Brazil police foil Lady Gaga gig bomb plot
Rio's civil police force said that, together with the Ministry of Justice, it "prevented a bomb attack that would have occurred at Lady Gaga's concert in Copacabana" on Saturday night.
Officials said the superstar's huge free gig on the beach, her first concert in Brazil since 2012, drew up to two million people.
Writing on X, Rio police said it had arrested an adult who was "responsible for the plot" as well as a teenager in the operation codenamed "Fake Monster" – a reference to the US pop diva's pet name for her fans, "Little Monsters."
It said they had recruited people online to "carry out attacks using improvised explosives" and Molotov cocktails as "a collective challenge" with the aim of "gaining notoriety on social media."
The police added that the group behind the alleged plot "spread hate speech" and promoted radicalisation and self-harm online.
Police carried out raids across Rio de Janeiro state as well as in the states of São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, and Mato Grosso.
"The police acted silently and without creating panic... We acted surgically to prevent the crime from happening," Felipe Curi from Rio de Janeiro's Civil Police said in a statement.
Lady Gaga's concert was the second million-strong show on Copacabana beach in a year after a huge concert last year by Madonna.
Security was tight, with some 5,000 officers, drones, and both surveillance and facial recognition cameras deployed.
The 39-year-old star's fans reacted with shock to the news of the foiled plot.
"THANK GOD. This would have had an impact on over 2 million people," posted the LadyGagaFansTogether Instagram account, which has 307,000 followers.
Writing on the same account, one fan said he was "scared sick about her (Gaga) being safe at all times."
Lady Gaga on Sunday thanked her fans in Brazil on social media for "the biggest crowd for any woman in history."
"Your heart shines so bright, your culture is so vibrant and special, I hope you know how grateful I am to have shared this historical moment with you," she posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The gig was part of a strategy by Rio to hold mega-concerts in May in an effort to boost tourism during what is considered the low season.
All week, Gaga fans had flocked to Rio, a city famous for its annual Carnival that attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world.
Mayor Eduardo Paes has also hinted that he plans to bring in Irish rock band U2, although no date has been given.
Lady Gaga had kicked off her show perched more than two metres (6.5 feet) above the stage in a massive scarlet hoop gown which opened to reveal a vertical cage from which her dancers exited to a rendition of her 2011 song "Bloody Mary."
"Brazil, I missed you so much," screamed the pop star, who performed several tracks from her latest album, Mayhem, as well as favourites from throughout her career.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
34 minutes ago
- The Star
'Farm babe' versus 'food babe' influencer rivalry is a lopsided battle
(Reuters) -Michelle Miller stands in a field of corn, stalks stretching above her perfectly styled hair, holding a tiny microphone and addressing an audience online. She was farming genetically-modified corn in Iowa in 2017, she says, when a tornado hit. Now a social media influencer who goes by the name the "Farm Babe," Miller says the wind knocked her corn flat on the ground. But in a feat of botanical fortitude, the plantsbounced back. "So when you ask farmers: why are they growing these GMO seeds?" she says in the video, "it's because the genetics hold up." Millerhas starred in hundreds of videos, often set in fields and on farms, since she began her influencing career. She aims to debunk what she sees as misperceptions around farming perpetuated by another universe of influencers, many of whom are now closely aligned with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and his Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, campaign. But unlike Miller's GMO corn, arguments in favor of the status quo in U.S. food and agriculture are increasingly falling flat, especially on social media. Among the most prominent of those MAHA influencers is Vani Hari, who blogs as "The Food Babe" -- Miller says her ownname is a self-conscious spin-off. Hari has gained millions of followers by railing against processed food, GMOs, pesticides and other mainstays of the U.S. food system. Although Miller partners with powerful interests in the food and agriculture industry with huge marketing budgets, her message is not gaining as much traction as Hari's. Her Instagram account, for example, had just over 43,000 followers in early August, to Hari's 2.3 million. The bloggers' uneven rivalry speaks to the ascendance of a movement that has put conventional food and farming in its crosshairs, and Big Agriculture's struggle to respond. Hari and Miller, both in their 40s, emerged as food commentators in the 2010s amid a boom in social media influencing, when a single post going viral could help rocket its author to fame and fortune. Their rise also coincided with growing national attention on the relationship between food, obesity and chronic illness, with then-First Lady Michelle Obama spearheading new regulations on school nutrition and promoting vegetable gardening and exercise through her "Let's Move!" campaign. Hari grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she said she was largely raised on ultra-processed foods, to which she attributes later chronic health conditions, from eczema to endometriosis. An appendectomy in 2002 launched her on a quest to understand the source of her health issues. She pored over books on nutrition at the library, from which she concluded that her diet was at the root of her diseases, and those of many other Americans. "I wanted to investigate: what was it about these foods that made me feel so bad?" Hari said. Hari began writing a blog in 2011 as The Food Babe, a name suggested by her husband, with the aim of educating her friends and family. The blog reached well beyond her immediate circle and led to book deals and the creation of Truvani, a line of supplements now sold at Target and Walmart. More recently, she has become a sort of mascot of the MAHA movement, though she is a registered Democrat, according to public voter registration records. At a press conference in April, at which Kennedy announced the administration's intention to phase out synthetic food dyes, Hari was an opening act, appearing in a bejeweled white suit before a room of press and MAHA supporters. When Kennedy took the stage, he called her an "extraordinary leader." She said she does not have a formal role in the administration. Miller wanted her own pulpit after she began noticing Hari's content in 2014. A commercial farmer of soybeans, corn and livestock in Iowa at the time, Miller said she posted a comment on Hari's Facebook page taking issue with her claims about the toxicity of GMO crops. After that, Miller said, she was blocked. So, she launched a rival blog. "I really took it upon myself to be a myth buster for the industry," she said. Hari did not respond to questions about blocking Miller or others who make critical comments. Hari has published books blasting corruption in the food industry as well as her own cookbooks, and sells subscriptions to her blog. The supplements, however, areher main business, Hari said. She declined to disclose the company's value. Miller, who said she is not registered with either political party, travels about 300 days a year, doing paid speaking engagements, farm visits and branded partnerships with companies like Tyson Foods, Domino's Pizza and the California Beef Council. She also writes a column for an agriculture industry trade publication. She declined to say exactly how much she earns, but her published fee for speeches ranges from $2,500 to $15,000. Mariah Wellman, a professor of advertising and public relations at Michigan State University who focuses on social media and wellness, said both women likely earn in the high six figures for their work. But they speak to different audiences. And the constraints of traditional public relations may hinder pro-agriculture messaging, while the MAHA crowd's comfort with social media helps propel its narrative. "When you think about large brands and large agricultural companies, they are headed by a demographic that's not super comfortable with influencer culture," said Wellman. She said that such companies often find it hard to keep up with fast-moving social media trends as they like to vet their partnerships carefully. Miller, for her part, is sometimes frustrated by the challenges of working with an industry that is less nimble on social media, noting that it skews older and male, and saying it is often "preaching to the choir."But she sees it as part of her mission to help agriculturebetter communicate about itself. Hari has gained traction as public skepticism of U.S. public health institutions grew during the Covid-19 crisis. And her profile exploded when Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic and environmental lawyer who was involved in suing companies like Bayer Monsanto over its pesticides, joined President Donald Trump's administration. Kennedy's MAHA zeal has already inspired corporate action and state legislation on food. In June, Kraft Heinz and General Mills announced they would phase out synthetic food dyes, which MAHA adherents believe cause problems ranging from hyperactivity in children to cancer, by 2027. Scientists say there is not yet a large enough body of evidence to show whether synthetic food dyes cause these problems. West Virginia in March banned some synthetic food dyes from being sold in the state, and Arizona and Utah have recently banned a list of synthetic food dyes in school meals. Communications firm Edelman found in a large, global public opinion survey taken in 2024 that people, especially those aged 18-34, are increasingly disregarding the advice of credentialed medical providers in favor of recommendations from friends, family and social media. As Lauri Baker, a professor of agricultural communication at the University of Florida, says:"In almost any study we've conducted, people are more likely to trust someone who looks like them, thinks like them, who they believe is like them." (Reporting by Renee Hickman. Editing by Emily Schmall and Claudia Parsons)
Daily Express
34 minutes ago
- Daily Express
Four jailed for aiding RM24.2m fixed deposit fraud gang
Published on: Tuesday, August 12, 2025 Published on: Tue, Aug 12, 2025 By: Jo Ann Mool Text Size: Some of the accused being escorted to the court complex- Daily Express Malaysia file pix KOTA KINABALU: Four individuals were each sentenced to three and a half years' imprisonment by the High Court here on Tuesday for assisting an organised criminal group involved in a RM24.2 million fixed deposit fraud. Josepin J. Langkan, 39, Vireonis Jonok, 36, Leong Hin Ping, 64, and Nasir Abdul Rasid, 62, pleaded guilty separately before Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol. Advertisement The offences were committed at the MBSB branch here between April and July last year. They were convicted under Section 130W of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment. * Read full report in tomorrow's print paper or log in or sign up for e-paper and premium online news access. * Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Sinar Daily
2 hours ago
- Sinar Daily
Malique surprises fans by posting rare photo of himself on Instagram
The post quickly became a talking point among Malaysian netizens, many of whom were thrilled to see a rare glimpse of the elusive artist. Malique surprised fans by posting what seems to be his first Instagram photo of himself; a 17-year-old picture with his wife, Melissa. MALAYSIAN hip hop icon Malique stunned fans after sharing what appears to be the first-ever photo of himself on his Instagram account, even though the image is 17 years old. The post quickly became a talking point among Malaysian netizens, many of whom were thrilled to see a rare glimpse of the elusive artist. Instagram user @meorhaqimy commented, 'Even though it is an old photo, this could be the first time Malique has posted one showing his face.' Another user, @ said, 'It will not be long now, one day he will definitely post a current photo of himself.' Meanwhile, @azraeimuhamad sarcastically joked, 'Probably, this means in 2040 we will only get to see his 2025 photo.' The 47-year-old, whose real name is Malik Ibrahim, was born on Aug 21, 1977, at Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Bahru, Johor and is best known as one half of the legendary duo Too Phat alongside Joe Flizzow. Malique, best known as one half of Too Phat with Joe Flizzow, has stayed out of the public eye since the group disbanded in 2007. Photo: Facebook Since the group disbanded in 2007, Malique has largely kept out of the public eye, avoiding print and electronic media entirely. For years, his Instagram feed featured only random images and pictures of other people, but never his own face. That changed four days ago, when he surprised his followers by posting a picture from Aug 8, 2008, the day he married TV personality Melissa Maureen Rizal in a private ceremony in Bali, Indonesia. The couple now have four children: Inca Medina Malique, Rumi Arjuna Malique, Chasca Maya Malique and Ezra Aditya Malique. Melissa, born on March 3, 1980, is a former actress and model of Pakistani, Chinese and Malay heritage. She is best known for her work in local TV series, films, commercials and stage plays, including Realiti and Gol & Gincu. For fans who have long regarded Malique as a pioneer and icon of the Malaysian hip hop scene, the post was more than just a nostalgic throwback. It was a rare moment of connection with an artist who has chosen to remain in the shadows for nearly two decades. More Like This
