- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
Murdoch media empire succession drama plays out in US tribunal
A US tribunal began picking over the bitter spat between media magnate Rupert Murdoch and his children Monday in a case that could determine the fate of his empire, including the influential right-wing Fox News.
The hearings in Nevada are playing out behind closed doors despite a bid by an alliance of media outlets, including the New York Times, which first reported details of the judicial battle, for access to proceedings.
Murdoch, 93, is in the eye of a legal storm as several of his children seek to block him changing the terms of a family trust to ensure his favored son Lachlan gains control of his sprawling media assets after his death.
It's a plot worthy of the hit fictional TV series "Succession," in part inspired by the Murdoch family, in which a billionaire mogul fights his children over his empire's future.
In Nevada, Murdoch's children James, Prudence and Elisabeth are bitterly opposing changes that would dilute their formerly equal eventual control of Murdoch's companies.
Amid a heavy security presence, Murdoch, who wore a blue spotted tie and held hands with his new wife Elena Zhukova, 67, smiled and shook his head as he entered the colonnaded tribunal, TV images showed.
- Family feud sensation -
Observers warn the legal battle will have profound consequences for Murdoch's empire -- which transformed tabloid newspapers, cable TV and satellite broadcasting across multiple countries, but also faces accusations of stoking populism across the English-speaking world.
Critics credit Brexit in Britain and the rise of former US president Donald Trump at least partly to Murdoch and his outlets.
Lachlan is reportedly more aligned with his father's deeply conservative worldview, and took the reins of News Corp and Fox Corporation in the fall of 2023.
His three siblings are said to be more politically centrist.
In a sign of the schism, James, who stood down from News Corp in 2020, has come out in support of Democrat Kamala Harris, facing off against Republican Trump in this year's presidential election.
Rupert Murdoch's lawyers argue he "is trying to protect James, Elisabeth and Prudence by ensuring that they won't be able to moderate Fox's politics or disrupt its operations with constant fights over leadership," according to the New York Times, which accessed court documents.
In a preliminary ruling, the probate tribunal did not oppose a change to the trust in Lachlan's favor, but will nonetheless hear arguments from all sides this week. It will then make recommendations.
News Corp, with revenues of $10 billion in 2023, is a dominating force in publishing through HarperCollins, in US newspapers with the Wall Street Journal and New York Post, and in Britain's cutthroat print market with The Sun and The Times.
Fox Corporation is the parent company of Fox News.
Following the 2020 election, the conservative TV network agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems nearly $800 million after the voting machine company sued it for airing false claims that it rigged the vote against Trump.
O.Johnson--AMWN