UNITED STATES
Phil Donahue dies at 88
Phil Donahue, who changed the face of daytime television with a long-running syndicated talk show that highlighted topical and often provocative social and political issues, has died at age 88, NBC’s Today show reported on Monday, citing a statement from his family. Donahue died surrounded by his family on Sunday following an illness, it said. Debuting in 1970 when daytime television offered its mostly female viewers a diet of soap operas, game shows and homemaking programs, Donahue’s show tackled subject matter once considered taboo for television — including abortion, the sexual revolution and race relations. With his boyish charm, irrepressible energy and thick white hair, Donahue was known for aggressively questioning his guests and bounding through the studio to give his audience a chance to be heard. The success of his show paved the way for other daytime talk-show hosts, most notably Oprah Winfrey, whose program eventually eclipsed Donahue’s in the ratings. “If it weren’t for Phil Donahue, there never would have been an Oprah show,” Winfrey has said.
PHILIPPINES
Ex-mayor seen in Indonesia
A former local official embroiled in alleged money laundering through China-centric online casinos has left the country, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission said. Dismissed mayor Alice Guo arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Denpasar, Indonesia, on July 18 then flew to Singapore after three days, commission spokesman Winston Casio said in a message to reporters late on Monday, citing immigration records from these countries. Guo arrived in Batam, Indonesia, from Singapore via a ferry boat on Sunday, he added. Her lawyer, Stephen David, said in a phone call yesterday that Guo told him she was still in the Philippines. The ex-mayor’s bank accounts were earlier frozen over suspected money laundering, human trafficking and fraud. The Department of Justice yesterday said it would investigate how Guo was able to exit the country, despite an immigration lookout bulletin order that directs authorities to closely monitor her movements.
JAPAN
PM election on Sept. 27
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) yesterday said it would select a new leader — and by extension the likely next prime minister — on Sept. 27. Following plummeting approval ratings, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last week announced that he would step down next month. Campaigning to become the next LDP president is to begin on Sept. 12 with a vote two weeks later, an internal committee decided early yesterday, a party official said. A hodgepodge of candidates, from party veterans to rising young stars and three women, are reportedly weighing their chances and seeking to rally intraparty support.
JAPAN
Fuji barrier taken down
A barrier erected to block a popular view of Mount Fuji has been taken down — for now — after succeeding in discouraging unruly tourists, a town official said yesterday. Fujikawaguchiko put up the large screen in May after residents complained about streams of mostly foreign visitors causing problems while trying to snap photos of the famous volcano. The town on Thursday lowered the screen ahead of a typhoon and has decided not to put it back up. “We wanted to see what would happen,” the town official said. “There are still some people who come to the place. But we no longer find many people suddenly rushing out into the traffic to cross the road.”
Airlines in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Singapore yesterday canceled flights to and from the Indonesian island of Bali, after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower into the sky. Australia’s Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia all grounded flights after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores island spewed a 9km tower a day earlier. Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, India’s IndiGo and Singapore’s Scoot also listed flights as canceled. “Volcanic ash poses a significant threat to safe operations of the aircraft in the vicinity of volcanic clouds,” AirAsia said as it announced several cancelations. Multiple eruptions from the 1,703m twin-peaked volcano in
A plane bringing Israeli soccer supporters home from Amsterdam landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport on Friday after a night of violence that Israeli and Dutch officials condemned as “anti-Semitic.” Dutch police said 62 arrests were made in connection with the violence, which erupted after a UEFA Europa League soccer tie between Amsterdam club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israeli flag carrier El Al said it was sending six planes to the Netherlands to bring the fans home, after the first flight carrying evacuees landed on Friday afternoon, the Israeli Airports Authority said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered
Former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi said if US President Joe Biden had ended his re-election bid sooner, the Democratic Party could have held a competitive nominating process to choose his replacement. “Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race,” Pelosi said in an interview on Thursday published by the New York Times the next day. “The anticipation was that, if the president were to step aside, that there would be an open primary,” she said. Pelosi said she thought the Democratic candidate, US Vice President Kamala Harris, “would have done
Farmer Liu Bingyong used to make a tidy profit selling milk but is now leaking cash — hit by a dairy sector crisis that embodies several of China’s economic woes. Milk is not a traditional mainstay of Chinese diets, but the Chinese government has long pushed people to drink more, citing its health benefits. The country has expanded its dairy production capacity and imported vast numbers of cattle in recent years as Beijing pursues food self-sufficiency. However, chronically low consumption has left the market sloshing with unwanted milk — driving down prices and pushing farmers to the brink — while
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