FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA 2018 - July 10, 2018

FIFA World Cup Russia 2018

The end is near as the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 is reaching its Semi-Final phase as the final four are going all out as they battle themselves for the spot at the finals happening on the 15th of July at the Luzhniki Stadium.

First of the semi final match is France vs. Belgium, held at St. Petersburg Stadium, and in that match, the French has defeated the Belgians, all thanks to Samuel Umtiti's near-post header in second half. Although France secured the spot at the finals, the Belgians are lying in dormant as they have to wait for the next losing team to face head-on in a match for third place on the eve of the finals.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Next up in the semi-finals, England versus Croatia at the Luzhniki Stadium.

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: President Moon vowed efforts to further expand ties with India

South Korean president Moon Jae-in vowed efforts to further expand his country's cooperation with India, noting that this may also help improve the livelihood of his people living in the South Asian country.

The president said while meeting with South Korean residents and business representatives in New Delhi, the government will work to make sure the development in the relation ship between the two countries will lead to changes in the lives.

President Moon arrived in India on Sunday for a four-day state visit. The South Korean president said the countries currently faced a great opportunity to improve their bilateral relationship. Moon's remarks came one day before he was set to hold a bilateral summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

President Moon also vowed increased support for South Korean residents in India.

The South Korean president also vowed continued cooperation between the two countries in establishing peace in the Korean Peninsula, noting India's support has been a great help to the inter-Korean agreement that followed the historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on April 27.

Source: Arirang News

Let's Do The News! (July 10, 2018)

- The Philippine National Police clarified that it is not taking lightly the consecutive killings of three local executives in the past week, a scenario which again puts the country's top cop under scrutiny. PNP chief, Director General Oscar Albayalde said that although the string of killings were “concerning,” it is important to note that they were all isolated cases and no pattern was clearly established.

- The Philippines has endorsed the adoption of an instrument that would provide a framework for strengthening global response on refugee situations. The Philippines’ endorsement of the draft Global Compact on Refugees was made during the international consultations held at the United Nations in Geneva last week as the international community drew closer to the adoption of the non-binding instrument.

- The Bureau of Immigration has detained two foreigners after they were intercepted recently at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport attempting to illegally enter Canada. In a report to Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, BI Deputy Commissioner Marc Red Mariñas identified the intercepted passengers as 25-year-old Kabilan Kannathashan, a Sri Lankan, and 26-year-old Emmanuel Kyeremateng, a Ghanaian.

- Following last weekend's resignation of Boris Johnson, David Davis, and several officials, British PM Theresa May reshuffled her Cabinet members with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt named the new foreign secretary. The UK is due to leave the European Union on 29 March 2019, but the two sides have yet to agree how trade will work between the UK and the EU afterwards.

- US President Donald Trump nominated DC Circuit Court of Appeals judge Brett Kavanaugh to be the replacement for retired Justice Anthony Kennedy as the new SCOTUS. Critics feared that when Kavanaugh sought power of the Supreme Court, every hard-fought case since the New Deal, including the Roe v. Wade case, will be nullified and making sure that President Trump is above the law.

- Liu Xia, the widow of Chinese Nobel dissident Liu Xiaobo, left China on Tuesday and is on a plane out of the country, according to a friend familiar with the situation.

- Nissan admitted to improperly measured exhaust emissions and fuel economy testing for 19 of its models sold in Japan, according to reports. The issue was found during voluntary compliance inspections which followed the inspection scandal last year, and affected models such as the Note and the Juke. Out of approximately 2,200 sample tests performed at six plants, 1,200 units at five locations were found to have some form of falsification, according to Nissan.

- TV personality Kris Aquino posts message for ex-husband James Yap 13 years after their civil wedding.

- Last night's episode of FPJ's Ang Probinsyano, the one where the main character got shot, sparked crazy reactions from netizens.

TTFN!!!

2018 Verizon IndyCar Series - Iowa Corn 300

Weekend in America's packed with two of the most exciting oval racing events in the middle of the post-Independence Day weekend. While racing fans are reeling from witnessing chaos in Daytona, the Iowa Corn 300 Indy Car race in Iowa Speedway shows a much faster side of this oval racing action.

Indy 500 winner Will Power starts the 300-lap thriller and after leading by 23 laps, Josef Newgarden snatches his lead and performs the first half brilliantly. James Hinchcliffe and Spencer Pigot are charging themselves behind Newgarden's. It's deja vu at the pit lane as Zach Veach's car's caught fire, just like what happened at the Indy 500 last May, and then cautioned is thrown when he collided to the wall. When the race restarted, Takuma Sato hounded Pigot while trying to hunt down Hinchcliffe but after pits, Hinchcliffe managed to hound Newgarden and the race heats on. With seven laps to go, Ed Carpenter got sideways at turn two and then clipped by Sato, triggering safety officials. As the debris causes effects on Newgarden and Robert Wickens, the podium finish goes to Pigot and Sato.

After all the Iowa drama, Hinchcliffe nicked his second race at Iowa and the sixth of his career. This is his first win of this season.

Next race, IndyCar goes to Toronto, Canada, for the Honda Indy Toronto on the 15th of July.

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: President Moon expands SK-India cooperation

South Korean President Moon Jae-in urged efforts to expand bilateral cooperation with India, saying such cooperation will ensure not only a better future for the two countries but also peace and prosperity for the entire region.

President Moon said in an interview with India's leading English newspaper, Times of India, published on Monday. He is set to meet with Indian President Nath Kovind before holding a bilateral summit with Indian PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday.

According to Cheong Wa Dae, the written interview took place in Seoul before leving on Sunday. Moon reiterated there was much more room for the growth of South Korea-India cooperation. He also called for joint efforts to prepare for the fourth industrial revolution.

Source: Arirang News

Let's Do The News! (July 9, 2018)

- The Philippines expressed sympathies to Japan after massive floods and mudslides triggered by heavy rainfall over the weekend left almost a hundred people dead and dozens missing. The Department of Foreign Affairs issued the statement after Japanese authorities reported that at least 75 persons have died, more than 40 missing, and tens of thousands displaced by floods and landslides in at least eight western prefectures.

- The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo defended the "outing" joined by the Presidential Electoral Tribunal head revisors and their party revisor in a Laguna resort last month. Robredo’s lead counsel Romulo Macalintal said it was an outing organized by PET revisors not only for Robredo’s revisors, but also for the revisors of former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

- There will be no list of issues when Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines President Archbishop Romulo Valles meet with President Duterte. In a press briefing Monday, Valles said the bishops did not prepare a list of issues that they want to discuss with the President.

- The first four boys in a Thai cave were rescued as the rescue operation continues.

- Reuters reporters accused of breaking Myanmar’s draconian secrecy law during their reporting of the Rohingya crisis must face trial, a judge ruled Monday, on a charge that carries up to 14 years in jail.

- Koenigsegg bids farewell to the Agera with special Thor and Vader final editions. The Thor features a two-tone clear carbon finish with diamond flakes in select sections of the paintwork as well as a large LeMans-style dorsal fin. The Vader, meanwhile, is finished in clear carbon with diamond flakes, with highlights in white gold leaf. There's also two small rear winglets and bespoke cutouts that reveal the skeleton supporting the function of the active rear wing.

Koenigsegg Agera Thor and Vader

- Check out the teaser trailer for the Love Live Sunshine Over the Rainbow film as seen at the recently concluded Wonderful Stories concert.

- Announced at last weekend's Road to Infinity concert, IDOLISH7 returns for a second season.


- Luther's Idris Elba will play as the antagonist in the Hobbs and Shaw film.

- Superstar Justin Bieber is "now engaged" to Hailey Baldwin, according to reports.

TTFN!!!

F1 2018: British GP

The year 2018 marks the 70th anniversary of Silverstone and the British Grand Prix of the F1 2018 season is part of ringing out Silverstone's big year by delivering a much larger magnitude than seeing England defeated the Swedes at the World Cup, whatever they said.

In a shocking defeat to Britain in Formula One, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel won the British Grand Prix after a dramatic overtake against Valtteri Bottas to capture the lead. Lewis Hamilton's hopes for a sixth British GP win ended when Kimi Raikkonen nudged him at the start and despite best efforts, he couldn't defeat Vettel and locked in 2nd place. Raikkonen's placed 3rd. It's a disaster for Mercedes but a jubilee for Ferrari. A jubilee that rattled Britain like their celebration's short-lived.

Mishaps in the British GP include Sergio Perez spun across pit lane at the start, Ericsson involved in a big crash at turn 1, Carlos Sainz and Romain Grosjean involved in the Copse crash, a spin that ended Max Verstappen's race, and some team radio tirade by Fernando Alonso and Kevin Magnussen, to name a few.

After a shocker at Silverstone, the gap between Vettel and Hamilton are now widened by 8 points, 171 vs. 163. Raikkonen's now 3rd with 116 points.

The next race will be at Hockenhemring, Germany on the 22nd of July.