Let's Do The News! (May 25, 2017)

- Government troops battled numerous militants linked to the Islamic State group holed up in a besieged city in the southern Philippines after attempts to secure volatile areas met heavy resistance. About 100 soldiers were sent to retake buildings and streets in mainly Muslim Marawi City held by Maute terrorists, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

- Following the Marawi siege, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific announced that passengers bound for Mindanao are advised to refund or rebook their tickets. Affected passengers with flight dates from May 25 until 31, 2017 have the option to refund or rebook their tickets within 30 days.

- Indonesian president Joko Widodo urged people to remain calm following yesterday's suspected suicide bombers killed three policemen at a Jakarta bus terminal in an attack authorities said bore the hallmarks of globally inspired Islamist militants. Ten people were hurt in the twin blasts that were detonated five minutes apart by the two suspected attackers in the Indonesia capital late on Wednesday evening, police said.

- British authorities stopped sharing information with the United States regarding the Manchester suicide attack following leaks of details of the investigation that has angered the government, according to reports. Right now, reports told that the suspect behind the attack believed to be traveled to Syria.

- Egypt banned 21 websites, including the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera Media Network for "supporting terrorism", according to reports.

- In case you missed it, Chinese automotive giant Geely has bought Proton and Lotus. Geely owned Swedish car maker Volvo over seven years ago and with both Proton and Lotus now under Geely's control, they have big plans for both.

- Honda teases their next-generation N BOX kei minivan, set go on sale in Japan this fall.

Teaser for next Honda N-BOX

- Actor Kim Woo Bin was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer. His agency was confirmed and sent an official statement to reports about the South Korean actor's condition.

- The teaser trailer for the Castlevania animated series coming to Netflix this summer has arrived.

TTFN!!!

FH3 Blizzard Mountain: Range Rooney Holiday

Although I had finished Blizzard Mountain, I'm always more than welcome to come back to do some R&R in the winter wonderland in case I need to get my hands full on the Horizon business and while spending some free time in the frozen funland, I think it's time to call in an old friend to do some business.



And look what I have. It's the good ol' Range Rover I've been saving on the holiday vacation and while it has some bents and bruises since the very start, it's still very usable and serviceable to do some goodwill on and off the road.

So what am I going to do with this on a place like this? Well, I've called on some of the best Land Rover and Range Rover owners across the Land Down Under and take on Blizzard Mountain like there's no freaking tomorrow. This is the turning point to demonstrate just how off-road capable these Land Rovers and Range Rovers are.



I am very familiar about how this latest Range Rover works as well as its 5.0L Supercharged V8 and its latest version of its Terrain Response so I shouldn't have to worry about driving one and for a place like Blizzard Mountain, this can be a walk in the park for this luxury offroader like the Range Rover. So, here goes...





Ah, nothing like having a little holiday than taking a Range Rover on Blizzard Mountain for some rest and relaxation. Another way to beat the crud out of our everyday stress.

What is ETIDAL?

ETIDAL or Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology was established as a result of international cooperation in the ongoing fight against the so-called Islamic State terrorists. Situated in Riyadh, the capital city of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ETIDAL's aim is to confront and prevent terrorism by cooperating with governments and promote a culture of moderation.

On May 22nd, 2017, in the Saudi capital, King Salman, US President Donald Trump, and other world leaders inaugurated this Global Center for combating Islamic extremism that plagued the globe. Almost 50 world leaders, mostly representing Muslim countries, attended the inauguration. ETIDAL will have numerous experts spanning across the globe specializing in tackling extremist views. ETIDAL will analyze languages and dialects used by Islamic extremists and develop advanced analytical models for digital media platforms.

ETIDAL Opening ceremony:



Since its recent establishment, ETIDAL will serve as the guiding light and global hub for global efforts against Islamic extremism. It will have unprecedented technical superiority, unequivocal excellence in Ideology Research, novel and innovative software tools, technology that works in all different languages and dialects, and international cooperation.

Read: http://etidal.org/files/En_Etidal.pdf

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

- The Regional Peace and Order Council ordered all security forces to tighten checkpoints across the National Capital Region, following the clash between the Maute Terrorist Group and government troops in Marawi City, which is one of the areas in Mindanao now under Martial Law under the order of the President.

- The court suspends the arrest of former MNLF Chairman and former ARMM Governor Nur Misuari. San Pedro of the Pasig Regional Trial Court Judge Maria Rowen MOdesto made the decision to allow the petition filed by Misuari himself.

- Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno ordered all courts in Mindanao to remain open all all Justices to be in their respective offices amid President Duterte's declaration of Martial Law in the entire island.

- US President Donald Trump visits the Vatican on Wednesday to exchange talks with Pope Francis, after the two men exchanged sharp words during last year's presidential elections. Trump’s meeting at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, his third stop on a nine-day foreign tour due to end on Saturday, is part of his world tour of religions after meeting leaders of Muslim nations in Saudi Arabia and visiting holy sites in Jerusalem.

- Back to the Manchester terror attack, the suspect behind the attack is identified as Salman Ramadan Abedi. A 22-year-old male Mancunian of Libyan descent. Police noted that Abedi's responsible for the suicide attack that killed 22 and injured 59 at the Ariana Grande concert.

- Yesterday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe moves forward with the controversial anti-conspiracy bill despite opposition from the public that feared that this bill could suppress civil liberties. The bill would make it a crime to conspire with others to commit terrorism and a raft of other crimes.

- Sir Roger Moore passed away at the age of 89. Moore was well known for not just being Simon Templar from the TV show, The Saint, but also the third 007 actor who starred in most Bond films than any other Bond actor known from Live and Let Die to A View To A Kill.

- Stuttgart authorities raided the offices of Daimler AG at numerous locations in connection with "preliminary investigations of known and unknown employees due to suspicion of fraud and criminal advertising relating to the possible manipulation of exhaust-gas aftertreatment in passengers cars with diesel engines."

- Saw director James Wan is reported to produce a reboot of the Biohazard/Resident Evil live-action film with Greg Russo reportedly to be its scriptwriter.

TTFN!!!

The Declaration of Martial Law in Mindanao

On late Tuesday evening, during his state visit on Moscow, Russia, Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte declared Martial Law on the Mindanao region of the Philippines following clashes against the Maute Group, which pledged their allegiance with the Islamic State extremists.

Under the 1987 Constitution, the duration of the Martial Law, if declared in an event of a rebellion, will last for around 60 days, but it remains unsure if the President can go beyond that limit set by the Constitution.

To avoid further confusion, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said that the declaration of Martial Law only applies to most parts of Mindanao, including Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.

Clashes in Marawi City between government troops and the Maute terrorists continue to erupt and following the harsh situation in Mindanao, President Duterte's Russian visit has been cut short.

Since September 21, 1972, the late strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos declared the whole Philippines under Martial Law due to clashes against the communist forces. It lasted for almost a decade and right after Marcos was ousted from power, the 1987 Constitution was established and the Constitution states that the limit for Martial Law, if declared, is for 60 days.

URL: http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/23/17/duterte-declares-martial-law-in-mindanao

Anti-Distracted Driving Law has been suspended

You may remember that last week, the Anti-Distracted Driving Act has became a law and this implementation causes some major confusion among drivers everywhere. I know, it's very confusing.

Due to such confusion, the Department of Transportation has suspended the implementation of the law after the House transportation panel pointed that they should not be enforcing the law before conducting a nationwide information campaign.

Transport officials admitted that they should have done the whole information campaign thing six months from the effectivity of the act.

So, with the ADDA suspended, how will the motorists react to this turn of events?

URL: http://www.topgear.com.ph/news/motoring-news/addl-suspended-a00187-20170523?ref=latest?ref=home_feed_1

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

- President Rodrigo Duterte said that his Russian visit is a landmark. Some of the highlights of his official visit to Russia include a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and a a signing of a bilateral agreement that is expected to strengthen the economic ties of the two countries.

- The Philippine National Police Internal Affairs Service is ready to submit its case against Police Superintendent Ma. Cristina Nobleza, who is facing grave misconduct charges due to her controversial relationship with Reener Dongon, a suspected terrorist.

- The British police reported that 22 people, including children, were killed in a suicide attack carried out by one man after an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester on Monday. In response, the singer made her first comment since the attack and in her tweet, she felt heartbroken.

- Japan protested against a letter to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe from a United Nations expert raising concerns that planned legislation targeting conspiracies to commit terrorism and other crimes could allow police to trample civil rights. The lower house of Japan's parliament is expected to approve the bill by now.

- Nokia said it has settled its patent dispute with Apple and also signed a business collaboration deal with the tech giant. Nokia said it would receive an up-front cash payment and additional revenues from Apple, but did not specify the details of the patent deal.

- The chief of Thailand's army says that forces opposed to the military-led interim government were responsible for the bombing in Bangkok on Monday. The bombing occurred on the ground floor of a military-run hospital, near a waiting room reserved for senior military officers, injuring 21 people.

- Iranian president Hassan Rouhani criticizes the United States' policies on the Middle East and pledged to continue with ballistic missile development. Rouhani held his first news conference since his reelection last week.

- The president of UN negotiations to legally prohibit nuclear weapons has unveiled the first draft of the nuclear ban treaty. The draft text denounces the use of nuclear weapons as a violation of international humanitarian law. It says nations should make every effort to prevent their future use. It would require states to pledge never to use nuclear weapons, but also never to develop, produce, acquire, possess, stockpile, transfer or test them. The next round of negotiations on the treaty will begin on June 15th.

- Ford Motor Company named Jim Hackett as the new company president and CEO, replacing Mark Fields, who is officially retiring. Hackett was once the CEO of Steelcase, interim athletic director at the University of Michigan and executive chairman of Ford Smart Mobility LLC since March 2016.

- The Fiat 500L MPV has been given a minor change for the 2018 model year with the addition of the new Cross and Wagon variants in addition to the standard Urban variant.

2018 Fiat 500

- Love Live's Maki Nishikino and Nozomi Tojo, in their cheer girl outfits, are joining the figFIX range. Both are available to order starting at 5,370 Yen plus taxes and delivery and arrives this November.

figFIX Maki Nishikino
Cheer Girl ver.

figFIX Nozomi Tojo
Cheer Girl ver.

TTFN!!!