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December 01, 2019 at 12:15AM
The 2019 Melon Music Awards kicked off on Nov. 30, and ARMYs already knew before it started that the show was going to be an epic one, thanks to BTS' highly-anticipated performance. The guys never disappoint, and this year was no different. Sadly, many of us had to watch the action from our couches, but this video of BTS' 2019 MMAs performance will make you feel like you were there in person.
Before you watch, here's a fair warning: The guys smashed this one out of the park and the perfection of their performance is almost unbelievable. Seriously, how do they nail it every time?
In 2018, Jungkook, V, Jimin, Jin, Suga, RM, and J-Hope performed a medley of their Love Yourself hits, “Fake Love,” “Airplane pt.2,” and “IDOL," at the MMAs, and blew fans away with their stage energy and callouts to their Korean culture. BTS' MMAs performance wound up being a whopping 20 minutes last year and yet, still, it wasn't quite enough. ARMYs could watch BTS perform forever and not get bored.
This year, when the MMAs hit Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, Korea, the BTS boys did what they do best and delivered another show-stopping performance with some of their biggest hits. In addition to nailing chart-toppers like "Boy In Luv," "Dionysus," and "Fake Love" with their signature vocals, the Korean boy band also brought the dancing prowess to take their performance to the next level.
I mean, look. At. These. Moves.
To kick off their set list, RM performed "Persona" first before the group blessed ARMYs with a rendition of their 2014 single "Boy In Luv."
For their third and fourth track, the group then turned to their 2019 album Map of the Soul: Persona with a space-inspired performance of “Mikrokosmos” as well as “Dionysus.”
For the latter, the boys used ancient Greece as an inspiration with multiple on-theme props, including a faux Trojan horse that RM rode out on to perform his verse.
After these big group performances, individual members then showcased their vocals and stage presence with solo renditions of some of their biggest songs.
Dressed in all white, Jimin did a solo version of "I Need U."
Next up, Jungkook upped the ante on the visuals and choreography by memorably performing his "Save Me" solo on water.
Last but not least, J-Hope closed out the BTS set with an electronic rendition of "Fake Love" complete with dancers and dramatic strobe lights.
It was a big night for the guys, as they also swept the main four categories of the evening, taking home Artist of the Year, Record of the Year, Album of the Year with Map of the Soul: Persona, and Song of the Year with “Boy With Luv." Before the event, they were also recognized as one of Melon's Top 10 artists of the year along with fellow groups EXO and BOL4. It's safe to say that their memorable performance paired with these prestigious awards made Saturday a night to remember for ARMYs.
NEW YORK -- As the U.S. celebrated Thanksgiving, Hong Kong honored the holiday in its own way.
Thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators on Thursday lit up the streets of Hong Kong with smartphone flashlights, marching with American flags as a thank you to Washington's enactment of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act on Wednesday, which was hailed as a "Thanksgiving present" for the city.
Many carried signs specifically thanking U.S. President Donald Trump for signing the bill into law, which mandates annual reviews of Hong Kong's autonomous status and requires U.S. sanctions against Chinese or Hong Kong officials involved in suppressing basic freedoms in the city.
But such an outpouring of gratitude to the U.S. president may be short lived as the carefully worded language Trump used when signing the bill left plenty of wiggle room for the actual implementation of the law. This could come into play when the two countries move closer toward reaching the so-called phase one part of a trade deal.
After signing the bill on Wednesday, Trump said he did so "out of respect for" Xi, China and the people of Hong Kong. But he also maintained his final authority on how to implement the law.
"Certain provisions of the act would interfere with the exercise of the president’s constitutional authority to state the foreign policy of the United States," Trump said. "My administration will treat each of the provisions of the act consistently with the president’s constitutional authorities with respect to foreign relations."
Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Trump's handling of the Hong Kong bill was "calculated."
"By signing the legislation, he signaled support for the protesters and the preservation of Hong Kong's autonomy, while putting Beijing on notice that the U.S. would be closely watching developments in Hong Kong going forward," Glaser told the Nikkei Asian Review. "At the same time, the signing statement was a message to [Chinese President] Xi Jinping that Trump would be careful in implementing the new law, and would do so in a way that would not harm his friendship with Xi."
So far, Trump has largely avoided directly criticizing how China has handled the situation in Hong Kong, in contrast to his often harsh rhetoric against Beijing's trade practices. The president is also not as outspoken on Hong Kong as U.S. lawmakers, many of whom have praised Hong Kong protesters while condemning Beijing's suppression of basic freedoms in the city.
Last week, after Congress passed the Hong Kong bill almost unanimously, Trump spoke of his dilemma of having to stand up for American values but also to move trade talks with China forward.
"We have to stand with Hong Kong, but I'm also standing with President Xi," Trump said in a phone interview with Fox News, referring to the Chinese leader as a friend of his.
"I stand with Hong Kong, and I stand with freedom. I stand with all of the things we want to do, but we're also in the process of making the largest trade deal in history," he added.
Despite Trump's careful qualification of his signing, the bill's enactment drew immediate rebuke from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which accused the U.S. of interfering with China's internal affairs.
Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party newspaper, suggested in a Friday tweet that China is considering putting those who drafted the Hong Kong bill onto a no-entry list, barring them from entering mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao.
But it is unclear whether Beijing will actually move forward with substantive retaliation. This June, China announced its own "unreliable entities" list, a countermeasure to the U.S. Commerce Department's blacklisting of Huawei Technologies. Beijing has yet to make concrete moves regarding this list.
Beijing's response to the enactment of the Hong Kong bill is "so far is rhetorical," Glaser said. "The Chinese are likely to wait and see how the law is implemented before taking any concrete actions. It appears that the trade deal is still moving forward."
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Milan Skriniar has shared his thoughts and feelings following Inter’s recent win over Slavia Prague in the Champions League group stage.
“It was an important performance from us against Slavia Prague and we are happy to have won the game. Now we must continue to put in these perfromances in the league,” he said in an interview with Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia.
“It was not easy for us and we found in ourselves in trouble at times but we managed to score five goals, even if two of those were cancelled out. I am ready to mark Lionel Messi [in the final group stage game against Barcelona] but we have to focus on Serie A now and expected a difficult match on Sunday.”
Next he spoke on Inter’s on-form strikeforce of Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku and manager Antonio Conte.
“At the moment they are the best partnership that I have played with. They do really well together and play for the team. They help us out and are not all about goals.
“Conte has a winning mentality and the team has that same mentality. We never give up and the coach has told us this from day one since he took charge.”
He then spoke on what has changed compared to last year.
“This year we are certainly more united and stronger than the last three years. If we continue like this, we can stay high up in the table.”
He then spoke on how he has coped with having to get used to playing in a three man defence.
“I play both on the right and on the left, I have no problems. At first I had some problems with the three man defence because I had never played in one before but the coach helps us in everything and in my opinion now I understand everything better and I’m growing.”
Kwadwo Asamoah could not hide his delight after Inter Milan claimed a 3-1 win away to Slavia Prague in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
A Romelu Lukaku strike and Lautaro Martinez brace was more than enough to see the Nerazzurri bag three points.
"Great Win! Come on guys," Asamoah posted on Twitter.
The 30-year was absent for the fifth consecutive game as he continues to recover from a knee injury.
Grande vittoria! Andiamo ragazzi ⚫️🔵 @Inter @ChampionsLeague #SlaviaPragueInter
Great win! Come on guys ⚫️🔵 @Inter @ChampionsLeague #SlaviaPragueInter pic.twitter.com/SpzZy1IfF3
— Kwadwo Asamoah (@Asabob20) November 27, 2019
He has however been reported to be back in full training, meaning a return to the starting XI could be imminent, although Antonio Conte would not want to rush the player he worked with for two years at Juventus.
Cristian Biraghi has taken Asamoah's spot at left wing-back ever since.
The victory in Prague sees Inter level on seven points with Borussia Dortmund who lost to the already-qualified Barcelona in the other Group F game.
The battle for second place will thus go down to the wire as the Nerazzurri host the Catalan giants at San Siro on matchday six.
Federico Dimarco has taken to photosharing social media platform Instagram to share his delight at the team’s win against Slavia Prague in the Champions League.
Goals from Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku helped Inter to achieve a 3-1 victory away in the Czech capital, a result which helped place their Champions League destiny into their hands heading into the final group stage match against Barcelona.
The 22-year-old full back, who is under contract through to the end of the 2022/23 season, has been limited to just one substitute appearances this season.
“Great win, I want the San Siro to be boiling,” he posted.
The Philippine men's water polo team boosted its chances of claiming a silver medal in the 30th Southeast Asian Games. (Photo courtesy of Evan Grabador)
Almost but not quite.
The Philippines got powerhouse Singapore on the ropes in the first two quarters only to see the defending champions rally in the next two to force a 6-6 draw Friday in the 30th Southeast Asian Games men’s water polo at the New Clark City Aquatics Center.
With the stalemate, the Filipinos now sport a 1-2-0 win-draw-loss record and boosted its chances of claiming a silver medal if it wins convincingly against winless Malaysia on Sunday at the close of the competition.
Coming off a big win the night before, the Filipinos played an inspired first half, building a 4-2 lead after three goals in the second canto.
But the Singaporeans, who has been dominating the sport in the biennial meet with 27 titles, fought back with pairs of goals in the third and fourth periods.
Singapore tied it at 5-5 in the fourth quarter before the Philippines slotted in a goal to regain the lead.
But a late goal by the determined Singaporeans broke the hearts of the upset-conscious home team.
Singapore improved to 1-1-1 card heading into its final match against Thailand on Sunday.
Indonesia, which defeated Malaysia, 14-7, already have the gold medal in the bag after closing its campaign with a commanding 3-1-0 slate. The Indonesians' lone draw came at the hands of the Filipinos after their opening day game resulted to a 6-6 deadlock.
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