SAO PAULO (AP) — Lady Gaga has confirmed that she will perform a free concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach on May 3.
“I’ve been dying to come perform for you for years and was heartbroken when I had to cancel years ago because I was hospitalized,” Gaga said Friday on social media.
In 2017, she canceled a performance at Rock in Rio for medical reasons. At the time, she apologized and said she needed to focus on her health.
“I am now coming back and I feel better than ever and am working so hard to make sure this show is one you will never forget,” she added.
Gaga’s concert on the beach follows Madonna’s free performance there in May. The “Queen of Pop” drew an estimated 1.6 million people to Copacabana Beach, one of the world’s most famous shorelines.
Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes, who was re-elected last year to a four-year term, has pledged to bring a major international concert to the city every May.
“I don’t have tickets for the Lady Gaga show! It’s open and free!” he joked on X while sharing Gaga’s announcement.
Lady Gaga, left, and fiancé Michael Polansky attend the "SNL50: The Anniversary Special" at Rockefeller Plaza on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
FILE - Lady Gaga performs during the 67th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s prime minister traveled to restive southwestern Balochistan province Thursday to meet survivors of a train attack and the commandos who rescued over 300 passengers from the insurgents who killed 21 civilians and four troops.
The Baloch Liberation Army, an outlawed group behind multiple deadly attacks in recent months, claimed responsibility for the attack that began Tuesday and ended Wednesday when troops killed all 33 insurgents in an operation that the military said resulted in no further passenger deaths. The train was heading from the Balochistan capital, Quetta, to the northern city of Peshawar when insurgents blew up the track, forcing nine coaches and the engine of the Jafer Express train to stop partially inside a tunnel.
The BLA regularly targets Pakistani security forces and has attacked trains, but had never been able to hijack any train in the past. They have also attacked outsiders such as Chinese workers, thousands of whom are involved in multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects in Balochistan.
Oil- and mineral-rich Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest and least populated province. Members of the ethnic Baloch minority say they face discrimination and exploitation by the central government.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was to visit Quetta on Thursday. Authorities said arrangements were made to transport the bodies of victims to their hometowns and people who were wounded were receiving medical treatment.
In an overnight statement, the military said it had “confirmed intelligence” indicating that the assault was “orchestrated and directed by terrorist ring leaders operating from Afghanistan, who were in direct communication with the terrorists throughout the incident.”
Pakistan often accuse Kabul of sheltering Pakistani Taliban and BLA, a charge the Afghan government denies.
However, the military in the statement urged the Afghan Taliban government to uphold its responsibilities and deny the use of its soil for terrorist activities against Pakistan.
According to a military statement, the “terrorists, after blowing up the railway track, took control of the train and held the passengers hostage including women, children and elderly, using them as human shields."
Most of the survivors said the assailants opened fire on the windows of the train, entered the cars and killed or wounded people before taking them hostage.
Three soldiers who had been guarding the railroad track were also killed, according to military spokesman, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif.
An injured victim of a passenger train attacked by insurgents, receives treatment upon arrival at a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, Thursday March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Arshad Butt)
An injured victim of a passenger train attacked by insurgents, receives treatment upon arrival at a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, Thursday March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Arshad Butt)
Ambulances wait for the arrival of the bodies of victims from a passenger train attacked by insurgents at a railway station in Much, Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, Thursday March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Rescue workers transport a coffin containing the body of a victim from a passenger train attacked by insurgents, upon arrival at a railway station in Much, Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, Thursday March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Rescue workers transport a coffin containing the body of a victim from a passenger train attacked by insurgents, upon arrival at a railway station in Much, Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, Thursday March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Passengers rescued by security forces from a passenger train attacked by insurgents arrive at a railway station in Much, Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, Thursday March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Passengers rescued by security forces from a passenger train attacked by insurgents arrive at a railway station in Much, Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, Thursday March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Rescue workers transport a coffin containing the body of a victim from a passenger train attacked by insurgents, upon arrival at a railway station in Much, Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, Thursday March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Passengers rescued by security forces from a passenger train attacked by insurgents arrive at a railway station in Much, Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, Thursday March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Passengers rescued by security forces from a passenger train attacked by insurgents arrive at a railway station in Much, Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, Thursday March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
