THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: Two Koreas holding joint rehearsals at Panmunjom

South and North Korea are holding a joint rehearsal for Friday's Inter-Korean summit. The South Korean presidential office said this morning that President Moon Jae-in and his staff will only focus on preparing for the summit today and nothing else.

North Korea is set to send their delegates led by Kim Chang-son, and official from Pyongyang's State Affairs Commission to the Peace House, located at the South Korean side of Panmunjom, and the two Koreas will hold a joint rehearsal this morning.

The Blue House said the joint rehearsal takes place behind closed doors thus the exact time will not be released. They did say the joint rehearsal will take place at the exact same time that the two leaders are set to meet this Friday.

Source: Arirang News

Let's Do The News! (April 25, 2018)

- Numerous workers has asked the Supreme Court to stop the closure of Boracay for six months starting tomorrow. The workers pleaded for a temporary restraining order.

- MAGDALO Party List Representative Gary Alejano asked the Duterte administration to protest China's reported monument unveiling to commemorate their efforts in the South China Sea, which encompasses parts of the Philippine territory.

- Alleged drug lord Peter Lim insists that he be placed under a separate preliminary investigation over the drug complaint filed before the DOJ.

- The European Union wants Russia and Iran to bring Syria to their peace talks.

- US President Donald Trump plans to nominate Admiral Harry Harris, the head of the US Pacific Command already nominated to be the next US ambassador to Australia, to fill the long-vacant post of ambassador to South Korea instead, according to officials. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, had asked Harris to take the key post in Seoul, which has been vacant since Trump took office in January last year, a source with knowledge of the situation said.

- Numerous Australians gathered at France's Somme for a poignant ceremony in memory of the soldiers who fought and died on the Western Front, a century on from the end of the First World War. 8,000 Australians worldwide commemorate a special centenary Anzac Day, Australia’s national day of remembrance on the Somme, scene of some of the most brutal battles of the 1914-18 conflict.

- Spotify is ramping up their free service, hoping that a more option-rich platform will boost its ambitions to make music streaming even bigger worldwide.

- Google unveiled a major overhaul to Gmail since 2013, capping what the company says was an expensive overhaul two years in the making to adopt security and offline functionality and better resemble Microsoft Outlook.

- The Mercedes-Maybach Vision Ultimate Luxury concept was unveiled at Beijing's Auto China, previewing an ultra-luxury crossover.

Mercedes-Maybach Vision Ultimate Luxury

- BMW unveiled the iX3 Concept at Beijing's Auto China, previewing a crossover addition to BMW's i range of electric cars.

BMW iX3 Concept

TTFN!!!

THE IDOLM@STER MILLION THE@TER GENERATION 07 Twinkle Rhythm

Hold your smartphones up, ladies and gentlemen, because the seventh installment of the THE@TER GENERATION range, inspired by THE IDOLM@STER Million Live! Theater Days app game, has arrived and this installment is all heroic and it's here to save the day from your weekday boredom.

THE IDOLM@STER
MILLION THE@TER GENERATION 07
Twinkle Rhythm

The highlight of this installment is Twinkle Rhythm comprising of Iku Nakatani (CV: Akari Harashima), Yuriko Nanao (CV: Miku Ito), and Arisa Matsuda (CV: Rie Murakawa) as they are here to save the day with two new songs titled ZETTAI × BREAK!! トゥインクルリズム and Tomorrow Program. There's even drama parts featuring Twinkle Rhythm featured in a show about themselves saving the day against a dastardly supervillain and then what's going on behind the scenes is up for the listeners to discover.

Enjoy listening to this latest addition to the range and be sure to keep playing THE IDOLM@STER Million Live Theater Days for more!

Arigato Daijobu/Believe it

Aikatsu Friends!, the third installment of Bandai Namco's Aikatsu! children's franchise, is all about Aine Yuki and Mio Minato, who share the same goal to become the best idols of Star Harmony Academy and their hopes to come face to face with the venerable duo they called Love Me Tear. In honor of the newest Aikatsu series airing every Thursday nights on TV Tokyo, the opening and closing theme songs have arrived in full swing.

Arigato Daijobu/Believe it

And here it is. Not only you are welcomed by the opening and closing theme songs but also Aine and Mio's theme named after the title itself which is, of course, Aikatsu Friends! All of these songs featured in this single are performed by members of BEST FRIENDS! which of course they're the ones who played as the characters of the shows in case you are wondering.

The opening title is "ありがと⇄大丈夫", performed by Aine and Mio, while the closing theme song is titled "Believe it", sung by Karen and Mirai. Simple as that.

For limited quantities, there's a special accessory card that you can use it on the DATA CARDDASS Aikatsu Friends! arcade game.

Aikatsu Friends! airs every Thursday nights on TV Tokyo, right before Pokemon Sun and Moon.

TRACK LISTINGS:
01 ありがと⇄大丈夫
02 Believe it
03 アイカツフレンズ!
04 ありがと⇄大丈夫 (off vocal)
05 Believe it (off vocal)
06 アイカツフレンズ! (off vocal)

2018 Verizon IndyCar Series - Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

The Honda Grand Prix of Alabama race of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series ended up intro a two-parter due to heavy rainfall occurred at the Barber Motorsports Park at Birmingham, Alabama and following Sunday's rainfall that brought the race to a pause, they managed to continue Monday afternoon with 22 laps to go.

Speaking of 22 laps to go, Team Penske's ace in the hole, Josef Newgarden is taking the lead while Zachary Claman de Melo and Spencer Pigot got caught in a mess at turn 8 and Robert Wickens' overtaking surprise at turn 5. With drizzle occurred at the last 22 minutes, drivers switched themselves to wet tires while some are confused to get back on track.

Pit after pit, and with weather conditions gone crazy, the battle for the top spot is everybody's game for Newgarden and Sebastien Bourdais themselves and in the end, last year's champion dominated the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama while Ryan Hunter-Reay placed 2nd and James Hinchcliffe placed 3rd.

Onto the overall standings, Newgarden dominates with 158 points, 13 points ahead of Alexander Rossi, 39 points ahead of Bourdais.

Highlights: https://www.indycar.com/Videos/2018/04/04-23-Barber-race-completion-highlights

Next race is at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the 12th of May.

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: Inter-Korean summit preparatory committee to hold a rehearsal session

The Cheong Wa Dae said they will hold rehearsal session at the summit venue in Panmunjom on Tuesday, ahead of this Friday's Inter-Korean summit, a meeting between South Korean leader Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-in.

Officials, including the presidential press secretary and representatives from the Unification Ministry will go through every step of the summit from the two leaders walking in together to the order of the talks.

Also, the summit preparatory committee will operate its situation rooms on the third floor of the Peace House in Panmunjom and another at the Main PRess Center located at the KINTEX exhibition hall in Goyang.

Source: Arirang News

Let's Do The News! (April 24, 2018)

- President Rodrigo Duterte issued a memorandum instructing the DOLE to submit the list of companies allegedly violating labor laws in relation to illegal dismissal cases following certifying a bill boosting the Philippines' security of tenure law.

- Preparations for the 6-month closure of Boracay are all set with the Philippine National Police deployed security amid reports that there will be protests against the said government action. Aside from the PNP, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Bureau of Fire Protection, and private security agencies will also be ensuring the safety of Boracay, which will be closed from tourists starting April 26 for rehabilitation.

- Grab Philippines admitted that the latest LTFRB order to stop the implementation of its two perso charge to their passengers may affect their operations.

- So, far no sightings of the 29-year-old suspect behind last weekend's Waffle House shootout in Nashville that killed four people as the manhunt reached its second day. With the suspect still on the loose, Metro Nashville Police searched schools in the area near the restaurant in the Tennessee city’s Antioch neighbourhood. Schools planned to open with extra security, police said, with a “lockout” barring all visitors in effect.

- Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, welcomed the birth of their third child at St. Mary's Hospital.

- GM Korea Company managed to avoid bankruptcy with a deal between it and their labor union. Under the agreement, the union accepted the company’s request to freeze base wages and skip bonuses for the year as well as cut down on benefits, with any future base wage increases and performance pay to be dependent upon GM Korea regaining profitability. The tentative deal is still subject to a vote by union members later this week.

- Audi teases their upcoming Q8 crossover.



- ICYMI: Jet Li and Gong Li are reportedly joining the cast of the live-action Mulan film.

- Actress Sophia Lillis is set to play Nancy Drew in the film "Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase".

- The Pastel Palettes from Bang Dream! are getting their spin-off anime series titled Pastel Life.

- The second addition of WithFans' Love Live! Sunshine figure range, You Watanabe, modeled after the one from the Blu-Ray cover, has unveiled and it's available to order starting at 13,704 Yen plus tax and delivery. Arriving February 2019.



TTFN!!!