links for 2010-09-05

Sudanese-born commentator Nesrine Malik who writes on the Guardian's Comment is Free considers that Saudi Arabia, by implementing this ban, is failing in its religious duties toward fellow Muslims. She has a suggestion:

Saudi Arabia has a duty to facilitate pilgrimages to Mecca for all Muslims worldwide. I would therefore suggest, in order to mitigate the problem and in the spirit of slanderous generalization, that Saudi men be banned from Morocco, lest they use their tourist visas for “other purposes”.

Though Urdu remains the mother tongue of the Pakistanis, the factual reality is that only 8% speak it as their mother tongue. The language, in spoken, written and literary form is facing constant erosion in its popularity and usage.