Let's Do The News! (May 11, 2016)

- Japanese are welcoming US President Barack Obama's decision to visit Hiroshima, and those who are interviewed said they aren't seeking an apology. After attending the annual G7 Summit, the US President plans to stop at a war memorial for victims of the 1945 bombing. Obama will be the first sitting American president to visit Hiroshima, a city almost entirely destroyed by an American atomic bomb in the last days of the Second World War.

- Abu Sayyaf's threat to execute four Malaysian hostages in the southern Philippines set an early May deadline for talks to begin for their release. The anti-kidnapping activist Professor Octavio Dinampo said killing captives appeared to be easier for the gunmen now, following the beheading of Malaysian Bernard Then last November and Canadian John Ridsdel last month in Jolo.

- A car bomb explosion in a commercial, predominantly Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq, killed at least 14 people. A police officer says the bomb went off Wednesday morning at a crowded outdoor market in the eastern district of Sadr City. About 40 people were injured but the death toll is expected to increase.

- Onto the latest presidential primary and because of Donald Trump's presumptive nominee as the Republican candidate for presidency, focus turns to the Democrats because here in West Virginia, candidate Bernie Sanders scored another win with 15% of the votes ahead of frontrunner Hillary Clinton. The delegate results show that despite Sanders' recent win, he's still 770 delegates short of Clinton.

- Australian authorities have arrested five men on suspicion of plotting to sail to Syria to join the Islamic State militants. Men, aged 21 to 33, apparently planned to reach Syria via Indonesia and the Philippines on a boat they bought in their hometown of Melbourne.

- See how the hardcore Pagani Huayra BC handles snowy conditions.

- Volkswagen Group says they are readying a solution on 85,000 vehicles with 3.0L diesel engine affected by the cheating software. The solution; a new software and catalytic converters.

- Pokemon Sun and Moon is set for worldwide release on the Nintendo 3DS/2DS this 18th of November and let's get to meet the three all new starter Pokemons from the Alola region. Say hello to the Grass-and Flying Type Rowlet, the Fire Type Litten, and the Water Type Popplio!

Alola Starters in Pokemon Sun and Moon

- Bikes themed after the characters from the new motorcycle anime Bakuon!! will be finally available beginning this June. This is the big chance for fans to own a Bakuon-themed bike in their garage. There's a Yamaha YZF-R25 -Onsa Amano-, Kawasaki Ninja 250SE -Raimu-, and the Honda CB400SF -Sakura Hane-. Which Bakuon-theme will you pick?

- In case you missed the recent Eat Bulaga Kalyeserye, oh no! Looks like Lola Nidora can't stand her loneliness over AlDub. Tinidora and Yaya Glo tried to cheer her up but luckily, Alden contacted Lola Nidora. However, that call wasn't enough...



TTFN!!!

New Chrysler Pacifica

Chrysler has been one of the forefathers of the minivan category since the 20th century and with today's economic climate, as well as the rise of the crossovers, it seems that Chrysler is the only American car company in history to offer a minivan in the USA and now, they're redefining the nearly-extinct category with their brand new Pacifica.

2017 Chrysler Pacifica

The Pacifica name is nothing new to Chrysler. Back in the mid-2000's, the Pacifica name was once used for their lackluster crossover. Now, Chrysler brought back the Pacifica name in an all-new minivan served as a replacement to the Town and Country. Seems that Chrysler really knows how they brought the Pacifica name back very well, knowing that minivans will soon uprise against the pointless crossovers.

Speaking of which, the new Pacifica is nothing more of a punishment for men who ended up marrying a woman, having kids, and stuck at the suburbs for the rest of their lives. Of course, since this is a minivan fit for all the nevers in life, life of being a workaholic dad is a bit of a harsh reality because being a dad means the cars you will be driving are nothing more than multipurposes. Sucks being a married man having kids and living in a suburbs, eh? Anyway, what's what about the Pacifica?

2017 Chrysler Pacifica interior

2017 Chrysler Pacifica interior

Even though the design is a major improvement from the lackluster but legendary Town & Country, the new Pacifica feels like if the Chrysler 200 has been enlarged, perhaps it's gone obese by fate. Inside, thanks to its all-new platform, getting in and out from the Pacifica gets even more generous than most minivans with difficult ways to get through the third-row seats. As a matter of fact, the third-row seating is much more rewarding than most minivans as long as someone ask you to seat in the back and hopefully you don't get stuck in the middle.

By surprise, the Pacifica has concessions of comfort and convenience that will keep you entertained during a long road trip. It even comes with a rear-seat entertainment system with built-in games, apps, USB video & HDMI inputs, and DVD/Blu-Ray player. As for sound, the Pacifica is available with a 20-speaker Harman Kardon Premium Sound System to deliver the best sound quality as you expect from a first-class flight. With so much stuff like these, the Pacifica makes passengers feel like they're on a first class flight. If you didn't consider this to be a family car, the Pacifica makes a perfect chauffeur-driven vehicle similar to Toyota's Alphard, Nissan's Elgrand, and Honda's Odyssey.

One feature that will surprise owners is the new Pacifica stole a certain idea from Ford and that is the one where the rear door can be opened hands-free with the lift of your foot, which is great if your hands are full. However, that hands-free opening isn't limited to the rear door because even sliding doors can join the ease of access bandwagon as well.

Because the Pacifica vows to be the most technologically-advanced minivan in the market, it's been festooned with numerous features available such as the 360-degree surround view camera, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, and so much more. That's a lot of thought goes into that.

2017 Chrysler Pacifica

What about driving? Well, at launch, the Pacifica comes exclusively with a 3.6L Pentastar V6 engine which produces 287 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque, while mated with the 948TE nine-speed automatic transmission, and it has an EPA-estimated fuel consumption of 28 MPG highway. Of course, that doesn't stop here because later on, there will be a PHEV variant called the Pacifica Hybrid, which promises up to 80 MPGe of fuel economy. Anyway, as for the dynamics, the new Pacifica feels as nice and cozy to drive as a family car and despite being a minivan, it handles and feels like a midsize saloon. Not too shabby huh, but don't think this is an enjoyable car to drive because being a family mover, the Pacifica is not made to thrash around for fun. This is as serious as a salaryman at work, even with the most clever suspension setup ever made for an American minivan.

Should you buy one? The Chrysler Pacifica starts at $28,595 and if I can think of a proper rival for this car, it would be a Kia Carnival, which starts at $26,400, so it's almost two thousand two hundred dollars more expensive to own but don't mind the pricing because the Pacifica is the first and the last of the American-made minivans to own and don't expect seeing one landing in other countries soon because unlike the old Town and Country, the new Pacifica will be exclusive to North America. So, if you ended up being married, had kids, and stuck in the suburbs, perhaps you may consider this minivan your eternal punishment...minus the eternal part.

Available colors: Velvet Red Pearl Coat, Granite Crystal Metallic Clear Coat, Brilliant Black Crystal Pearl Coat, Bright White Clear Coat, Molten Silver, Jazz Blue Pearl, Billet Silver Metallic Pearl Clear Coat, Tusk White Pearl Coat, and Dark Cordovan.

Photo: Chrysler Group, LLC

Genki Zenkai DAY! DAY! DAY!

Uranohoshi Girls High School's idol unit, Aqours, from Love Live! Sunshine!!, the second generation of the Love Live franchise, is divided into three sub-groups in tradition of what the legendary μ's did with Printemps, lily white, and BiBi. First, there's CYaRon! comprising of Chika Takami, You Watanabe, and Ruby Kurosawa. Then, there's Azalea comprising of Kanan Matsuura, Dia Kurosawa, and Hanamaru Kunikida, And finally, Guilty Kiss comprising of Riko Sakurauchi, Yoshiko Tsushima, and Mari Ohara.

Genki Zenkai DAY! DAY! DAY!

This is the first offering from Aqours' CYaRon. Titled Genki Zenkai DAY! DAY! DAY!, fans are ready to experience the first of their trio offerings from Uranohoshi Girls High's finest. Of course, since CYaRon is all about Chika, You, and Ruby, feel free to think of this as an introduction to one of Aqours' sub-units as Lovelivers are prepping up for bigger things to come for Aqours, especially the TV series due in summer.

Apart from the two songs offered in CYaRon's first single, there's a drama part where listeners are joining to a brand new adventure for Chika Takami, You Watanabe, and Ruby Kurosawa. The fun doesn't stop here because look out for AZALEA's first single coming this late May following with Guilty Kiss's first single due early June.

TRACK LISTINGS:

01. 元気全開DAY! DAY! DAY!

02. 夜空はなんでも知ってるの？

03. 元気全開DAY! DAY! DAY! (Off Vocal)

04. 夜空はなんでも知ってるの？ (Off Vocal)

05. 松月(パインムーン)をさがして❤

Philippine Elections 2016 (UPDATE 5)

The story so far on the 2016 Philippine Elections...

• Geraldine Roman, age 49, made history as the first transgender woman politician to be elected for a seat in Congress after proclaimed by COMELEC as representative in the first congressional district, after garnering 106,015 votes against the 64,643 cast for Hermosa Mayor Danilo Malana of Aksyon Demokratiko.
• Presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte said he would settle the South China Sea dispute with multilateral talks that would include allies United States and Australia, and the claimant nations against China.
• Former boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao presumptively won a seat to the Senate based on the election results. He placed eighth out of a field of 50 candidates in a national race where the top 12 vie for the upper house, a powerful legislative body that has often served as a springboard to office.
• The board of canvasses of Mountain Province proclaimed that Kathy Jyll Mayaen, the daughter of the late governor Leonard Mayaen, as the provinces' new chief executive on Tuesday night despite questions on her substitution for her father. Mayaen filed her COC last week seeking as a replacement to her father, who ran independently until he passed away from a heart failure on the 31st of March.
• The United States government said it was keen to work with Rodrigo Duterte, who emerged as the clear winner in the Philippine presidential elections,
• Rodrigo Duterte promises that he will never use bad words to the public, now that he's guaranteed to take control of the Philippines as the new leader.

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: Workers' Party Congress ends

North Korea held a ceremony to mark the end of its Workers' PArty congress, the first in over three decades. The closing ceremony kicked off at 1025 hours, local time, at Kim Il-Sung Square in Pyongyang. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was greeted by ten thousands of residents while being bestowed with the newly-created title.

North Korea's Korean Central Television reported that Kim Jong-un was elected as chairman of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea and his promotion is seen as a move to dominate the party and solidify his power.

Also, the congress elected two more standing members of the ruling party's political bureau, Pak Pong-ju and Choe Ryong-hae, raising the number of the standing members to five including the North Korean leader, Kim Yong-nam, and Hwang Pyong-seo.

Source: Arirang News

Let's Do The News! (May 10, 2016)

- A group of international journalists has published the names of companies and individuals behind over 200,000 offshore accounts in the Panama Papers. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists uncovered a database with information on nearly 214,000 offshore entities. They were created in 21 countries and territories through Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.

- The acting speaker of Brazil's lower house cancelled the key impeachment vote by the chamber against President Dilma Rousseff. The recent announcement threatens to plunge the South American nation further into political turmoil. Rousseff faces impeachment for allegedly manipulating government accounts. Acting lower house speaker Waldir Maranhao said the vote last month to proceed had problems and should be revised.

- The Japanese government has decided to issue an action plan at the G7 Summit later this month to combat corruption. The government decided to include the policies in the leaders' joint declaration as an attachment, as the Panama Papers on secret offshore accounts has garnered much global attention. The plan calls for tough measures against tax evasion, including the disclosure of owners of companies established for reducing tax payments.

- The quake-hit Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan is eligible for state-run reconstruction and repair, according to the Japanese government. This means the quake-hit area can ask the government to take charge of rebuilding roads, bridges and tunnels on its behalf. Government officials will plan and order the work, lessening the prefecture's burden of finding engineers who can handle bigger projects.

- France has restored to its rightful owners a drawing of Edgar Degas that was stolen by the Nazis from its Jewish owner in 1940. In a moving ceremony in Paris, Culture Minister Audrey Azoulay said that the late 19th-century charcoal sketch of three ballerinas called "Trois danseuses en buste" was found in 1951 in a cupboard in the Occupation-era German embassy. It had since remained unclaimed in the Louvre.

- Artist Megumi Igarashi (pen name Rokudenashiko) was found guilty of breaking Japan's obscenity laws in Tokyo court on Monday. The 44-year-old female actress was arrested two years ago for disturbing 3D printer data of her own under part of her body as part of a backer reward for her crowdfunding campaign to construct something. Igarashi always maintained that her work is not obscene.

- After months of auditions, reports told that a 26-year-old Alden Ehrenreich, as seen in the Hail, Caesar! film, is set to play as the young Han Solo in the upcoming Star Wars spinoff. Shooting will commence next month with the film slated for 2018 release.

- Buick to discontinue the Verano midsize saloon by 2017 despite strong sales, probably because of the rising crossover sales.

- Check out the latest Fast & Furious 8 behind the scenes clip where the gang shooting scenes at Cuba.

- "Abandon hope, all ye who enter". Tom Hanks returns as Robert Langdon in the upcoming movie adaptation of Dan Brown's Inferno, the third chapter of The Da Vinci Code saga. In the film, Langdon woke up in a hospital with no memories at all. With the help of a certain doctor, played by Felicity Jones, Langdon must recover his memory while trying to avert a global cataclysm broadly similar from the passages of Dante's Divine Comedy. It will hit US theaters on the 28th of October.



TTFN!!!

Forza Motorsport 6: Heart Pounding. By Design

With the arrival of the all-new Ford Focus RS in Forza Motorsport 6 via the Hot Wheels Car Pack, Forza fans can finally gain access to the long-awaited hot hatch that Ford Performance ever launched to a global scale, including the US. It's been worth the wait to see the new Focus RS coming to Forza 6 and truth be told, this car should have been placed in the game since day one.

Ford unveiled their most powerful Focus yet, the all-new third-generation Ford Focus RS, at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, and this is one of the many performance cars launched by the newly merged Ford Performance division.

The all-new Ford Focus RS features a upgraded version of the 2.3L EcoBoost 4-cylinder engine sourced from the sixth-generation Ford Mustang, which produces 350HP of power and same amount for torque.

The drivetrain is now upgraded from the former's front-wheel drive to Ford's brand new Torque-Vectoring All-Wheel-Drive system with Drive Modes, including the new Drift Mode for better oversteer drifts, and Launch Control. Mated exclusively with a 6-speed gearbox, it's capable of reaching 0-100kph in 4.7 seconds.

The Ford Focus RS is now offered exclusively, for the first time, as a 5-door hatchback and also, it's available to the USA starting at $35,900.

It's a good job Ford finally selling the all-new Focus RS to the American market. In fact, this is definitely the hot Focus the Americans have been demanding for since forever when the Americans realized that the previous generation Focus offered in the US doesn't look as good as the previous generation Focus sold outside the US. With the third-generation Focus sold globally under the One Ford approach, the dream of seeing a third-generation Focus RS as a globally-competitive hot hatch that can be sold not just the US but the rest of the world, has became a self-fulfilled prophecy from Ford's right.

About how the Focus RS featured in-game. You see, prior to its launch, there was a specially-designed Ford Focus RS with the Forza 6 front cover painted all over on display at the gamescom 2015, drawing much speculation that the new Ford Focus RS might make it to the car roster of FM6 at launch. However, that car never made it on launch day, not even last November when Forza fans complained that the new Focus RS became an EA exclusivity when it got featured in the 2015 Need For Speed game. Talk about unfair competition, eh?

Well, you get the picture, but the wait is truly over because we finally got our hands on the all-new Focus RS. So, thoughts on the new RS? Well, even though it's now a 4WD hoonigan, this is still a hot hatch made to be an accessible, all-weather, track weapon. You can still feel its mild but tangy behavior beneath its new drivetrain but what matters most is, almost everyone can have fun in this ultra-powerful hot hatchback that requires a few effort to slip through corners with ease. It can be somewhat slouchy at first but don't worry, you'll get used to it as long as you drive this car harder and longer.

Since this is an entirely new car, I think it might be best to find out if this new Focus RS is worth the improvement compared to the past Focus RS models in its lifespan and to find out, I went to the Top Gear Test Track and gather every single Focus RS in history to see if the all-new Focus RS is an overall improvement through its lifetime.

Meeting its ancestors can be so much fun but comparing against its ancestors to see how much it's been grown can also be so much fun. So, without further ado, time to get these machines rolling...

And now, the results...

1:31.678 - 1st Focus RS

1:29.327 - 2nd Focus RS

1:25.685 - 3rd Focus RS

It's a clear statement that the Ford Focus RS evolved through the years and with this latest model, Ford made the new Focus RS the best Focus ever made and between you and I, this long-awaited hot hatch deserves a quick pat at the rear door because of how cool this hatchback performs. You can thank Ford for making the Focus RS available in the USA and you can thank the producers for featuring this car on FM6 via a car pack.

The Focus RS; Heart Pounding. By Design

Philippine Elections 2016 (UPDATE 4)

The story so far on the 2016 Philippine Elections...

• Liberal Party presidential aspirant Mar Roxas concedes defeat to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, whose unofficial tallies made the controversial candidate the presumptive winner.
• Historically, the number of votes Rody Duterte gained, which is 41,752,443 votes counted, surpassed the number of votes President Benigno Aquino III got six years ago.
• As Vice Presidential candidate Chiz Escudero concedes his defeat, Chiz pleads the public to give the incoming (Duterte administration) a chance.
• Actor Richard Gomez won the mayoral elections in Leyte.
• Another election-related violence occurred as a volunteer of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting transporting elections returns was killed in an ambush in Pagadian City before dawn Tuesday. The volunteer identified as Adela Elmida and she was killed by unknown assailants while on her way to a freight company to deliver election returns at 0400 hours. Her 12-year-old daughter survived the ambushed but was hurt.
• Jaime Fresnedi was proclaimed winner of the mayoral race in Muntinlupa City despite the protests by supporters of his rival Aldrin San Pedro.
• Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, despite his impressive lead in the presidential race, visited his parents' grave and wept uncontrollably. According to his sect leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy on a TV show, Duterte proceeded to the Davao public cemetery to see his parents' grave past 0300 hours, local time. Duterte's father was a governor of the still-undivided Davao del Sur while his mother was a teacher.

...more to come.

Philippine Elections 2016 (UPDATE 3)

The story so far on the 2016 Philippine Elections...

• Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte was leading the presidential race in a partial, unofficial results with over 14 million votes counted, twice as what rivals Mar Roxas and Grace Poe had.
• Grace Poe concedes her defeat to Duterte.
• Four persons were arrested on Monday, after they were caught carrying firearms and drug paraphernalia at a checkpoint along the national highway of South Poblacion, San Fernando town.
• A village chief was arrested due to his accusations of engaging in vote-buying. Salvador Misca, age 47, the Baranga Pigsag-an chair and an alleged supporter of returning mayor Vicente Emano, was arrested by the Lumbia police and Tactical Operations Group-10 on Sunday evening. Reports state that Misca was caught in the act of vote-buying.
• In the Vice-Presidential race, Leni Robredo and Bongbong Marcos, the son of the infamous dictator Ferdinand Marco, is on a neck-and-neck race as partial, unofficial results, see these two candidates edging themselves out.
• About 150 vote counting machines were reportedly broken and voters complained of long wait. Despite problems, the election proceeds smoothly as planned.

...more to come at a later time.

Philippine Elections 2016 (UPDATE 2)

The story so far on the 2016 Philippine Elections...

• Voting hours will be extended until 6:00PM in areas where polling precincts opened past 9:00AM according to COMELEC. The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) states the firewall would be brought down so that it could start transmitting tallies. The PPCRV also expresses worries over reports of disenfranchisement and urged voters to go to their precincts before the deadline.
• Vice presidential candidate Senator Gregorio Honasan called on Filipinos to unite regardless of the results of the 2016 polls. Honasan, Binay's running mate of the United Nationalist Alliance, arrived before the opening of his precinct at the Nativity of Our Lady Parish in Marikina City. After voting, he went around Metro Manila to thank his supporters.
• No Vote Counting Machines were present in Novotel Manila Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City, according to COMELEC and Smartmatic. After personally visiting and verifying reports that there were VCMs hidden in Novotel near Liberal Party standard bearer Mar Roxas' bailiwick, no such machines were present in the hotel.

...more to come at a later time.

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: N.Korea may reshuffle party leadership

North Korea's ruling Workers' Party is expected to reshuffle its party's leadership and amendments to the party rules at its first congress in 36 years.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reported to party delegates on Sunday, the third-day of the gathering, on work being carried out by the party's central committee. The N. Korean leader stressed that the country will pursue nuclear and missile development as a "responsible" nuclear power. His report was unanimously adopted by the delegates.

The assembly is expected to decide on leadership positions and amendments to the party rules on Monday, the fourth day of the congress. Kim Jong un is expected to be elected to the party's top post.

Attention is focused on whether Kim will be reelected to his current post of First Secretary of the ruling party which was newly established four years ago. He may assume the role as head of the party's central committee which is being reinstated for the first time in five decades.

Source: NHK World

Let's Do The News! (May 9, 2016)

- Reports say that federal investigations may interview Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton within a week over her use of a private email server. The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently question several aides to Clinton, who has come under fire for using her private server to exchange work emails while she was Secretary of State. Investigators found the server contained classified informations. Clinton maintains that none of the documents were classified at the time she sent or received them and investigators haven't found traces to prove her violation.

- Jeb Bush, a Republican who dropped out from the presidential race, is now one of the many Republicans who strongly oppose the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Bush, whose older brother and father were US presidents, said on Friday he won't vote for Trump in November 2016 elections because the businessman is not a consistent conservative. Senator Lindsey Graham, also a politician who dropped out from the race, also opposes Trump.

- Schools in quake-hit Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, are set to reopen this week after series of quakes struck the region since last month. As of Friday last week, 178 schools in the prefecture, were not able to accept students, more than double at one time after the strong quake on the 14th of April.

- Following the collapsed building in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, authorities demolished buildings and urging residents to move out a week. On the 29th of April, a 6-story apartment building in a low-income neighborhood fell down after heavy rainfall, killing 49 people as reported.

- A South Korean university professor has been arrested for falsifying data from a British-based company for cash. Most babies, infants, and mothers in South Korea suffered damaged to their lungs after inhaling a humidifier disinfectant that contained harmful chemicals. The product was made by Oxy Reckitt Benckiser and sold in South Korea between 2001 and 2011. The S. Korean government recognized a casual relationship between the product and the 2011 lung damage that killed 95 people.

- A group of attackers fired a police bus near Cairo, Egypt, killing 8 police officers, according to reports. The attackers that call themselves an affiliate of Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for the attack but another group linked to the Muslim Brotherhood also claimed responsibility.

- Thousands of people took part at Tokyo's annual Rainbow Pride parade in support of the country's LGBT community. Over 5,000 LGBT individuals and their supporters marched in this year's event held in Shibuya Ward on Sunday. Some waved rainbow-colored flags while other carried signs declaring that they are homosexual.

- Hundreds of sea lions have made their annual appearance off the coast of Russia's Far East, marking the beginning of spring. About 400 northern sea lions have gathered at a pier in the port town of Nevelsk, in southern Sakhalin, where numbers are increasing since last month. The sea lions will stay until July and then move further north in search for more fish.

- Check out highlights from the annual Gumball 3000 road trip

- Moments ago, the naval anime series Highschool Fleet collaborated with the Japan Self Defense Forces' Kanagawa Provincial Cooperation Office to make a recruitment poster for the Japanese military and posted around Kanagawa Prefecture. However, this Haifuri-themed poster drew flak from observers.



TTFN!!!