and was going to therapy. He has not defended his behavior on the family flight. Both were among the most elite stars in film when they began dating in 2004, after co-starring as hitman-and-hitwoman spouses in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” and remained atop the Hollywood A-list throughout their coupling. The star of “Maleficent” and “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,” Jolie won an Oscar for her performance in 1999’s “Girl, Interrupted.” Pitt, the star of “Fight Club” and “Inglourious Basterds,” thrived as both actor and producer after the split. He won his own Academy Award for 2019’s “Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood,” the crowning achievement in an awards season that some in media framed as a redemption and brought major public affection for him. Jolie kept a less visible profile in the years since the divorce, though she directed several films and appeared in several more while trying to focus on raising the children. She has very much returned to the Oscar conversation this year for her portrayal of the legendary soprano Maria Callas in “Maria.”

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have finally reached a divorce settlement, bringing an apparent conclusion to their lengthy and highly publicized legal battle, Jolie's lawyer announced Monday. Attorney James Simon confirmed the agreement to The Associated Press, following an initial report by People magazine. "Angelina filed for divorce over eight years ago," Simon stated. "Since then, she and the children have left the shared properties with Mr. Pitt and focused on healing and peace. This marks the resolution of one aspect of a prolonged process. While Angelina feels exhausted, she is also relieved that this chapter is now closed." Olivia Hussey, acclaimed Star of Romeo and Juliet, dies at 73 Court approval is still required, as no official documents have been filed yet. Pitt's lawyer did not respond immediately to requests for comments sent late Monday. Jolie, 49, and Pitt, 61, were among Hollywood's most high-profile couples, sharing 12 years together and raising six children. Jolie initiated divorce proceedings in 2016, citing abusive behavior by Pitt during a private jet flight from Europe. Though a judge declared them legally single in 2019, disputes over child custody and asset division continued. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan reveals how he learned Bangla  A private judge initially ruled for joint custody, but Jolie later challenged his involvement due to a conflict of interest. An appeals court supported her motion, leading to the judge's removal and forcing the process to restart. Details of the settlement remain undisclosed, with the use of a private judge maintaining the confidentiality of proceedings. However, parts of the case emerged through a separate lawsuit filed by Pitt, who accused Jolie of violating an agreement to sell him her share of their jointly owned French winery. It remains unclear how this settlement may impact that lawsuit.

The California Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to consider Brad Pitt's appeal of a court ruling that disqualified the judge in his custody battle with Angelina Jolie. The court denied a review of a June appeals court decision that said the private judge hearing the case should be disqualified for failing to sufficiently disclose his business relationships with Pitt's attorneys. Read: Angelina Jolie visits Burkina Faso as U.N. Special Envoy The state Supreme Court’s decision finalizes that ruling. It means the fight over the couple’s five minor children — which was nearing an end — could just be getting started. “Ms. Jolie is focused on her family and pleased that her children’s wellbeing will not be guided by unethical behavior," her attorney, Robert Olson, said in an email. Pitt's attorneys didn't immediately issue a comment. Jolie, 46, and Pitt, 57, were among Hollywood’s most prominent couples for 12 years. A former Los Angeles County Superior Court judge, John Ouderkirk, officiated at their 2014 wedding, then was hired to oversee their divorce when Jolie filed to dissolve the marriage in 2016. Read: Jolie says judge in Pitt divorce won’t let children testify He ruled the couple divorced in 2019, but he separated the child custody issues. Jolie and Pitt have six children: 20-year-old Maddox, 17-year-old Pax, 16-year-old Zahara, 15-year-old Shiloh, 13-year-old Vivienne and 13-year-old Knox. Only the five minors are subject to custody decisions.

Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie has visited war-weakened Burkina Faso to show solidarity with people who continue to welcome the displaced, despite grappling with their own insecurity, and said the world isn’t doing enough to help. “The humanitarian crisis in the Sahel seems to me to be totally neglected. It is treated as being of little geopolitical importance,” Jolie told the Associated Press. “There’s a bias in the way we think about which countries and which people matter.” Read: Burkina Faso says at least 100 civilians killed in attack While Burkina Faso has been battling a five-year Islamic insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State that’s killed thousands and displaced more than one million people, it is also hosting more than 22,000 refugees, the majority Malian. As Special Envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Jolie marked World Refugee Day on Sunday in Burkina Faso’s Goudoubo refugee camp in the Sahel, where she finished a two-day visit. She spoke with the camp’s Malian refugees and internally displaced people in the nation’s hard-hit Center-North and Sahel regions. After 20 years of work with the U.N. refugee agency, Jolie told the AP the increasing displacement meant the world was on a “terrifying trajectory towards instability”, and that governments had to do something about the conflicts driving the vast numbers of refugees. “Compared to when I began working with UNHCR twenty years ago, it seems like governments have largely given up on diplomacy ... countries which have the least are doing the most to support the refugees,” she said. Read:Churchill painting owned by Angelina Jolie sells for $11.5M “The truth is we are not doing half of what we could and should ... to enable refugees to return home, or to support host countries, like Burkina Faso, coping for years with a fraction of the humanitarian aid needed to provide basic support and protection,” Jolie said. Malians began fleeing to Burkina Faso in 2012 after their lives were upended by an Islamic insurgency, where it took a French-led military intervention to regain power in several major towns. The fighting has since spread across the border to Burkina Faso, creating the fastest growing displacement crisis in the world. Last month Burkina Faso experienced its deadliest attack in years, when gunmen killed at least 132 civilians in Solhan village in the Sahel’s Yagha province, displacing thousands. The increasing attacks are stretching the U.N.’s ability to respond to displaced people within the country as well as the refugees it’s hosting. “Funding levels for the response are critically low and with growing numbers of people forced to flee ... the gap is widening,” UNHCR representative in Burkina Faso Abdouraouf Gnon-Konde told the AP. Read:Angelina Jolie lauds Bangladesh’s leadership role in Rohingya crisis The attacks are also exacerbating problems for refugees who came to the country seeking security. “We insisted on staying (in Burkina Faso), (but) we stay with fear. We are too scared,” said Fadimata Mohamed Ali Wallet, a Malian refugee living in the camp. “Today there is not a country where there isn’t a problem. This (terrorism) problem covers all of Africa,” she said.

Angelina Jolie criticized a judge who is deciding on child custody in her divorce with Brad Pitt, saying in a court filing that the judge refused to allow their children to testify. Jolie, who has sought to disqualify Judge John Ouderkirk from the divorce case, said in the filing Monday that he declined to hear evidence she says is relevant to the children’s safety and well-being before issuing a tentative ruling. The documents don’t elaborate on what that evidence may be. “Judge Ouderkirk denied Ms. Jolie a fair trial, improperly excluding her evidence relevant to the children’s health, safety, and welfare, evidence critical to making her case,” according to the filing in California’s Second District Court of Appeal. Read:Churchill painting owned by Angelina Jolie sells for $11.5M The actress also said the judge “has failed to adequately consider” a section of the California courts code, which says it is detrimental to the best interest of the child if custody is awarded to a person with a history of domestic violence. Her filing did not give details about what it was referring to, but her lawyers submitted a document under seal in March that purportedly offers additional information. Jolie sought a divorce in 2016, days after a disagreement broke out on private flight ferrying the actors and their children from France to Los Angeles. Pitt was accused of being abusive toward his then-15-year-old son during the flight, but investigations by child welfare officials and the FBI were closed with no charges being filed against the actor. Jolie’s attorney said at the time that she sought a divorce “for the health of the family.” Her new filing says the judge has “refused to hear the minor teenagers’ input as to their experiences, needs, or wishes as to their custody fate,” citing a California code that says a child 14 or over should be allowed to testify if they want to. Three of Jolie and Pitt’s six children are teenagers, 17-year-old Pax, 16-year-old Zahara, and 14-year-old Shiloh. The oldest, Maddox, is 19 and not subject to the custody decision. They also have 12-year-old twins, Vivienne and Knox. In response to Jolie’s filing, Pitt’s attorneys said, “Ouderkirk has conducted an extensive proceeding over the past six months in a thorough, fair manner and reached a tentative ruling and order after hearing from experts and percipient witnesses.” Pitt’s filing said the judge found Jolie’s testimony “lacked credibility in many important areas, and the existing custody order between the parties must be modified, per Mr. Pitt’s request, in the best interests of the children.” Read:Angelina Jolie lauds Bangladesh’s leadership role in Rohingya crisis It says Jolie’s objections and further delays in reaching an arrangement would “work grave harm upon the children, who will be further denied permanence and stability.” It’s not clear what the current custody arrangement is because the court seals most files. When the divorce process began, Pitt sought joint custody and Jolie sought primary physical custody — meaning the children would live more than half the time with her. But changes have been made that have not been made public. Peter Harvey, a lawyer for Jolie who is close to the case but not directly involved, said the actress “supports joint custody” but the situation is complicated and he can’t go into detail because the court proceedings are under seal. Divorce lawyers for both sides declined to comment on the new filings. Harvey told The Associated Press that Jolie’s family struggles have prompted her to take a more active role in changing the law’s approach to custody issues. “Ms. Jolie has been working privately for four and a half years to both heal her family and to fight for improvements to the system to ensure that other families do not experience what hers has endured,” said Harvey, a former attorney general of New Jersey who has been working with Jolie on policy issues. Read: Judge says Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are now single Jolie has sought to disqualify Ouderkirk, a private judge she and Pitt chose to maintain their privacy, arguing that he has an improper business relationship with one of Pitt’s attorneys. She said in Monday’s filing that if the tentative custody decision is made final by Ouderkirk, she will appeal it. Jolie, 45, and Pitt, 57, were among Hollywood’s most prominent couples for 12 years. They had been married for two years when Jolie filed for divorce. They were declared divorced in April 2019, after their lawyers asked for a judgment that allowed a married couple to be declared single while other issues remained, including finances and child custody.

UNHCR Special Envoy and Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie has highly appreciated Bangladesh for the generosity and leadership it demonstrated in dealing with the Rohingya crisis.