- The Supreme Court allowed three justices as well as court employees to appear before a House panel deliberating on impeachment charges against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. At yesterday's hearing, Rep. Reynaldo Umali from Oriental Mindoro, chair of the House justice panel, read part of the letter sent by Associate Justice Teresita De Castro asking for more time to apepar in the continuing impeachment proceeding.
- Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III filed a cyberlibel case against the person he said is behind the Silent No More PH blog and Facebook page. In his complaint, Sotto accused Edward Angelo "Cocoy" Dayao of violating Article 353 of the Revised Penal Code in relation to Section 4 (c) of Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
- Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald Dela Rosa has promised that the PNP will exercise extreme caution if President Duterte reinstate the police force in the ongoing war on drugs.
- Senior law enforcement officials from Southeast Asia have gathered in Bangkok for a joint response against human trafficking.
- Following her ASEAN lane incident, Maria Isabel Lopez's driving license was revoked and she will not be able to reapply for it for two years.
- Pope Francis meets Myanmar's civilian leader, Novel laureate Aung Sann Suu Kyi during his visit, a day after hosting the military general in charge of the crackdown on the country's Rohingya Muslim minority.
Yesterday, over 400 flights were cancelled and nearly 60,000 passengers are stranded when the Mount Agung volcano in Bali, Indonesia, has erupted. Mount Agung in the northeast of the island, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the airport, has continued erupting Tuesday, sending plumes of smoke and ash about 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) above the crater.
- Japanese conglomerate SoftBank bids to buy shares from ride-sharing company Uber at 30% off the current value.
- BMW unveiled specs of their next-generation electric powertrains that promises up to 700km of range and set for 2021 release.
The 66th Miss Universe pageant took place at Las Vegas and this is the first time a Miss Universe pageant took place twice a year, the first was since January when Miss France Iris Mittenaire won the title back then in the Philippines.
At the recently-concluded beauty pageant, South Africa's Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters was crowned as the 66th Miss Universe, beating the likes of Miss Colombia Laura Gonzalez and Miss Jamaica Davina Bennett.
Nel-Peters, age 22, hails from her home country's Western Cape recently earned her business management degree at North-West University. During the competition's Q&A, the recently crowned Miss Universe was asked about the most important issue she thought was facing women in the workplace.
"In some places, women get paid 75% of what men earn for doing the same job, working the same hours - and I do not believe that this is right," she said, "I think we should have equal work for equal pay for women all over the world."
Nel-Peters gained the title from Miss France's Iris Mittenaire and she will serve as the global ambassador under this title.
SIDE NOTE: Miss Philippines Rachel Peters was one of the top ten and despite she couldn't make it to the podium, she tried. Still, congratulations to the Miss Universe winners.
Russia's special representative for the six-party talks is in Seoul and will be meeting with his South Korean counterpart later in the coming hours to discuss the North Korea situation.
Igor Morgulov, who also acts as Moscow's vice-foreign minister, will meet with Lee Do-hoon, and the two are expected to reaffirm intentions to resolve the North Korea nuclear issue. Morgulov is the only representatie that Lee has not met yet since was appointed in September.
Meanwhile, China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, suggested over the weekend that the recent quiet from North Korea should be taken as an opportunity to try and restart the long-stalled six-prty talks with the regime.
- Having Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno arrested for not appearing at House hearings would be an empty and useless threat according to Rep. Edcel Lagman because there's no legal basis for arrest order against her.
- The Swedish government is raising issues with the Philippine government the issues on human rights, the conduct on the war of drugs, and the possible revival of capital punishment.
- Senator Grace Poe urged President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday to certify as urgent the pending emergency powers bill as the transportation crisis in the Philippines continues to worsen.
- PAGASA warns of possible flash floods starting next month as several weather systems may bring "above normal" rains in most parts of the country.
- Pope Francis held a minute of silence in St. Peter's Square for the victims of the deadly attack on a mosque in Egypt. The Pope said that last Friday's attack "brought great pain," adding that he continued to pray for the dead and the wounded "and for the whole of that community, that has been so hard hit."
- Malaysian authorities are looking at the removal and disposal of over eight million abandoned vehicles across the nation.
- Military vehicle manufacturer AM General sues game publisher Activision over the humvees used on the Call of Duty games without consent.
- In celebration of the Tamagotchi franchise's 20th anniversary, the smartphone game based on the popular toy line from Bandai was revealed for next year's release.
- Oh! Mari Ohara's joining the Love Live! Sunshine!! figma range! It's available to order starting at 5,833 Yen plus tax and delivery and arrives this August 2018.
After nine months of all the intense drama around the world's best circuits, the F1 2017 Championship reached its climax at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit and because Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton is crowned the world champion on this season a while back, it became everybody's race to see who's going to finish this season with a roar from their engines.
In the finale, after the intense drama-filled evening that led to Daniel Ricciardo's premature end because of faulty errors, faulty pit change for Renault's Carlos Sainz, and some donuts from Fernando Alonso, the Mercedes-AMG team ended in a 1-2 finish with Valtteri Bottas named winner and world champ Lewis Hamilton placed 2nd. Ferrari did a 3-4 finish with Sebastian Vettel made a 3rd place finish and Kimi Raikkonen in 4th place. Other finishers include Red Bull's Max Verstappen, Renault's Nico Hulkenberg, and the Force India team.
So, how can I sum this season up? Well, it's a disaster for McLaren because the Honda engines don't work and they decided to have the Honda engines to Toro Rosso while going for Renault engines for 2018, Max Verstappen became the youngest to win the race, some drama in Monaco because of Vettel and Hamilton, Felipe Massa bids farewell to Formula 1 with a biggest sendoff race in his home nation, Brazil, everything sums it up but on the plus side, Lewis Hamilton is now the four-time F1 World Champion. Enough said.
And that's it for the F1 2017 season and with the F1 2018 season going to be a big one, as demonstrated by the new logo, things can get even interesting for the next season.
This is the original Fiat 124 Spider in play and upon driving this classic Italian roadster in the world of Forza, it made you realize that driving one of these is like a step back in time to the classic motoring from the last century. The golden years of motoring, if you may, and even emerged from the time the fuel crisis stopped them from driving Ferraris on the open road and made the switch to smaller but fun-to-drive cars that catered to the essentials a true car enthusiast should live.
There's so much to love about the classic Fiat 124 Spider in every tangible way but for those who demand to drive the more modern version, here's the one you've been waiting for...
Here it is, ladies and gentlemen, your new Fiat 124 Spider, as emerged from Forza Motorsport 7's Samsung QLED TV Car Pack. Before I take a spin around this so-called by-product of the Axis Powers, as you say it, let's investigate the 21st century 124 Spider.
At the 2015 LA Auto Show, Fiat revived the 124 name as the newest open-top rear-wheel drive sportscar on the road, and while this is basically a Fiat, the shocking moment is that it was based on the Mazda Roadster (MX-5) ND and they're built at the same plant in Hiroshima, Japan.
Even though it features the same components as the fourth-generation MX-5, the Fiat 124 Spider differs from it because of the 1.4L MultiAir engine, shocks, and added length and cargo capacity compared to the MX-5.
The high-performance variant, the Abarth 124 Spider, was introduced at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show and it was powered by an Abarth-tuned 1.4L MultiAir engine producing 170PS of power and 250Nm of torque while mated with a 6-speed manual gearbox. It does 0-100kph in 6.8 seconds and onwards to 232kph, faster than even the top-spec MX-5.
Even though it was just an MX-5 underneath, the Abarth 124 Spider I'm driving is no MX-5 indeed because thanks to its Italian engineering lurking around the Japanese-made Italian sportscar, there's a big reason why a 124 is better than the MX-5 in so many ways and in this Abarth version, it really explains a lot. It still drives like whatever lightweight open-top roadster should but because the power and dynamics are what set these two cars apart, the 124 is a tour de force unlike the MX-5 even though it's the byproduct of the Axis Powers if you call it. It has some character, it has some stance, it has some personality, and the bark that its donor car couldn't possess, and looks like Japan should be worrying about why an Italian MX-5 is better than the original MX-5. Could it be a conspiracy why a different version is better than the original even though they were made from the same assembly line? It's too early to tell but in the meantime...
I'm at the Top Gear Test Track on a rainy day to see if the modern 124, in Abarth guise, really is the true successor to the original 124, the one Jeremy Clarkson drove on his final day as a Top Gear presenter before he became the host of The Grand Tour alongside Richard Hammond and James May. Wait a minute, this Abarth 124 did feature in The Grand Tour with Hammond behind the wheel but anyway...
Looking back five decades, the Fiat 124 Spider is an all-time classic that likes to live up to the examples of the greatest lightweight sportscars in history, and in today's time, the MX-5-based 124 continues the tradition despite having spaghetti and sushi served on the silver platter. Some say that the normal 124 Spider wasn't as good as the MX-5 but thanks to the Abarth variant, it really did and it can outrun even a top-spec Mazda MX-5 with the SKYACTIV-G 2.0L on it. I'm starting to love this new open-top Fiat even more and speaking of which, who wants to see a quick lap with these beauties?
After a wet lap around the Top Gear track with the past and present 124 Spiders, here are the results...
Old 124 - 1:48.092 (wet)
New 124 - 1:38.683 (wet)
Five decades and looks like the 124 did evolve into something special, which isn't bad for an Axis Powers team-up that made us upset, very very upset why the Rome-Tokyo-Berlin Axis made its way through the motoring industry because of BMW, Toyota, Fiat, and Mazda. Looks like the car companies from the Allied Forces need to step up against the motoring Axis Powers. If the fat man who controls our lives once said the Germans are evil, why not the Italians and the Japanese?
Still, I am glad to drive the new 124 Spider in the game, even though it's long overdue just like the Alfa Romeo Giulia that I drove a couple of moments ago but I'm not done yet because later on, I will find out if the Italian version of the Japan's favorite roadster is better than the original. This should be interesting so watch for it.
Following last week's 22nd anniversary special titled Bubble Gang Parokya Bente Dos - A Laugh Story, the special continues with a behind-the-scenes special episode presented by your favorite BG members.
In there, Betong brings the viewers a backstage access to what really happened in the making of the PAROKYA BENTE DOS musical special episode by getting to know the folks behind it, the concept, the theme, the production numbers, everything about how this special is made.
Then, Kim Domingo uncovers the on-stage preparation for this special.
Michael V, meanwhile, interviews with popular rock band Parokya Ni Edgar, about how the band and the show had in commin in terms of longevity while in a middle of meals and drinks.
After that, Sef Cadayona takes us to the cast rehearsals and stage preps in preparation for the musical.
Then, Valeen Montenegro delves deeper to the rehearsal process.
I hope you enjoy the special behind-the-scenes footage of last week's musical episode in celebration of 22 years of Bubble Gang. Happy 22nd anniversary to the Philippines' funniest gag show.
