By Jessie Yeung, Yoonjung Seo, Gawon Bae, CNN

Seoul, South Korea (CNN) — When the world’s biggest K-pop group announced their hiatus in late 2022, they were at the height of superstardom. They regularly topped music charts, won prestigious awards, and arguably transformed the genre into a global cultural phenomenon.

Now, BTS is back – and coming to a city near you. As the clock strikes midnight on Wednesday in Seoul, the group will announce the dates and locations of a highly anticipated world tour, with their new album expected to release in March – the band’s first in nearly four years.

The group’s fans, known as ARMY, have been fervently awaiting their idols’ comeback since the last of their members completed mandatory military service last year – though the speed of the announcement came as a welcome surprise to some.

“It’s like the gods are coming down from Mount Olympus,” said Carla Nicholson, a fan from San Diego who currently studies in Seoul and visited a BTS promotional installation in the South Korean capital last week. When the album releases, she plans to rent an entire cinema to watch the music videos with her friends, she said.

Another fan, Jing Lee from Taiwan, said that when she heard of their impending comeback, “I couldn’t sleep for two nights because I’m too excited, but also scared that I won’t be able to get a ticket.”

“I gave all my three birthday wishes to BTS, just hoping to get at least one concert ticket,” she said – adding that she is ready to travel to the US if the group performs there. “I’m just going to follow them wherever they go.”

Fans have also pored over a cryptic image teased by the band, depicting three red circles – with theories about what it means ranging from “hello” to the symbols on the South Korean flag.

But the group is returning to a very different landscape than the one they left. K-pop is no longer a novelty, with the “Korean wave,” also known as Hallyu, bringing the country’s cultural exports to every corner of the globe. And for the past year, the industry has been rocked by a high-profile legal battle involving BTS’ parent company Hybe.

“The challenge isn’t just exposure, it’s really about how to stand out, and also earn trust among global fans,” said Ray Seol, an associate professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston, who researches K-pop. “It’s quite a different game now.”

Rise to global stardom

When BTS debuted in 2013, K-pop was already popular across Asia – but had only made limited progress breaking through Western markets.

That began changing with Psy’s 2012 smash hit “Gangnam Style,” whose viral popularity was an early precursor of what would come.

In the following years, BTS skyrocketed to global recognition, with their arrival in American pop culture hailed as a major breakthrough for the genre. They were the first K-pop act to win a Billboard Music Award in 2017, to perform on “Saturday Night Live” in 2018, and to earn a Grammy nomination in 2020.

Experts say several factors contributed to their runaway success. Of course, there’s the catchy music and detailed choreography – but also innovative songwriting that tackled social issues, and an active social media presence that set them apart from other K-pop groups and attracted an international fanbase.

But that journey came to a pause when the members – known by their stage names V, Jin, Jimin, RM, J-Hope, Suga, and Jung Kook – began their military service.

In South Korea, all able-bodied men aged 18 to 28 are required by law to perform 18-21 months of military service under a conscription system.

The group had already managed to postpone their service once, thanks to Sou

By Alicia Wallace, CNN

(CNN) — US consumer prices rose 2.7% annually in December, closing out a year that saw slight progress on inflation but continued affordability concerns for many Americans.

The latest Consumer Price Index, which measures the average change in prices for some commonly purchased goods and services, showed that the annual pace of inflation was unchanged from November, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Tuesday.

However, the monthly pace of inflation accelerated to 0.3% from November, when prices rose at an estimated average pace of 0.1%.

Economists were expecting that monthly CPI would rise 0.3% from November and ease slightly to 2.6% on an annual basis, according to FactSet estimates.

This story is developing and will be updated.

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By Ben Church, Antonia Mortensen, CNN

(CNN) — Hockey will once again be a flagship sport as next month’s Winter Olympics, not least because of the reintroduction of NHL players which will see some of the world’s best stars compete for a medal.

But while anticipation grows for the first puck drop of the Games, there have been fears that the venues which are set to host the hockey schedule may not be ready in time.

Critics are not just worried about the buildings being finished in time for the fans, but there were also questions around the playing surface itself.

Here is everything we know about the potential controversy which caused the NHL to temporarily think twice about letting its players compete in Italy.

NHL concern

Players from the NHL – the world’s premier hockey league – are set to return to the Olympics for the first time since 2014.

The league opted out of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing because of the Covid-19 pandemic and previously decided against allowing players to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, saying the competition would disrupt the hockey season.

But what should have been an exciting buildup to a world-class competition has instead been fraught with concern over the readiness of both hockey venues in Milan: the Milano Santagiulia and Milano Rho stadiums.

It got to the stage where NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said last month that the league would not send its players if there were any safety concerns with the ice.

So what exactly were the issues?

The league has already had to concede that the rinks will be slightly wider and shorter than usual NHL dimensions – but still within International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) standards – and then there were concerns around the quality of the new ice itself, with a small hole appearing in a previous test event.

On top of that, the venue infrastructure is behind schedule and the capacity of the new main venue, Milano Santagiulia, may not be what was initially desired.

The head of the IIHF, Luc Tardif, told reporters himself that the main hockey rink for the Games may not be fully finished by the time the first game begins, but promised the playing surface, practice facilities and dressing rooms would be ready for the start of the men’s tournament which will include NHL players.

All eyes, then, were on a test event at the venue last weekend.

Are the venues ready?

NHL officials were in Italy to monitor the test event and were reasonably pleased with the progress, much to the relief of local organizers.

On Monday, the NHL and NHL Players’ Association said in a joint statement that the tests were “a good trial run and provided important insight into the current status” of construction.

“While challenges are inherent with new ice and a still-under-construction venue, we expect that the work necessary to address all remaining issues will continue around the clock,” they said in a statement.

“The NHL and NHLPA will continue to monitor the situation, standing ready to consult and advise on the work be

Por EFE

Cuba repatriará el jueves los cuerpos de los 32 militares cubanos que murieron durante los ataques de Estados Unidos a Venezuela que culminaron en la captura del presidente de ese país, Nicolás Maduro, y su esposa, Cilia Flores, informó este lunes el Gobierno de la isla.

De acuerdo con un comunicado del Ejecutivo, los restos de los 32 “combatientes” arribarán en la mañana del jueves al aeropuerto internacional de La Habana, en donde recibirán un homenaje póstumo.

Posteriormente, serán trasladados al Ministerio de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (Minfar), en las inmediaciones de la Plaza de la Revolución, en donde serán expuestos. En la mañana siguiente se permitirá el acceso al público y para la tarde serán inhumados en los panteones para los Caídos por la Defensa de sus respectivas provincias.

El Gobierno adelantó además que el viernes se realizará una concentración en la Tribuna Antiimperialista, una plaza frente a la Embajada de EE.UU. en Cuba.

Un día después de los ataques en Venezuela, el Ejecutivo insular confirmó que 32 militares murieron en “acciones combativas” y “tras una férrea resistencia en combate directo contra los atacantes o como resultado de los bombardeos”. En el operativo estadounidense fallecieron “hasta ahora” 100 personas, según el Ministerio del Interior del país suramericano.

Muchos analistas habían apuntado que el primer círculo de seguridad personal de Maduro estaba conformado principalmente por cubanos, algo que Caracas y La Habana nunca habían confirmado.

Un informe de 2022 de la Misión Independiente de Determinación de los Hechos de la ONU (FFMV, por sus siglas en inglés) concluyó, tras analizar “acuerdos escritos confidenciales” entre Caracas y La Habana, que esta colaboración se remonta a 2006, cuando eran presidentes, respectivamente, Hugo Chávez y Fidel Castro.

Este documento, entregado al Consejo de Derechos Humanos de Naciones Unidas, afirma que “agentes del Estado cubano habían instruido y asesorado a la Dirección General de Contrainteligencia Militar” venezolana “en algunas de sus actividades de inteligencia y contrainteligencia”.

El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, advirtió el domingo a Cuba de que ya no recibirá más dinero o petróleo de Venezuela, al señalar que la isla ha estado “viviendo durante años” gracias al dinero y el crudo venezolanos a cambio de “servicios de seguridad” para los “dos últimos dictadores (Hugo Chávez y Nicolás Maduro)”.

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Por Djenane Villanueva, CNN en Español

Costa Rica, un país hasta hace poco comparado a Suiza por su calidad democrática y por su ausencia de violencia, entra en la fase final de su campaña presidencial atravesado por fenómenos que, hasta hace unos años, pocos pensaban que enfrentaría: la confrontación política, los liderazgos personalistas y una crisis de inseguridad sin precedentes.

Tan profundo es el impacto de esos fenómenos que miles de costarricenses aún no deciden su voto, pese a que faltan pocas semanas para las elecciones. Mientras que muchos se quejan del “clima tóxico” que relega sus principales preocupaciones.

Los comicios del 1° de febrero se perfilan como una prueba de fuego para la democracia costarricense, que el Índice de Democracia 2024 de la revista The Economist ubicó como la segunda más estable y funcional de América Latina, solo después de Uruguay.

El último estudio del Centro de Investigación y Estudios Políticos de la Universidad de Costa Rica (CIEP/UCR) para estas elecciones, publicado el 3 de diciembre, muestra a los costarricenses escépticos ante la oferta política actual, con la oficialista Laura Fernández, del Partido Pueblo Soberano, a la cabeza con un 30% de los votantes decididos.

Su ventaja se diluye, sin embargo, ante el 45% de costarricenses que aún no definen su voto.

En Costa Rica un candidato debe obtener al menos el 40% de los votos válidos para alcanzar la presidencia. Si ninguna de las candidaturas alcanza ese porcentaje, las dos personas que consiguieron más sufragios se deben disputar la presidencia en una segunda ronda electoral.

Las votaciones se realizarán en todo el territorio nacional y en 49 consulados de 42 países habilitados para recibir el voto. El Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones convocó a 3.7 millones de costarricenses a las urnas para elegir 60 cargos que incluyen la presidencia, dos vicepresidencias y el total de las 57 diputaciones que conforman la Asamblea Legislativa. El voto en el extranjero solo será para la presidencia.

Aunque la campaña ya transita el tramo definitorio, muy lejos está de las fiestas electorales de otros años, que alentaban a miles de votantes a sumarse al proceso con banderas en vehículos y casas.

Ronald Alfaro, politólogo, investigador del CIEP/UCR y del Programa Estado de la Nación, una iniciativa académica que da seguimiento al desempeño del país, describe el ambiente como un “cóctel molotov” por los factores inéditos que desafían a una de las democracias mejor valoradas del continente.

Alfaro destaca un electorado con preferencias volátiles, partidos políticos muy debilitados y un fuerte apoyo personalista al actual presidente Rodrigo Chaves, con un protagonismo que ningún otro mandatario había tenido en una campaña electoral para sucederlo.

“Se genera una dinámica de ataques y contraataques que opacan los principales problemas del país, con una oposición que tiene grandes dificultades para articular una alternativa”, dice.

Explica, además, que el país se aleja de la costumbre de procesar las disputas vía diálogo, lo que genera “una división negativa que pone en entredicho la supervivencia de la democracia costarricense a largo plazo”.

El fuego cruzado fue alimentado por dos procesos para terminar con la inmunidad presidencial en el Congreso en 2025. Pese a acumular 24 denuncias por beligerancia política ante el Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE) y más de 40 causas en la Fiscalía, Chaves termina su período con el fuero intacto. El 1° de mayo de este 2026 asumirá el nuevo Gobierno.

Los intentos para retirarle la inmunidad, el primero solicitado por la fiscalía y el segundo por el Tribunal, fallaron, porque los votos en el Congreso fueron insuficientes (38 según la ley).

El presidente ha dicho que es víctima de un “golpe de Estado judicial”, un relato que profundizó la fractura social y agitó el ambiente políti