THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: Trump expresses anger over N. Korea

US President Donald Trump says that his government is very angry at what the Korean Peninsula has done, and is critical of the country's missile and nuclear development.

Asked whether a meeting with the North's leader Kim Jong Un is a possibility, President Trump replied he wouldn't say no, but that may be too late.

Trump said the US government appreciates China's move to halt coal imports from North Korea. He added that China has tremendous control over the North, and it could solve the security challenge posed by the country very easily if it wanted to.

As for cooperation with Japan and South Korea, Trump said accelerating a missile defense system for the allies is one of many things that can be done, and that there are talks of a lot more than that.

Source: NHK World

Let's Do The News! (February 24, 2017)

- Senator Leila de Lima surrendered herself to arresting authorities following the issuance of an arrest warrant against her by a Muntinlupa Court. From her Senate office in Room 502, she was escorted to the agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group led by Chief Superintendent Roel Obusan.

- Following de Lima's arrest, Vice President Leni Robredo decried what she called a "political harassment" by the administration. In a statement, Robredo said that De Lima's arrest was part of a political agenda and not a result of an "independent, unbiased" legal process.

- Former PNP chief Alan Purisima yesterday pleaded not guilty to charges of graft and usurpation of official functions in connection with his alleged involvement in the Mamasapano incident. Purisima maintained his innocence during his arrangement at the Sandiganbayan.

- Prosecutors have indicted a suspect in last July's mass murder of mentally disabled people at a care facility in eastern Japan. Satoshi Uematsu was indicted for the murders of 19 people and the attempted murders of 24 others at a facility in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture.

- US President Donald Trump has criticized the nuclear disarmament treaty with Russia as one-sided and signaled his willingness to expand his nation's nuclear arsenal. He called the New START "a one-sided deal." The nuclear arms reduction treaty ended seven years ago. He said the United States falls behind on nuclear weapon capability and he said if any country wants to make nukes, he make sure that the US will be at the top of the pack.

- Ford unleashed the Competition Series variant of the Ford GT supercar. While the EcoBoost V6 engine remains the same, it now weighs 3,054lbs.

Ford GT Competition Series

- The new Porsche Panamera Turbo S e-Hybrid is the most powerful Panamera ever made and its set to debut at next month's Geneva Motor Show. This PHEV variant is powered by a combination of a 4.0L V8 Twin Turbo, electric motor, and a li-ion battery, producing a total power output of 680HP of power

2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo S e-hybrid

- The skater-turned coach Victor Nikiforov from the hit anime series Yuri!!! on Ice joins the Nendoroid lineup. He's available to order tarting at 4,167 Yen plus tax and will be delivered this August.

Nendoroid Victor Nikiforov

- For Love Live Sunshine fans, a figma of Kanan Matsuura has arrived! It's available to order starting at 5,833 yen plus tax and will be delivered this September.

figma Kanan Matsuura

TTFN!!!

Let's Do The News! (February 23, 2017)

- The Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court branch 204 under the sala of Judge Juanita Guerrero has issued a warrant of arrest against Senator Leila De Lima regarding her case in connection with her alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison.

- Three Indian soldiers and a woman were killed when militants ambushed a patrol in South Kashmir early on Thursday, part of an upsurge of violence that has hit the restive northern region as it emerges from winter.

- The Surigao Airport has resume its operations on Thursday. The airport had to close due to the damage brought by the Magnitude 6.7 Earthquake.

- The Department of Foreign Affairs – Overseas Voting Secretariat announced today that DFA-OVS and COMELEC-OFOV have signed tripartite memorandum of agreement with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) for the continuing registration/certification of qualified overseas Filipinos, that resumed on 01 December 2016 and will end on 30 September 2018, for purposes of the 2019 elections.

- The US administration of Donald Trump has withdrawn federal guidance allowing transgender students to use bathrooms of their choice at public schools. The Trump administration announced its repeal on Wednesday. Conservative states including Texas had filed lawsuits demanding the reversal of the guidelines.

- Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn will step down from his position effective this 1st of April. He will still be in charge with the Renault-Nissan Alliance as well as Mitsubishi, however.

- Mercedes-Benz teases an all-new E-Class Cabriolet set for Geneva Motor Show debut.

- Dia Kurosawa joins the Love Live Sunshine DreamTech scale figure lineup. This latest addition is available to order starting at 14,800 yen plus tax and arrives this August.

TTFN!!!

These are the best anime songs in history

February is known by some as the "Month of Anime" but the year 2017 marks the centennial anniversary of Japanese animation or so they say. Last weekend, there was a special programming aired on NHK highlighting the best 100 anime songs in history and, as they said, these are the best 100 anime songs in history, be it opening, closing, or insert, whatever maybe as long as they came from anime shows as seen on TV.

Here are the best 30 out of the 100 anime songs in history and you might be amazed which franchise scored big-time.

1. "SNOW HALATION" (LOVE LIVE!)
2. "BOKUTACHI WA HITOTSU NO HIKARI (LOVE LIVE! THE SCHOOL IDOL MOVIE)
3. "ORION WO NAZORU" (TIGER & BUNNY)
4. "History Maker" (Yuri!!! on Ice)
5. "Butter-fly" (Digimon Adventure)
6. "only my railgun" (A Certain Scientific Railgun)
7. "Platinum" (Cardcaptor Sakura)
8. "Cruel Angel's Thesis" (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
9. "Sugar Song and Bitter Step" (Blood Blockade Battlefront)
10. "TRAGEDY" (The File of Young Kindaichi Returns) 
11. "Connect" (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)
12. "Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari" (Bakemonogatari)
13. "Maji Love 1000%" (Uta no Prince-sama - Maji Love 1000%)
14. "M@STERPIECE" (THE IDOLM@STER MOVIE: Kagayaki no Mukōgawa e!)
15. "Guren no Yumiya" (Attack on Titan)
16. "Space Battleship Yamato" (Space Battleship Yamato)
17. "Hare Hare Yukai" (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)
18. "God knows…" (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)
19. "Lion" (Macross F)
20. "Daydream Cafe" (Is the order a rabbit?)
21. "Sore wa Bokutachi no Kiseki" (Love Live!) 
22. "Mezase Pokémon Master" (Pokémon)
23. "Aishiteru Banzai!" (Love Live!)
24. "Angelic Angel" (Love Live! The School Idol Movie)
25. "SUNNY DAY SONG" (Love Live! The School Idol Movie)
26. "CHANGE THE WORLD" (Inuyasha)
27. "ETERNAL BLAZE" (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's)
28. "Get Wild" (City Hunter)
29. "Zero Ichi Kiseki" (And you thought there is never a girl online?)
30. "Catch You Catch Me" (Cardcaptor Sakura)

μ's Final Love Live

Image: Project Love Live!

Amazingly, the Love Live franchise scored the most songs in the rankings than any other anime shows. From the now legendary μ's to the rising Aqours in Love Live Sunshine, whose first Love Live concert is happening this weekend, it's no wonder that it became one of the most successful anime franchises in history when it comes to anime songs.

Let's Do The News! (February 22, 2017)

- The Senate is set to reopen the investigation of the alleged existence of the Davao Death Squad following the revelations of retired SPO3 Arturo Lascanas last Monday. The committee headed by Sen. Panfilo Lacson will possibly resume its hearing next week after 10 Senators voted in favor of the said probe.

- President Rodrigo Duterte will not attend the 31st EDSA People Power Anniversary on the 25th of February, 2017. According to Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza, Duterte's absence in the event is due to his commitment in the relaunching of the Comprehensive Agreement of the Bangsamoro in Davao City on Friday.

- There's a possibility that another power hike of up to 92 centavos per kWh will be imposed starting this March. The Energy Regulatory Commission approved the request of MERALCO of a power rate hike as a result of the maintenance shutdown of the Malampaya plant.

- The US Department of Homeland Security announced new immigration polices to implement the executive order signed by President Donald Trump last month. The directives released on Tuesday include the hiring of 15,000 border patrol and immigration enforcement agents and the expansion of facilities to accommodate illegal immigrants on the border with Mexico.

- Six years have passed since the deadly Christchurch quake in New Zealand and citizens are remembering the victims of the deadly quake that killed 185 people. About 3,500 people took part in a ceremony on a riverbank in central Christchurch. A memorial wall has been built there, etched with the names of those who died.

- At least 74 bodies have been washed ashore in Libya. A local humanitarian group suspects that a boat carrying migrants capsized. The Libyan Red Crescent released photos of its workers collecting the bodies in the city of Zawiya on Monday.

- Land Rover teases a new addition to the Range Rover family. Called the Range Rover Velar, this Jaguar F-PACE-based crossover coupe will be premiered in Geneva Motor Show in March.

RR Velar teaser

- Toyota collaborates with Shell for the creation of hydrogen-fuelling stations.

- Akeno Misaki from the High School Fleet anime series gets her own figma! The star of last spring's anime series is now available to order starting at 6,296 Yen plus tax and delivers this July.

figma Akeno Misaki

TTFN!!!

Forza Horizon 3: A rare stablemate...

Twas the night is still young, I got a super rare prize car at a one-day-only Forzathon event here in Forza Horizon 3 and it's a very fast Ferrari track toy known as the 599XX, a potent track-only version of the 599 GTB Fiorano.

So, the Ferrari 599XX, what's it all about? It was characterized by the "High-Performance Dynamic Concept" which was designed to get the maximum performance by managing the combination of its mechanical limits with the potential of its electronic controls. Don't know what that is but what I heard is that this car has extensive use of carbon-fiber materials and the uprated V12 engine produces over seven hundred horses at 9,000rpm. It lapped around the Nurburgring in 6:58.16 and this was announced during its unveiling making it the fastest track car to lap around the Ring until it was beaten by the Pagani Zonda R.

Okay, enough explanation about this car because it's time to take a spin in one of the raciest Ferrari track toys ever made and what I did here is what idiots would say it's totally legit.

See? Totally legit! No foolin' around! He he he...What a whack job to do with a rare machine that I won from a one-day-only event but still, the night is still young, and let's do things while we're at it.

Let's Do The News! (February 21, 2017)

- The allegations of retiring police officer Arthur Lascanas should trigger a United Nations investigation over President Rodrigo Duterte's ongoing brutal war on drugs. According to the Human Rights Watch, Lascanas' allegation heightened the urgent need for an independent probe into the deaths of over seven thousand individuals in the drug war.

- The Commission of Higher Education announced that it will issue a moratorium on field trips and educational tours following the accident in Tanay, Rizal, that killed 15 students. Commissioner Prospero de Vera earlier called for the suspension of the school trips while investigation into a bus crash is ongoing. The suspension will cover all field trips and educational tours in all colleges and universities until the investigation is completed.

- The Department of Justice ordered the Bureau of Immigration to issue an immigration lookout bulletin order against three suspects in the 'rent-tangay' scam that has victimized car owners from all over the country. In a memorandum, DOJ Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre ordered Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente to put Ana Pamplona Borlon, Lea Constantino Rosales and Rafaela Anunciacion under an ILBO.

- US President Donald Trump named Army Lieutenant General Herbert Raymond McMaster as his new national security adviser. McMaster replaces Michael Flynn, who resigned on Monday last week following reports that he misled Vice President Mike Pence over his discussions on sanctions with Russia's ambassador to the US.

- Demonstrators took to the streets in cities across the United State to condemn President Trump on the President's Day holiday on Monday. It is exactly one month has passed since Trump took office.

- UN agencies are calling for an urgent boost in international aid to South Sudan after declaring a famine in parts of the East African nation. The World Food Program and two other UN agencies said in their joint statement that 4.9 million people were in urgent need of food.

- A light plane has crashed into a shopping mall in the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia. Authorities in Victoria State say none of the five people onboard are likely to have survived. The plane crashed soon after taking off from an airport in Essendon on Tuesday morning. The shopping mall, located next to the airport, had not yet opened for the day. Local media say the aircraft crashed into a storage area and that no one on the ground was injured.

- Chevrolet's new Camaro ZL1 sportscar reached a top speed of 202.3mph, faster than the Corvette C7 Z06's 198mph but slower than the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat's 204mph top speed.

- Aston Martin revealed Red Bull editions of the Vantage lineup, inspired by the Red Bull Racing F1 team.

- Shooting for the Avengers: Infinity War films are underway with a featurette showing Iron Man's Robert Downey Jr., Spider-Man Homecoming's Tom Holland, and Guardians of the Galaxy's Chris Pratt.

TTFN!!!