
Saved from militants, Timbuktu's famed manuscripts return home after 13 years in Mali's capital
Islamic radicals destroyed more than 4,000 manuscripts, some dating back to the 13th century, after they seized Timbuktu in 2012, according to the findings of a United Nations expert mission. They also destroyed nine mausoleums and a mosque's door — all but one of the buildings on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

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Toronto Star
20 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Gangs in Guatemala stage prison riots to demand the return of 10 leaders moved to other prisons
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Members of Guatemala' s two largest gangs — Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha — staged riots in two Guatemalan prisons on Tuesday, demanding the return of 10 leaders who were sent to other prisons and placed in solitary confinement. Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez told The Associated Press that the gang members are holding at least six guards — one of whom was shot — hostage in two prisons in Guatemala City.


Winnipeg Free Press
20 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Texas Republicans plan another special session to deliver Trump more GOP congressional seats
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Republican leaders said Tuesday that they were prepared to end their stalemated special session and immediately begin another standoff with Democrats in the GOP's efforts to redraw congressional maps as directed by President Donald Trump. It's the latest indication that Trump's push to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections will become an extended standoff that promises to reach multiple statehouses controlled by both major parties. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows confirmed the plans during a brief session Tuesday morning that marked another failure to meet the required attendance standards to conduct official business because dozens of Democrats have left the state to stymie the GOP's partisan gerrymandering attempts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Burrows said from the House floor that lawmakers will not attempt to reconvene again until Friday. If Democrats are still absent — and they have given no indication that they plan to return — the speaker said Republicans will end the current session and Gov. Greg Abbott will immediately call another. The governor, a Trump ally, confirmed his intentions in a statement. 'The Special Session #2 agenda will have the exact same agenda, with the potential to add more items critical to Texans,' Abbott wrote. 'There will be no reprieve for the derelict Democrats who fled the state and abandoned their duty to the people who elected them. I will continue to call special session after special session until we get this Texas first agenda passed.' Abbott called the current session with an extensive agenda that included disaster relief for floods that killed more than 130 people. Democrats balked when Abbott added Trump's redistricting idea to the agenda. Burrows on Tuesday did not mention redistricting but chided Democrats for not showing up for debate on the flood response package. The redistricting legislation would reshape the state's congressional districts in a design aimed at sending five more Republicans to Washington. The scheme is part of Trump's push to shore up Republicans' narrow House majority and avoid a repeat of his first presidency, when the 2018 midterms restored Democrats to a House majority that blocked his agenda and twice impeached him. Current maps nationally put Democrats within three seats of retaking the House majority — with only several dozen competitive districts across 435 total seats. Texas Republicans have issued civil warrants for the absent Democrats. Because they are out of state, those lawmakers are beyond the reach of Texas authorities. Burrows said Tuesday that absent Democrats would have to pay for all state government costs for law enforcement officials attempting to track them down. Burrows has said state troopers and others have run up 'six figures in overtime costs' trying to corral Democratic legislators. ___ Barrow reported from Atlanta.


Winnipeg Free Press
20 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Man who fired a shotgun outside a New York synagogue gets 10 years in prison
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A man who fired a shotgun outside an upstate New York synagogue with dozens of children inside shortly after the start of the Israel-Hamas war was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to 10 years in prison. Mufid Alkhader, 29, was arrested in December 2023 after firing two shots in the air and shouting 'Free Palestine!' outside Temple Israel of Albany. No one was injured, but the incident terrified many of the 61 children attending preschool and the adult staffers who had to shelter in place. 'My daughter was in Hebrew class with her teacher, whose own child was on the other side of the building,' Rachel Mandel told the court. 'Her amazing teacher held, hid and comforted my child. She prepared herself and the children in her care to die as victims of hate.' The shots were fired hours before the first night of Hanukkah and two months after the surprise incursion by Hamas triggered the war. Federal prosecutors say Alkhader, whose gun jammed after the second shot, complained about events in the Middle East after his arrest. Under a deal with prosecutors, Alkhader in February pleaded guilty to obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs by threat of force, brandishing a firearm during the commission of that offense and conspiring to purchase a firearm unlawfully. Alkhader, wearing an orange jail shirt, told the court Tuesday he felt terrible about what he did and for scaring people. 'I know I was not in my right mind,' Alkhader said, asking for forgiveness. Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. Alkhader's public defender had argued for a more lenient sentence, citing his client's severe mental illness. But Judge Anne Nardacci sided with prosecutors, who said Alkhader should face 10 years in prison after traumatizing the children and adults in the synagogue. Prosecutor Richard Belliss said Alkhader wanted to scare the people in the building, 'and scare them he did.' Alkhader was born in a Palestinian refugee community near Baghdad and his family came to the U.S. as refugees in 2012, when he was 16. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen two years later and lived in nearby Schenectady at the time of the shooting. Another man was sentenced last fall to 14 months in prison for making a 'straw' purchase of the shotgun for Alkhader.