THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: Inter-Korean Sports Talks

Officials from South and North Korea is meeting to discuss sports cooperation today. The inter-Korean sports talks started at around 1000 hours local time at the Peace House, located within the truce village of Panmunjom.

Today's discussions are focused on boosting sports exchanges between the two Koreas. The key agendas include joint participation by the two Korea at the 2018 Asian Games and inter-Korean basketball matches.

The South Korean delegation is being led by Jeon Choong-ryul, Secretary General of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee. The North Korean delegation is being led by Vice Sports Minister Won Kil-u.

The talks are part of ongoing efforts by the two Koreas to implement the Panmunjom Declaration from the April 27th inter-Korean summit. The agreement to hold the talks came after high-level officials from South and North Korea met at Panmunjom last month.

Meanwhile, the two Koreas will mainly talk about joint participation in the upcoming 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, which will kick off this August. They will also talk about whether they will march under the Korean Unification Flag.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un proposed holding inter-Korean basketball matches to South Korean President Moon Jae-in during the inter-Korean summit.

Source: Arirang News

FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA 2018 - June 17, 2018

FIFA World Cup Russia 2018

Costa Rica taking on Serbia at Samara while Germany takes on Mexico at Luzhniki Stadium and Brazil takes on Switzerland at the Rostov Arena. These are some of the matches occurred at Day 4 of the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018.

Beginning at Samara, the penalty kick by Aleksandar Kolarov during the second half paved Serbia a one-point win against Costa Rica. At Luzhniki, meanwhile, Hirving Lozano's counterattack has left the Germans upset as Mexico wins by just a point. And in Rostov, the thrilling battle between the Brazilians and the Swiss ended in a one-point draw.

Next time, Sweden takes on South Korea at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium while Belgium takes on Panama at Sochi's Fisht Stadium and Tunisia takes on England at Volgograd Arena.

Let's Do The News! (June 18, 2018)

- Former president and Manila City Mayor Joseph Estrada will lead the awarding of outstanding employees as part of the commemoration of the 447th Araw ng Maynila celebration. Estrada will also honor the city’s elderly during the “Gabi ng Parangal Para sa mga Nakatatandang Manilenyo” at the Universidad de Manila.

- After a member of the consultative committee said that President Rodrigo Duterte could seek reelection if allowed by the new Constitution, the Chief Executive stressed that the president is ready to quit during the shift to federalism. “We’re just trying to perfect everything and if you want a new leader during the transition, you can provide it in the law itself, creating the parliament, the system of the distribution of the regional autonomous region, and I would be happy to step down,” Duterte said during the Eid al-Fitr celebration in Davao City on Saturday.

- The National Movement for Free Elections is supporting the proposal to ban Smartmatic International from supplying vote counting machines to the COMELEC for next year's polls. The House of Representatives has announced that it would move for the rejection of the Comelec’s budget for 2019 if the poll body would not replace Smartmatic as its VCM provider.

- A strong M6.1 quake rattled Osaka at around 0758 hours local time. The epicenter of the quake was in the northern part of the area at a depth of 13km, according to the Japanese Meteorological Agency. No tsunami warning was issued. Right now, three people are reportedly killed while 200 are injured during the quake and multiple aftershocks followed.

- Democrats and activists are rallying against US President Donald Trump's practice of separating children from their parents at the US-Mexico border. The events came as news stories highlighting the family separations intensified political pressure on the White House, even from some of President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans.

- Meanwhile, former first lady Laura Bush slammed the Trump administration's zero-tolerance immigration policy. Bush, whose opinion piece ran in The Washington Post, decries the separation of children from parents entering the United States illegally as "cruel" and "immoral."

- Long before Toyota's historic Le Mans win, they've confirmed development of a new super sports car using their Le Mans knowhow.

- Suzuki unveiled the fourth-generation Jimny range set for July 2018 debut. The smaller Jimny is powered by a 660cc engine while the bigger Jimny Sierra is powered by a 1.5L petrol engine. Both now come with a ladder frame, FR layout, available Part Time 4WD, 3-link Rigid Axle Suspension and Dual Sensor Brake Support.

2019 Suzuki Jimny

- After a three year hiatus, TV motoring program Fifth Gear is officially back this September. The return was announced by Tiff Needell and Vicki Butler-Henderson, presenters of the show.

- After 27 years, the Jerry Springer show, the forerunner of the "trash TV" talk shows, stopped making episodes, according to reports.

TTFN!!!

Toyota wins Le Mans for the first time

History has finally made at the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans race, which is part of the 2018-2019 WEC Superseason as Toyota Gazoo Racing proudly waved the Japanese flag by honoring their first ever Le Mans win in history.

Toyota wins Le Mans for the first time

The #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing TS050, piloted by Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso, Formula E driver Sebastien Buemi, and Kazuki Nakajima, made a historic victory at Le Mans while the #7 TS050 managed to place 2nd place with a lap behind it. This marks the second time a Japanese carmaker won Le Mans since the legendary Mazda 787B and the first time a Japanese driver became part of the Le Mans-winning team.

The #3 Rebellion Racing became the only non-hybrid LMP1 car to join the podium after finishing 3rd.

Behind Toyota's historic victory, the #26 G-Drive Racing, driven by Roman Rusinov, Andrea Pizztola, and TECHEETAH Formula E driver Jean-Eric Vergne, won the LMP2 class while the #36 Signatech Alpine Matmut placed 2nd and the #39 39 Graff-S024 team placed 3rd.

Porsche remains the king of Le Mans, only in GTE Pro class, with their pink-colored #92 Porsche GT won the class followed by the #91 Porsche GT team and the #68 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT. In the GTE Am class meanwhile, the #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Team 911 RSR won the class while the #54 Spirit of Race 488 GTE placed 2nd and the #85 Keating Motorsports 488 GTE placed 3rd.

URL: http://www.sportingnews.com/other-sports/news/24-hours-le-mans-2018-live-stream-updates-results-tv-schedule/14fawl257atvr17zhsw4k42ab3

Congratulations to Toyota Gazoo Racing for becoming the second Japanese carmaker in history to win Le Mans!

2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship - CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown

The 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship continues somewhere throughout the Outback in the Hidden Valley Raceway for the CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown event and over the course of two races this weekend, the Outback just never felt so alive when these racing drivers come across Darwin to see who comes on top.

Beginning with what happened on the first race, a last minute attempt by Scott McLaughlin made him win the opener after beating the likes of title rivals Shane van Gisbergen and David Reynolds by 1.2 seconds at the line. Then, at the chaotic latter half of the event, not to mention smoke pouring at the back of McLaughlin's car and the late Safety Car deployment that could cost him valuable time, David Reynolds of Erebus Motorsport nicked his second win of the season.

So far, after the race, Scott McLaughlin still leads the leaderboard with 1775 points while Shane Van Gisbergen is 161 points behind him and David Reynolds' in third place with 1,448 points.

The next race is the Watpac Townsville 400 on the 6th to the 8th of July, 2018.

Project CARS 2: Remembering the "French Kiss of Death"

As much as you're enjoying Le Mans right now, here's something worth enjoying at home because thanks to the new Spirit of Le Mans pack on Project CARS 2, players got the chance to relive the rivalry as depicted from the legendary Le Mans film that starred Steve McQueen on it.



Coined as the "French Kiss of Death", the Le Mans film sees Steve McQueen reenacting the legendary rivalry of the Porsche 917 and the Ferrari 512 at Le Mans and many years later, that rivalry is still regarded as a legend in the history of motorsports. With the rivals now at hand, I wonder what is like to be with them?



We are already familiar with the tale of the Porsche 917 but the one that I drove earlier was the shorter K version. This is the LH version and it translates to "long tail" due to its longer rear shape compared to the K. Whereas the K can take on numerous races like Sebring or Monza, it was made specifically for Le Mans and this version generates more downforce than the previous 1969 one. They fitted it with the 4.9L engine but it was proven to be unreliable during endurance races. While it was capable of reaching 240mph at the Mulsanne, it was proven to be quite difficult to drive and it's clear that they prefer the 917K because they're much stable to get through.



Nicknamed the "Coda Lunga", the Ferrari 512S the result of three months of creation penned by Mauro Forghieri. Powering it is an all-alloy V12 engine which produces slightly more than the 917 while it uses the same tubular space frame as the P4 and the 612. Its only shot at fame was winning Sebring and Kyalami at the Manufacturers' World Championship in 1970 and 1971 but because the 917s were proven to be a dominant force to be reckoned with, Ferrari thrown the towel on their 512 S and replaced it with the 312PB in 1972. Although not one of the most dominant Group 5 race cars ever built and not as successful as the 917, it remains a beauty to drive, despite the feeling that that's somewhat twitchy to drive.



Checking through the stats, the Ferrari's got 10 more horsepower than the Porsche but because the Porsche is surprisingly lighter than the Ferrari, that said the 917 LH is faster than the Ferrari 512 S but this is no time for silly talks because while on the subject of the French Kiss of Death, the producers managed to provide drivers a 1970's recreation of Le Mans, just to give them what is like to drive at Le Mans during the 1970's and although the turns were unfamiliar for millennials like me, doing a historical reenactment with these machines are a sure fire way to get to know Le Mans from a different timeline and for historians, this is a welcome treat worth giving a try.

Having my Le Mans vibes on, I decided to take these two for a quick lap round 1970's Le Mans to see if that legend proves any point and here goes...



And here are the results...

1970 Ferrari 512 S - 3:29.144
1971 Porsche 917 LH - 3:23.780



There is a clear saying that when times change, legends never die, and in the case of the rivalry between the Porsche 917 and the Ferrari 512 as reenacted by Steve McQueen in the Le Mans film, it all makes perfect sense why it was regarded to be one of the most iconic moments in both cinema and motorsports alike and it's great to have the 1970's layout of Le Mans provided so drivers can have some historical reenactment using cars like these. Looking back time, you'll know that these cars are worth beauty to behold and by reenacting the past, history goes like smooth clockwork and it really makes them believe at the stuff they love about motor racing.

Enjoy what remains at Le Mans right now, folks. You'll need it.

FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA 2018 - June 16, 2018

FIFA World Cup Russia 2018

France vs. Australia at Kazan, Argentina vs. Iceland at Spartak Stadium in Moscow, Peru vs. Denmark at Mordovia Arena in Saransk, and Croatia vs. Nigeria at Kaliningrad are the highlights of the third day of the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018.

Starting at Kazan, the Group C match between France and Australia ended in a 2-1, favoring the French thanks to the accidental own goal that gave the Les Bleus the victory they deserved. Meanwhile in Spartak, Moscow, the battle between Argentina and Iceland ended in an honorable draw, each scored one point. On the Mordovia side, Denmark's one point goal is more than enough to destroy Peru, all thanks to Yurary's second-half strike. And on the battle between Croatia and Nigeria at Kaliningrad, the accidental own goal by Oghenekaro Etebo caused the Croatians to defeat the Nigerians by two points.

Next match sees Costa Rica taking on Serbia at Samara while Germany takes on Mexico at Luzhniki Stadium and Brazil takes on Switzerland at the Rostov Arena.