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K-Pop Heartthrobs BTS to Kick Off World Tour in April

Pedestrians walk along the stairs displayed with the BTS logo and release date of BTS' 2026 album at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on January 14, 2026. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk along the stairs displayed with the BTS logo and release date of BTS' 2026 album at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on January 14, 2026. (AFP)
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K-Pop Heartthrobs BTS to Kick Off World Tour in April

Pedestrians walk along the stairs displayed with the BTS logo and release date of BTS' 2026 album at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on January 14, 2026. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk along the stairs displayed with the BTS logo and release date of BTS' 2026 album at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on January 14, 2026. (AFP)

K-pop megastars BTS will kick off their first world tour in four years in April, their label said on Wednesday, part of a hotly-anticipated comeback following a hiatus for the South Koreans whose music has become a global phenomenon.

BTS -- known for funky and fun hits like "Dynamite" and "Butter" -- hold the record as the most-streamed group on Spotify and are the first K-pop act to have topped both the Billboard 200 and the Billboard Artist 100 charts in the United States.

But the Bulletproof Boy Scouts -- as their name means in Korean -- haven't toured or released music since 2022 as they underwent the national military service required of all South Korean men under the age of 30.

Now that all seven members have completed their military service the band's label announced on New Year's Day they would release a new album in March before heading on tour the following month.

Spanning 34 cities with 79 performances, it will be the largest-ever single tour by a K-pop group in terms of total shows and the "widest regional reach for a South Korean artist," according to the band's agency, HYBE.

The world tour will kick off in South Korea's Goyang on April 9, with two additional concerts in the city before moving on to neighboring Japan.

They will then head to the United States and Europe, with the tour ending in March 2027 in Manila.

The band's label said that more cities will be announced, including additional stops in Japan and the Middle East.

Their new album -- as yet unnamed -- will be their first since the anthology "Proof", which became South Korea's bestselling record of 2022.

- 'Right kidney is waving' -

BTS's famously loyal fanbase -- known as ARMY -- reacted with elation at news of the world tour.

One fan wrote in response to the news on Facebook that to buy a ticket their "Right kidney is waving".

"Army hunger games are about to start," another wrote, drawing a comparison between fans trying to get tickets and a series of popular young adult novels in which contestants fight to the death.

BTS is big business in South Korea -- before their military service, they generated more than 5.5 trillion won ($3.7 billion) for the country per year, according to Seoul's Korea Culture and Tourism Institute.

The figure is equivalent to roughly 0.2 percent of South Korea's total GDP.

HYBE's shares traded higher at Wednesday's market open on news of their world tour, rising around three percent.

And investment bank IBK Securities on Wednesday projected the firm's operating profits this year would soar tenfold compared to 2025.

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Entertainment

Brenda Fricker, the First Irish Actress to Win an Oscar for ‘My Left Foot,’ Dies at 81

"My Left Foot" stars Brenda Fricker, winner of Oscar for best supporting actress, and Daniel Day Lewis, winner of Oscar for best actor, at the 62nd Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, March 26, 1990. (AP)
"My Left Foot" stars Brenda Fricker, winner of Oscar for best supporting actress, and Daniel Day Lewis, winner of Oscar for best actor, at the 62nd Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, March 26, 1990. (AP)
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Brenda Fricker, the First Irish Actress to Win an Oscar for ‘My Left Foot,’ Dies at 81

"My Left Foot" stars Brenda Fricker, winner of Oscar for best supporting actress, and Daniel Day Lewis, winner of Oscar for best actor, at the 62nd Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, March 26, 1990. (AP)
"My Left Foot" stars Brenda Fricker, winner of Oscar for best supporting actress, and Daniel Day Lewis, winner of Oscar for best actor, at the 62nd Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, March 26, 1990. (AP)

Brenda Fricker, who won an Academy Award for her role as Bridget Fagan Brown in the 1989 film “My Left Foot,” has died. She was 81.

The Irish character actor died Thursday night in Dublin after a period of ill health, her agent, Phil Belfield said in a statement.

Fricker became the first Irish woman to win an Academy Award in 1990 for best supporting actress for her portrayal of the determined mother of Christy Brown, who was born with cerebral palsy and could control only his left foot. Daniel Day-Lewis, who played Christy Brown, won the award for best actor.

“We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her,” Belfield said. “I was honored to know, love and work with her and she will always have a place in my heart and in the heart of so many film and TV fans the world over.”

Fricker, who appeared in more than 90 films and television shows between 1964 and 2024, was known for her role as the “pigeon lady” in the 1992 film “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” where she played a homeless woman who befriended Macaulay Culkin’s character in New York’s Central Park.

She also featured in the original cast of the BBC medical drama “Casualty” and appeared alongside Cate Blanchett in “Veronica Guerin,” the story of an Irish investigative journalist who was murdered in 1996.

Born in Dublin in 1945, Fricker received the city’s highest honor earlier this year when she was awarded the Freedom of the City.

In her autobiography “She Died Young: A Life in Fragments,” Fricker describes both happy childhood escapades with her sister Grania and her struggles to overcome sexual violence and mental health issues, which caused her to be institutionalized several times. Published in September 2025, the book appeared on the Irish Sunday Times bestseller list.

Simon Harris, Ireland’s deputy prime minister, said the country had lost a national treasure.

“She truly was among the greatest exports this country has ever produced and an ambassador for Irish talent on the world stage,” he said. “Quite simply, we will never see the like of her ever again.”

Entertainment

Netflix Tumbles 9% as Weak Earnings Forecast Deepens Doubts Over Growth

The Netflix logo is pictured at the company's Hollywood studio offices at Sunset Bronson Studios in Los Angeles, California on December 5, 2025. (AFP)
The Netflix logo is pictured at the company's Hollywood studio offices at Sunset Bronson Studios in Los Angeles, California on December 5, 2025. (AFP)
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Netflix Tumbles 9% as Weak Earnings Forecast Deepens Doubts Over Growth

The Netflix logo is pictured at the company's Hollywood studio offices at Sunset Bronson Studios in Los Angeles, California on December 5, 2025. (AFP)
The Netflix logo is pictured at the company's Hollywood studio offices at Sunset Bronson Studios in Los Angeles, California on December 5, 2025. (AFP)

Netflix's shares tumbled ‌9.2% before the bell on Friday following another weaker-than-expected earnings forecast from the streaming major, deepening doubts about its ability to sustain growth momentum.

While the company has gone beyond its traditional subscription-driven model, relying on advertising, live content and price hikes to boost revenue per user, it has been locked in a battle for user attention with traditional media such as Walt Disney ‌and social ‌media such as YouTube. The ‌stock ⁠is down more than ⁠44% since hitting an all-time high in June 2025.

"The story lacks excitement," said Jeffrey Wlodarczak, analyst at Pivotal Research Group.

Subscriber growth remains central to Netflix's business, he said, adding that younger audiences are increasingly gravitating toward free social ⁠media platforms over long-form content.

"We ‌believe this will ‌result in slower subscriber growth and attempts by the company ‌to offset this via more aggressive ‌price increases and investment in content."

The company forecast quarterly earnings per share and revenue below analyst estimates for a second quarter in a row, on Thursday, ‌with at least 11 analysts lowering their price targets.

The streaming giant will also ⁠cut ⁠its twice-yearly release of a viewing-hours report to once a year starting in January 2027. It stopped publishing quarterly subscriber numbers in 2025.

The first half of 2026 did little to ease bearish concerns, and the second half's content slate is weaker compared to a year ago, fueling the bear case, according to Jefferies analysts.

Netflix's shares were trading at 19.92 times 12-month forward profit estimates, compared with 13.54 for Walt Disney and Comcast's 6.57.

Entertainment

Actor Sam Neill Died of Pneumonia, Says Agent

(FILES) New-Zealand actor Sam Neill attends the photocall of the movie "Sweet Country" presented in competition at the 74th Venice Film Festival at Venice Lido on September 6, 2017. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)
(FILES) New-Zealand actor Sam Neill attends the photocall of the movie "Sweet Country" presented in competition at the 74th Venice Film Festival at Venice Lido on September 6, 2017. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)
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Actor Sam Neill Died of Pneumonia, Says Agent

(FILES) New-Zealand actor Sam Neill attends the photocall of the movie "Sweet Country" presented in competition at the 74th Venice Film Festival at Venice Lido on September 6, 2017. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)
(FILES) New-Zealand actor Sam Neill attends the photocall of the movie "Sweet Country" presented in competition at the 74th Venice Film Festival at Venice Lido on September 6, 2017. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)

"Jurassic Park" star Sam Neill died of pneumonia, his agent said Thursday, in a message aimed at providing clarity to fans.

Neill died in Australia on Monday at the age of 78, his family said in a statement.

He was cancer-free at the time, his family added without elaborating on the cause of death.

"I spoke with his family and wish to clarify some details for his fans," long-time agent Philip Grenz said in a statement to public broadcaster Radio New Zealand.

"Sam passed away from pneumonia. Prior to becoming sick, Sam had valiantly fought and beaten lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy."

The actor's family is to hold a private ceremony in New Zealand, AFP quoted the agent as saying.

"As Sam was an intensely private man who loathed a fuss, his family will honor him with a private family memorial at his farm in New Zealand at a still-undetermined later date."

Grenz said Neill had filmed four projects in the past year, which would all be released in the "coming months", without giving further details.

Neill revealed in a 2023 memoir he was "possibly dying" with stage-three non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

But he declared himself cancer-free earlier this year, thanks to a genetic therapy that modified his immune system.

Born in Northern Ireland in 1947, he moved to the rugged South Island of New Zealand as a child.

He was christened Nigel John Dermot but decided his first name was too "effete" for New Zealand and switched it to Sam.

Neill started acting in New Zealand films in the early 1970s before moving into larger roles in Australia.

His big breakthrough came in 1993 when he played Dr Alan Grant in the blockbuster "Jurassic Park".

When he was not acting, Neill also ran vineyards in the picturesque Central Otago region of New Zealand's South Island.

Tributes have poured in from friends, colleagues, neighbors in Central Otago, and some of Hollywood's biggest names, including director Steven Spielberg and fellow "Jurassic Park" actors Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum.