Author: Reputation Poll Staff

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…

Comedian and actor Nikki Glaser has been picked to host the next Golden Globes, adding an edgy voice known for mercilessly teasing the rich and powerful. Glaser will make her Globe debut Jan. 5 live on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. In a statement, she cited Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Ricky Gervais as inspirations. “Some of my favorite jokes of all time have come from past Golden Globes opening monologues when Tina, Amy or Ricky have said exactly what we all didn’t know we desperately needed to hear. I just hope to continue in that time-honored tradition (that might also…

 Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro took to the streets Wednesday in an attempt to revive protests against him as he tightens his grip on power following last month’s disputed election. The demonstration in the capital, Caracas, comes exactly a month after the fraught July 28 vote in which Maduro was declared the winner despite strong evidence that opposition candidate Edmundo González won by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, which drew international condemnation that the vote lacked transparency. In weeks of on-again, off-again demonstrations, the opposition’s rallying cry has been constant but so far ineffective. Opponents have demanded that officials publish results from…

Telegram founder Pavel Durov was released from police custody in France on Wednesday and transferred to court for questioning ahead of a possible indictment, prosecutors told CNN, days after his dramatic arrest at a Paris airport. The Russian-born billionaire exited the anti-fraud office outside Paris in what appeared to be a police vehicle on Wednesday afternoon, according to a CNN producer there. The Paris prosecutor’s office said he would now face “initial questioning and possible indictment” at a court in the French capital. Durov, 39, was detained at Paris’s Bourget Airport on Saturday on a warrant related to Telegram’s lack…

Six Polish students and a lecturer from the Warsaw University who were detained in Nigeria during protests there have been released, the Polish foreign ministry said Wednesday. They are in good health and will be returning home this week. The ministry’s spokesman, Pawel Wronski, said the seven Polish citizens have had their passports, laptops and belongings returned and were staying at the university campus in the northern Nigerian city of Kano, waiting for the trip back. The seven were in northern Nigeria to take part in a program to study the Hausa language. They were detained earlier this month in the…

Police in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata have fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of protesters demanding justice for the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a state-run hospital earlier this month. The discovery of the body of the 31-year-old sparked nationwide outrage over the crisis of violence against women. On Tuesday, thousands marched to a government building in Kolkata, demanding the resignation of West Bengal’s Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee. A hospital volunteer has been arrested in connection with the crime, which has now been handed over to India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)…

The national security adviser of the United States, Jake Sullivan, has met China’s top diplomat Wang Yi as Beijing finds itself embroiled in security rows with key US allies. Japan scrambled fighter jets after a Chinese military aircraft’s incursion into its airspace on Monday with a military spy plane. Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the airspace breach – the first by a military aircraft – was “not only a serious violation of Japan’s sovereignty but it also threatens our security”. Meanwhile, the Philippine defence chief on Tuesday accused China of being the “biggest disruptor”…