- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- 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 Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- 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
- 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
- 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
Disney investors to vote on winner in succession proxy war
Disney shareholders will deliver a verdict later Wednesday in the company's long-running struggle over leadership at one of the spring's most costly and closely-watched annual meetings.
At issue is an effort by billionaire investor Nelson Peltz of Trian Capital, who has blasted the Disney board over botched leadership planning after the entertainment giant reinstated long-running chief Bob Iger as CEO and ousted Iger's successor.
Peltz has nominated himself and former Disney chief financial officer Jay Rasulo to the board -- an outcome that the company has fought vigorously.
In the days leading up to Wednesday's meeting, Disney sent letters to shareholders amplifying comments from former CEO Michael Eisner warning that installing an outsider like Peltz "to disrupt Bob and his eventual successor is playing not only with fire, but earthquakes and hurricanes as well."
The company has also played up the addition of new board members, including former Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman, who was praised for a seamless transition at the investment bank.
Peltz launched the campaign late last year, pointing to Disney's sub-par profit margins in its streaming and overall media businesses and poor corporate governance.
"The root cause of Disney's underperformance... is a board that is too closely connected to a long-tenured CEO and too disconnected from shareholder interests," Trian said in December.
In more recent communications, Trian, which holds 32.4 million shares, or almost two percent of Disney, has softened its criticism of Iger personally, while spotlighting Disney's clumsy efforts to identify a new chief.
In November 2022, Disney fired Iger's hand-picked successor Bob Chapek and reinstated Iger in a move that shocked Hollywood.
Last July, the company extended Iger's contract through the end of 2026, giving him two more years for an assignment that had originally been envisioned as a two-year gig.
"The board botched its most important job -- CEO succession," Trian said in a March 25 communique. "This campaign is not about Mr. Iger nor is it a referendum on his leadership."
In a separate but parallel effort, another hedge fund, Blackwells Capital, has nominated three board members, saying the current board is too close to Iger.
The Wall Street Journal has estimated that the overall battle could cost more than $70 million, which would make it the priciest shareholder fight ever.
Charles Elson, a founding director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, noted Disney has struggled with successorship "for years," pointing to a bumpy transition that eventually led to Iger taking over from Eisner.
"The board did a poor job in the succession," said Eisner, who said even with a win, Disney will be "under a microscope" to show improvement.
In the last day or so, US media stories citing unnamed sources have described Disney as expected to prevail in the proxy battles.
Shares of Disney fell 0.3 percent in late-morning trading.
R.Veloso--PC