With Disney Deal Looming, Murdoch’s Empire Is Fractured - New York Times The dynamics of the Murdoch family are continuously shifting, and outsiders are kept at a distance. To Hollywood, the D isney deal looked like a family schism, with Lachlan, 46, solidly back in line to succeed his father as overseer of the family’s remaining businesses and James, 45, without a clear future at Disney. Associates of James, however, say that he encouraged the deal, in part because he had grown weary of the dysfunctional push and pull with his brother and father. Authoritarianism is accelerating in Southeast Asia - Nikkei Asian Review The China model is winning, at the expense of liberal values Emboldened By A Strengthening Economy, China Flexes Its Diplomatic Muscles - NPR Analysts in China say the proactive statesmanship is befitting the new era Xi has declared, in which China confidently wields its newly acquired wealth and influence and resumes what it considers its rightful place