Timbuktu’s Ancient Libraries: Saved by Locals, Endangered by a Government
One week after Islamic militants fled Timbuktu, preservationists are uncertain about how to protect the city’s ancient documents
Articles from Contributor
After Cameron’s Libya Visit, Will the Lockerbie Case Be Re-Opened?
In Tripoli in early 2010, I was driven through farmland past watchtowers to an airy villa outside the Libyan capital, to meet the country’s second most powerful man: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. Although he had paved the way for …
Mali: Timbuktu Locals Saved Some of City’s Ancient Manuscripts from Islamists
For the Treasures of Timbuktu, a Moment of Grave Peril
As France and its allies try to root out Islamist militants in northern Mali, worry grows over the fate of precious manuscripts in the ancient city
Algeria Attack Poses a Dilemma for Western Oil Companies
Algeria Intervenes in Hostage Crisis as Mali’s War Spreads Regional Chaos
One day after Islamic militants invaded an Algerian gas field and seized dozens of Western workers, there are fears that several of the foreign hostages might be dead—potentially escalating the military intervention in …
War in Mali: France Can Bomb Militants, but Not Arms Routes
To fight a war, you need three essentials: weapons, fighters and cash
As Syrians Freeze, Diplomacy Is at a Standstill
Meanwhile, the political opposition to Assad cannot seem to get itself settled in the Syrian territory liberated from the regime.
In Libya: Why the Benghazi Investigation Is Going Nowhere
Evidence is confusing, suspects are not in custody, and investigators into the case have vanished — or worse
Is Marrakech’s Westernized Female Mayor a Real Figure for Change?
Upstairs in the old city-hall building in this ancient tourist mecca, there is an unexpected sight: in the sprawling mayoral suite, the head of Morocco’s third biggest urban area, a city with more than a million people, is …
Assad’s Cash Problem: Will Syria’s Dwindling Reserves Bring Down the Regime?
With more than 40,000 people killed in Syria’s devastating war, and about three million people driven from their homes, Western and Arab leaders are grappling with one question: How and when does all this end? The answer, say …
Tunisia: Two Years After a Martyr’s Death, His Struggle Remains Unfinished
Mohamed Bouazizi was completely unknown outside of his small Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid on Dec. 17, 2010 — the day he lit the spark of an Arab rebellion that has brought down four Arab dictators in the two years since. After …
Syrian Opposition Boosted by U.S. Recognition, But Faces Growing Challenges
With three weeks of fighting in Damascus signaling the accelerating erosion of the Assad regime’s control of Syria, Western diplomats are pressing the exiled opposition leadership to take charge of governing rebel-held areas. …