James Murdoch's appearance at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit comes at a decisive time for News Corp, the media empire controlled by his father.
Rupert Murdoch turned 80 last Friday, but neither he nor News Corp show any sign of slowing down. The company has myriad growing interests in press, TV and film across the globe.
While no retirement date is in sight for Murdoch Sr, his son James, 38, is being widely touted as the heir apparent of this media juggernaut.
James Murdoch joined News Corp in 1996 and is credited with leading the corporation's internet operations early on.
Four years later he was appointed the head of the Asian satellite service Star, which at the time was not performing well. This was followed by his appointment as chief executive of British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) in 2003.
In 2007, the young Murdoch stepped down as the chief executive at BSkyB, although he remains chairman of the company, and took up his current position as the chief executive of News Corp in Europe and Asia.
Having outshone his siblings Lachlan and Elisabeth within the corporation, James Murdoch now has a central role in what stands to be its biggest deal ever: the £7.8 billion (Dh46.26bn) buyout of BSkyB, in which News Corp already holds a 39.1 per cent stake.
The proposed buyout caused uproar among rival media companies in the UK, citing competition concerns within the industry.
As a concession, News Corp agreed to divest Sky News, which is owned by BSkyB. But News Corp will continue to hold a 39.1 per cent stake in Sky News if the plan goes ahead.
The Sky deal comes at a bad time for News Corp, which has been embroiled in a continuing investigation into alleged phone tapping of celebrities by journalists at the News of the World, a British tabloid it owns.
The investigation into the issue has added fuel to the media company's rivals, many of whom oppose the Sky deal.
The proposed takeover of BSkyB is likely to be on the agenda at this week's Abu Dhabi Media Summit, where James Murdoch will be part of the "opening conversation" with the film director James Cameron.
Mr Cameron has contributed significantly to the News Corp coffers. His movie Avatar, which grossed US$2.8bn (Dh10.28bn) at the box office, was produced in collaboration with Twentieth Century Fox, which is part of News Corp.
The BSkyB deal also has repercussions in the Middle East. Sky is preparing to launch a 24-hour Arabic-language news channel, set for next year.
The channel will be run as part of a joint venture between Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation (Admic), a private investment company owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and BSkyB.
Whatever the fate of News Corp's buyout of BSkyB, the launch of the Sky News Arabic-language station adds to News Corp's growing interests in the Middle East.
James Murdoch has close ties with the Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Last year, News Corp paid $70 million for a 9.09 per cent stake in Prince Alwaleed's Rotana Media Group, which owns the world's largest catalogue of Arab music and film. In turn, Prince Alwaleed has a 7 per cent stake in News Corp.
In television, News Corp's Fox International Channels broadcasts 12 channels in the Mena region, including Fox, Fox Movies and Star World.
Rohit D'Silva, the general manager of Fox International Channels Middle East, said recently the company planned to launch more channels this year, showing the increasing role the Middle East is playing in the expanding News Corp empire.
BTIG Research says the corporation is expected to have worldwide revenues of about $44bn by 2015, based on the assumption that the BSkyB deal goes ahead.
And if it does go ahead, James Murdoch will reportedly be responsible for controlling half of the group's annual revenue.
Regardless of when Murdoch Sr chooses to retire, his son has clearly taken a commanding role in the family business.
bflanagan@thenational.ae
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
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SUE%20GRAY'S%20FINDINGS
%3Cp%3E%22Whatever%20the%20initial%20intent%2C%20what%20took%20place%20at%20many%20of%20these%20gatherings%20and%20the%3Cbr%3Eway%20in%20which%20they%20developed%20was%20not%20in%20line%20with%20Covid%20guidance%20at%20the%20time.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22Many%20of%20these%20events%20should%20not%20have%20been%20allowed%20to%20happen.%20It%20is%20also%20the%20case%20that%20some%20of%20the%3Cbr%3Emore%20junior%20civil%20servants%20believed%20that%20their%20involvement%20in%20some%20of%20these%20events%20was%20permitted%20given%20the%20attendance%20of%20senior%20leaders.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22The%20senior%20leadership%20at%20the%20centre%2C%20both%20political%20and%20official%2C%20must%20bear%20responsibility%20for%20this%20culture.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22I%20found%20that%20some%20staff%20had%20witnessed%20or%20been%20subjected%20to%20behaviours%20at%20work%20which%20they%20had%20felt%20concerned%20about%20but%20at%20times%20felt%20unable%20to%20raise%20properly.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22I%20was%20made%20aware%20of%20multiple%20examples%20of%20a%20lack%20of%20respect%20and%20poor%20treatment%20of%20security%20and%20cleaning%20staff.%20This%20was%20unacceptable.%22%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Top 5 concerns globally:
1. Unemployment
2. Spread of infectious diseases
3. Fiscal crises
4. Cyber attacks
5. Profound social instability
Top 5 concerns in the Mena region
1. Energy price shock
2. Fiscal crises
3. Spread of infectious diseases
4. Unmanageable inflation
5. Cyber attacks
Source: World Economic Foundation
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.