Still a loss, but it could have been worse.

The AP Wire has posted a surprisingly positive story about the recent military activity in Timbuktu. After the French and Malian troops chased out the Islamist militants that had taken over the fabled city, there was concern that the collection of 30,000 ancient manuscripts stored in the city's Ahmed Baba Institute had been destroyed. However, thanks to some crafty (and dangerous) book-smuggling efforts on the part of the Institute's staff, it turns out that the vast majority—perhaps 95%—of the collection was saved.