Google Commemorates Success of 1st Sudanese Female Music Composer

Google Doodle celebrated the anniversary of the huge success achieved by Sudanese composer and oud player, Asma Hamza
Google Doodle celebrated the anniversary of the huge success achieved by Sudanese composer and oud player, Asma Hamza
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Google Commemorates Success of 1st Sudanese Female Music Composer

Google Doodle celebrated the anniversary of the huge success achieved by Sudanese composer and oud player, Asma Hamza
Google Doodle celebrated the anniversary of the huge success achieved by Sudanese composer and oud player, Asma Hamza

Google Doodle celebrated the anniversary of the huge success achieved by Sudanese composer and oud player, Asma Hamza, who was known as the oud princess.

On July 19, 1997, Asma was the first Sudanese female composer to win the national music competition Laylat Al-Qadr Al-Kubra, which was a turning point in her career and helped her gain recognition in a male-dominated field in her country.

Her first popular work was composing the music of the “Al Zaman Al Tayb” written by Sudanese poet Saifeddine el-Desouki, and sang by Sudanese singer Sumaya Hassan in 1983.

Born in 1932, Hamza loved music from a young age, dreaming of becoming a singer. However, her vocal cords were not equipped to handle singing safely, so she switched to whistling melodies instead. When her father heard her whistle in harmony, he borrowed an oud (similar to a lute but with a thinner neck and no frets) so Asma could practice.

She taught herself to play oud using her memory and her musical sense. Despite that it was not socially tolerable for women to practice music in Sudan during her time, her father was one of few who encouraged her interest in music. According to Google, Asma composed her first musical piece in secrecy.

The first music she ever composed was “Ya Ouyouni” for a poem by Egyptian poet Ali Mahmoud Taha, in 1956.

With time, she collaborated with many talented Arab artists. She composed over 90 songs and became one of the most renowned female composers in Sudan. She also kept playing oud and officially became the first trained oud player in 1946.

Asma Hamza died in May 2018.



American Climber Dies on World's Fifth-highest Peak in Nepal

01 May 2025, Nepal, Kathmandu: A domestic aircraft descends over the Kathmandu Valley as snow-capped mountain ranges appear faintly in the distance under a rain-laden sky. Photo: Safal Prakash Shrestha/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
01 May 2025, Nepal, Kathmandu: A domestic aircraft descends over the Kathmandu Valley as snow-capped mountain ranges appear faintly in the distance under a rain-laden sky. Photo: Safal Prakash Shrestha/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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American Climber Dies on World's Fifth-highest Peak in Nepal

01 May 2025, Nepal, Kathmandu: A domestic aircraft descends over the Kathmandu Valley as snow-capped mountain ranges appear faintly in the distance under a rain-laden sky. Photo: Safal Prakash Shrestha/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
01 May 2025, Nepal, Kathmandu: A domestic aircraft descends over the Kathmandu Valley as snow-capped mountain ranges appear faintly in the distance under a rain-laden sky. Photo: Safal Prakash Shrestha/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

An American mountaineer died on Mount Makalu in eastern Nepal during a climb to raise funds for a children's cancer program, officials said on Tuesday, the second death in the Himalayan nation's climbing season that began in March.
The world's fifth-highest mountain, Makalu's peak is 8,463 m (28,000 ft) high, compared to Mount Everest, the tallest peak, at a height of 8,849 m (29,032 ft).
Alexander Pancoe, 39, died on Sunday while settling into his sleeping bag at the mountain's second high camp, after returning from an acclimatization trip at the higher camp three, Reuters quoted expedition organizer Madison Mountaineering as saying.
"Alex suddenly became unresponsive," the company said on its website. "Despite hours of resuscitation efforts ... they were unable to revive him."
Nepal's tourism department said it was arranging to bring the body to Kathmandu, the capital.
Pancoe, who survived a brain tumor when younger, had completed the Explorer's Grand Slam - climbing the highest peaks on each of the seven continents and then skiing to both the North and South Poles.
He had been battling chronic myeloid leukemia and was attempting to climb Makalu to raise funds for the pediatric blood cancer program of the Chicago-based Lurie Children's Hospital, said expedition leader Garrett Madison.
He had already raised $1 million to help fund clinical trials and other programs there, Madison added.
In April, a Nepali sherpa died on Mount Annapurna, the world's 10th highest mountain.
Wedged between India and China, landlocked Nepal is home to eight of the world's 14 highest peaks, including Mount Everest, and its economy is heavily reliant on climbing, trekking, and tourism for foreign exchange.