THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: Trump orders Pentagon to consider reducing US forces in South Korea

US President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to prepare options to reduce the number of American troops in South Korea, just weeks before his planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to several people briefed on deliberations.

Reduced troop levels are not intended to be a bargaining chip in President Trump's talks with Kim Jong Un about his weapons program but they acknowledged that a peace treaty between the two Koreas could diminish the need for the 28,500 soldiers currently stationed on the peninsula.

President Trump has been determined to withdraw troops from South Korea, arguing that the United States is not adequately compensated for the cost of maintaining them, that the troops are mainly protecting Japan and that decades of American military presence had not prevented the North from becoming a nuclear threat.

His latest push coincides with tense negotiations with South Korea over how to share the cost of the military force. Under the agreement that expires at the end of this year, South Korea pays about half the cost of the upkeep of the soldiers - over 800 million dollars a year. The Trump administration is demanding that it pay for virtually the entire cost of the military presence.

Source: New York Times

Let's Do The News! (May 4, 2018)

- Senators rejected the plea to adopt a resolution asking the Supreme Court to suspend the quo warranto proceedings against embattled Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. Senate President Aqulino Pimentel III was cold to an appeal for the Upper Chamber to prevent the quo warranto proceedings, describing as “presumptuous” the action asked of the Senate by the group Coalition for Justice.

- Former Senator Bongbong Marcos asked Vice President Leni Robredo by following his lead which is to observe silence on his electoral protest now being resolved by the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was among the "strongmen" leaders on the May 14 2018 issue of Time magazine international edition alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the cover story written by American political scientist, Ian Bremmer.

- Independent bloc lawmakers are up in arms over the latest "aggressive" move of China in the West Philippine Sea. Specifically, the two House members have assailed Beijing for its reported installation of missile systems in the WPS.

- Glenn Jacobs, known as WWE wrestling superstar Kane, won Tuesday's Republican primary in Tennessee mayoral race by 17 votes.

- US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin sounded a positive note Friday about talks between US and Chinese officials ahead of a second day of meetings aimed at easing tensions that have taken the world’s two largest economies the closest they’ve ever come to a trade war.

- Hawaii's Kilauea volcano has erupted, releasing lava into a residential neighborhood and prompting mandatory evacuation orders for nearby homes. Hawaii County said steam and lava poured out of a crack in Leilani Estates, which is near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island.

- African-Americans have the highest ownership rates of mobile devices but aren’t being considered when it’s time for social media and technology companies to hire. The National Urban League is highlighting this new technology gap in its 2018 State of Black America report released Thursday, and pushing social media and technology companies to put in place safeguards and corporation solutions to make sure minorities don’t get left behind in the digital revolution.

- About 145 Central American migrants who traveled as part of a “caravan” from their home countries through Mexico have so far entered the United States to seek asylum, officials said Thursday. The migrants were part of a group of around 1,000 people who set out from Mexico’s southern border on March 25, before reaching the northern border town of Tijuana on Sunday.

- There's a possibility of a Miami Grand Prix at the F1 2019 season.

- Judy Ann Santos is set to return on a new teleserye after five years.

- Jake Zyrus reveals purpose of posting topless beach photo.

TTFN!!!

Persona4 the ANIMATION Series Original Soundtrack

Persona4 the ANIMATION Series Original Soundtrack

Based on the worldwide phenomenal installment of ATLUS' Persona role-playing franchise, Persona4 the ANIMATION centers on the story of Yu Narukami, a city boy starting life anew in a rural town of Inaba, when suddenly, his new home is engulfed with series of gruesome murders that has something to do with the phenomena called the "Midnight Channel". Utilizing the power of his Persona, it's up to the main character and the so-called Investigation Team to uncover these gruesome strain of events and save Inaba once and for all.

After years of waiting, the original television soundtrack from the P4 anime series has arrived and this three-disc compilation features all of the background musics as heard not just in Persona4 the ANIMATION but also its recharged side story, Persona4 the Golden ANIMATION. There's even vocal tracks titled True Story and Dazzling Smile as well, especially the bonus track at the end of Disc Two, reliving every single P4 anime moments from the day the main character arrives at Inaba to The Genesis.

For limited quantities, there's a serial code that will grant you access to a special Persona on the PERSONA O.A. app game and 6,000PP to spend it in-game.

Consider this a long-awaited present from the Velvet Room after years of waiting for this OST to arrive and hope you can enjoy watching its successor, Persona 5 the ANIMATION, Saturday nights on TOKYO MX.

TRACK LISTINGS:
Disc 1:
01.sky's the limit
02.Beauty of Destiny
03.P4A Main theme
04.Peaceful Message
05.The strange world
06.out of mere play
07.Cheerful
08.Alone in this World -piano ver.-
09.Falling into Right Places
10.その名を刻め
11.Recollections
12.逆ナン大作戦！
13.Truth or Lies
14.Lost Control
15.Alone in this World
16.Determination
17.True story
18.Your Future
19.I wish
20.Ain't Nobody Can Hold Me Down
21.Freedom overflows
22.A hero appears behind time
23.Honey's valley
24.Guy!
25.Ａ・Ｉ・Ｋ・Ａ
26.追憶の欠片
27.Birth
28.tears of eternity
29.Truth is hidden into fog
30.Crazy Shadow
31.Time for True Revelation
32.FALLING DOWN

Disc 2:
01.key plus words
02.The Way of Memories －キズナノチカラ－
03.恋する名探偵
04.ほんとのきもち
05.Memory
06.finale
07.P4A Fanfare
08.Healing
09.Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet
10.car chase
11.Eternal
12.unmask a person
13.Empty words
14.confused smog
15.We Are One and All
16.全ての人の魂の絆
17.key plus words -ATLUS Konishi Arrange-

Disc 3:
01.Next Chance to Move On
02.Dazzling Smile
03.Friendly Conflict
04.Golden Days
05.Perfect Plan
06.Just Like the Wind -instrumental-
07.悲哀
08.fearful
09.True Story
10.a little
11.a downfall
12.impatience
13.Ying Yang
14.prospect
15.ジングルベル
16.Kung fu
17.Get Carried Away
18.by any chance
19.Discouragement
20.My eyes only
21.Things left behind
22.Divine
23.Signal Fire of a Counterattack
24.Fight Alone
25.Just Like the Wind
26.Detachment
27.Long Way
28.Dazzling Smile

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: Chinese foreign minister in Pyongyang

China's foreign minister is now in Pyongyang, the first visit by a Chinese foreign minister to North Korea in 11 years.

This comes after the historic inter-Korean summit last week, expected to kick-start the process of ending armistice and moving toward permanent peace here on the Korean Peninsula.

Pyongyang state media reported that North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong-ho sat down with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Wednesday to discuss the current issues on the Korean Peninsula. They shared how to improve and strengthen relations following their leaders' decision to meet in the near future.

On the North Korean side, the minister in charge of the economy suggested that bilateral economic cooperation could have been on the table as well.

Source: Arirang News

Let's Do The News! (May 3, 2018)

- An Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone will bring rain showers in some parts of the Philippines on Thursday, according to PAGASA. In its 24-hour forecast, Pagasa said the ITCZ is affecting the province of Palawan, as well as the Visayas, the regions of Caraga, Northern Mindanao and Zamboanga peninsula.

- Former Department of Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima has underscored the necessity of instituting long-overdue reforms in the corporate tax system to bolster the country’s competitiveness. As he expressed full support for the proposal to modernize incentives for businesses and reduce the corporate income tax rate, Purisima said that House Bill No. 7458, or the second tax reform proposal, will improve the collection efficiency of revenue agencies.

- The Department of Energy is revisiting policies on the deployment of LPG-powered vehicles, mostly taxis, because of marked decline on uptake of such alternative public transport system.

- Malaysian opposition leader Mahathir Mohamad is under investigation for allegedly spreading “fake news” after claiming his plane was sabotaged, police said Thursday, just days before a closely-fought election.

- The latest in US politics: Former CIA director Mike Pompeo was sworn in as the new secretary of state as he promised to help the State Department "get its swagger back" and plans to continue work with North Korea and the developing situation in Iran. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump's former personal doctor, Dt. Harold Bornstein, is claiming Trump himself dictated the 2015 letter that claimed Trump would be the "healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency." Bornstein also told that former Trump bodyguard and another man appeared without warning at his office last February and seized the President's medical records.

- A fiery explosion occurred at North Haven, Connecticut, where police were negotiating with a man who had taken his wife hostage, leaving up to eight officers injured. The officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the blast at a barn behind the couple’s North Haven home Wednesday night.

- US health authorities reported the first death in an E.coli outbreak in romaine lettuce that his sickened 121 people across the United States. No details about the victim were immediately released except that the person was in California, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

- The Boy Scouts program will be renamed as Scouts BSA in February 2019 to reflect the decision to allow young women, according to the Boy Scouts of America. The name will remain the same, only the program for older youth will change its name.

- The latest in the imminent May 19 Royal Wedding: Horses named Storm and Tyrone will pull the Ascot Landau carriage in which Prince Harry and Megan Markle will parade through town as part of their Royal Wedding. There's also a backup carriage in case of rainy weather.

- TOKIO member Tatsuya Yamaguchi announced that he will leave the band after indecent assault accusation.

- Love Live! Sunshine!! director Kazuo Sakai made statements regarding online harassment he received, some targeting his family, and considers legal action if such behavior continues.

- ICYMI: Legendary guitar maker Gibson filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware. The Nashville, Tenn.-based corporation's current properties also include Baldwin Piano, Gibson Pro Audio and Wurlitzer, a company once famous for its organs but whose brand name Gibson now uses only for manufacturing jukeboxes.

- The Brabham BT62 has been revealed and this limited-edition track-only model features a 5.4L V8 natural aspiration engine that produces 710PS of power and 667Nm of torque. Thanks to its aerodynamics, it can push over 1,200kg of downforce and because it weighs 972kg, it has a power-to-weight ratio of 730PS per tonne.

Brabham BT62

TTFN!!!

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: President Moon will visit Japan next week

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will visit Tokyo next week for a three-way summit with prime ministers of Japan and China.

Mi Eui-kyeom, Presidential Spokesperson, said President Moon will make a one-day visit to Japan to attend the 7th South Korea-Japan-China trilateral summit on the 9th of May. It will mark the first visit to Japan by a sitting South Korean president since 2011.

The meeting will be the first of its kind since 2015 and comes after the 2018 inter-Korean summit last Friday in which the leaders of two Koreas reaffirmed their commitment on declaring the end of the Korean War by the year's end and dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear program.

Kim added that at the trilateral summit, President Moon will brief the other two leaders on the results of the summit and discuss ways to strengthen the three countries' cooperation on denuclearization and lasting peace settlement on the Korean Peninsula.

Source: Arirang News

Let's Do The News! (May 2, 2018)

- The government intends to step up public information about federalism after a survey showed a majority of Filipinos opposed Charter Change. Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque recognized that much remains to be done to educate the public about the planned reforms in the Constitution.

- The Office of the Ombudsman is all set to initiate probe on former Bureau of Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon and several others due to the involvement in the smuggling of 602.2 kilograms of shabu worth P6.4 billion.

- About 109 people were arrested on Wednesday after violent May Day protests in Paris, correcting an earlier figure of 209 given by Interior Minister Gerard Collomb. Hooded youths had torched a McDonald’s restaurant and several vehicles after joining the traditional May 1 union-led demonstration for workers’ rights.

- A magnitude 5.2 quake jolted a remote, mountainous region in southern Iran on Wednesday, injuring at least 31 people and disrupting power and communication lines, state media reported.

- An Environmental Protection Agency whistleblower says that administrator Scott Pruitt lied to the Congress that no EPA employees were retaliated against for raising concerns about his spending decisions.

- Tens of thousands of Armenians on Wednesday converged on the capital, blocking roads and government buildings, as popular anger exploded over the ruling party’s rejection of opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan’s premiership bid.

- Tesla reportedly spent 6,500 dollars every single minute.

- A certain engineering pushed the new Nintendo Labo toy kits beyond limits by creating an electric wheelchair which runs by it.

- Check out the new DIAMOND FUSION video from TRIGGER from IDOLISH7.

- A woman's accident went viral for her tattoo eyeliner.

TTFN!!!