AIKATSU SCRAPBOOK 02

AIKATSU SCRAPBOOK 02

Hot on the heels on celebrating the Aikatsu franchise's 5th anniversary, the latest addition to the long line of Aikatsu! Photo on Stage!! split single CDs, called the Aikatsu Scrapbook 02, has arrived and for this addition, three new songs as heard from the hit app game are here to make great additions to your ever growing Aikatsu playlist while celebrating five years of Aikatsu.

In this addition, Risuko and Fuuri from STAR☆ANIS are performing the song titled RED MOUNTAIN while Waka from STAR☆ANIS & Ruka, Sena from AIKATSU☆STARS! are performing another new song titled アイカツメロディ! (which known to be the official anthem of the Aikatsu series' 5th anniversary), and this installment ends with Ruka, Nanase, Kana, and Miho from AIKATSU☆STARS! performing Jewel Star Friendship☆. Feel free to listen to these new songs while honoring the Aikatsu franchise's 5th anniversary any way you like.

Aikatsu! Photo on Stage! is available to download now on the Google Play. Contains in-app purchases. Ask your parents first. And keep watching Aikatsu Stars every Thursday nights on TV Tokyo and other affiliated networks.. Check local listings.

TRACK LISTINGS:
01 RED MOUNTAIN
02 アイカツメロディ!
03 Jewel Star Friendship☆
04 RED MOUNTAIN (off vocal)
05 アイカツメロディ! (off vocal)
06 Jewel Star Friendship☆ (off vocal)

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

- Resigned Bureau of Customs commissioner Nicanor Faeldon denied reports that he has personal experience with Davao group that is being implicated with the 6.4 million pesos worth of shabu smuggled from China.

- The Australian government defended its most senior intelligence chief, Director-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service Nick Warner  after his photo-op alongside President Rodrigo Duterte, an image rights groups said undermines criticism of Duterte's war on drugs. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Warner was complying with a request from Duterte and the image did not weaken Canberra’s criticism of Duterte’s war on drugs.

- Meanwhile, President Duterte will be visiting Pampanga on the 28th to personally assess the situation of poultry farm owners affected by the bird flu outbreak in Central Luzon.

- Labor Secretary Silvestre Bebot Bello III said that all OFWs in Hong Kong are safe in the wake of Typhoon Hato (Isang) wreaking havoc in southern China on Wednesday, killing 12 people, battering Hong Kong skyscrapers, causing floods, and forcing thousands to evacuate their homes.

- Ferrari unveiled the long-awaited California replacement known as the Portofino. It is a new GT car powered by an improved V8 turbo engine producing over 600PS of power and 760Nm of torque, capable of reaching 100kph in 3.5 seconds and onwards to 320kph.

2018 Ferrari Portofino

- Volkswagen expands their SUV lineup with their first-ever compact SUV, the T-Roc.

2018 Volkswagen T-ROC

- Maserati upgrades the Ghibli saloon as the new Ghibli GranLusso, with new looks and added safety tech.

2018 Maserati Ghibli GranLusso

- Suzuki adds a new entry-level variant for their new Wagon R kei-car with a 5-speed manual gearbox.

2018 Suzuki Wagon R

- Battlestar Galactica actress Katee Sackhoff is set to appear in an upcoming season of The Flash.

TTFN!!!

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: China’s Xi pledges to address differences with South Korea

Chinese president Xi Jinping pledged to make concerted efforts with South Korean leader Moon Jae-in to address differences between the two nations, according to reports.

Xi made the remarks in a congratulatory message sent to President Moon on the 25th anniversary of the establishment of China-SK ties as development of their relations made a positive outlook to regional peace and development.

South Korea and the United States agreed to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system in response to threats from North Korea. However the installation angered China, which says its powerful radar will eb able to look deep into its territory and undermine regional security.

China has pressed South Korean businesses through boycotts and bans, such as ending Chinese group tours to South Korea and closing most of South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group’s Lotte Mart retail stores in China.

Source: Reuters

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: North Korea presses rocket programme

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the production of more solid-fuel rocket engines, according to state media, as he pursues nuclear and missile programs amid a standoff with Washington, but there were signs of the drama easing.

The report carried by the KCNA news agency lacked the traditionally robust threats against the United States after weeks of heightened tension, and U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism about a possible improvement in relations.

This report came not long after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appeared to make a peace overture, welcoming what he called the recent restraint shown by the Korean peninsula.

Source: Reuters

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

- Classes in Mindanao State University will be resuming along with intense security reinforcement amid the three-month siege in Marawi City. During the first day of classes, students from Barangay Maria Cristina, Iligan City underwent an orientation and rigorous inspections before heading to the MSU compound.

- The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that no Filipinos were hurt after the 4.2 magnitude earthquake struck the eastern section of Italy, Monday, August 21. Monday's quake struck the island of Ischia, Naples a popular tourist spot near the Tyrrhenian Sea. Two people were confirmed dead while the number of casualties is yet to be tallied.

- Cebu Pacific announced late Tuesday night  the cancellation of its flights from the Philippines to Hong Kong due to typhoon ‘Isang’, international name ‘Hato’.

- Ninoy Aquino International Airport General Manager Ed Monreal named someone who will replace Assistant General Manager for Security and Emergency Services Allen Capuyan, who filed a leave of absence following his involvement with the controversial 6.4 million peso shabu smuggled from China. Brigadier General Romeo Labador will be replacing Capuayn as OIC of AGMSES.  Labador is the chief of the Airport Police Dept, and a former Chief of staff of the 8th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army and a member of the Philippine Military Academy class of 83.

- About 54 out of the 292 House Republicans released public statements condemning US President Donald Trump over his response to the brutal events in Charlottesville, Virginia when he claimed there were some "very fine" people who participated in the white supremacist rally. Recently, Trump drawn a false equivalency between Heather Heyer's peaceful protest and the disgusting hate that was seething out from the Ku Klux Klan and other fascist groups.

- Amid the Angolan economic crisis, Angolans headed to the polls on Wednesday in a parliamentary election expected to usher in the ruling party’s defence minister as the first new leader of Africa’s second biggest oil producer for 38 years.

- Great Britain revived the scrappage scheme, now centering on reducing emissions as car companies like Mercedes, BMW, and Ford, announced schemes which offer a 2,000 pound discount when they trade in a car made before 2010 or that doesn't comply with the Euro 5 regulations.

- Ariel, makers of the Atom and Nomad, is planning to build a 1,180bhp hypercar capable of reaching 0-100mph in 3.8 seconds.

- Check out HOONIGAN's Ken Block going offroad in TERRAKHANA.



- The Crew 2, Ubisoft's upcoming racing game sequel, will arrive on the 16th of March, 2018.

- In anticipation for the upcoming THE IDOLM@STER Side M anime series this October, there will be an "Episode of Jupiter" prologue special airing at the end of September.

TTFN!!!

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: North Korean shipments to Syria intercepted according to UN report

Two North Korean shipments heading to a Syrian government agency responsible for the country's chemical weapons programme were intercepted in the past six months, according to a confidential United Nations report on North Korea sanctions violations.

The report by a panel of independent experts, which was submitted to the UNSC earlier this month, gave no details on when or where the interdictions occurred or what the shipments contained.

In a 37-page report, the panel is investigating reported prohibited chemical, ballistic missile, and conventional arms cooperation between Syria and the Korean Peninsula. Two member states interdicted Syria-bound shipments while another member state informed the panel that it had reasons to believe that the goods were part of a KOMID contract with Syria.

KOMID is the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation, which was blacklisted by the Security Council eight years ago and described as Pyongyang’s key arms dealer and exporter of equipment related to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons. In March 2016 the council also blacklisted two KOMID representatives in Syria.

According to the UN experts, the consignees are Syrian entities designated as shell companies for Syria's Scientific Studies and Research Centre, which has overseen the country's chemical weapons programme since the 1970's.

Source: Reuters

Let's Do The News! (August 22, 2017)

- Senator Richard Gordon is willing to surrender his post from the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. This is his response to the the proposal of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV to replace the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee head. Senator Gordon believes that the request to remove him as chairman of the said panel was due to a misunderstanding between him and Sen. Trillanes.

- Resigned BOC Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon welcomes President Rodrigo Duterte's decision to replace him with PDEA Chief Isidro Lapena. Faeldon claims that the replacement was ‘the best for the country’ because if he remained in office it would only cause the public division amidst the administration’s battle against illegal drugs.

- The Marikina River is now on alert level two after water levels reached 16 meters past 0800 local time today.

- Millions of Americans earlier today witnessed the first total solar eclipse to cross the continental US in seven decades. The eclipse was first seen on Central Oregon at around 1017 hours Pacific time and then the path of totality ended at around 1436 hours Eastern time in South Carolina.

- After being jailed for unlawful assembly, Hong Kong democracy leader Joshua Wong was summoned again to court for an ongoing contempt of court charge related to the 2014 Umbrella Movement.

- The new BMW F90 M5 was unveiled and for the first time, it comes with the brand new M xDrive that allows the new, 4.4L V8 Twin Turbo, 600PS, M5, to be switched at either all-wheel drive with DSC on or rear-wheel drive with DSC off.

2018 BMW M5

- In celebration of the unveiling of the new BMW M5, check out the new trailer for the upcoming Need For Speed Payback game where the new BMW M5, exclusive to this game, outrun the Fortune Valley cops.

- Porsche will unveil the new, third-generation Cayenne, on the 29th of August.

- Koenigsegg unveiled the Regera Aero Package at last weekend's Monterey Car Week, featuring 385kg of downforce and the world's first 800v electrical system in a production car.



- The first teaser trailer for the upcoming Shenmue III game is now up. The sequel game arrives on 2018 for the PS4 and PC.

TTFN!!!