“Champions” Queen win 2025 Polar Music Prize, Hancock and Hannigan also honored

“Champions” Queen win 2025 Polar Music Prize, Hancock and Hannigan also honored
Queen have sold more than 300 million albums featuring songs such as “We Will Rock You,” “Another One Bites The Dust” and “Bohemian Rhapsody”.(AFP)
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Updated 18 March 2025

“Champions” Queen win 2025 Polar Music Prize, Hancock and Hannigan also honored

“Champions” Queen win 2025 Polar Music Prize, Hancock and Hannigan also honored
  • “Champions” Queen win 2025 Polar Music Prize, Hancock and Hannigan also honored

STOCKHOLM: British rock band Queen, American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock and Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan were awarded the 2025 Polar Music Prize on Tuesday.
The Polar Prize hailed Queen for their “distinctive and instantly recognizable sound that no one else can emulate.”
“Queen were not exaggerating when they sang ‘We are the Champions’,” it said in a statement.
Queen have sold more than 300 million albums featuring songs such as “We Will Rock You,” “Another One Bites The Dust” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Founded in 1970, the band featured flamboyant frontman Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bass player John Deacon. They played stadiums across the world — including a memorable performance at the Live Aid concert in 1985 — before Mercury’s death in 1991.
They relaunched in 2004 with a succession of new singers.
Queen share the prize with American jazz pianist Herbie Hanckock, a collaborator of Miles Davies among others as well as a solo star in his own right, and Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan.
Founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, publisher and manager of the Swedish band ABBA, previous winners include Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Sting, Elton John and Metallica.


Lebanese woman fired from work after replying to post by Israeli military’s spokesman

Lebanese woman fired from work after replying to post by Israeli military’s spokesman
Updated 07 November 2025

Lebanese woman fired from work after replying to post by Israeli military’s spokesman

Lebanese woman fired from work after replying to post by Israeli military’s spokesman
  • Sarah Shayah replied to IDF’s spokesman Avichay Adraee, saying, ‘Baalbek when?’
  • Lawyer tells Arab News that interacting via social media with any Israeli is ‘against the Lebanese penal code’

BEIRUT: A Lebanese employee was fired from her job with immediate effect after her reply to a post by the Israeli military’s spokesman on X triggered a social media uproar.
Shortly after the Israel Defense Forces’ Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X evacuation orders for residents of southern villages on Thursday, Lebanese citizen Sarah Shayah replied, saying: “Baalbek when?”
Without any clear indication as to what she meant by her reply, many social media users lashed out at Shayah, accusing her of communicating with Israelis and calling for her prosecution.
Others saw her reply as a joke or a simple error that should not have been taken so seriously.

Screenshot taken from social media shows Lebanese citizen Sarah Shayah’s reply to IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee’s post on X on Thursday. (Social Media)

According to Lebanese media, Shayah was an employee at the non-profit Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training.
LOST’s President Dr. Rami Al-Lakkis was quoted as telling Annahar newspaper that Shayah was immediately dismissed from her job. Citing a breach of the organization’s established procedures and regulations, Al-Lakkis emphasized that her actions constituted a violation of Lebanese laws, as they are considered communication with the enemy.
A lawyer specialized in criminal law told Arab News on Friday that interacting via social media with any Israeli is “against the Lebanese penal code.”
The lawyer, who requested anonymity, said: “A person who replies, retweets, or interacts with any social media account of any Israeli national is considered a form of communication with the enemy. If found guilty, a suspect could face no less than one year in jail.”
No confirmation could be obtained as to whether any legal action had been initiated against Shayah by the time this article was published.