Author: Reputation Poll Staff

Residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs have been scrambling to make contingency plans since an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in a busy neighborhood killed a top Hezbollah commander and touched off fears of a full-scale war. For most, that means moving in with relatives or renting homes in Christian, Druze or Sunni-majority areas of Lebanon that are generally considered safer than the Shiite-majority areas where the Hezbollah militant group has its main operations and base of support. But for a small number, plan B is a move to neighboring Syria. Although Syria is in its 14th year of civil war, active fighting…

The Alternative for Germany party’s success in two state elections piled new pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s fractious government and left the country’s main opposition party facing political contortions on Monday to find a way to govern a pair of eastern regions without involving the far-right party. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, became the first far-right party to win a state election in post-World War II Germany in Thuringia on Sunday under one of its hardest-right figures, Björn Höcke. In neighboring Saxony, it finished only just behind the mainstream conservative Christian Democratic Union, which leads the national opposition. Voters punished the three parties…

Poland on Monday held a state burial of the remains of over 700 victims of Nazi Germany’s World War II executions that were recently uncovered in the so-called Valley of Death in the country’s north. The observances in the town of Chojnice included a funeral Mass at the basilica and interment with military honors at the local cemetery. The remains of Polish civilians, including patients of an asylum, were exhumed in 2021-2024 from two separate sites near Chojnice. Historians have established that the Nazis, shortly after invading Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, executed some of the civilians. Other remains are from an…

Hundreds of people line the main street of Mirboo North in regional Victoria at dusk armed with their phones to film the lantern parade. After an Acknowledgement of Country and smoking ceremony, a giant powerful owl lantern puppet heads down the main street to lead the Mirboo North Winterfest parade. It is followed by a bespoke mardi gras of colourful handmade lantern creations from local school children, scouts and community groups. Set to the beat of African drumming, the occasion is part of a growing revival of re-imagined winter solstice events around Gippsland, designed to bring isolated locals out of hibernation…

Visually impaired athlete Jaryd Clifford has been disqualified over a violation of guide rules, denying the Australian a bronze medal in the men’s 5,000m T13 at the Paris Paralympics. Clifford led for most of the race but was overtaken by gold medallist Spain’s Yassine Ouhdadi on the final lap. It appeared he had secured third place but any ecstasy he felt quickly turned to agony as he was informed by officials that he and sighted guide Matt Clarke had breached race rules. Clifford was the only athlete in the race competing with a guide. The 25-year-old had hoped to appeal…

Eighty years ago on Aug. 27th, 1944, the great American bandleader Glenn Miller performed at a base some 60 miles north of London, RAF Twinwood, the hub and airfield he frequently flew in and out of during World War II. But just a few months later, he would disappear on a flight out of the base — a mystery that still endures to this day. While those questions may never be answered, in the English countryside at the very site of the former base, his legend is still remembered and his music lives on at the annual Twinwood Festival in…

China accused a Philippines coast guard ship of deliberately colliding with a Chinese vessel Saturday in the latest flareup of tensions over disputed waters and maritime features in the South China Sea. In a statement posted on social media, Chinese coast guard spokesperson Liu Dejun was quoted as saying that the Philippine ship with hull number 9701 collided with the Chinese ship 5205 just after 12:06 p.m. (04:06 GMT) Saturday. As the Philippine ship maneuvered, it “deliberately collided” with the Chinese coast guard ship “in an unprofessional and dangerous manner, resulting in a collision,” Liu was quoted as saying, adding…

 Japan lodged a formal protest via China’s embassy against what it called an incursion by a Chinese survey ship into its territorial waters Saturday, the Japanese foreign ministry said. The ministry expressed “strong concern” after the ship was spotted near Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, early in the morning. The Chinese ship, confirmed in territorial waters at 6 a.m. local time, left shortly before 8 a.m., according to Japan’s Defense Ministry, adding it was monitored by a Japanese military vessel and plane. Recently, China’s increasingly assertive activity around Japanese waters and airspace has caused unease among Japanese defense officials, also concerned about…

South Korean singer Taeil has left K-pop band NCT after being accused of an unspecified sexual crime, his label announced Wednesday. His agency, SM Entertainment, released a statement on X, saying the NCT member will depart from the boy band after learning he has been “accused in a criminal case related to a sexual crime.” The label did not specify the nature of the crime. “We recognized the seriousness of the issue, and we have decided that Taeil can no longer continue team activities,” the label said. “We have discussed this matter with Taeil, and it has been decided that he will…

A special Ring Cycle will be performed for the 150th anniversary Bayreuth Festival in 2026, the annual Richard Wagner showcase said as this season’s schedule ended with sellouts for all 30 performances. In conjunction with the end of this season on Tuesday night, Bayreuth announced its new production of “Die Meistersinger von Nuremberg” will open the 113th festival next July 25. Valentin Schwarz’s 2022 staging of the four-night “Der Ring des Nibelungen” will be revived for the final time next summer and the 2026 Ring will be “not purely a concert version,” according to festival spokesman Hubertus Herrmann. He said…