"What we don't know is the full extent of the damage, " said Shamil Jeppie, who is director of the Timbuktu Manuscripts project.

CNN: , for

Shamil Tarpishev, Russia's Fed Cup captain, has backed Sharapova's single-minded assault on the singles scene, while others have cut to the chase in characteristically straightforward fashion.

BBC: SPORT | Tennis | From Russia - no love

In the absence of world No.2 Sharapova and 10th-ranked Zvonareva, Russian captain Shamil Tarpishchev has turned to two-time grand slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, as well as Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Maria Kirilenko and Elena Vesnina.

CNN: Fed Cup: Serbia makes history in first semifinal showdown

However on Wednesday, Shamil Jeppie, the Timbuktu Manuscripts Project director at the University of Cape Town, said that more than 90% of the 30, 000 manuscripts said to be in the region were safe.

BBC: Mali conflict: Sandstorm 'blocks' French troops advance

Mr Maskhadov has distanced himself from his two main radical commanders, Shamil Basayev, and the Jordanian-born Khattab, as well as from Ruslan Gelayev, responsible for a recent raid south of Chechnya's border, in Georgia.

ECONOMIST: A gleam of hope for peace in miserable, war-weary Chechnya