LIFE AMONG THE BARBARIANS: Islamist threat to Timbuktu’s ancient scientific texts. “Timbuktu’s priceless collection of ancient scientific texts is at risk of destruction by hard-line Islamists. Ansar Dine, a Tuareg militia, occupies territory around Timbuktu, a town in northern Mali listed as a world heritage site. In recent weeks, the group has destroyed historic tombs in the town (see picture), which house the remains of Islamic Sufi saints and which Ansar Dine says are idolatrous.”