YEAR IN REVIEW: 20 things we learned in 2025

As 2025 comes to a close, it's time for my annual YEAR IN REVIEW, where I will outline the 20 biggest news stories from throughout the year.

1) Southern California Forest Fires - Never in the history of Southern California has it witnessed a worsening wildfire that affected parts of Los Angeles, including the Pacific Palisades, where homes and businesses were burned into cinders.

2) Donald Trump's White House Return - Donald Trump's return to the presidency of the United States led to significant changes in the global order. This included the imposition of strict tariffs on foreign imports, a deterioration of efforts to resolve conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, and strained relations with neighboring countries like Canada and Mexico, among other consequences.

3) Super Bowl LIX - The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 to become Super Bowl LIX Champions with Jalen Hurts named MVP.

4) F1 75 - In 2025, Formula 1 celebrated its 75th anniversary. The festivities included Cadillac's announcement to join the F1 grid in the 2026 season, the highly anticipated F1 movie, the unveiling of F1's new regulations for 2026, and more. These events culminated in Lando Norris winning his first F1 World Championship title.

5) RRD VS ICC - Former President Rodrigo Duterte faced trial with the International Criminal Court regarding his bloody war on drugs during his presidential tenure (2016-2022), and he is currently locked up there at The Hague, pending investigation. During his arrest, the Philippine government, under the PBBM administration, is in deep turmoil over the FPRRD arrest dilemma.

6) Pope Francis passed away - Post-Easter, Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88, as confirmed by the Vatican. He was the first Pope from Latin America and had been in the Vatican for 12 years as the successor to Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI. During his tenure, Pope Francis dedicated his life to God and the Church. He also taught his devotees to live the values of the Gospel with honesty, courage, and love throughout the world, in favor of the poorest and marginalized sectors.

7) Yoon Suk-Yeol's impeachment - The South Korean government voted in favor of impeaching Yoon Suk-yeol due to his imposition of martial law on December 4, 2024. Yoon cited resistance from opposition parties to his governance as the reason for this declaration. Following the announcement, he attempted to dissolve the National Assembly and arrest opposition lawmakers and media figures. Ultimately, Yoon was impeached in early April 2025. His opponent in the 2022 election, Lee Jae-Myung, won the election and became the new South Korean president.

8) Pope Leo XIV - Following the death of Pope Francis, the Vatican held a conclave in search of the new Pope. A few moments later, a new Pope was named. An American-Peruvian cardinal named Robert Prevost was named as the new Pope after a two-day Conclave at the Vatican. He becomes Pope Leo XIV, the first Pope who hails from the USA. The new Pope will lead the Roman Catholics worldwide and uphold the legacy of his predecessors. Most world leaders are congratulating the new Pope, while others are concerned about the Catholic Church's future plans under the helm of Pope Leo XIV on key issues like LGBT and abortion rights.

9) Ai♡ScReam! - AiScReam is a sub-unit from the "Love Live!" series, combining members Ayumu Uehara (Nijigasaki), Shiki Wakana (Liella!), and Ruby Kurosawa (Aqours). The name plays on "ice cream," and the unit debuted with the single "Ai♡ScReam!" on January 22, 2025. This release features the title track, a coupling song "ICE LIMIT," and an audio talk segment. The catchy melody and playful lyrics led to a surge of fan-made content on TikTok, boosting its popularity within the Love Live! community.

10) K-Pop Demon Hunters - Released on June 20, 2025, the Netflix original animated movie K-POP Demon Hunters follows the K-pop girl group HUNTR/X, celebrated for their music but secretly dedicated to protecting the world from demons. The film was a massive success, inspiring limited theatrical releases, merchandise, fan-made content, and even real-world performances by HUNTR/X members.

11) Demon Slayer Infinity Castle Part 1 - Released in July 2025, the first part of the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba's Infinity Castle movie trilogy follows Tanjiro Kamado and the Demon Slayer Corps as they launch their attack in the Infinity Castle. The film sets new global box office records and features a special role by Channing Tatum in the English dub.

12) Deadly Twin Quakes in PH - The fourth quarter of 2025 saw Cebu and Davao Oriental being hit by two separate deadly quakes that killed countless people and damaged numerous areas.

13) Japan's First Female PM - Sanae Takaichi made history as the first Japanese woman to become Prime Minister. Takaichi is known for her remarks against China's plot to invade Taiwan. Her remarks caused China to take aggressive actions against Japan, causing Japanese celebrities' appearances in China to be canceled.

14) Ghost Projects - The Philippines is mired in the issues of ghost flood project anomalies. Such issues prompted the PBBM administration to establish the Independent Commission on Infrastructure to further investigate the corruption caused by the ghost projects. There were massive protests that took part, condemning the widespread corruption that plagued the Philippine economy.

15) The New World's Fastest Production Car - The Yangwang U9 Extreme, an all-electric hypercar made by Yangwang, one of BYD's luxury brands, made headlines with its 496.22kph top speed and its 6:59.157 lap time at the Nurburgring Nordschleife.

16) Miss Universe 2025 - Despite controversy over Miss Universe management, the pageant in Thailand went smoothly, with contestants from around the world. Fatima Bosch of Mexico was crowned Miss Universe, following her walkout over alleged mistreatment. She outperformed Thailand's Praveenar Singh, Venezuela's Stephany Abasali, the Philippines' Ahtisa Manalo, and Cote d'Ivoire's Olivia Yace.

17) The lengthiest US government shutdown ever - Due to the Republican majority in the US Senate failing to pass the 2026 budget, a government shutdown began in October 2025, becoming the longest in history. This led to airport disruptions and a potential hunger crisis from halted EBT funding. On November 13, 2025, lawmakers ended the shutdown, and President Donald Trump signed the bill shortly after.

18) BTS members discharged from military - The BTS reunion is approaching as members RM, V, Jimin, and Jungkook have completed their military service, reuniting with Jin and J-Hope.

19) Nintendo Switch 2 - Launched in June 2025, the Nintendo Switch 2 offers the same flexibility as its predecessor, along with new features that enhance gameplay. Nintendo is confident that the Switch 2 will secure its future, and it’s already proving to be a commercial success. It stands as a worthy successor to the original Switch, capturing global interest.

20) Jeffrey Epstein files made public - Over a million files linked to the late sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein were made public for the first time ever.

As the saying goes, "The end of one nightmare is just the prelude to the next." So, what will 2026 bring us? Whatever it holds, we should prepare ourselves for any challenges and turbulence ahead. Until then, let's all have a happy New Year!

YEAR IN REVIEW: 20 things we learned in 2024

As 2024 approaches its end, it's time for my annual YEAR IN REVIEW, where I will outline the 20 biggest news we learned throughout the year.

1) Donald Trump's re-election - Unfazed by controversies, two failed assassination attempts, and a guilty verdict regarding the "hush money" case, Donald Trump became the first Republican President in the US to win two non-consecutive terms. The world's greatest fear has been confirmed as Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress will undo what the Biden administration did.

2) Starmer becomes UK PM - In July 2024, the Labour Party officially won the 2024 UK General Election after reaching 326 seats. As a result, Keir Starmer became the new British Prime Minister, replacing Conservative Rishi Sunak. Labour won more than 400 out of the 650 seats in the Commons, while the Conservatives won only 110. The Lib Dems made big gains, while the SNP lost most of their seats.

3) Global IT Outage - On July 19, 2024, a faulty update to CrowdStrike's Falcon Sensor security software caused a widespread outage affecting over 8.5 million Windows devices.

4) Harrods Scandal - Harrods, a British luxury department store, faced a major scandal regarding sexual abuses done by its late owner, Mohamed Al Fayed. Over 250 people are seeking compensation claims, alleging historical sexual assault by the late tycoon.

5) 25 Years of SpongeBob - 2024 marks the 25th anniversary of Nickelodoen's megahit cartoon show, SpongeBob SquarePants. The SpongeBob franchise's 25th-anniversary celebration featured SpongeBob and Patrick hosting not just Super Bowl LVIII, where the Kansas City Chiefs crowned champions, but also the 2024 Kids Choice Awards alongside character Sandy Cheeks. It also packs special episodes, a collaboration with Wendy's to create a real-world Krabby Patty, Star Wars legend Mark Hamill to voice The Flying Dutchman in next year's SpongeBob movie, and more.

6) The end of Old Eat Bulaga - On January 5, 2024, a court ruled that TAPE, Inc. and GMA Network did not have the right to use the Eat Bulaga or EB trademark. As a result, the Eat Bulaga! variety show that Filipinos knew was rebranded as "Tahanang Pinakamasaya!" while the TV5 EAT... variety show was renamed as "EAT...BULAGA!" Two months later, Tahanang Pinakamasaya officially ended its broadcast run.

7) Robert Downey Jr returns to MCU - On the final day of the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con, actor Robert Downey Jr. made a shocking comeback to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was announced that RDJ will play Doctor Doom in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday movie. The news was met with mixed reactions from fans. Some are excited to see Downey Jr. take on a new role in the MCU, while others are disappointed that he won't be returning as Iron Man. However, Marvel Studios is not afraid to take risks.

8) Alice Guo's POGO problem - Alice Guo stripped off her Bamban, Tarlac mayoral position because of her involvement with the Bamban POGO hub. Guo went hiding following the revelation until she was caught by Indonesian authorities at Tangerang. Guo faced charges of graft and corruption, among others.

9) F1 2024 - The F1 2024 season marked the end of Lewis Hamilton's career as a Mercedes-AMG driver as he made the switch to Ferrari for the 2025 season. Not only that, it marked the end for Zhou Guanyu's F1 journey while Valtteri Bottas will return to Mercedes-AMG as a reserve driver. As Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won the World Champion title, it was the McLaren team that won its first Constructors Championship title in 26 years.

10) Paris 2024 Olympics - The Paris 2024 opening ceremony did not take part at a stadium for the first time in Olympic Summer Games history. Instead, it was held in the Seine River. During the course of 17 days, the United States scored 40 golds out of 126, China with 40 golds out of 91, and Japan with 20 golds out of 45. In conclusion, the US and China ended the Paris 2024 rivalry in an honorable draw in terms of gold medals but the real winner goes to Team USA for scoring the most medals in the Paris 2024 Olympics with 126 medals.

11) The downfall of the Assad regime - The reign of Syrian leader Bashar Al-Assad ended when the former Al-Qaeda affiliate Islamist group stormed Syria and sent Al-Assad packing, only to end up in Russia for asylum. The HTS Islamist group that took over Syria promises to bring change to the war-torn country and bring down those who are loyal to Assad.

12) Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment - Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial rule prompted the National Assembly to nullify it and triggered the impeachment case against the South Korean leader. They failed in the first attempt because the ruling party boycotted it but in the second attempt, 204-85, the National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon Suk Yeol.

13) The murder of the UHC boss - In Early December, the boss of the United Healthcare insurance company was killed in New York City, triggering a manhunt for the gunman behind it. The gunman was revealed as 26-year-old Luigi Mangione and police arrested him and charged him with murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson

14) Sayonara, Toriyama-sensei - Akira Toriyama, the creator of the Dragon Ball series, passed away at the age of 68. The news shocked the anime world as it anticipates the airing of the latest Dragon Ball series, Dragon Ball DAIMA, which made its world television premiere last October 11, 2024.

15) The deadliest typhoons hit the Philippines - The Philippines was hit by several deadly typhoons this year, including Super Typhoon Leon (Kong-Rey), Typhoons Marce (Ynixing) and Nika (Toraji), and Super Typhoons Ofel (Usagi) and Pepito (Man-Yi). These storms caused catastrophic damage in Luzon provinces, especially those that were already hit by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine. The typhoons caused heavy floods, landslides, and storm surges, affecting over 15 million people and displacing over 600,000.

16) One For The Road - Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May have been butting heads for over two decades. Their final Grand Tour adventure, "One For The Road," signals the end of the world's most undesirable but desirable threesome. After over two decades, the days of seeing Clarkson, Hammond, and May butting each other came to a complete end. From Top Gear to The Grand Tour, driving and rambling across Europe, the Americas, and Asia, they have cemented themselves as the greatest motoring trio that ever existed. Now that they've fully served their purpose, it's hard to imagine what's next for them after their final Grand Tour.

17) Spain floods - Massive rainfall caused Spain to be hit by historic floods with over 200 people dying.

18) The Diddy Scandal - In mid-September 2024, hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs was arrested in New York City on unspecified federal charges. Diddy faced trial over sex trafficking charges. Diddy denied bail after pleading not guilty to charges. Over 100 people are suing Sean "Diddy" Combs alleging rape, assault, and sexual exploitation.

19) World's fastest convertible - Bugatti's W16 Mistral smashed the open-top road car speed record with 282mph top speed.

20) AMG ONE beats previous Nurburgring record - The Mercedes-AMG One hypercar re-attempted its Nurburgring Nordschleife time attack and set a new production car lap record in 6m29.090, beating its previous 2022 record.

As the saying goes, "The end of one nightmare is just the prelude to the next." So, what will the year 2025 bring us? Whatever it is, we should brace ourselves for impact and turbulence. Until then, let's all have a happy new year.

YEAR IN REVIEW: 20 things we learned in 2023

2023 will go down in history as The Year of the X, probably not because of the renaming of a certain social media company into just one letter but because everything's gone X-crazy these days. Anyway, as the world wraps up the Year of the X, it's time to do the Year in Review segment, summing up the twenty things we've learned from 2023, the Year of the X.

1) A powerful earthquake hits Turkey and Syria on the 6th of February, killing over 50,000 people.

2) On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian militant group Hamas killed over 1,200 people in Israel, prompting the Israeli forces to declare war for the first time since 1973. The course of the bloody war saw Gaza casualties spike 20 times more than Hamas did in Israel during the attack.

3) On July 24, 2023, following last year's acquisition of Twitter, Elon Musk renamed the social media site X after merging Twitter with his company X Holdings, the parent company of Tesla and SpaceX.

4) King Charles III is crowned in the United Kingdom on May 6, 2023. His coronation is the first in seven decades following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last year.

5) The OceanGate Titan submersible is believed to have imploded hours after beginning its descent into the Titanic shipwreck on June 18, 2023. All five passengers on the missing submersible are presumed dead and debris was found near the Titanic site. In the wake of the tragedy, the company OceanGate suspends its operations.

6) The Eat Bulaga war between the TVJ trio and TAPE Inc. forever shook the history of Philippine television. The TVJ and the Dabarkads enjoyed the spoils of the success of their show for over four decades until the Dark Age of Eat Bulaga came. No, it's not because of the COVID pandemic, it's because of the Jalosjos family in charge of TAPE that spurred a feud between TVJ and TAPE, Inc. That feud between them because of the show's proposed changes prompted the TVJ trio to leave TAPE for good at the end of May 2023 along with the other Dabarkads. Their farewell speech wasn't televised and instead streamed on the official Eat Bulaga Facebook page. 

7) The summer of 2023 saw the Writers' Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA trigger the most historic strike in Hollywood, paralyzing nearly all of Hollywood until the demands were met such as fair pay and AI concerns. The strike caused delays in the production of movies and TV shows.

8) 2023 saw the arrival of the first-ever F1 Academy all-female junior race series. 15 aspiring female drivers from five teams with record experiences with past and current aspirants from other junior races like F2 are competing to determine who will be the first-ever F1 Academy champion. This series will serve as a turning point for female drivers looking for ascension to top-level motorsports such as F3, F2, and of course, F1. Marta Garcia made headlines as the first F1 Academy world champion while the team she represents, PREMA, was named the series' first team champions.

9) Republican takeover of the US House of Representatives following their midterms win is met with discord as they've ousted their own House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a first in US history. Following McCarthy's ousting, Republican lawmakers named Mike Johnson, a Trump ally, as their new House Speaker. Republicans right now are facing the heat following the blocking of passage calls for additional funding for Israel and Ukraine because of border issues with Mexico.

10) 19 wins per season, this is a historic record Max Verstappen set in the F1 2023 season, where he claimed his third world champion title. Red Bull had a near-perfect winning score this season and despite being spoiled by Ferrari in Singapore, Red Bull Racing clinched its sixth constructor's championship title.

11) Early January 2023 saw the professional racing driver and Hoonigan co-founder Ken Block die at the age of 55. Block died in a snowmobile accident, as confirmed by Hoonigan. Ken Block got his shot at fame for his Gymkhana videos. The recent ELECTRIKHANA 2 video is the last to feature Ken Block before his passing.

12) The 2023 season of the Supercars Championship marked the beginning of the Gen3 era of Australia's premier touring car racing series. The Camaro-Mustang rivalry has arrived in the Land Down Under in the form of their newest Supercars racing machines. While General Motors' announcement to ax the Chevrolet Camaro after 2023 spoiled its welcoming feat, the 2023 season marked the final season for Shane Van Gisbergen as he heads to NASCAR in 2024 following his shock Chicago win. The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship concludes with Brodie Kostecki crowned the champion, a first for a Camaro driver, while the team he represented, Erebus, nailed its double championship win.

13) The State Farm Stadium roars to life with the Super Bowl LVII where the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles clash to determine who will win the championship title but there's more to it than that because not only this Super Bowl match is a clash between the Kelce brothers, Chiefs' Travis v Eagles Jason, it's the first time the final two teams led by black quarterbacks, making this Super Bowl very special. Thanks to Harrison Butker's field goal with eleven seconds left in the game, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles at the score of 38-35, winning Super Bowl LVII. Patrick Mahomes was named MVP.

14) July 14, 2023, saw the showing of Studio Ghibli's most secretive movie in Japanese cinemas titled The Boy and The Heron, it is by no means the most secretive movie in the world. What's known to be the ultimate masterpiece of the legendary Hayao Miyazaki nearly a decade in the making is surprisingly a masterpiece with a mystery. 

15) The return of the Miami Heat at the NBA Finals as well as the rise of the Denver Nuggets saw these two teams locked in on an epic best-of-7 final battle to determine which team will win the title. As both teams delivered their close-call performances, the Denver Nuggets nabbed their first championship title after defeating the Miami Heat at the score of 94-89.

16) Two Hollywood movies clash on the big screen on July 21, 2023, with the Oppenheimer biopic movie and the live-action Barbie movie, sparking the Barbenheimer phenomenon. The live-action Barbie movie became the highest-grossing film directed by a woman.

17) The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup saw Spain defeat England by a point, clinching its first championship title. However, their victory parade was overshadowed by a kissing controversy by the team's boss.

18) India became the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the Moon with its Chandrayaan-3 probe on August 23, 2023. The Indian spacecraft became the first to land in the Moon's south polar region.

19) The return of Ferrari in the 2023 WEC Season with their 499P Hypercar prompted a clash between Ferrari and Toyota. The most famous one is the 24 Hours of Le Mans race where Toyota's hopes for a three-peat in a GR010 ended in a heartbreaking failure with the #7 breaking down and the #8 colliding with the Arnage barrier as it struggled to chase the lead. It's no surprise that Ferrari made history in the centennial running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race as the #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P made a historical win while the #34 Inter Europol Competition won the LMP2 class and the #33 Corvette Racing C8.R for the GTE-AM class. 

20) The Conservative-ruled US Supreme Court ruled in favor of axing race-based affirmative action in college admissions in the United States on June 29, 2023, causing controversy among colleges across the US.

As the saying goes; "end of one nightmare, prelude to the another". So, what will the year 2024 bring us? Brace for impact and turbulence for whatever the year 2024 will bring us. Until then, have a happy new year.

YEAR IN REVIEW: 20 things we learned in 2022

Pandemics, wars, politics, calamities, the year 2022 has been a rollercoaster ride for all of us and as we're on the final week of the year,  it's time to do the Year in Review segment where we get to sum up the twenty things we've learned from 2022.

1) The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics - Amid controversies and political boycotts from the Western powers, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics went ahead as planned. From the 4th to the 20th of February, athletes from a multitude of countries are competing in different sports not just for medals but for the honor of their home countries. In the end, Norway has crowned the overall winner with 37 overall medals and 16 gold medals.

2) The War in Ukraine - In Late February 2022, days after the Beijing Olympics, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a "special military operation" in eastern Ukraine, according to reports. This marks the beginning of the war in Ukraine that killed thousands of people. The impact of the war in Ukraine is drastic. Those who witnessed the carnage have sanctioned everything Russian and such triggered the worst economic downturn in decades. Worse, the war caused a drastic gas price hike which caused prices to spike at unexpected levels.

3) South Korean Presidential Elections - The 2022 South Korean presidential elections became known as the "election of the unfavorable" as both Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Suk-yeol are hammered with controversies even before the March 9 elections. In the end, the right-leaning Yoon Suk-yeol became the 20th South Korean president after a razor-thin victory against Jae-myung.

4) 2022 Academy Awards - The 2022 Academy Awards became the talk of the town because of Chris Rock getting slapped by Will Smith following a joke that angered Smith. Amid the slapping incident, the movie CODA was named best picture while the sci-fi epic Dune wins big.

5) Musk buys Twitter - Tesla CEO Elon Musk made headlines this year when he purchased Twitter for 44 billion dollars. It was announced in late April but he later declined, triggering a legal battle between him and the social media company that forced him to take over Twitter. Musk's Twitter takeover is met with a firestorm of controversies because of Musk welcoming back so-called hatemongers to the platform, especially conservatives.

6) Uvalde shooting incident - In late May 2022 saw a school in Uvalde, Texas, got caught in a terrifying massacre when a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers, marking it the deadliest US school shooting in nearly a decade.

7) PH Presidential Elections - May 9th saw the entire Philippines voting for the next president. This 2022 presidential election is a rematch between Leni Robredo and Bongbong Marcos, this time for the presidency. Unlike their vice-presidential race in 2016, it seems the whole public became one with Bongbong Marcos and that is why Bongbong Marcos, the son of the late Ferdinand Marcos, won the presidential elections. Many have feared the return of the Marcoses in the Malacanang would spark history revisionism in the Philippines.

8) Heard v Depp - The defamation legal battle between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp became one of this year's trending topics. In early June, the US jury ruled that Amber Heard defamed Johnny Depp in a six-week trial that featured explicit and graphic evidence and testimony detailing the former Hollywood couple's soured relationship.

9) Roe v Wade overturned - Late June 2022 saw a five-decade-old ruling crumbled as the Conservative-led US Supreme Court overturned the Roe v Wade ruling, paving way for conservative-led states to ban abortion. This ruling angered women's rights activists across the US.

10) Abe got assassinated - On the 8th of July, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot to death while campaigning for a parliamentary election. Abe was shot by an assailant as he spoke at a crowd in Nara. It was the first assassination of a sitting or former Japanese premier since the days of prewar militarism in the 1930s.

11) UK PM dilemma - As Boris Johnson resigned as UK Prime Minister in early July, the UK Conservative Party are seeking their replacement. After months of voting, they named Liz Truss their newest prime minister in September. Sadly, controversies regarding her tax reforms forced Truss to step down after 44 days, making her the shortest-serving UK PM in history. Rishi Sunak became the new Prime Minister following Truss's abrupt departure.

12) Queen Elizabeth II's final days - Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in UK history, celebrated her Platinum Jubilee on the 5th of June, 2022. Months after her Platinum Jubilee, the longest-serving monarch sadly passed away on the 8th of September at the age of 96. Her death was confirmed by Buckingham Palace. Her remains were buried at St. George's Chapel next to her late husband, Prince Philip.

13) Sri Lanka crisis - Sri Lanka was plunged into the worst economic crisis in decades as the country defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt in mid-April and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a possible bailout. That economic crisis led to violent protests that caused the fall of the Rajapaksa brothers; President Gotabaya and Prime Minister Mahinda. The Sri Lanka crisis became a wake-up call to other countries, centering the perils of sovereign debt.

14) The fall of Pedro Castillo - After a year in office, Pedro Castillo was ousted by the Peruvian congress in early December and was later arrested and charged with rebellion and conspiracy, moments after he was impeached by Congress. Dina Boluarte took over as the new president of Peru but she's facing revolts following the impeachment of Castillo.

15) Itaewon Stampede - On the 29th of October, there was a Halloween event somewhere in Itaewon, Seoul, South Korea. That festivity turned into a tragedy as a stampede occurred and more than 150 people died in a crush. An estimated 100,000 people came to celebrate there to mark the first Halloween since the start of the pandemic where gathering sizes were not limited and people did not need to wear masks outside.

16) The November 2022 US Midterm Elections - The November 8 US Midterm elections are the most controversial midterm elections to date as it will serve as the test for the Biden administration. With gun violence, inflation, and the overturning of Roe v Wade dominating US politics, voters are betting their lives on the Democrats. In the end, the Republicans won a razor-thin majority of the House of Representatives while the Democrats won control of the Senate, thus plunging the country into another political gridlock. Following the Republicans' House victory, Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign kicked in amid legal battles.

17) 2022 Supercars - The 2022 Repco Supercars Championship marked the final Supercars season for Holden as the Chevrolet Camaro machines are taking over in the 2023 season. From Shane van Gisbergen scoring another championship title to Broc Feeney becoming the last-ever Holden driver to win a Supercars race in Adelaide, Holden's final Supercars journey truly is the true ending Australia's motoring icon deserves.

18) F1 2022 - The 2022 season of the Formula 1 introduced a new look for F1 machines. This season also marked the final season for Sebastian Vettel as he will retire from the sport after this season. Although it didn't live up to last season's hype, Max Verstappen has secured his second championship title.

19) FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Qatar hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup from the 20th of November to the 19th of December amid controversies but it went successfully as planned with Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, taking home the title.

20) The passing of Joma Sison - Jose Maria Sison, the founding chair of the Communist Party of the Philippines, passed away on the 16th of December at the age of 83. Joma died after two weeks of confinement in the hospital, according to the rebel group. The Philippine military called Joma's death a "symbol of the crumbling hierarchy of the CPP-NPA-NDF". The Philippine government and the CPP have been at war for over five decades now, considered one of the longest insurgencies in the world.

As the saying goes; "end of one nightmare, prelude to the another". So, what will the year 2023 bring us? Let's hope for the best and prepare for the worst for what the year 2023 will bring us. Until then, have a happy new year.

YEAR IN REVIEW: 20 things we learned in 2021

It's the final week of the year 2021 and the world is still on a rollercoaster ride following rising pandemic cases and other happenings. Anyway, as the world prepares to enter the new year with new challenges, it's time to do the Year in Review segment where we get to sum up the twenty things we've learned from 2021.

1) The January 6 insurrection - A mob of Trump supporters have stormed the US Capitol building while the entire Senate is certifying the results of the November 2020 elections in favor of Joe Biden. In response to the said incident, social media giants such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter began blocking Donald Trump for his alleged involvement in the Capital insurrection.

2) Biden's new challenge - As Joe Biden became the 46th US President, he had faced numerous challenges such as the rampant rise of voter suppression laws hammered in Republican-led states, the anti-abortion law that Republicans hammered on their states, and many others, while doing his very best to undo the damages left by the Trump administration.

3) The second Trump impeachment trial - following the January 6th insurrection, the US Congress pulled the second impeachment trial against former president Donald Trump. The Democrat-led House voted in favor of impeaching the former president because of his role in the insurrection but the split Senate, along with the filibuster slapped by the Republicans, has indicted him again of charges.

4) Stellantis is born - The successful merger between FCA and Groupe PSA gave birth to a new company called Stellantis and the new company announced massive electrification plans on their car brands, including Dodge, the car brand responsible for the Hellcat muscle cars.

5) Extreme E - 2021 marks the start of the newest zero-emission motorsport series made by the minds that brought us the Formula E. It's called Extreme E, the zero-emission extreme offroad racing competition where teams from all walks of the world are driving an all-electric extreme offroader through the world's harshest terrains, most are impacted by climate change. In its inaugural season, the RXR team became the first-ever Extreme E champions.

6) COVID Delta - First detected in India in the summer of 2021, the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus has been dubbed a triple mutant variant since it is split into three lineages. It has been labeled as a "variant of concern" and became the dominant strain across the globe until the development of vaccine boosters came in.

7) COVID Omicron - As the world succeeded in developing boosters against the Delta strain, a new strain has been unleashed in South Africa. Known as Omicron, it has multiple mutations, which is more than the Delta strain. The WHO fears it could become the dominant strain in one to two months' time and it heavily hammered not just in South Africa but in the US as well as other countries.

8) F1 2021 - The F1 2021 season became the most interesting F1 season in history. As Lewis Hamilton tries to break the historic record for most world championship titles, the sudden resurgence of Max Verstappen hinders Hamilton's ambition. The two rivals ended up clashing at each other with controversial results and in the end, they're now tied at the driver leaderboards with 369.5 points each. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is their endgame and just as we thought Lewis Hamilton has the upper hand because of his lead, Max Verstappen's final lap endgame caught Hamilton by surprise and the Dutch nailed his first World Champion title, the first to win in a Honda-powered F1 car since Ayrton Senna.

9) Tokyo 2020 - After a COVID delay, the Tokyo Olympics proceeded despite Japan's state of emergency declaration. Team USA completely dominated the Tokyo 2020 games with 39 gold medal wins and 113 overall wins. China is placed 2nd with 38 golds and 88 overall medals, and host country Japan finished 3rd with 27 golds and 58 total medals.

10) Chauvin guilty of all charges - The verdict at the Minneapolis court declared that Derek Chauvin, the former policeman responsible for the death of George Floyd last year, is found guilty of all charges and he is sentenced to four decades of imprisonment. Most who witnessed the trial from the start expressed jubilantly but for some, the fight continues.

11) Myanmar coup - Myanmar's military staged a coup last February, detained Aung San Suu Kyi, and took control of the country for one year under a state of emergency. The coup began after weeks of rising tensions between the military and the civilian government over election fraud allegations. The coup triggered protests and backlash from the international community.

12) The Taliban resurgence - It was the summer of 2021 when the Taliban delivered a sudden resurgence in Afghanistan as the Biden administration prepares to pull out most of the US troops in the country. With the Taliban successfully regaining control of Afghanistan after 25 years, Afghans began fleeing the country to avoid the wrath of the Taliban rule.

13) The shocking interview - Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, following the end of their royal duties in 2020, delivered a shocking interview in March to Oprah Winfrey, in which they said royals made racist remarks about how dark their son's skin would be. It is the interview that forever rocked the royal family in decades.

14) The Hypercar Era - The 2021 World Endurance Championship welcomed the new Hypercar class, which is the top-tier class of endurance racing. Toyota Gazoo Racing welcomed the Hypercar era with their first Le Mans win as well as their first world champion title in this new class.

15) Miss Universe - The delayed 69th Miss Universe pageant saw Mexico Andrea Meza crowned the winner. After seven months, Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu of India is crowned as the 70th Miss Universe winner.

16) Bucks vs. Suns - The NBA Finals of this season saw the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns face each other for the very first time. The Suns are aiming for their first championship title while the Bucks are gunning for their second title. These two battleground teams really made headlines. The first two games saw the Suns gain the upper hand but the third game saw the Bucks on the verge of a comeback and their newfound surge, courtesy of Giannis Antetokounmpo's upset, saw the team clawing themselves into the lead until they've hit the final blow to the Suns in Game 6. With the combined efforts of Giannis's, as well as Brook Lopez's third-quarter slam, the Khris-Jrue tandem, and the others, the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns at the score of 105-98, enough to clinch their first NBA title in five decades.

17) Super Bowl LV - The 55th Super Bowl is the first Super Bowl to be held during the COVID pandemic. It's also the first time the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced off against the Kansas City Chiefs on their home turf. Tom Brady's experience as a veteran player led the Buccaneers to victory at the score of 31-9.

18) Squid Game - Launched in September 2021, Squid Game is a Netflix original series that centers on a financially-broke man who got involved with other players in a series of six deadly games where the last surviving player will take home 45.6 billion Won. This K-Drama became the megahit of the year 2021.

19) Meta - The scandal-hit Facebook company has been renamed Meta. The renaming comes as the social media giant defends itself from one of its worst crises yet and pivots to its ambitions for the "metaverse" of the internet that the tech giant sees as the future. Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp will keep their names under the rebranding.

20) Typhoon Odette - It was mid-December 2021 when Typhoon Odette hammered parts of Visayas and Mindanao, leaving almost four hundred people dead.

As the saying goes; "end of one nightmare, prelude to the another". So, what will the year 2022 bring us? Let's hope for the best and prepare for the worst for what the year 2022 will bring us. Until then, have a happy new year.

YEAR IN REVIEW: Top 20 things we learned in 2020

2020 has been a terrible year because of the global pandemic we're dealing with as well as some other issues this year brought us. With 2020 drawing to a complete close, it's time to do some series of Year In Reviews highlighting what's going on throughout the year 2020.

1) COVID-19 - Allegedly originated from a certain seafood market in Wuhan, the coronavirus in question, codenamed SARS-COV2, has infected only a few numbers in the early months of the outbreak until it became a full-blown pandemic that infected over 80 million worldwide and killed around 1.8 million. The COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill, leaving people staying indoors, shutting down businesses, TV shows delaying broadcasts, and others, while some trying to brave the pandemic are adapting to the "new normal". Under the new normal, handwashing, social distancing, and wearing masks became part of everyone's daily life, not to mention restaurants doing take-outs, contactless deliveries, and other stuff.

2) Black Lives Matter - Brutal deaths of unarmed black people such as George Floyd and others by policemen delivered one of the most violent protests in American history. From Kenosha to Philadelphia, the so-called Black Lives Matter protests caused a lot of looting and violence as well as toppling down statues, and smearing policemen with words like ACAB, making such situations out of control. 

3) The dramatic US 2020 Presidential Election - US President Donald Trump faced the most challenging election challenge of his presidential career when he's up against former Vice President Joe Biden, who ran as Trump's Democrat rival. After months of America facing the biggest struggles of its history, ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic and the violent BLM protests, Trump lost his re-election bid against Biden after the latter made headlines that he nicked battleground states like Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Michigan. However, Trump is adamantly resisting his election loss and he and his allies pulled the stops to the courts to nullify election results because of so-called election fraud. So far, his attempts never put a dent to Biden's election win and recently, the Electoral College certified the results. Now, it's up to Congress to decide the President-elect's fate.

4) The most powerful typhoons in the Philippines - The Super Typhoon Rolly and Typhoon Ulysses made headlines as they caused catastrophic damages to Philippine infrastructure and killed countless people caught in the monster storms.

5) The fall of ABS-CBN - The Philippines' largest TV network, ABS-CBN, met its legal demise after losing its long fight with the PH Congress over the extension of its franchise that expired at the 4th of May, 2020. Since the shutdown, the embattled network began laying off its workforce as well as the artists working on the network and cancelling some of its shows.

6) HK National Security Law - The Chinese Communist Party, last summer, made the Hong Kong national security bill into law, a move critics say that ended the "one country, two systems" approach. In response, the Trump administration revoked Hong Kong's special status and sanction any Chinese official involved in it. The HK National Security law arrested numerous pro-democracy protesters, including big ones like Jimmy Lai.

7) Taal Volcano eruption - The start of the year saw a massive eruption of the Taal Volcano, covering the surrounding areas, Metro Manila included, into volcanic ashes.

8) Iran Tensions - January saw a US-led airstrike that killed Iranian General Soleimani, sparking an all-out conflict between Iran and the US. In the eyes of the Trump administration, Soleimani is a terrorist, but for the United Nations, he is not and they've strongly condemned the US airstrike against the slain Iranian general.

9) Kim Jong Un's health - The health of the North Korean tyrant made headlines ever since he had a surgery in April, sparking reactions about what's happening to him. This is where his sister came in, filling up her brother's work by severing ties in the Korean peninsula such as blowing up a joint liaison office in response to protests by the defectors at the DMZ.

10) The road to Brexit - The United Kingdom is out of the EU in the end of January of this year but it's not formally until the start of 2021. The road to Brexit became a tough ride with the COVID-19 pandemic ruining their plans. UK PM Boris Johnson races against the clock to pursue a historic deal that will ensure future relations between the UK and EU post-Brexit.

11) SCOTUS tilting further to the right - Following the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was championed by liberals, the American conservatives used her death as a chance to fill in. his is what Trump's appointee Amy Comey Barrett comes in and the Republican-led US Senate confirmed her as the newest SCOTUS Attorney General, jeopardizing long-fought legal battles liberals fought hard for.

12) Bahrain and UAE normalizing Israeli ties - Bahrain and UAE joins the ranks of Egypt and Jordan in normalizing ties with Israel. Moves that prove that US President Donald Trump's ambitious Middle East plan is working, although some are unhappy with the developments.

13) PhilHealth scandal - 2020 is the worst year for a state-run healthcare provider in the Philippines, PhilHealth, because of the scandal involved.

14) The newest iPhones - Apple made headlines with the newest iPhone models known as the iPhone 12. Available in standard and Pro, the iPhone 12 is now capable of 5G speeds.

15) LeBron's first win as a Lakers - LeBron James' life as one of the Los Angeles Lakers wasn't a smooth sailing one but the NBA Finals win made the Lakers the king of the NBA bubble with him named the MVP.

16) The record-breaking F1 2020 season - the F1 2020 season saw some historic feats such as Lewis Hamilton making headlines for matching Michael Schumacher's seven world championship wins and overtook him by scoring 95 Grand Prix wins, making the 35-year-old Brit the Greatest of All Time. Apart from Hamilton's historic wins, the 2020 season saw Lando Norris' first podium finish, Romain Grosjean's horrifying crash at Bahrain, Max Verstappen's win at the 70th anniversary Grand Prix, Pierre Gasly's Monza win, and Ferrari's 1,000 race milestone at Mugello.

17) MMFF goes virtual - Due to the pandemic, the 2020 Metro Manila Film Festival goes virtual and for the first time in history, all entries are viewable online via UPSTREAM.ph until the 7th of January. In this year's film festival, Fan Girl wins the most awards as well as nicking the Best Picture title.

18) BTS's Dynamite year - 2020 became the year of K-pop boy group BTS because of their "dynamite" performance with their latest song Dynamite. They became the first Korean artist to win 50 music shows in one year thanks to their latest hit songs like this.

19) Next-gen consoles - The arrival of the Xbox Series X and PlayStation5 made gaming headlines since their unveiling. The console wars enters its new chapter and it's never cheap.

20) Kimetsu no Yaiba film slays the box office - The movie adaptation of the wildly popular Kimetsu no Yaiba series saw some record-breaking box office stats since the movie hit theaters in Japan mid-October. It even managed to overtook Spirited Away as Japan's highest-grossing film in history.

As the saying goes; "end of one nightmare, prelude to the another". So, what will the year 2021 bring us? Will this year be the end of the pandemic? Will Great Britain divided under Brexit? Will Joe Biden became president of the United States, the world rather? Let's hope for the best and prepare for the worst for what the year 2021 will bring us. Until then, have a happy new year.

YEAR IN REVIEW: Top 19 entertainment news of 2019

With 2019 drawing to a complete close, it's time to do some series of Year In Reviews highlighting what's going on throughout the year 2019.

Here we are, the last part of 2019's year in review and it's time to jot down the top 19 entertainment news of 2019 before you can say Peng-Ha to a new decade.

1) Green Book was named the Best Picture but the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody scored the most wins at the 2019 Oscars. Needless to say all of the winning films at the 2019 Oscars showed some diversity in this unstable world we lived in.

2) The Barretto family feud began upon the death of their father Miguel last October and the tensions between Gretchen, Marjorie, and Claudine went out of control. Even the Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who arrived at the wake of Miguel Barretto first, failed to put a stop between Marjorie and Gretchen.

3) Peng-ha! The year 2019 forever known to Koreans as the year a penguin became a household name and no, he's no Pororo. He's Pengsoo. A penguin character from EBS quickly gained popularity in South Korea for his hilarious misfits and such misfits attracted different Korean media to have him guested.

4) The Produce Scandal - South Korea's CJ ENM got involved in a vote rigging scandal in Mnet's Produce X101, the 2019 Produce installment where male contestants audition to become the newest boy band, called X1. That summer, viewers spotted some anomalies in the vote margins separating the top 20 contestants and began speculating. In the wake of the scandal, groups formed by the Produce franchise, I*ZONE from Produce 48 and X1 from Produce X101 got their schedules changed, especially their absence from this year's MAMA.

5) MNL48 Second Generation - After last year's breakout with wildly successful single launches and numerous guest performances, the Philippine sister group of AKB48, MNL48, enters its second-generation and after numerous votes from the General Election, Abby is named the center girl to lead the MNL48 Second Generation.

6) Although missed the all-time regular-season "Jeopardy!" earnings record, contestant James Holzhauer scored a 32-game win streak with winnings over two million dollars.

7) Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa is named Miss Universe 2019. She managed to defeat her rivals from Mexico's Sofia Aragon and Puerto Rico's Madison Anderson, among many others, with her looks, intelligence, and her determination to inherit the title from last year's Catriona Gray of the Philippines.

8) Veteran actor Eddie Garcia passed away in the 20th June at the age of 90. He died in an accident while filming for a GMA TV series.

9) K-Pop stardom and suicide became one of the topics of the year that plagued the Korean entertainment industry. In the 14th of October, former f(x) member Sulli, who was targeted by online bullies for several months, committed suicide. Over a month later, on the 24th of November, former Kara member and Sulli's close friend Goo Hara committed suicide as well. In the third of December actor Cha In Ha, age 27, was found dead at his Seoul home. No one knows what killed him.

10) Believe it or not, former White House press secretary Sean Spicer takes a shot at dancing in the 2019 season of Dancing With the Stars. He was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

11) The year 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street, one of the longest-running educational shows aired not just in the USA but also worldwide.

12) Last July 2019, Wowoin presenter Willie Revillame disqualified a female contestant, revealing that she was tagging along with a payer whom she didn't seem to be acquainted with. This prompted Willie to say that his show does not allow contestants from being clandestinely recruited by organizers/coordinators, who then demanded a cut of the cash prizes that these contestants took home from the show.

13) 2019 is proven to be a breakout year for SB19, the first ever P-POP boy group trained under a Korean entertainment company ShowBT, which branched out to the Philippines. Consisting of Sejun, Stell, Ken, Josh, and Justin, this Korea-honed Philippine boy band has been making the rounds and garnered by international press as one of the rising stars to look out for. It even landed on Billboard's Social 50 chart at 28th place ahead of their big concert at the Cuneta Astrodome.

14) After an explosive season, the winner of the third year of It's Showtime's Tawag Ng Tanghalan has been crowned and Elaine Duran of Mindanao is crowned TNT Year 3 Grand Winner. Elaine has brought the entire Caloocan Sports Complex to a standstill after eclipsing through 12 other grand finalists with a combined total of 41.8% of judges score and madlang pipol votes.

15) Former wrestler and actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Lauren Hashian married in Hawaii on the 18th of August.

16) Netherlands won Eurovision 2019 with the song Arcade sung by a 25-year-old Duncan Laurence, making it the fifth time The Netherlands won the annual singing competition.

17) Star Wars fans have saddened to the story that the actor who played Chewbacca in the Star Wars franchise, Peter Mayhew, passed away at the age of 74 on the 30th of April.

18) After over 14 years, ABS-CBN's hit comedy gag show, Goin Bulilit bids farewell with the final episode aired last August 4, 2019,

19) Veteran actress Amalia Fuentes passed away at the age of 79 on the 5th of October due to cardiac arrest.

...and these are the top 19 entertainment news of 2019 and that's the last of the 2019 year in review. Well, it's been one heck of a ride 2019 was and with the year 2019 come to a complete close, what awaits the world in this brave new decade? Will there be more conflicts in the never-ending wars the world faces on? Will there new breakouts that will make a name for themselves? Will there be breakthroughs in the fast-changing times? If the times demand more, let's hope we can face 2020 with renewed confidence together.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

YEAR IN REVIEW: Top 19 automotive news of 2019

With 2019 drawing to a complete close, it's time to do some series of Year In Reviews highlighting what's going on throughout the year 2019.

The year 2019 has been all about life in the fast line in the world of motoring. From good times and bad times, the year 2019 made a huge turning point in the motoring industry and with that, let's jot down the top 19 automotive news of 2019.

1) Bugatti reclaimed the speed king crown with the Chiron blitzing past the 300mph mark. In celebration, they made special edition Chirons to commemorate the success. What a way to celebrate 110 years of Bugatti!

2) An electric car shattered the all-time Goodwood Hill Climb record as Volkswagen let loose with their ID.R prototype and smashed the Goodwood Hill Climb record at 39.9 seconds.

3) For the first time in Formula E history, there's now a driver who won the world championship title two times as DS TECHEETAH driver Jean-Eric Vergne emerged as the first-ever two-time Formula E champion after a chaotic New York finale.

4) Once again, Lewis Hamilton's unstoppable at his tracks as he rose through the ranks of the F1 2019 to nick his sixth Formula One world champion title.

5) Toyota scored its second Le Mans win at the WEC SuperFinale

6) The new Mustang Supercar machines became a force to be reckoned with at the 2019 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship as demonstrated by Scott McLaughlin, who won this year's championship.

7)  The Toyota Save Mart 350 race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Serieslast for NASCAR legend and broadcaster Darrell Waltrip as his duties for saying the famous "Boogity Boogity Boogity" tagline is well and truly over. Thanks, DW.

8) Tesla shook the world with the unveiling of the triangular-shaped Cybertruck, a pickup truck which Tesla claims it has the utility of a truck and the performance of a sports car. The truck is due to go on sale in 2021 as a 2022 model.

9) The trouble with Nissan - Ever since former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn's arrest, Japanese automotive giant Nissan is starting to spiral out of control and even at the hands of its new CEO, things aren't looking good for Nissan as it tries to shave off its image tarnished from the Ghosn arrest as well as the strained relationship with the French automotive company Renault.

10) Kyle Busch won his second NASCAR Cup Series title after a dramatic finale at Homestead-Miami.

11) Japan's SUPER GT and Germany's DTM finally crossed over at Fuji Speedway to deliver the decade-ending, long awaited dream race that puts two of the most respected motorsport franchises together for an all-out war the motoring world will remember. The SUPER GT X DTM DREAM RACE held at Fuji Speedway truly is Japan vs. Germany as the world's best drivers strapped themselves to the best racing machines the two franchises offered. From the best DTM machines from Audi and BMW to the best GT500 machines from Toyota, Nissan, and Honda, the two sides really clash themselves to the finish to see which of the two franchises is the best.

12) Following the cancellation of the season-ending Rally Australia of the WRC 2019 season due to ongoing bushfires plaguing the Land Down Under, Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team is technically the winner of the manufacturer's championship title having leading the manufacturers' leaderboard 18 points ahead of Toyota Gazoo Racing, the team where Ott Tanak won his champion title back in Spain, 380 vs. 362. It's a first for a Korean carmaker to achieve such feat.

13) The year 2019 marked 50 years of IMSA, one of North America's premiere motorsport series, and they've celebrated the golden year of IMSA with intense endurance racing from Daytona to Road America.

14) Supra is back! After decades of waiting, Toyota brought back the Supra and this time, it's based on the latest-generation Z4. Despite the BMW connection, the Toyota GR Supra generated a wild attention on the motoring world, especially the people behind the Gran Turismo games.

15) The 2019 DTM season marked the first time British carmaker Aston Martin entering the fray courtesy of R Motorsport, although the results wasn't as they've hoped for. In the 2019 DTM season, Audi driver Rene Rast claimed his title after a year.

16) Part of Volkswagen's new electrification strategy, they've unveiled a brand new logo, which is simpler take on the iconic VW logo and the first to apply it is the first-ever I.D 3 electric hatchback, followed by the Golf VIII. 

17) The 2019 Dakar Rally became the last Dakar Rally to be held in South America as the 2020 rally will be held in Saudi Arabia for the first time. In the last Dakar Rally to be held at Latin America, the #3 Red Bull KTM Factory Team, #240 Drag'on Rally Team, #301 Toyota Gazoo Racing SA, #360 South Racing Can-Am, #500 Kamaz-Master, and the #60 emerged as class winners.

18) The Mustang range has expanded in all the odd reasons with the unveiling of the first-ever Mustang Mach-E, an electric crossover with Mustang-inspired styling.

19) Honda announced that they are halting production of their vehicles not just at Swindon but also in Turkey in the next few years.

...and these are the top 19 automotive news of 2019. Next time is the last one and we will jot down the top 19 entertainment news of 2019,

YEAR IN REVIEW: Top 19 sports news of 2019

With 2019 drawing to a complete close, it's time to do some series of Year In Reviews highlighting what's going on throughout the year 2019.

The year 2019 has been a big year for sports. From comebacks, firsts, falls, and some chaos in store, it has been one heck of a year in the world of sports and with that in mind, let's jot down the top 19 sports news of 2019.

1) 2019 Southeast Asian Games - Long before the Philippines hosted its successful 2019 SEA Games last November, there has been some issues regarding the funding, not to mention the alleged corruption involved behind the scenes, but despite all the mishaps going on, the 2019 SEA Games became a massive success and the Philippines became the overall winner, scoring the most golds compared to any ASEAN country participated in this year's games.

2) Toronto wins NBA Finals - The sixth game of the NBA Finals, held for the very last time at the Oracle Arena, is a case of one-more-or-no-more for the two teams and thanks to the misfortunes the Warriors faced on, the three-point frenzy for the Raptors on the first quarter, and their signature rebound tactics, the Toronto Raptors nailed their first NBA championship title after defeating the Golden State Warriors at the score of 114-110. Kawhi Leonard is named MVP after scoring 22 points, six rebounds, and three assists.

3) The NBA-China drama - It all started with a tweet from the coach of Houston Rockets supporting Hong Kong pro-democracy protests which triggered a wildfire of condemnation from China, jeopardizing the special relationship between the NBA and the People's Republic of China. In response, most of the Rockets merchandise from Chinese websites are gone and they're not airing some NBA games on Chinese televisions.

4) Team USA wins this year's Women's World Cup despite all the controversy surrounding one of the team's players with player Megan Rapinoe showing defiance against the current US administration.

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6) Rafael Nadal became the first player to win the same grand slam 12 times after winning his 12th French Open

7) Pacquiao beats Thurman - Despite being 40 years old, the Fighting Pride of the Philippines, Manny Pacquiao is no stopping from his boxing career despite getting his hands full on his daily work as a politician but his road towards the Hall of Fame is tested when he was up against the undefeated boxer Keith Thurman in a 12-round bout at Las Vegas. At the end of this 12-round clash of the boxing titans at the heart of MGM Grand Garden Arena, the 40-year old legend made Keith Thurman taste his first defeat by a split decision with two out of three judges favored Pacquiao.

8) Tiger Woods made a massive comeback after winning his first Masters since 2005. Such comeback prompted US President Donald Trump to award him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

9) By defeating the Los Angeles Rams at the Super Bowl LIII, the New England Patriots became six-time Super Bowl Champions and it was the first for quarterback Tom Brady to win six Super Bowls in his career.

10) After 19 MLB seasons, Japanese baseball icon Ichiro Suzuki, known simply as Ichiro, announced his retirement.

11) Naomi Osaka nicked her second Grand Slam title after winning the Australian Open in January.

12) Portugal defeated the Netherlands 1-0 in the final round of the first-ever UEFA Nations League.

13) Colombian Egan Bernal became the youngest Tour de France winner in over a century after winning the 2019 outing of the annual cycling event.

14) The Washington Nationals emerged as the World Series champions The Nationals defeated the Houston Astros 6-2 to win Game 7 and the first title in franchise history

15) A Derby winning horse named Maximum Security got disqualified for interference at the Kentucky Derby on the 4th of May, making it the first time a Derby winner is disqualified because of a foul on the track.

16) The Spanish Basketball Team emerged as the winners of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup held in China.

17) The San Miguel Beermen is still the king of PBA after defeating Talk N Text at the score of 102-90 in the 6th game of the 2019 PBA Commissioner's Cup finals. Chris McCullough scored the most points at 35 but Terrence Romeo is named the MVP of the match after averaging him with 14 points, 4.3 assists, and 2.3 rebounds.

18) Pacquiao beats Broner - Even though Manny Pacquiao is aged 40 years old, he proves that age is just a number for him as he still demonstrates his legendary boxing skills in a match against Adrien Broner in Las Vegas. Won via unanimous decision after 12 rounds, Pacquiao successfully defended his secondary welterweight world title for the first time after defeating Adrien Broner in front of the live audience at MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas.

19) Six Nations 2019 - The Six Nations era became one heck of a championship for England, Wales, Scotland, France, Italy, and Ireland to show Europe which country has the best rugby players and now that Brexit's upon us, the fate of the Six Nations games becomes uncertain but rest assured that everyone had a lot of good memories in rugby's greatest championship. After five rounds on this season, the WRU has crowned as Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam champions. Wales are now officially a four-time Grand Slam champions in the Six Nations era, breaking a tie with France on three for the most by any country.

...and these are the top 19 sports news of 2019. Next time, the top 19 automotive news of 2019.

YEAR IN REVIEW: Top 19 video games of 2019

With 2019 drawing to a complete close, it's time to do some series of Year In Reviews highlighting what's going on throughout the year 2019.

2019 has been a golden year for video games and with consoles like the Xbox One and PlayStation4 reached its peak, game makers are going all out to make the best games of 2019 with some fresher ones making new spins on famed franchises. From a remake of a popular horror game, the biggest crossover fighting game, a new Pokemon installment with mixed reviews, a new Hideo Kojima masterpiece with The Walking Dead actor in it, the year 2019 is bombarded with lots of new and exciting games to choose from. With that further ado, let's jot down the top 19 video games of 2019.

1) Death Stranding - One of the sensations of 2019, the latest Hideo Kojima masterpiece available exclusively on the PS4 stars The Walking Dead actor Norman Reedus as Sam Porter Bridges who is on a mission to reconnect humanity from the brink of chaos.

2) BIOHAZARD RE:2 - The remake of the second Biohazard (Resident Evil) game takes a whole new perspective at the Raccoon City incident as players relive the horror in a new approach. This remake really is a hit and Capcom's looking forward to continue the trend with next year's RE:3.

3) Pokemon Sword/Shield - The latest Pokemon adventure is welcomed with mixed results but despite that, fans and newcomers managed to start their new Pokemon adventure at the Galar region, where new and returning Pokemon, iconic cast of characters, new Dynamax feature, and more await them.

4) Apex Legends - Millions of players can't get enough of the newest battle royale game made by the people behind Titanfall.

5) Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - The latest masterpiece from From Software became this year's The Game Awards Game of the Year. It's about a disgraced and disfigured shinobi named The Wolf as he is vowed to take on a terrifying clan using his prosthetic arm and a wide array of weapons. In this game, death isn't the end.

6) JUMP FORCE - The greatest animes from the Shonen Jump comics; Naruto, One Piece, Dragon Ball Z, and other Jump titles are gathered in the biggest crossover fighting game made by Bandai Namco.

7) NFS Heat - The newest installment of the Need For Speed franchise is car culture at its best. In here, players can hustle themselves in the daytime sanctioned races or risk it all at nighttime, where illegal street races and cop chases overshadowed the vibrant Palm City after hours.

8) Devil May Cry 5 - After years of waiting, the latest installment of the Devil May Cry series has arrived to raise some more hell in the big city as Dante, Nero, and V battle against fearsome demons plaguing the metropolis.

9) Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - At long last, Super Smash Bros. has arrived on the Nintendo Switch and it features the largest roster of playable characters, new or returning, as players battle themselves in an epic battle royale on iconic locations from the world of Nintendo and beyond.

10) Fire Emblem: Three Houses - The latest installment of the Fire Emblem RPG franchise pits players to teach one of the three houses and lead them to victory with strategic RPG battles. The fate of one of the three houses in the war of Fodlan is entirely up to them.

11) Super Mario Maker 2 - The newest Super Mario Maker brings players some endless imagination to create their own Super Mario levels and share it to the world to see how epic their creations are. The possibilities are nearly endless.

12) Borderlands 3 - The first-person role-playing shooter game returns and even more insane than the previous Bordelands installment. In Borderlands 3, players pit on the role of one of the four new Vault Hunters as they can go solo or team up to defeat enemies, score loots, and save the galaxy from the most maniacal cult leaders ever faced.

13) Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled - the remastered version of Crash Team Racing is no doubt one of the best racing games of the year. In this Nitro-Fueled take on a racing classic, players can play as their favorite Crash Bandicoot characters and race through memorable locations. There's even time-limited events where they can unlock goodies such as characters, karts, and more.

14) Ace Combat 7 Skies Unknown - Bandai Namco kicked off the year 2019 with a roar of fighter jets with the latest installment of the ACE COMBAT franchise that promises to be the most realistic installment to date. ACE COMBAT 7 SKIES UNKNOWN pits players on the role of a fighter pilot convicted of a crime never intended to make and then rose to the ranks as part of the LRSSG, while dealing with the mission to end war of the two nations over the Space Elevator drama.

15) Call pf Duty Mobile - The intense Call of Duty action experienced in consoles has arrived in smartphones as Call of Duty Mobile features a wide range of multiplayer modes to jump in and experience the newest CoD experience everywhere.

16) Gears 5 - The long-awaited installment of the Gears of War saga has arrived with five modes to experience and the deepest storyline in the Gears saga.

17) Mortal Kombat 11 - The most brutal fighting game of all time is back as Mortal Kombat 11 bends through time with intense storyline, new and returning characters to master, and exciting ways to spill some blood on, all in the name of fatality.

18) Red Dead Redemption II - The hit wild western open-world game from the folks that brought us the Grand Theft Auto games returns and even wilder than the first installment, giving players new ways to experience the Wild Wild West some more.

19) Love Live: School Idol Festival All-Stars - the newest Love Live app game brings the three idol groups from the Love Live franchise together under one roof. With idols to collect, new songs to master, and original stories to watch, this is Love Live at its biggest.

...and these are the top 19 games of 2019. Next time, let's jot down the top 19 sports news of 2019.

YEAR IN REVIEW: Top 19 movies of 2019

With 2019 drawing to a complete close, it's time to do some series of Year In Reviews highlighting what's going on throughout the year 2019.

Superhero movies still dominate the 2019 box office charts much like sport utility vehicles sold in high numbers this year and with Avengers Endgame bagged the biggest box office earnings in ages, it's no wonder 2019's a big year for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, this year isn't about big-time superhero flicks, there are other oddballs shown in cinemas such as a live-action Pokemon movie no one saw it coming, a Toy Story sequel, a Frozen sequel, a live action Lion King, and some others. However, behind the oddballs, there are some that made a massive impact in the world of movies such as Korea's Parasite and Japan's Weathering With You.

Without further ado, let's jot down the top 19 movies of 2019.

1) Avengers Endgame - The biggest Marvel crossover movie picks up where last year's Infinity War left off and it became the most successful MCU franchise installment in ages.

2) Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - The final chapter of the Skywalker saga sees Rey trying to finish what Luke Skywalker started. It is the longest Star Wars movie installment ever made and also one of the most heavy-hitting films of the year.

3) Joker - This though-provoking film centers on an average man who became known as the biggest villain in Gotham City. The origin story of The Joker really is one of the most dramatic films of the year and it's going to be Oscar-bound, I hope.

4) Weathering With You - The latest masterpiece of Makoto Shinkai, the man behind the smash-hit Your Name., is all about a young boy who made a fateful encounter with the girl who can change the weather.

5) Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - Quentin Tarantino's latest masterpiece centers on the hidden side of the Golden Age of Cinema at the eyes of two men trying to make their names at Tinsel Town.

6) Ford v Ferrari - The untold story of Ford's 1966 Le Mans win stars Matt Damon and Christian Bale as motoring legend Carroll Shelby and former soldier turned mechanic Ken Miles, two men involved in Ford's ambitious goal to defeat Ferrari at Le Mans.

7) Detective Pikachu - The first-ever live-action Hollywood movie adaptation of the Pokemon franchise puts actor Ryan Reynolds behind the voice of the titular Pikachu teaming up with the young boy to solve Rhyme City's biggest mystery that forever changed the relationship between men and Pokemons.

8) IT Chapter Two - Sequel to the remake of a classic Stephen King masterpiece, IT Chapter Two picks up decades where the last one left off as the victims of the sadistic clown Pennywise, now as adults, return to put an end to Pennywise's wrath once and for all.

9) Parasite - This critically-acclaimed South Korean film of the year directed by Bong Joon Ho centers on misplaced familyhood.

10) Hobbs and Shaw - The spinoff to the Fast and Furious franchise sees two mortal enemies teaming up to take down a renegade terrorist, who stole a top secret technology that made him unstoppable at his tracks.

11) Promare - One of the breakout anime films of 2019 is about a heroic firefighter on a mission to save people at all costs.

12) Rocketman - This wildly successful biopic centers on the life and times of famed musician Elton John.

13) Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The sequel to the rebooted Godzilla film sees the iconic kaiju battling the most monstrous foes as the whole world sees whether if Godzilla a threat to humanity or their last hope. Oh my God-zilla...

14) Aladdin - The live-action rebirth of a Disney classic is so much more than fulfilling three wishes from the Genie.

15) Frozen 2 - The long awaited sequel of the hit 2013 Disney animated movie pits sisters Elsa and Anna to a new adventure searching for something that will save the kingdom of Arendale once and for all.

16) Toy Story 4 - The fourth film of the Toy Story series sees Woody, Buzz, and the gang on an epic road trip full of chaos and adventure with new faces in store for them.

17) Mewtwo Strikes Back EVOLUTION - The first Pokemon movie has been reborn in stunning 3D as Pokemon fans jump back to the time where Ash and the gang face off against the legendary genetic Pokemon.

18) The Lion King - Although questionable for a live-action adaptation of the Disney icon, this rebirth brings the Pride Lands story to life in the eyes of the new generation of viewers. It's all about Simba on his quest to reclaim the Pride Lands from the clutches of his uncle Scar.

19) Love Live Sunshine The School Idol Movie Over The Rainbow - The movie adaptation picks up after the series finale left off as the Aqours heroes take on an Italian getaway while moving on from what happened at the end of the LLS anime series.

...and these are the top 19 movies of 2019. Next time, let's jot down the top 19 video games of 2019.

YEAR IN REVIEW: Top 19 TV hits enjoyed by many.

With 2019 drawing to a complete close, it's time to do some series of Year In Reviews highlighting what's going on throughout the year 2019.

For couch potatoes worldwide, the year 2019 will forever marked as the year "winter is over" because one of the greatest TV shows of the decade is finished. I'm talking about Game of Thrones, but aside from saying farewell to Westeros, the year 2019 is also, what Koreans called it, the "year of the penguin" because the giant penguin named Pengsoo made a lot of rounds to become as famous as any Korean celebrity known to man. It's also the year when streaming services got expanded tenfold with Apple and Disney joining the fray.

There are plenty of TV hits, new and returning, happened throughout the year 2019 so let's jot down the top 19 TV hits enjoyed by many.

1) Game of Thrones (final season) - HBO's hit fantasy TV series, Game of Thrones, ended its eight-year run, with all of Westeros' biggest secrets revealed. Pity about the coffee cup blooper, though.

2) Good Omens - This Prime Video original series became a hit for everyone beyond their beliefs. It's about an angel and a demon teaming up to treat the Antichrist like a normal human being in order to avert the end of days.

3) The Mandalorian - One of the launch titles of the new Disney+ streaming service, this Star Wars TV series centers on a bounty hunter on a galaxy far, far, away. This series became a hit especially the episode with the Baby Yoda in it.

4) My Hero Academia Season 4 - the fourth season of the smash-hit superhero series sees our favorite superheroes battle for the Hero Internship.

5) Kimetsu no Yaiba - One of the smash hits of the 2019 spring season, Kimetsu no Yaiba centers on a young boy named Tanjiro, who is vowed to avenge his family from the demons who killed them and turned his sister Nezuko into one. This series features a unique cast of characters and a unique storytelling set from the Taisho Era.

6) Dr. Stone - The hit autumn 2019 anime series is all about applying science in a post-apocalyptic world where everything turned into stone and only a group of survivors trying to apply some science to save humanity.

7) Giant Peng TV - South Korea's EBS's hit TV series rocked Korean viewers about a penguin named Pengsoo, who swam all the way from Antartica to South Korea to become a famous celebrity. Our favorite K-Penguin gets into numerous guest stars, hilarious misadventures, and cans of tuna. His hilarious misadventures earned him a YouTube Silver Button award and we can expect more from our favorite "giant penguin creator." Peng-ha! Peng Peng!

8) StarStruck Season VII - Filipinos around the world got stunned by the seventh season of GMA's hit reality talent search program. Kim de Leon and Shayne Sava named StarStruck Season 7 ultimate survivors.

9) Stranger Things Season 3 - The fourth of July holiday marks the return of Netflix's hit horror TV series, Stranger Things. In this season, the kids are dealing with the mysterious phenomena surrounding the newly-opened mall as well as the connection with the top-secret Soviet experiment.

10) The Grand Tour Season 3 - From their muscle car trip in Detroit to a farewell to a Ford sedan, from their epic Colombian road trip in second-hand offroaders to their even more epic Mongol adventure with their hand-built offroader, the third season of Prime Video's hit motoring show The Grand Tour does it all.

11) The Promised Neverland - The smash hit anime of early 2019 centers on a trio of orphans trying to escape from their orphanage after learning a deadly secret.

12) High School Musical: The Musical The Series - This TV adaptation of Disney's High School Musical franchise is one of the launch titles of the new Disney+ streaming service featuring a new breed of East High students trying to "keep their head in the game". Get it?

13) Steven Universe: The Movie - The made-for-TV feature-length special pits Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems in their most dire situation yet as a neglected gem named Spinel wreck havoc with a terrifying doomsday weapon and the only way to stop this chaotic situation lies within...Spinel? This TV special features the most memorable songs heard during Steven's big adventure to bring back the Crystal Gems' memories, especially Spinel's.

14) Descendants 3: The third chapter of the Descendants saga sees the VKs in their biggest trouble yet as a magical object was stolen and caused trouble at Auradon. This third chapter uncovers Mal's biggest secret as well as forming uneasy alliances to save the kingdom and restore order.

15) The Walking Dead Season 10 - The tenth season of the hit zombie apocalypse series sees the communities in their biggest problem yet as the threat of the Whisperers is at large but it's not just the Whisperers they're worrying about.

16) SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage! - The cast from the Broadway musical adaptation of Nick's hit cartoon show, SpongeBob SquarePants, returned for their live musical part of celebrating 20 years of SpongeBob. In the musical, SpongeBob and friends are on an adventure to save Bikini Bottom from a powerful volcano going to erupt. It's funny, relevant, and very spongy for fans.

17) Blues Clues and You - The classic Nick preschool show returns at the hands of the new presenter named Josh as he needs the little viewers' help to figure out what's what courtesy of Blue's paw prints.

18) The Casagrandes - Nick's new show is a spin-off to the smash-hit cartoon show, The Loud House, featuring Ronnie Anne Santiago and her big familia living the big city life while dealing with numerous misadventures this familia in store for them.

19) Top Gear Season 27 - With Paddy McGuinness and Andrew Flintoff joining Chris Harris, the 27th season of BBC's Top Gear has returned to its much idiotic but adrenaline-fueled form with incredible new car reviews, hilarious challenges, and celebrity guests.

...and these are the top 19 TV hits enjoyed by many. Next time, let's jot down the top 19 movies of 2019.