After months of teasing fans, Blackpink have announced they will release new music, followed by an extensive comeback tour later in the year.
The K-pop girl band, made up of Jisoo, Jennie, Rose and Lisa, have has not released any new material since their smash-hit first album, The Album, which made its debut in October 2020.
However, a press release from the group’s management YG Entertainment on Tuesday confirmed they would be back with new work in August, followed by a second album which will kick-start “a continuous large-scale project which will extend through the second half of the year”, offering previews of “a lot of Blackpink-esque music that has been prepared over a long period of time”.
It was also revealed the band will take part in a global tour, which YG said would be “the largest world tour in the history of a K-pop girl group”.
Reports began circulating earlier this year that the band was preparing for a comeback, with band member Jennie confirming reports during an appearance on YouTube channel Game Caterers in March.
“Blackpink is also making a comeback soon. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this, but since I’m the only member here, I’ll just say it. Please look forward to it. Thank you very much,” she said.
In an interview with Rolling Stone in May, Rose said she doesn’t think the girl group will “ever end”, describing her fellow band members as “family forever”. “I grew up with them. They’re a part of me,” she said. “I don’t think it’ll ever end. It’s dumb of me to ever worry about that or think about it.”
During the group’s brief hiatus, both Rose and Lisa embarked on solo careers, releasing their respective debut albums in March and September 2021. Jisoo, meanwhile, pursued acting, taking a leading role in the historical romance K-drama Snowdrop.
Blackpink are the most followed musical act on YouTube, surpassing 75 million subscribers last week.
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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Read more about the coronavirus
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
