When this season began in Australia last March, the 2018 Formula 1 season served as the start of the new era judging from the new logo, the controversial halo cockpits, a new owner, and so on, but despite being refreshed from zero to one, some things never change such as the heated rivalry between Hamilton and Vettel, Raikkonen being a party crasher, more shooeys for Daniel Ricciardo, and more. But everything was overshadowed by Fernando Alonso's farewell to the sport as he's preparing to move on to pasture's new.
Lewis Hamilton was crowned World Champion in Mexico, Mercedes-Benz crowned Constructor's Champion in Brazil, that's what sum the F1 2018 season up but it all goes down to one last race of the season and that is the night race at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit where this finale all goes down to everyone on the grid, including the world champion.
Lewis Hamilton, the world champion, dominated the Abu Dhabi crowd with a spectacular win after defeating the likes of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Alonso, who bid Formula 1 goodbye, finished 11th. Vettel set the fastest lap time of the race with 1:40.967.
Nico Hulkenberg got involved in a frightening barrel roll but survived. Then, Kimi Raikkonen's final day with Ferrari ended in a bittersweet retirement due to mechanical issues. Sad way for the Finn to end his day as a Ferrari driver.
The final standing goes like this; Hamilton ends the season with 408 points, Vettel with 320 points, and Raikkonen 251 points.
Hamilton being world champion, Alonso bids Formula 1 goodbye, 20 drivers started and finished the season, that really sums up this season of Formula 1 and that is the end of F1 2018. See you next year!
The MNL48 girls announced at the recent Aitakatta! Gustong Makita!Handshake Event held in Movie Stars Cafe that their second single is titled Pag-Ibig Fortune Cookie, the Tagalized version of the hit AKB48 song Koisuru Fortune Cookie.
The folks from ABS-CBN's StarMusic and HalloHallo Entertainment streamed the music video of Pag-Ibig Fortune Cookie on the official MNL48 Youtube Channel.
Their second single is now available to pre-order at the official HalloHallo online store and those who pre-ordered it will receive a free ticket for the next handshake event.
Nice work, MNL48! Be sure to follow MNL48 on Twitter and Facebook for more!
The 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship sums up in several moments in the course of this season. This season marks the beginning of the ZB Commodore Supercar, the end of the Falcon Supercar, the end of Craig Lowndes' full-time career, the rivalry between Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen, a rainy end at Surfers Paradise that named Lowndes the Pirtek Cup winner, there's so much to talk about what happened in the course of 31 races but for now, all eyes in the epic Newcastle finale where Gisbergen and McLaughlin are in a middle of a no-holds-barred fight for the title.
Beginning at the last Saturday of the season, Shane van Gisbergen's win has been stripped due to an alleged refuelling breach at his third pitstop, resulting to a 25-second penalty. With van Gisbergen penalized and disqualified due to refuelling breach, Scott McLaughlin takes the win. And in the final race of the season, McLaughlin is named 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Champion after finishing second to David Reynolds, with chief rival Shane van Gisbergen only fourth.
That really is a Supercars season to remember and with McLaughlin, a Shell V-Power Racing driver of the now-departed Ford Falcon Supercar, takes the win, that really is a send-off Aussie Blue Oval fans worth remembering. However, McLaughlin's win was easily overshadowed by Lowndes' farewell to full-time racing as well as other drivers making departures as they move on to their new teams.
This is the end of the 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. See you next year!
- The Philippine-Chinese cooperation, particularly in infrastructure development, is important as Filipinos will benefit from it, according to Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar.
- The Philippine Information Agency yesterday launched a book series that centers the nation's initiatives and achievements in information and media in the past three decades.
- The Metro Manila Development Authority launched a development plan for the National Capital Region that seeks to turn Metro Manila into a competitive metropolis int he East Asian region.
- Britain says it reached agreement during overnight talks with the European Commission on the draft text of a political declaration laying out the terms for Britain’s “smooth and orderly” exit from the European Union.
- Pope Francis named the Vatican’s top sex abuse investigator and a close U.S. ally to an organizing committee for a February abuse prevention summit that has become a high-stakes credibility test following a new eruption of the scandal in the U.S. and elsewhere this year.
- Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was in the United Arab Emirates on Friday, on his first tour abroad since the killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.
- Indian authorities will launch a major security operation at the ruins of 16th-century mosque in Ayodhya on Sunday when tens of thousands of Hindu monks and religious leaders gather to urge the government to build a new Hindu temple on the disputed site.
- Niki Lauda promises his return to his Formula 1 role soon following his recovery from a lung transplant.
- Check out Kamen Rider Zi-O's newest armors in the upcoming Heisei Generations FOREVER film.
- The Real Madrid denied claims that their club captain Sergio Ramos failed a doping test after 2017 Champions League Final.
- Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics plans his early-to-mid-30's retirement from basketball.
- Alvin Pasaol announced that he will play with the UE Red Warriors for one more season.
Forza Horizon 4 is one of the few games that pay tribute to Land Rover's 70th anniversary and this Defender, a descendant of legendary Land Rover offroaders in the past, is the icing in the cake that celebrates the best of Britain's legendary utility vehicle maker known for go-anywhere offroaders like this to their luxury offerings such as the Range Rover.
The Defender is Land Rover's legendary masterpiece that helped shaped the name into the offroad specialist we know today and for almost seventy years, this tough, go-anywhere legend keeps writing its own stories even when Land Rover stopped making one in the UK a few years ago. As a descendant of the first Land Rovers in history, the Defender is long remembered for its toughness, ruggedness, strength, and capability that can't be matched by other offroad legends.
It's an honor for the producers to make the Land Rover Defender one of the cover cars of Forza Horizon 4 apart from the downforce-hungry McLaren Senna hypercar because both these cars are role models of what made Britain great and as Britain is on the brink of exiting the European Union in the springtime, rest assured that the cars made by the Brits for the Brits will be long remembered by their neighbors and it's hard to miss these machines when Britain closed its doors to all of Europe because of the Brexit stuff.
As a matter of fact, that gives me an idea. Because Forza Horizon 4 pays tribute to Land Rover's 70th anniversary, I want to give the Defender a very special task to show that it's made to go "above and beyond."
Me and the Defender are taking on The Gauntlet, which is the longest Cross Country race in-game, and due to its length, it's difficult to film such a feat with the capture feature of my Xbox One because it is limited to 10 minutes to record it, so what I do is tune the Defender to the max so I can film its glory at ease, well sort of. Anyway, after numerous doublethink, it's time to roll the clip to see what the Defender is made for even if it's tweaked to the highest degree.
You know what? If they update the Xbox One to increase the recording limit by another five minutes, I wouldn't have to pause the game when the recording ends and then unpause it for part two. Still, despite video issues, the Defender accomplished The Gauntlet and we won. Just.
The Defender is one of the key offroaders in Land Rover's 70th-year history and its legendary offroad capability has been shared with numerous offerings such as the Discovery and the Range Rover. The Defender might be gone but its legacy lives on and rest assured, there's no substitute for the legend itself. That is the bottom line.
In celebration of Bubble Gang's 23rd anniversary, the country's longest-running and funniest comedy gag show in history explodes with what Bea Bangenge said "The most ambitious gag crossover in Bubble history." It's called BUBBLE GANG BENTE TRES ORAS and this explosive special shows us what happens when different characters collide because of one small problem.
It all started when Bea Bangenge got in a rough day when her mum changed the wi-fi password and she goes alongside her friend Toto in search for free wi-fi. Throughout the explosive special, they've ran into different characters such as Mommy Vicky and Mommy Karen, the Balitang Ina reporters, Antonietta, Mr. Assimo, who's got a Buhay Ng Bakla session coming up, Don Cantoni plotting to bring down Bonggang Bongbong, the Sundot Balita reporter, the girl from Ikaw at ang Ina, LeBrown James preparing for a big presscon, Kim of Patikim Ni Kim, Diego doing Atlit, the Jungle Belles, and Tata Lino.
This explosive special is packed with twists and turns aplenty. Bea and Don Cantoni's phones got swapped, LeBrown James got blown up, Kim and Antonietta got kidnapped by Don Cantoni, Bea and Toto save Kim and Antonietta, Jungle Belles to the rescue, it's explosive from start to finish!
The most ambitious gag crossover in Bubble history, as what Bea Bangenge said, is hands down the most explosive Bubble Gang anniversary special and because it's on its 23rd year, expect a more explosive Bubble Gang coming your way every Friday nights!
Wreck-it-Ralph and Vanellope are back for the Thanksgiving weekend and this time, the wrecking duo are breaking through the biggest world of all; the internet. How hard can it be for the duo to crash through the information superhighway?
Disney's Ralph Breaks the Internet
Ralph Breaks the Internet, the sequel to the 2012 Disney animated film Wreck-it-Ralph, sees our favorite duo of Ralph, the villain of Fix-it-Felix, and Vanellope, the heroine of the Sugar Rush racing game, break through the internet to find a replacement part to save Sugar Rush.
These guys sure know that they're going to break more than firewalls to save the game but there's so much stuff to talk about the long-awaited sequel to the film that caters even the most discerning video game enthusiasts. Video game references aside, Ralph Breaks the Internet features so many internet references we all know about. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, those emojis, this film had them all. There's even special cameos from Star Wars, Marvel superheroes, and Disney Princesses as well, making this film the ideal party crasher just as Vanellope crashes the Disney Princesses like a boss. Get it?
Compared to the Wreck-it-Ralph film six years ago, this sequel film still feels like the original but with so much internet references capable of wrecking our heads, this film surely wrecked our minds with joy, sadness, disgust, anger, and fear. Oh wait, that was from another film, but still, it was impressive to see all of the things viewers said about this film, creating a melting pot of what a Disney flick fit for the Thanksgiving weekend should be and above all, we really like it.
The head of the UN’s atomic watchdog on Thursday called on North Korea to allow inspectors back into the country to monitor its nuclear program.
Speaking at a board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Director General Yukiya Amano noted that Pyongyang had in September talked about denuclearization measures including the “permanent dismantlement of the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon” — a reactor where it produces plutonium.
Amano said there has been activity observed at Yongbyon, but “without access the agency cannot confirm the nature and purpose of these activities.”
At a news conference later Thursday, he said he couldn’t elaborate on when exactly the activity was observed.
IAEA inspectors were expelled from North Korea in 2009 but Amano said the agency continues to prepare for their possible re-admittance.
“The agency continues to enhance its readiness to play an essential role in verifying (North Korea’s) nuclear program if a political agreement is reached among countries concerned,” he said. “I again call upon (North Korea) to comply fully with its obligations under relevant resolutions of the U.N. Security Council and of the IAEA board, to cooperate promptly with the agency and to resolve all outstanding issues.”
On the other hand, Amano told board members that Iran continues to abide by the deal reached in 2015 with major world powers that aimed at preventing Tehran from building atomic weapons in exchange for economic incentives.
He reiterated the agency’s findings in a report distributed to member states earlier this month that “Iran is implementing its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.”
The issue has grown more complicated since the U.S. withdrew unilaterally in May from the deal and then re-imposed sanctions. Iran’s economy has been struggling ever since and its currency has plummeted in value.
The other signatories to the deal — Germany, Britain, France, Russia and China — are continuing to try to make it work.
Amano stressed that “it is essential that Iran continues to fully implement” its commitments.
In its full report, the IAEA said its inspectors continue to have access to all sites in Iran that it needs to visit and that inspectors confirmed Iran has kept within limits of heavy water and low-enriched uranium stockpiles.
“The agency continues to verify the non-diversion of nuclear material declared by Iran under its safeguards agreement,” Amano said. “Evaluations regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran continue.”
- With Typhoon Samuel out of the Philippine Area of Responsibility, a new typhoon is expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility this weekend. To be called Tomas, PAGASA said that Typhoon Man-Yi (international name) was 1,400 kilometers east of Southern Luzon as of Friday morning.
- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte does not see any need to declare nationwide martial law to maintain peace and order. The President has argued that the government could apprehend or shoot persons involved in criminal activities without having to declare martial law across the country.
- Former Health Secretary Janette Garin has filed a response to denials of former Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Ubial concerning the liability over the deaths of children who received shots of the Dengvaxia anti-dengue vaccine.
- A panel from the Congress has approved a measure that would prohibit the live streaming and broadcasting of cockfights in radio, television, internet and other social media platform for betting and gambling purposes.
- US President Donald Trump demanded “some common sense” from America’s judges and directed his ire at a liberal-leaning appeals court. He professed respect for Chief Justice John Roberts, with whom he is engaged in a startling public dispute over the independence of the judiciary, yet shrugged off the Republican appointee as someone who “can say what he wants.”
- Meanwhile, President Trump hinted that he might soon visit American troops in Afghanistan for the first time.
- Frigid weather and blustery winds didn’t chill the enthusiasm at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, where spectators bundled up in blankets and sleeping bags and the giant character balloons flew lower than usual.
- The opening of a KFC outlet in Kiev, in a landmark building that played a central role in Ukraine’s fateful 2013-14 revolution, sparked public anger and protests that forced it Thursday to temporarily shut its doors.
- The second-generation Range Rover Evoque was unveiled with the addition of the new PHEV and three-cylinder petrol Ingenium engine coming soon.
2020 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
- TBS and Diomedea cancel production of the Girlish Number Shura anime series.
- A scientist of the Canadian Museum of Nature named a newly discovered species of bettle after baseball player Jose Bautista.
- ICYMI: Department of Interior and Local Government and ABS-CBN resolved their issues earlier this week related to the Ang Probinsyano program.
Ken Block's next masterpiece, Gymkhana 10, is coming fast and his latest installment marks the tenth anniversary of his Gymkhana videos that burned the internet like rubber. Hard to believe it's been ten years, huh? Anyway, with Gymkhana 10's going to be the most ambitious Gymkhana video in Hoonigan history, the folks from Forza Horizon 4 brought us the machines that Ken Block's going to be used in Gymkhana 10.
One of the star cars of Gymkhana 10 is this, a legendary Ford Escort Cosworth from the early 90's, sort of. Back in April, Ken Block announced his multi-series racing plan for 2018 as he competes in the new Americas Rally Cross Championship, World Rallycross, Gymkhana Grid, and a few events from the 2018 WRC. This Escort Cosworth's one of them and it's been tweaked to compete at such events. However, during last summer's New England Forest Rally, his Escort Cossie caught fire during Stage 4 of the rally. He and his co-driver Alex Gelsomino were third placers when the disaster occurred. His Cossie may be gone in cinders but like that General Leia from Star Wars films, it has a role in Gymkhana 10 and it's already gone gold so you can see this car in the clip this winter.
Next is the Hoonitruck. Based on the 1977 Ford F-150, this slammed pick-up in Gymkhana Ten has all of the familiar bits and bobs from his Hoonicorn but unlike the thousand-horse beast that you'll be seeing in the video as well, the Hoonitruck is powered by a customized Ford Performance V6 EcoBoost engine from the Ford GT Le Mans development program. It produces 914bhp of power and 702ft-lb of torque, mated to a 6-speed Sadev gearbox. It took them two years to make it.
And lastly for now, and basically a Forzathon Prize Car that I got recently, is the hero of the Gymkhana 10 video. The Hoonicorn. Although the Hoonicorn's got some new clothes for the show, the mechanical remains the same as the last time we saw it on Climbkhana. It's still the V2 Hoonicorn, so it still comes with a fully custom twin-turbo setup that blows 21lbs of boost to a 410cu methanol-powered engine, producing a monstrous 1,400 horsepower sending through all four wheels, enough to melt all of its tires completely.
Eager to see how the Gymkhana 10 stars reacts in Britain, I took a leisure drive round Holyrood, Edinburgh, to get to know these machines better by all means. All means, alright, because I'm going to see how much star power these Gymkhana 10 stars behave or my name ain't Kamote Rider...Decade. It's time to take you on the journey to the decade, sort of.
That was one heck of a crash course for me to get to know the stars of Gymkhana 10 and it's going to take hours to master these tire reapers but I had a lot of fun getting to know these machines. So, is this thorough enough for you...Kamote Rider Decade?
Ken Block says that he'll drive five cars in Gymkhana Ten but in-game, we have three as of now so when will the other two Gymkhana Ten stars arrive in the game? Good question, though, because the remaining two might be popping up in the coming weeks so watch for it but in the meantime, feel free to enjoy the new Hoonicorn, the Hoonitruck, and the Escort Cossie that Ken Block drove and then burned anytime you want.
Gymkhana 10 will premiere on Prime Video on the 7th of December and then on the official Hoonigan YouTube channel on the 17th of December and be sure to watch The Gymkhana Files on Prime Video for some in-depth behind the scenes of some of the Gymkhana clips the Hoonigan boys made.
South Korean officials on Thursday began to dismantle the country’s largest canine slaughterhouse complex, as animal rights activists push to end the custom of eating dog meat.
About one million dogs are eaten a year in South Korea, often as a summertime delicacy with the greasy red meat — invariably boiled for tenderness — believed to increase energy.
But the tradition has earned criticism abroad and has declined as the nation increasingly embraces the idea of dogs as pets instead of livestock, with eating them now something of a taboo among young South Koreans.
The Taepyeong-dong complex in Seongnam city, south of Seoul, housed at least six dog slaughterhouses that could hold several hundred animals at a time, and was a major source of meat for dog meat restaurants across the country.
It will be cleared over two days and transformed into a public park, Seongnam city officials said.
Animal rights campaigners slammed its operators for mistreating dogs and killing them cruelly — including electrocuting them before butchering them in the sight of other caged dogs.
Activists found electrocution equipment in the complex and a pile of dead dogs abandoned on the floor when they visited the site on Thursday, according to US animal rights group Humane Society International.
“This is a historic moment,” Korean Animal Rights Advocates (KARA) said in a blog post. “It will open the door for more closures of dog meat slaughterhouses across the country, expediting the decline of the overall dog meat industry.”
According to a survey last year 70 percent of South Koreans do not eat dogs, but far fewer — about 40 percent — believe the practice should be banned. It also found 65 percent support raising and slaughtering dogs in more humane conditions.
There are currently no laws on how to treat or slaughter canines for meat in South Korea. While farmers have urged Seoul to include dogs under livestock welfare regulations, animal rights groups oppose doing so, seeking complete abolition instead.
- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte fired Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council secretary general Falconi Milliar for alleged corruption. In dismissing another erring government official, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo maintained that the President has zero tolerance for corruption in government.
- Citing the increasing number of common law relationships or “live-ins” in the country, the House Committee on Revision of Laws has jumpstarted its deliberation on a measure granting members of the House of Representatives and provincial governors the authority to solemnize marriage.
- The Department of Justice is concluding its preliminary investigation on the second batch of complaints against former Health Secretary Janette Garin and her co-respondents concerning the deaths of eight children who were inoculated with Dengvaxia.
- Denmark has decided to suspend approvals of weapon and military equipment exports to Saudi Arabia over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the situation in Yemen, its foreign minister said on Thursday.
- A man was charged with killing one woman and sexually assaulting two others after herding them at gunpoint into the back room of a suburban St. Louis religious supplies shop.
- A Taliban assault on a military convoy in southwestern Badghis province in Afghanistan left four soldiers killed. Mohammad Nasir Nazari, a member of the Badghis provincial council, says the ambush by the Taliban insurgents on the convoy traveling early on Thursday through the provincial capital of Qalay-e-Now, also wounded seven soldiers.
- The head of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency that the West has blamed for a string of brazen attacks died on Wednesday after “a serious and long illness,” the Russian defense ministry said. Reports cited the ministry as saying Igor Korobov, 62, who ran the spy agency since 2016, had been made a Hero of Russia for his service in the post, the highest state award.
- Robert Kubica returns to Formula 1 and he will join alongside George Russell for the Williams F1 team.
- McLaren teases the upcoming Spider variant of the 720S ahead of their December 8 unveiling.
- The husband of UFC flyweight Rachel Ostovich was arrested on suspicion of second-degree attempted murder.
