Disney says it is laying off several hundred more people around the world, with workers in its film, television and finance departments impacted.

The entertainment giant has been under pressure as viewers move away from cable TV subscriptions in favour of streaming platforms.

“As our industry transforms at a rapid pace, we continue to evaluate ways to efficiently manage our businesses while fuelling the state-of-the-art creativity and innovation that consumers value and expect from Disney,” a spokesperson told the BBC.

The latest job cuts follow major layoffs announced in 2023, when around 7,000 workers were let go as part of a drive by chief executive Bob Iger to save $5.5bn (£4.1bn).

The cuts will impact multiple teams including marketing departments for its film and television units.

Workers in Disney’s casting and development and corporate finance departments will also be affected.

“We have been surgical in our approach to minimise the number of impacted employees,” said a spokesperson. The company also said that no teams will be closed down entirely.

The California-based firm employs 233,000 workers, with just over 60,000 of those based outside the US.

Disney owns a host of companies across the entertainment industry including Marvel, Hulu and ESPN.

The firm reported stronger than expected earnings in May, with overall revenue of $23.6bn for the first three months of the year. That was a 7% increase from the same period in 2024.

It said the growth was fuelled by new subscribers to its Disney+ streaming service.

The company has released a number of new films this year including Captain America: Brave New World and Snow White.

The live action remake of the iconic Snow White animated film did not perform as well as expected at cinemas, after facing a number of negative reviews.

But Disney’s latest release, Lilo & Stitch, broke box office records in the US for the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

The animated film has seen global ticket sales of more than $610m since its release in May, according to industry data firm Box Office Mojo.

(BBC News)

Anudi Gunasekara, Miss Sri Lanka at the 72nd Miss World pageant, has returned to Sri Lanka following the conclusion of the pageantheld in Hyderabad, Telangana, India on May 31.

The global event, which featured contestants from 108 countries, saw Miss Thailand being crowned as Miss World 2025.

Although Anudi delivered remarkable performances throughout the competition, becoming the first Sri Lankan in history to reach the final rounds in the Head-to-Head and Multimedia categories, she did not advance into the final 40 contestants.

Thanking for her warm welcome in Sri Lanka and for the love and support from Sri Lankans throughout the competition, she pointed out that participating in the Miss World pageant was a once in a lifetime experience.

She also told reporters that she was not expecting to take part in any other pageants.

“I do not intend to take part in any other pageants. My only lifetime desire was to join the Miss world pageant. I achieved that feat. So, I do not think I need to take part in any other pageants,” she said.

Loretta Swit, who won two Emmy awards for her role on the popular comedy TV series M*A*S*H, died on Friday, according to her representative.

She died at her home in New York at age 87, her publicist Harlan Boll told the BBC. She likely died of natural causes, although a coroner’s report is pending.

On M*A*S*H, Swit played US Army nurse Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan. The series, which followed a mobile Army surgical hospital during the Korean war, ran for 11 seasons from 1972 to 1983.

Swit was nominated for numerous awards, and appeared in nearly every episode of the series, including the finale which attracted a record 106m US viewers.

The show remains one of the most successful and acclaimed series in US television history. Its season finale was the most watched episode of any TV series in history when it ended in 1983.

As “Hot Lips,” Swit played a tough but vulnerable Army nurse who gained the nickname after having an affair with Major Frank Burns, who was played by Larry Linville.

The show used comedy and pranks to tackle tough issues like racism, sexism and the impacts of PTSD within the military, at a time when US forces were withdrawing from Vietnam and dealing with the consequences of that conflict.

It was based on the 1968 book, “MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors,” penned by a former Army surgeon.

Swit was born Loretta Szwed in New Jersey and trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.

Along with M*A*S*H, she also appeared in numerous other TV shows, movies and even game shows over her career.

She took to the Broadway stage in plays including Same Time, Next Year; Mame; and Shirley Valentine – a role for which she won Chicago’s top theatre prize, the Sarah Siddons Award.

Her TV work included appearances on The Muppet Show, Mission: Impossible and Murder, She Wrote.

In addition to her Emmys, Swit was nominated for four Golden Globe awards.

“Acting is not hiding to me, it’s revealing. We give you license to feel,” she said in an interview with the Star magazine in 2010. “That’s the most important thing in the world, because when you stop feeling, that’s when you’re dead.”

Speaking to an author about her character on M*A*S*H she said: “Around the second or third year, I decided to try to play her as a real person, in an intelligent fashion, even if it meant hurting the jokes. … She was a character in constant flux; she never stopped developing.”

Swit was also an artist and animal rights activist, and established a charity to campaign against animal cruelty, according to a statement from her publicist Mr Boll.

Jamie Farr, who also starred in M*A*S*H as Corporal Klinger, called Swit his “adopted sister”.

“From the first time I met her, on what was supposed to be a one-day appearance on M*A*S*H, we embraced each other and that became a lifetime friendship,” Farr said in a statement. “I can’t begin to express how much she will be missed.”

(BBC News)