Let's Do The News! (September 26, 2017)

- The Presidential Security Group is looking into a shooting incident inside Malacañang Park but has yet to issue a statement. Reports told that an unidentified officer was shot in the complex that houses the elite multi-agency unit tasked with securing the president and other VIPs.

- A low-pressure area will continue to cause rainfall over the Metro Manila and other parts of the country according to PAGASA.

- According to Human Rights Chair Chito Gasco, the Philippine government appears to be "in denial" over the human rights situation in the country as it rejected 55 recommendation of UN member-states in its Universal Periodic Review.

- Various government agencies, LGUs, and private establishments are expected to partake in tomorrow's national quake drill set by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

- The father of the slain UST law student Horacio Castillo III said that the Aegis Juris fraternity treated his son like an animal.

- The UN human rights office said in a report yesterday that Russia is violating international law in Crimea, including by imposing Russian citizenship on its people and deliberately transferring hundreds of prisoners and detainees to prisons in Russia.

- Iraqi Kurds cast ballots in their autonomous region and in a wide sweep of captured territories on whether to seek independence from Baghdad, a historic vote that has also raised tensions and fears of instability. Over three million people are expected to vote across the three provinces that officially make up the autonomous region and in the disputed territories.

- Porsche unveiled the Panamera Sport Turismo Turbo S E-Hybrid, which is their range-topping variant powered by a combination of a turbocharged 4.0L V8 engine and an electric motor, generating 680HP of overall power output, 850Nm of torque, and 3L/100km of fuel economy.



- Toyota Motor Corporation remains the world's valuable automotive brand according to Interbrand's 2017 Best Global Brands list.

- THE IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls' Anastasia, in her Story of Revolving Stars costume, has arrived in her 1/8th scale figure glory. This beauty of a figure is now available to order starting at 13,704 Yen plus tax and delivery and arrives this August 2018.



- Little demon Yoshiko Tsushima joins the Lovelive! Sunshine!! figma range. Yours to preorder starting at 5,833 Yen plus tax and delivery and arrives this March.



- New Pokemon Sun and Moon toys from Takara Tomy on the radar! First off, there's a Rotom Dex DX toy coming this November and this replica of Rotom Dex has over 400 Pokemon from the Alola Region on data. You can engage search field and roam around the area in search for Pokemon. Using the Rotom Signal feature, it can be your personal companion in the upcoming Ultra Sun and Moon games. Pokemon joining the Moncolle EX figure range this November are Necrozma, Dusk Forme Lycanroc, and Ash's Pikachu unleashing 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt. In preparation for the upcoming Z-Power Ring toy's simultaneous launch with Ultra Sun and Moon, special set, starting at 4,990 Yen plus tax, not only includes the Z-Power Ring but also a special Pikachu Ga-ole disk, Z Power Collection Board, and six Z-crystals including Pikashunium Z, Lycanium Z, Waterium Z, Firium Z, and two new ones to be revealed later. In addition, check out the Z-Crystal sets for 999 Yen each. The Ash set includes Electrium Z, Normalium Z, Alorainium Z, Deciduum Z, and Incinerium Z. The Rotom Dex set includes Steelium Z, Psychium Z, Bugium Z, Pikachurium Z, and Marshadium Z. The Lana and Lillie set includes Fairium Z, Icium Z, Eevium Z, Mewium Z, and Primarium Z. Or for 1,190 Yen, you can check out the Collection Board Set which includes a Grassium Z crystal.

- Check out the trailer for the 2018 Tomb Raider film starring award-winning actress Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft. Like the rebooted game it was based on, this film sees Lara as she tries to survive her first adventure and uncover the island's deadly secret.



TTFN!!!

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

The high-octane thrilling and downright outrageous Kingsman returns for their latest mission, only this time this will be the most challenging mission yet as they're going to take on a powerful shadowy organization bent on world domination.

Kingsman:
The Golden Circle

In this sequel called Kingsman: The Golden Circle, we regroup with the heroes as their headquarters was destroyed by unknown assailants, known to themselves as The Golden Circle. With the world's at stake, the now defenseless Kingsman join forces with their American counterpart known as Statesman as they will risk everything to stop The Golden Circle before they can unleash armageddon.

This film stars Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Taron Egerton, Edward Holcroft, Sophie Cookson, and Vinnie Jones, among many others.

Like the original Kingsman film, this sequel is balls-out lunacy from start to finish for a spy flick where they turn everyday objects into deadly weapons, something that would put Bond and Bourne into shambles and while this film is downright absurd, it's a hilarious rollercoaster ride that will leave viewers in shock and they will leave the cinemas asking just how crazy this film is and when compared to the original Kingsman, this sequel will give the viewers some steel rain.

Just when we thought the world's gone mad these days, this mad sequel to the Kingsman film is even madder than it is now and be warned; this is not for the faint at heart.

My rating: 3.6 out of 5.

2017 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup - ISM Connect 300

It maybe Game Day for football fanatics in America but the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup race is all about drivers looking for some serious oval racing action and in New Hampshire, which is the case of the ISM Connect 300 race, this is no exception to the madness NASCAR delivers.

In this second race of the Playoffs, 16 drivers fought for the chance to have two more opportunities to advance to the round of twelve.

In the 10th lap, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. started this playoff race getting into the wall again, causing this race to restart. In lap 75, Martin Truex Jr. claimed his 19th stage win and that helps him advance through the round of twelve. In Lap 149, all hell broke loose when Kevin Harvick's car went out of control and went out in smoke, causing a major crash in New Hampshire. Still, the #18 car managed to thread the needle and ends up the stage 2 winner. In Lap 217, the #88 suffered some left rear damage but Earnhardt Jr. keeps on going. In Lap 262, Kasey Kahne's car is facing some problems that need to be fixed at the pit stop, presumably the tires.

After 300 laps of mayhem in New Hampshire, Kyle Busch wins the race, making his third win of the year.

Next race is at Dover for the Apache Warrior 400 race on the 1st of October.

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: Trump issues new travel restrictions

US President Donald Trump imposed travel restrictions on North Korea and seven other nations which will face travel restrictions beginning the 18th of October.

It is a result of a review after Trump's original travel ban was challenged in the US court. It reads "North Korea does not cooperate with the United States government in any respect and fails to satisfy all information-sharing requirements."

The travel ban on North Korea follows an earlier ban on US nationals traveling to the reclusive state.

Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said President Trump doesn't want a nuclear war with North Korea and his administration will do everything to prevent that from happening. This comes as Trump has engaged in an escalating war on words against North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the nation's nuclear and missile program, including their sixth nuclear test.

In spate of word war between two leaders, Pyongyang staged a mass rally in support of Kim Jong Un. Tens of thousands of North Korean citizens took to the streets of Pyongyang over the weekend, denouncing the United States.

A number of speeches were deliver by senior regime officials during the hour-long event, where they reiterated Kim Jong-un's message from the previous day. The protests doesn't stop here. North Korea sent an open letter to global parlaments, calling for their support to denounce US President Trump's aggressive words at last week's UN General Assembly.

It called on all countries that "love, independence, peace and justice" to fulfill their duty to maintain their values and warned that President Trump's threats could spark an all-out nuclear war.

Source: Arirang News

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

- The Philippines vowed to probe the death of two Vietnamese fishermen during a sea chase incident last Saturday. Five other Vietnamese fishermen were taken into custody after they were spotted fishing within the Philippine exclusive economic zone 34 nautical miles off Cape Bolinao in Pangasinan.

- The camp of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Larry Gadon against her is  "totally false and baseless" and should be dismissed.

- Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano assures the United Nations that their Armed Forces of the Philippines will retake Marawi City from ISIS-inspired terror groups.

- Players, coaches, and owners across the NFL condemned US President Donald Trump's call to fire the players who kneel during the national anthem.

- Ride-sharing service UBER lost their license to operate in the streets of London, effective on the end of September, according to the Transport for London. The local government body responsible for the transport system in Greater London said that the ride hailing app company is lacking in safety measures and is “not fit and proper” enough to hold a license.

- The second-generation MG6 was unveiled in China and plans to return to the British market by next year.

2018 MG MG6

- See who wins this year's WORLD'S GREATEST DRAG RACE by Motor Trend.

- Subaru will display the VIZIV PERFORMANCE CONCEPT at October's Tokyo Motor Show and in addition, the BRZ STi Sport Cool Grey Khaki Edition and the STi S208 will be appearing at this show as well.

- To honor the second season of Osomatsu-san, there will be a stage play coming this February.

TTFN!!!

2018MY Audi RS3 Sportback und Limousine

About two years ago, Audi launched their most powerful hot hatch in the stable, the Audi RS3. With its 2.5L 5-cylinder turbocharged engine developing 367PS of power and 465Nm of torques, it could have been the most powerful hot hatch ever created by the Volkswagen Group until the currently-facelifted A45 AMG backlashed it with 380PS of power, which is kinda sad. Now, there's a new RS3 that promises to revolve the patterns in super hot hatch hierarchy and more.

2018 Audi RS3 Sportback

2018 Audi RS3 Limousine

Here it is, the new version and at first glance, it looks slightly different than the old, pre-facelifted RS3 until you get to see what's under the bonnet. The 2.5L TFSi engine as we all know it is now upgraded so now it produces 400PS of power and 480Nm of torque. Mated to an S Tronic seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and quattro permanent all-wheel drive, it can go from 0 to 100kph in 4.1 seconds and top speed normally limited to 250kph. 280 if you go for an optional performance package.

The fun doesn't stop there because apart from the added performance, there's also the first-ever RS3 Limousine variant, delivering the same thrills from the Sportback, now with the four-door saloon look to make your day as thrilling as the Taken trilogy films, whatever it takes.

It's great to have Audi reclaimed its rightful throne from Mercedes-AMG for their most powerful hot hatch ever made and with all that power output that surprises speedo boys the most, have the dynamics ever changed now that the RS3 has been revised since our first encounter? Uh, sadly, I don't think so.

Of course, even though the RS3 has been given wider track and a sporty suspension setup, it still is very mild to drive in the corners and even with the quattro all-wheel-drive system, it just feels like an overpowered front-wheel-drive car that can fracture an arm in seconds when turning hard on the bends, especially those with prosthetics. This car can hurt you more than the car itself and even if you try turning hard on the corners, it would be very difficult for a mild and menacing car to get out so you need to be prepared with some painkillers while going on a track day with this car.

What about taking it on the normal roads? Well, because this is a high-performance variant of the Audi A3, be it saloon or hatchback if you may, chances are they might notice you slightly because they can easily mistake you for a normal A3 and of course, being slightly incognito in the public roads, there are some features that can draw some attention to the public apart from the noise that doesn't seem too intimidating to some. One such noticing feature is the special RS screen on the Audi Virtual Cockpit, which is great on track days, but on normal roads, this is a clear example of why this world has gone with the dogs. Think of it like the villain from Austin Powers going on a shopping spree at the department store and that would be proper comedy if you take this hot Audi for a stroll around the metropolis but this is no laughing matter because in terms of accommodating with the normal crowd, that sport-tuned suspension adds some drama to your daily commute and taking it from points A to B, there's going to be some yelling to do when they confide about you and that RS3.

The pricing is what you should be worried about because the Audi RS3 Sportback is priced at 54,600 euros, and the saloon starts at 55,900 euros and they're about more expensive than its rivals from Mercedes-AMG. Sure, their newest RS3 range reclaimed the throne from the A45/GLA45 but in terms of dynamics, they're still mild and menacing because they still don't have the aesthetics of a Ford Focus RS and without it, be prepared for some cruising with a bruising. 

Photo: AUDI AG

Driving Music Vol. 81

Going home from your relative's house? From the mall? From a faraway park? From a hotel? From a fancy restaurant? From a party? When you're on a road trip back home, have some Driving Musics to listen at while being stuck at traffic or on the go, especially when you have kids sleeping behind you after that long day.

Turn up or turn down the volume in case of kids sleeping because here comes another set of driving musics to listen at.

1) Voices by Technotronic - from a Kia Sephia commercial

2) 風の回廊 (コリドー) by 山下達郎 - from a Honda Quint Integra commercial

3) Kool It Man by Liftoff - from a Kia Mohave commercial

4) Like A Dream by Gio Aria - from a Kia Mohave commercial

5) Unforgettable by Natalie Cole and Nat King Cole - from a Honda Integra commercial

6) Eat the Rich by Aerosmith - from a Honda Integra commercial

7) None of the Above by Duran Duran - from a Honda Integra commercial

8) I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing by Aerosmith - from a Nissan Elgrand commercial

9) O Mio Babbino Caro from Gianni Schicchi - from a Daewoo Arcadia commercial

10) El Sol Sueno - from a Kia Opirus commercial

Driving Music from Leopaul's Blog is the segment where solves every car enthusiasts' questions about the title of the song of car commercials...with the risk of MATCHED THIRD PARTY CONTENT on their status. It's your jam. Drive to the Music You Love.