
-
Anisimova shocks Sabalenka to reach Wimbledon final, Swiatek in action
-
Europe court says S.African Semenya's gender eligibility trial wasn't fair
-
Ten rescued after deadly Huthi ship sinking off Yemen
-
Scrutiny over Texas flood response mounts as death toll hits 120
-
Rami Al Ali becomes first Syrian in Paris fashion programme
-
London stocks hit record high on tariff optimism
-
Ireland's Healy pulls off solo win at Tour de France
-
French appeals court clears two over first lady gender rumours
-
French appeals court court clears two over first lady gender rumours
-
Barry Callebaut cuts outlook as chocolate sales volumes melt away
-
The $10 mn bag: Original Birkin smashes records at Paris auction
-
Anisimova stuns Sabalenka to reach Wimbledon final
-
Root leads England revival after Reddy's double strike for India
-
Snap, crackle and pay: Ferrero to buy WK Kellogg for $3.1 bn
-
Shein faces 150-mn-euro fine in France
-
Rubio says Asia might get 'better' tariffs than others
-
India wicketkeeper Pant leaves field injured in third Test
-
Russia says holds 'frank exchange' with US on Ukraine war
-
Tendulkar says 'life has come full circle' with Lord's portrait
-
Wall Street stocks stall, London hits record high
-
Duplantis unfazed by late world champs in Tokyo
-
Europe court says S.African athlete's gender eligibility trial wasn't fair
-
Dzeko, 39, returns to Serie A with Fiorentina
-
Scrutiny over Texas flood response mounts as death toll tops 120
-
Iran threats in UK 'significantly increased': Intel watchdog
-
Volkswagen halts electric minivan exports to the United States
-
EU chief von der Leyen comfortably survives confidence vote
-
India's Reddy strikes twice to rock England
-
EU opens new probe into TikTok data transfer to China
-
Italy probes UK online bank Revolut for 'misleading' clients
-
Arsenal sign midfielder Norgaard from Brentford
-
Explosions, fires rock Kyiv in deadly Russian barrage
-
Fatigued Afghan taxi drivers take novel approach to AC
-
Rubio meets Russia's Lavrov at ASEAN talks
-
Stocks rise on tariff optimism, London hits record high
-
Hamas says Israeli troops sticking point in truce talks as Gaza pounded
-
EU chief von der Leyen survives confidence vote by large margin
-
Europe court says S.African athlete's trial wasn't fair in gender testing case
-
Ten rescued, more missing after deadly Huthi ship sinking
-
EU unveils recommendations to rein in powerful AI models
-
England bat against India in third Test as Bumrah returns
-
Caster Semenya: A rebel with a cause
-
AI-powered tour brings Anne Frank's story to life in Amsterdam
-
Wave of Russian drones, missiles kills two in Kyiv
-
US funding cuts could reverse decades of gains in AIDS fight: UN
-
England star Henderson leaves Dutch giants Ajax
-
Hippo birthday: Thai internet sensation Moo Deng turns one
-
Farrell on the bench for Lions against Australia-New Zealand
-
'Bitter end' for Real Madrid magician Modric
-
Sabalenka targets Wimbledon final as Swiatek showdown looms

Fading literature: Delhi's famed Urdu Bazaar on last legs
In the bustling heart of Old Delhi, Indian bookseller Mohammed Mahfooz Alam sits forlorn in his quiet store, among the last few selling literature in a language beloved by poets for centuries.
Urdu, spoken by many millions today, has a rich past that reflects how cultures melded to forge India's complex history.
But its literature has been subsumed by the cultural domination of Hindi, struggling against false perceptions that its elegant Perso-Arabic script makes it a foreign import and a language of Muslims in the Hindu-majority nation.
"There was a time when, in a year, we would see 100 books being published," said 52-year-old Alam, lamenting the loss of the language and its readership.
The narrow streets of Urdu Bazaar, in the shadow of the 400-year-old Jama Masjid mosque, were once the core of the city's Urdu literary community, a centre of printing, publishing and writing.
Today, streets once crowded with Urdu bookstores abuzz with scholars debating literature are now thick with the aroma of sizzling kebabs from the restaurants that have replaced them.
Only half a dozen bookstores are left.
"Now, there are no takers," Alam said, waving at the streets outside. "It is now a food market."
- Dying 'day by day' -
Urdu, one of the 22 languages enshrined under India's constitution, is the mother tongue of at least 50 million people in the world's most populous country. Millions more speak it, as well as in neighbouring Pakistan.
But while Urdu is largely understood by speakers of India's most popular language Hindi, their scripts are entirely different.
Alam says he can see Urdu literature dying "day by day".
The Maktaba Jamia bookshop he manages opened a century ago. Alam took over its running this year driven by his love for the language.
"I have been sitting since morning, and barely four people have come," he said gloomily. "And even those were college or school-going children who want their study books."
Urdu, sharing Hindi's roots and mingled with words from Persian and Arabic, emerged as a hybrid speech between those who came to India through trade and conquest -- and the people they settled down amongst.
But Urdu has faced challenges in being viewed as connected to Islamic culture, a popular perception that has grown since the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in 2014.
Hard-right Hindu nationalists seeking to diminish Islam's place in India's history have opposed its use: in the past decade, protests have ranged from the use of Urdu in clothing advertisements to even graffiti.
"Urdu has been associated with Muslims, and that has hit the language too," said Alam.
"But it is not true. Everyone speaks Urdu. You go to villages, people speak Urdu. It is a very sweet language. There is peace in it."
- 'Feel the beauty' -
For centuries, Urdu was a key language of governance.
Sellers first set up stores in the Urdu Bazaar in the 1920s, selling stacks of books from literature to religion, politics and history -- as well as texts in Arabic and Persian.
By the 1980s, more lucrative fast-food restaurants slowly moved in, but the trade dropped dramatically in the past decade, with more than a dozen bookshops shutting down.
"With the advent of the internet, everything became easily available on the mobile phone," said Sikander Mirza Changezi, who co-founded a library to promote Urdu in Old Delhi in 1993.
"People started thinking buying books is useless, and this hit the income of booksellers and publishers, and they switched to other businesses."
The Hazrat Shah Waliullah Public Library, which Changezi helped create, houses thousands of books including rare manuscripts and dictionaries.
It is aimed at promoting the Urdu language.
Student Adeeba Tanveer, 27, who has a masters degree in Urdu, said the library provided a space for those wanting to learn.
"The love for Urdu is slowly coming back," Tanveer told AFP, adding that her non-Muslim friends were also keen to learn.
"It is such a beautiful language," she said. "You feel the beauty when you speak it."
P.M.Smith--AMWN