Lebanese singer dies

Renowned Lebanese singer Nour al-Huda (Alexandra Badran) died in Beirut on Thursday at 74.

She won her first artistic glory in her birthplace Lebanon and in Egypt. Her songs were mostly composed by pioneer Egyptian musicians Zakaraya Ahmad al-Qasabji and Rias al-Sunbati.

She had also played starring roles in films by Egyptian filmmakers Henry Barakat and Salad Abu Seif. She was the first Lebanese artist to have access to the Egyptian movies.

She recorded 500 songs and acted in 25 films. She withdrew from the limelight at the beginning of the 1960s and lived in seclusion after her house was hit two decades ago during the Lebanese civil war. Nour al-Huda is to be buried today in Beirut.