Tuesday, January 24, 2017

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


- The Jee Ick Joo murder case is far from being resolved three months after his kidnapping and apparent murder, and the recent arrest of one of the prime suspects in the case. A commotion even ensued last week at the NBI HQ in Manila, when the wife of Senior Police Officer 3 Ricky Sta. Isabel, who is being accused as a key figure in Jee’s kidnap-slay, saw that one of the police officers taking him into police custody was someone he had mentioned in his affidavit.

- Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre still has a lot of explaining to do about the fifty million peso bribery scandal involving his former officials at the Bureau of Immigration, senators said at the start of the senate inquiry into the issue yesterday. The possibility of his involvement came out during the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing where former officials gave conflicting statements on how they got hold of the fifty million pesos from retired police general Wally Sombero.

- President Rodrigo Duterte compared himself to his newly American counterpart, Donald Trump, when it comes to his attitude, but he believes that Trump should not be underestimated. The two latest leaders both use tortured metaphors and known for their harsh comments, among other characteristics. Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, who attended Trump's inauguration last weekend, said Trump's protectionist stance is similar to Duterte's independent foreign policy.

- Meanwhile, the Trump administration vows to defend territories that are in international waters, including the South China Sea issue. Responding to a question about China's claims over islands in the disputed area, press secretary Sean Spicer says that "we are going to make sure we defend international territories." Apart from that, President Trump signed a presidential memorandum formally withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement, as promised from his campaign, then providing military assistance to Egypt.

- The World Health Organization warned nations to keep an eye on outbreaks of bird flu, stressing that fresh infections have been reported in birds in nearly forty countries since November.  According to WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks in poultry or wild birds have shown a steep increase. She said the WHO has been put on high alert by the rapid geographical expansion of the outbreaks and the number of virus strains currently co-circulating.

-  Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto vowed that his country will neither confront or submit to the United States under the Trump leadership. Pena Nieto was speaking before business and political leaders in Mexico City on Monday against a backdrop of US President Donald Trump's high profile criticism of his country. Pena Nieto said "the solution is dialogue and negotiation" while pledging to protect national interests and not yield to criticism from the United States.

- Bernie Ecclestone was reportedly removed from his position as the head of Formula One following leadership shuffle planned by the new owners of F1. Liberty Media. He will be replaced by Chase Carey, who was appointed F1 chairman after the Liberty Media deal. Apart from that, F1 veteran Ross Brawn and former ESPN marketing executive Sean Bratches will have an undetermined post in the F1 executive structure.

- Action star, former Republican California governor, and reality TV show host Arnold Schwarzenegger collaborated with an Austrian company Kreisel Electric to create an electrified Mercedes G-Class SUV during an event in Kitzbuehel. He even took a test drive of this electrified G-Wagen as well as orchestrated it for Kreisel to install the electric powertrain, resulting to a electric hunk of metal with 186 miles of driving range.

- Fans of THE IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls should take a look at this brand new Full Swing Yell Yuki Himekawa figure courtesy of Kotobukiya. This brand new figure is yours to order for 11,000 Yen plus tax and will be delivered this June.

Full Swing Yell
Yuki Himekawa

- For Love Live Sunshine fans, there's the new Riko Sakurauchi figma, available for pre-orders starting at 5,833 Yen plus tax and delivers this July. This is the second addition to the new Love Live Sunshine figma range starting with Chika Takami and there will be more to come soon.

figma Riko Sakurauchi

- Tekken 7 will be heading to PS4 and XBOX One this June 1st and for PC users (via Steam) on the next day. This latest installment features console-exclusive extras such as "The Mishima Saga" Story Mode, as well as bonus extras including a special code to unlock Eliza as well as special Fated Retribution accessories for your favorite fighters.

TTFN!!!

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