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Islamist insurgents retreating from Timbuktu set fire to a library containing thousands of priceless historic manuscripts,

The manuscripts had survived for centuries in Timbuktu, on the remote south-west fringe of the Sahara desert. They were hidden in wooden trunks, buried in boxes under the sand and in caves. When French colonial rule ended in 1960, Timbuktu residents held preserved manuscripts in 60-80 private libraries.The vast majority of the texts were written in Arabic. A few were in African languages, such as Songhai, Tamashek and Bambara. There was even one in Hebrew. They covered a diverse range of topics including astronomy, poetry, music, medicine and women's rights. The oldest dated from 1204.

they exploded the myth that "black Africa" had only an oral history. "You just need to look at the manuscripts to realise how wrong this is."

New research shows Chinese authorities have razed or damaged two-thirds of the mosques in China’s remote northwestern region of Xinjiang, further illuminating the scope of a forced cultural-assimilation campaign targeting millions of Uighur Muslims.

the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said satellite imagery showed that roughly 8,500 mosques, close to a third of the region’s total, have been demolished since 2017. Another 7,500 have sustained damage

Important Islamic sacred sites, including shrines, cemeteries and pilgrimage routes, were also demolished, damaged or altered, the study found.