Sony Music has acquired Queen's entire music catalog, including iconic hits like "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Another One Bites the Dust," and "We Are the Champions," in a distribution deal valued at over $1.2-1.27 billion.

Sony reportedly outbid another potential buyer who offered around $900 million for the catalog.

The deal covers Queen's recorded music royalties for the US and Canada, as well as a distribution agreement for other territories once their contract with Universal Music Group expires.

The acquisition includes future rights to Queen's name and likeness but excludes rights to live concerts, as founding members Brian May and Roger Taylor continue to tour with Adam Lambert.

The success of the "Bohemian Rhapsody" movie likely increased the value of Queen's songs, which include hits like "Bohemian Rhapsody," "We Will Rock You," and "Another One Bites the Dust."

The deal allows Sony to release records, monetize songs, and create a new stage show separate from "We Will Rock You."

Queen's classic songs continue to be popular on streaming platforms, and their legacy has grown over the years, with Brian May and Roger Taylor continuing to tour, and their songs like "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" remaining popular stadium staples.

Sources: Variety, TMZ, NME, sanmarinortv.sm, leparisien.fr, dailymail.co.uk, nbcnews.com, dailycaller.com, hypebeast.com, kalteng.antaranews.com, beritaja.com, antaranews.com, townoflaronge.ca, themusicnetwork.com, quotidiano.net, ansa.it, thathashtagshow.com, themusic.com.au, showbiz411.com, exame.com.

This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.

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Officials at the Population and Immigration Authority have recently had to deal with a somewhat unusual asylum request: A woman from an African nation said he had to flee her home because the local authorities were about to crown her as their queen against her will.

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According to the petitioner, a 43-year-old Christian woman who is married without children, her mother used to be the queen of the country, but after she died, her sister took over. Unfortunately, the sister has recently passed away, passing the royal title to her.

The woman decided that the royal way of life did not suit her, and fled to another city, eventually boarding a flight to Israel.

The application will most likely be denied as the Population and Immigration Authority has since learned that there is a procedure in place for rejecting the royal title in the African country, and it does not carry any penalties.

After looking into the matter thoroughly, the authority found out that providing an animal, like a sheep or a goat, was enough to refuse the title. It also said in a statement that "since there is no punishment for the refusal, there is no need for state protection" either.

Since then, two more asylum seekers have filed similar requests with the immigration authority, also claiming they had refused royal titles in Africa.

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Mixing history lesson, entertainment and solemn remembrance, the ceremony was a large-scale spectacle involving troops, dancers and martial bands, culminating in a military fly-past. But the stars of the show were the elderly veterans of that campaign who said they were surprised by all the attention: They were just doing their jobs.

"I was just a small part in a very big machine," said 99-year-old John Jenkins, a veteran from Portsmouth, who received a standing ovation as he addressed the event. "You never forget your comrades because we were all in it together," he said. "It is right that the courage and sacrifice of so many is being honored 75 years on. We must never forget."

Jenkins was among 300 WWII veterans, aged 91 to 101, who attended the ceremony in Portsmouth, the English port city from where many of the troops embarked for Normandy on June 5, 1944.

The 93-year-old queen, who served as an army mechanic during the war, noted that when she attended a 60th-anniversary commemoration 15 years ago, many thought it might be the last such event.

"But the wartime generation – my generation – is resilient," she said. "The heroism, courage and sacrifice of those who lost their lives will never be forgotten," the monarch said. "It is with humility and pleasure, on behalf of the entire country – indeed the whole free world – that I say to you all, thank you."

The event, which kicked off two days of D-Day anniversary observances, paid tribute to the troops who shaped history during the dangerous mission to reach beachheads and fight in German-occupied France.

D-Day saw more than 150,000 Allied troops land on the beaches of Normandy in northwest France on June 6, 1944, carried by 7,000 boats. The Battle of Normandy helped bring about Nazi Germany's defeat in May 1945.

Wednesday's ceremony brought together presidents, prime ministers and representatives of countries that fought alongside Britain in Normandy: The United States, Canada, Australia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Denmark, France, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Poland.

Trump read a prayer that President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered in a radio address June 6, 1944, extolling the "mighty endeavor" Allied troops were engaged in.

British Prime Minister Theresa May read a letter written by Capt. Norman Skinner of the Royal Army Service Corps to his wife, Gladys, on June 3, 1944, a few days before the invasion. He was killed the day after D-Day.

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