Let's Do The News! (October 6, 2017)

- President Rodrigo Duterte said he fired two Malacanang officials for "their influence" as he reiterated his promise to weed out corruption in the government. Duterte first announced the termination of the two Palace officials in his speech at the Agrilink, Food Link, Aqualink 2017 at the World Trade Center on Thursday night, but he did not elaborate.

- TV presenter Joey De Leon apologized to the public over his insensitive remark on depression. He said his family explained the gravity of his remarks on the mental illness that has claimed thousands of lives. De Leon made the comment when a contestant in a certain Eat Bulaga segment said her mother is suffering from depression.

- Senate President Koko Pimentel announced his six potential senatorial candidates of the administration PDP-Laban for the 2019 midterm elections.

- The Armed Forces of the Philippines said that there are 40 hostages still held by ISIS-linked terrorists in Marawi.

- Back to the Mandalay Massacre, the gunman behind the brutal attack last Sunday, Stephen Paddock, booked hotel rooms in Chicago during the Lollapalooza music festival earlier this year, according to reports.

- Toyota will display an 86-based GR HV Sports Concept at this month's Tokyo Motor Show. In addition, they will showcase the brand new sports utility van called the Tj Cruiser.

Toyota GR HV Sports Concept

Toyota Tj Cruiser

- Daihatsu will feature five concept cars in this month's Tokyo Motor Show.

- The fifth-generation Honda Odyssey gets a facelift for the 2018 with a redesigned exterior, new interior, and Honda Sensing. It's set to go on sale this November.

2018 Honda Odyssey

- Infinite Stratos returns with a new browser and app game featuring new and returning characters.

- Fancy a Dreamtech figure of THE IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls' Minami Nitta in her "Noble Venus" swimsuit? Well, it's finally unveiled and it's available to order starting at 12,800 Yen plus tax and delivery and arrives this January.

Dreamtech THE IDOLM@STER
Cinderella Girls Minami Nitta
Noble Venus

TTFN!!!

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: South Korea and US agrees for FTA amendment

South Korea and the United States have agreed to amend their bilateral free trade agreement to further strengthening their mutual benefits after a second round talks where held between Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong and his US counterpart Robert Lighthizer in Washington.

The Ministry of Trade, Energy and Industry says the two sides shared an understanding of a need after having extensive discussions on various issues related to the deal as well as the focus and direction of the amendment. With this, the ministry said it will carry out necessary procedures to begin negotiations for an amendment starting next week including a study, conducting public hearing and reports to the National Assembly.

Meanwhile, Russian leader Vladimir Putin claims he has been aware of North Korea's nuclear arms capability since 2001. According to reports, Putin said he was informed of Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal during his North Korean visit in 2001, four years before the regime officially claimed it had nuclear capabilities.

The Russian president added he was told by the late Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un's predecessor and father, that Seoul was within range of their conventional artillery.

Putin went on to criticize the slew of sanctions imposed on Pyongyang over the past decade, saying they have been ineffective in halting North Korea's nuclear program.

Source: Arirang News.

Let's Do The News! (October 5, 2017)

- Even former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. admits that his family has been a target of "fake news" despite history books and court jurisprudence belying the family's woven myths. "We have suffered from the lies of those fake news for thirty years," Bongbong said in Filipino at a forum in Quezon City on Thursday.

- Senator Antonio Trillanes IV denied his affair with former Anti-Money Laundering Council executive director Julia Bacay-Abad as claimed by President Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte accused Trillanes of having an affair with Abad, who gave the senator his bank records, according to him.

- The United States and Thailand listed the South China Sea dispute as the top regional security concern amid the North Korean crisis, highlighting the need for a peaceful settlement of disputes. US President Donald Trump and Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha met in the White House on Monday to reaffirm the two countries' alliance for common security.

- The girlfriend of the Las Vegas shooter said that she had no idea he was planning an attack on the Strip and is devastated for the victims. A lawyer for Marilou Danley read a statement from her after she was questioned by FBI agents in Los Angeles about her boyfriend, Stephen Paddock. Danley was out of the country at the time of Sunday's attacks and said Paddock sent her to see her family in her native Philippines. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump visited Las Vegas to meet with law enforcement officers and survivors of the Mandalay massacre that killed 58 people and nearly 500 others were hurt.

- Catalan President Carles Puigdemont draw flak against Spanish King Felipe for failing to heal the country's divisions after last Sunday's controversial referendum. The King delivers a stern warning in a TV address, saying Catalan leaders had acted "outside the law" and accusing them of "unacceptable disloyalty" for pressing ahead with their moves toward secession. Puigdemont is expected to formally declare Catalonia's independence on Monday.

- Titanic actress Kate Winslet reunites with director James Cameron for Avatar sequels.

- Toyota's flagship saloon, the Century, is now on its third generation, and it's set for its world premiere at the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show this month. The new model is now powered by a 5.0L V8 hybrid powerplant, which replaces the previous model's V12 engine.

2019 Toyota Century

- The Range Rover Sport has been given a minor change for the 2018 model year and this minor change introduces the first-ever Range Rover Sport P400e PHEV model.

2018 Land Rover Range Rover Sport

- Audi Sport plans to launch five new RS models by 2020.

- Even though the Malaysia GP is officially ended after last weekend's race, organizers of Sepang International Circuit has big plans to revise this racetrack by the next five years with the inclusion of a theme park and a hotel.

- Genji, one of our favorite Overwatch characters, gets his own figma. Complete with his different poses, shuriken, and his signature Dragonblade, he's now available to order at its affiliating shops and arrives this May 2018.

figma Genji

TTFN!!!

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: Traffic volume on Korea's expressways to reach higher

The volume of traffic will likely peak today, the day of Chuseok, as families go to and from their hometowns.

The Korea Expressway Corporation says more than five-point-eight million cars are expected to be on the move on north and southbound lanes, marking the highest daily volume of traffic in Korean history. The congestion will be the heaviest around 4:00-5:00 PM KST, and continue to be busy through Thursday morning. A trip from Busan to Seoul will roughly take 8 hours.

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Jim Matties has reaffirmed the US is "working towards talks with North Korea." He came to the defense of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, explaining that President Trump and his top diplomat were on the same page and looking for a diplomatic solution

He added that President Trump had guided Tillerson and himself to pursue diplomatic efforts, including initiatives from China, and that Tillerson's Chinese trip last week showed that "integrated effort."

Source: Arirang News

Let's Do The News! (October 4, 2017)

- President Rodrigo Duterte signed the law postponing the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to the second Monday of May next year.

- Some lawmakers are unhappy about being pawns to "fake news" against seven lawmakers who did not sign the resolution denouncing teenage killings. Senators Vicente Sotto III and Manny Pacquiao, in their statements, said they had been offended by reports that they and the five others didn't sign Senate Resolution 516 denouncing extrajudicial killings.

According to National Bureau of Investigation Cybercrime Division chief Manuel Eduarte, there is no government agency monitoring fake news on social media. The Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media led by Sen. Grace Poe opened the hearing on the filed resolutions by several senators on the “Proliferation of Fake and/or Misleading News and False Information.”

- The Bureau of Immigration said that Marilou Danley, the alleged companion of the Las Vegas shooter left the Philippines on Tuesday evening. Danley was identified by the police as the companion of 64-year-old gunman Stephen Paddock. She was initially a person of interest in the Las Vegas shooting that left at least 59 people dead and injured more than 500 others on October 1.

- A Catalan official  threatens Brussels to keep independent region in the European Union in the aftermath of the Catalonia Referendum last Sunday that a majority of citizens voted for independence and later ended in violent clash that left 800 people injured. Catalonian president Carles Puigdemont announced the region would break off from Spain within two days after receiving the final referendum results from abroad.

- South Sudanese government forces and rebels clashed in a northeaster state with both sides claiming victory, as East African countries attempt to restart talks aimed at ending the four-year civil war.

- Toyota previews their next-generation Crown with a concept model coming at this month's Tokyo Motor Show. The next Crown will be the first rear-wheel drive Toyota using the TNGA platform and it will arrive in the summer of 2018.

2017 Toyota Crown Concept

- Toyota ended their Australian car production after 54 years as the last Camry rolled off the Altona assembly line.

- Nissan will showcase their Leaf Nismo Concept and the Serena Nismo at this month's Tokyo Motor Show.

TTFN!!!

20 Years of Fallout

Fallout boys! Did you know 2017 marks the 20th anniversary of the Fallout game franchise?  Yes, it's that post-nuclear role playing game started as a PC game until it evolved into the ones we are familiar with, right up to the critically-acclaimed Fallout 4 the world's been raving about. Last survivors of the vault, time for a brief history lesson on the franchise that makes us prepare in an event of a nuclear hell broke loose in retro style.

Fallout

Fallout (PC/1997) - Developed by Black Isle Studios, the first Fallout game was launched by Interplay in late September 1997 and it was in the form of a Western-style role-playing game where players click onto a particular object to interact with. As the sole survivor of the vault, players have to  find effective means to survive the wasteland and it's not just combat, survival, and crafting that you had to worry about in Fallout, it's the communication with the other characters to worry about as one mistake from your mouth could be fatal.

Fallout 2 (PC/1998) - Sequel to last year's game, Fallout 2 is set 80 years after their first step towards the wastelands as players will venture across the wastelands as the descendant of the previous games' sole survivor. As the new sole survivor, they will have to venture towards the wastelands to find the Garden of Eden Creation Kit to save their village. But don't count on getting it too easy because throughout the course of your adventure, it takes skills and traits to survive the wasteland and complete the ultimate objective.

Fallout Tactics (PC/2001) - Spinoff to the Fallout games, this post-nuclear tactical combat game puts you in command of the Brotherhood of Steel as you explore various environments and battle against mutants and raiders as one of the nine different solider types to control.

Fallout 3 (PC/PS3/XBOX 360/2008) - With the Fallout games now fall under Bethesda's control, it's now better than ever with Fallout 3. Now evolved into a first-person shooter RPG, players pit their role as the sole survivor as they will step out from the comforts of Vault 101 and into the wastelands in search of their father, who defied the Overseer and left the Vault for good. Survival aside, its unique mechanics made this Fallout game one of the reasons to waste their time with, toying around with their post-nuclear sandbox.

Fallout New Vegas (PC/PS3 XBOX 360/2010) - As a follow-up to 2008's Fallout 3, New Vegas takes all the signature Fallout moments we love to the post-nuclear Vegas as players battle their way across the heat-blasted Mojave Wasteland to the neon drenched Vegas Strip, with a cast of characters, factions, and mutants along the way. You can either go by yourself of join a faction to reap the rewards, it's your choice.

Fallout Shelter (iOS/Android/2015) - Wondering what is like to live in the vaults from the Fallout games? This highly addictive app game puts you in charge as the overseer as you will manage the shelter dwellers by whatever means necessary. Feed them, build establishments, defend from Raiders, anything you want in the name of building the most inhabitable vault ever imagined.

Fallout 4 (PC/PS3/PS4/XBOX One/XBOX 360/2015) - The much awaited installment to the Fallout series, created by the same people that brought you the previous Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, was launched two years ago and it promises to be their most ambitious Fallout title to date. Fallout 4 features the next generation of open world gaming as players, both recurring veterans and battle-shy newcomers, take on the role of a survivor from Vault 111 as they venture through the nuclear-stricken wasteland and be whoever they want to be thanks to the new S.P.E.C.I.A.L system.

Happy 20th anniversary to the Fallout games and all of the sole survivors that made the wasteland their living playground since 1997. Be sure to keep an eye out on Fallout 4 VR coming soon on the PC.

*Brought to you by Vault-tec

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: National Foundation Day of Korea

Today, Korea celebrates the National Foundation Day, which marks the creation of the state of Gojoseon, commonly regarded as the first Korean National State. Korea's foundation dates back over four millenniums ago.

Since 1909, Koreans have celebrated National Foundation Day when it was commemorated on the third day of the tenth month on the lunar calendar.

Over 4.4 million drivers are estimated to hit the roads today for the 10-day extended holiday and congestion is predicted to be the heaviest on the 3rd and 4th day of Chuseok.  According to the Korea Transport Institute, almost 37 million people are expected to travel within Korea this year during Chuseok, up from 35 million last year.

Meanwhile, the United States has reaffirmed that there will be NO talks with North Korea on the regime's nuclear program. During a briefing, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the US has been clear that now is not the time for talks.

She said the only conversations to have taken place or would take place are on bringing back Americans detained in North Korea.

Onto the Kim Jong-nam murder trial, witnesses told a court in Malaysia that the half-brother of Kim Jong un staggered around after being attacked with VX nerve agent on the 13th of February at Kuala Lumpur International airport, killing him within 20 minutes.

The two women accused of assassinating him, one from Vietnam and one from Indonesia face the prospect of death by hanging if they are convicted of murder.

Both women said they have no idea who the victim was or that he had died until after they were arrested by the authorities.

Source: Arirang News