THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: President Moon kicks off China visit

President Moon Jae-in is in China for a four-day state visit. His visit comes amid heightened tensions in the Northeast Asia due to threats from North Korea AND on the heels of a Seoul-Beijing agreement move past a year-long dispute over South Korea's deployment of US missle defense system and normalize exchanges.

Accompanied by a huge business entourage, President Moon proposed a new paradigm of bilateral cooperation based on common priorities. The rest of the South Korean leader's four-day visit will be dotted with significant meetings and symbolic moves, but the highlight will be the third bilateral summit between President Moon and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Source: Arirang News

Let's Do The News! (December 13, 2017)

- With martial law in Mindanao extended for another year, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana assured Filipino legislators that the military and the police would "end" rebellion and terrorism in Mindanao by destroying the infrastructure of Islamic State-inspired militants and other terror groups in the area.

- President Rodrigo Duterte said he is extending Philippine National Police chief Ronald Dela Rosa for another three months to help introduce reforms in Mindanao.

- Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales refused to comment on the impeachment complaint lodged against her by groups led by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption.

- University of Santo Tomas graduates dominated the 2017 nursing licensure exam for the third consecutive year after posting a 100 percent passing rate in the November exams.

- Democrat Doug Jones wins the Alabama Senate elections, defeating the scandal-scarred Republican Roy Moore, after a brutal campaign marked by accusations of sexual abuse and child molestation against him.

- Toyota and Panasonic announced an agreement for the possibility of an automotive prismatic battery business, intended to address the growing demand and expectations for electrified vehicles.

- Bugatti recalls 47 units of Chiron for faulty welds.

- Lister teases their next vehicle to be unveiled this January.

- The live-action Detective Pikachu film is slated for May 2019 release and it will star Ryan Reynolds as the title character.

TTFN!!!

THE IDOLM@STER SideM ANIMATION PROJECT 02-04

If you are catching up on the anime adaptation of THE IDOLM@STER Side M, which is the third entry to the iM@S anime adaptation since the original and Cinderella Girls, you may want to listen to the first batch of songs as heard from the series, just get your heads up before catching up on this program.

For the first batch of SideM anime songs, Beit, S.E.M., and W are all lined up for this, starting with Beit performing TOMORROW DIAMOND while the S.E.M. boys are performing From Teacher To Future!, and finally, W are performing AFTER THE RAIN.

Each single has their own version of the program's theme song, Reason!!, but feel free to check out the songs as heard from the series while waiting for the next batch of SideM anime songs to arrive. Oh, and you can expect these songs to pop up on Side M Live on Stage app game real soon so good luck on these.

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: UNSC passed formal resolution on NoKor human rights

The UN Security Council has condemned North Korea over its human rights violations for the fourth consecutive year. The meeting went ahead on Monday local time despite strong opposition from China.

The UN SC has adopted North Korea's human rights violations as a formal resolution and discussed ways to improve the matter at its fourth annual meeting on the regime's human rights abuses.

The meeting was held at the request of countries such as the United States, Britain, France and Japan.

UN human rights chief Zeid Raad Al Hussein asked the Security Council to examine the impact sanctions may have on human rights conditions in North Korea.

Source: Arirang News

Let's Do The News! (December 12, 2017)

- President Rodrigo Duterte fired commissioners of the Presidential Commission on Urban Poor due to weak work performance and alleged corruption, according to the Malacanang, following Duterte's speech that he would sack an entire commission on Monday over allegations of corruption among its officials.

- According to a health form advocate, they had cautioned former Health Secretary Janette Garin over the safety of Dengvaxia but their warnings were ignored. Dr. Anthony Leachon, former member of the Department of Health Expert Panel on Dengue, said that experts questioned the “premature” mass vaccination in 2016, citing that its safety and cost-effectiveness had not been established.

- The Senate and Congress have agreed on the new vehicle excise tax ahead of this week's approval of the nation's tax reform. Reports told that cars priced at 600,000 pesos and below will slap a 4% tax while those above 4,000,000 pesos will slap a 50% tax. Electric cars and pickup trucks will be exempted on the tax while while hybrid vehicles will be slapped half the tax versus non-hybrid vehicles. They also approved of an increased excise tax on petroleum products which is expected to trigger the price of commodities (and inflation) next year.

- A would-be suicide bomber inspired by Islamic State terrorists triggered a pipe bomb explosion in a New York subway in a middle of Monday rush hour. The first bomb blast in the subway in over two decades. However, the attacker, identified as Akayed Ullah, sustained serious wounds after his failed suicide attack.

- The Pentagon insists that they will let transgenders to be enlisted in the military beginning January 1, a blow to US President Donald Trump's ordered ban. Two federal courts already have ruled against the ban and on Monday a federal court judge denied a government request to set aside the January start date for enlistment.

- German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pushing for the quick formation of a new governing alliance with Germany's main center-left party, saying that only a coalition will bring the "stable government" needed at a challenging time for Europe.

- Yesterday, Saudi Arabia will allow movie theaters to open in the conservative kingdom next year, for the first time in more than 35 years, in the latest social push by the country's young crown prince.

- Renault introduced a new 1.3L turbocharged petrol engine featuring a range of technologies such as Bore Spray Coating, cylinder coating technology, direct injection and Dual Variable Timing Camshaft, promising more torque at low revs. It will be introduced in the Scenic range as well as future Renault models next year.

- UBIsoft's The Crew 2 racing game has been delayed to mid-2018.

- Next year's Pokemon movie sees a new look of anime's main character Satoshi/Ash as animation studio OLM teams up with Wit Studio for next year's film hitting Japanese theaters this Summer 2018.

- In preparation of the Pretty Rhythm series' 10th anniversary in 2020, a new project called Pretty All Friends was unveiled, featuring the main characters from both Pretty Rhythm and PriPara series.

TTFN!!!

Opel/Vauxhall Insignia B Country Tourer

The second generation Opel/Vauxhall Insignia has been setting the standards to the medium-sized car market with its design, interior, performance, and technology, and because having the saloon and wagon is not enough, an SUV variant of the new Insignia, dubbed the Country Tourer, completes the range and this changes everything we want to know about sport utility wagons that was headlined by the likes of Subaru Outback and Volvo's Cross Country range.

2018 Opel Insignia Country Tourer

2018 Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer

With SUVs becoming the dominant breed than any other car in the world, it's no secret why the new-generation Insignia included the sport utility wagon variant known as the Country Tourer to cater the demands of drivers want to get the most out of their lives, from their comfort zone to the outside world. At first glance, the Country Tourer is based on the Sport Tourer but it has been given all-round black protective cladding and silver front and rear skid plates, not to mention the added ground clearance to make it look rugged for some point. On the inside, it was given a manly black and brown color tone to the familiar interior of the range and while it all works just like any other Insignia in the range, you can fill up to 1,665 liters of cargo space with everything to your heart's content, meaning there's plenty of time to fill for your very hectic schedule ahead. Plus, it even comes with a nifty feature that can open the back of the car when your hands are full, just like a Ford, making it one of the most convenient sport utility wagons ever made. A Subaru Outback doesn't have that., you know.

2018 Opel Insignia Country Tourer interior

2018 Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer interior

The new Country Tourer is offered with a choice of 1.5L DI Turbo, 2.0 DI Turbo, and a 2.0L Diesel engine. Depending on the variant, it can be mated with a choice of either a 6-speed manual or an 8-speed gearbox. For now, the most powerful version is the 2.0 DI Turbo with the 260PS of power output that can get them from 0-100kph in 7.7 seconds and onwards to 242kph, faster than the Subaru Outback. For those who want efficiency should go for the 2.0L diesel variant with combined fuel efficiency of 5.5L/100km. There's so much to choose from this rugged Insignia.

In front-wheel drive alone, the Insignia wasn't half bad for an estate of this caliber and it feels nicer to drive and easy to live with it, although being exciting is not one of the Country Tourer's agenda. Add a 4x4 on it and the result is a sport utility wagon that can match the driving characteristics of the Subaru Outback and you can take it anytime, anywhere, no matter what today's weather conditions going to be in Mainland Europe. Whether you can take it on the Matterhorn or to a historic spot across Europe, the Country Tourer really gets the job done in a rather amusing way, something that the Outback couldn't done because of its limits.

Because this was based on the Insignia range, the Country Tourer features a wide range of tech and safety features such as the innovative adaptive IntelliLux LED matrix light, head up display, the 360° surround view camera, adaptive cruise control with automatic emergency braking, Lane Keep Assist with automated steering correction and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. It's everything to keep the Country Tourer prepared for the worst case scenarios ahead, although it almost works like a Volvo if you ask them.

The new Country Tourer starts at 34,885 Euros (25,645 GBP) plus on road costs so it maybe more expensive than the Subaru Outback, you can afford one than the Volvo V60 Cross Country, and while it's almost as good as that Volvo I've mentioned, the new Country Tourer can outperform the Outback in terms of driving feel, styling, and practicality. The Country Tourer is set to be a global icon because for the first time, it will be sold in the US as the new Buick Regal TourX and in Australia as the Holden Commodore Tourer.

Photo: Opel/Vauxhall

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: South Korea slaps further unilateral sanctions on North Korea

The South Korean government announced a new set of unilateral sanctions on North Korea effective today - some two weeks after the North's ballistic missile launch.

Seoul's foreign ministry says the measures will clamp down on 20 North Korean firms and twelve new individuals, in the hope of banning the inflow of illegal funds into the North. But the upgraded sanctions are nothing new, as Seoul confirmed that the additional firms and individuals were taken from existing U.S. sanctions, with no "new targets identified."

The latest package of sanctions is the second of its kind under the Moon Jae-in administration since it rolled out unilateral sanctions in November when it put 18 individuals on its blacklist.

Source: Arirang News