News Update
As of January 3, 2018 (Wednesday)
1. Manila Bulletin
‘Agaton’ triggers floods, landslide
The tropical depression “Agaton” caused massive flooding in various areas in the Visayas and Mindanao and knocked down power in Southern Leyte and Cebu. Cebu‟s Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Office (PDRRMO) already reported two fatalities.
“Agaton” is now heading toward Palawan where it is expected to make its sixth landfall according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/01/03/agaton-triggers-floods-landslide/
2. Philippine Star
S. Korea offers to talk with North on Olympic cooperation
In a closely watched New Year's address, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Monday that he was willing to send a delegation to the Olympics, though he also repeated fiery nuclear threats against the United States.
South Korean government led by liberal President Moon Jae-in, who favors dialogue to ease the North's nuclear threats and wants to use the Olympics as a chance to improve inter-Korean ties.
South Korea's unification minister, Cho Myoung-gyon, proposed in a nationally televised news conference that the two Koreas meet on Jan. 9 at the shared border village of Panmunjom to discuss Olympic cooperation and how to improve overall ties. North Korea did not immediately react. But if there are talks, they would be the first formal dialogue between the Koreas since December 2015.
http://www.philstar.com/world/2018/01/03/1774162/s.-korea-offers-talk-north-olympic-cooperation
3. Daily Inquirer
AFP urges NPA rebels to surrender or face full-scale offensive
The military on Tuesday urged communist rebels to surrender or face a full-scale offensive after the two sides terminated their separate unilateral ceasefires for the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Malacañang also said it was not inclined to resume peace talks noting that that the rebels violated their own ceasefire. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Tuesday said that if the rebels wanted to resume talks,
“they need to show and prove good faith.”
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/957052/afp-urges-npa-rebels-to-surrender-or-face-full-scale-offensive
4. Manila Times
Trump to Kim: My nuke button ‘bigger,’ as talks dismissed
US President Donald Trump warned Kim Jong-Un Tuesday he has a “much bigger” nuclear button than the North Korean leader, as Washington dismissed the prospect of high-level talks between Pyongyang and Seoul.
Trump said: “North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the „Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.‟
“Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!” The tweet was in reference to Kim‟s annual New Year address in which he warned he has a “nuclear button” on his table, but sweetened his remarks by expressing an interest in dialogue and taking part in the Pyeongchang Games next month.
South Korea has responded positively to Kim‟s overture, suggesting January 9 as a date for rare talks aimed at easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. But the US questioned whether talks could be taken seriously.
http://www.manilatimes.net/trump-kim-nuke-button-bigger-talks-dismissed/371974/
