Mali's popular Festival of the Desert, held each year near Timbuktu, attracts both local and international music stars. The festival took place in January, but the Islamists who have taken control of the area have since banned all entertainment.
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A Tuareg band from Mali, Tinariwen, performs in Nice, France, in July. The band has developed an international reputation and won a Grammy this year. See them perform at NPR headquarters.
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This video still shows Islamist militants destroying an ancient shrine in Timbuktu on July 1. The International Criminal Court warned their campaign of destruction was a war crime.
Mali is a country rich in culture, both old and new.
The banging of hammers on silver echos through the main crafts market in Bamako, Mali's capital. It's usually teeming in a place where you can buy anything, from silver earrings to batik fabric, all of it handmade.
And despite its remote location, Mali has enhanced its cultural reputation in recent years with an annual international music and arts festival in the Sahara Desert near Timbuktu, drawing both African and Western artists.
The Goo Goo Cluster, a classic gooey treat from Nashville, Tenn., celebrates its 100th birthday this year.
Credit Courtesy of Goo Goo Cluster
Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff perform in front of a Goo Goo Cluster advertisement at the Grand Ole Opry, circa 1976. Coincidentally, Pearl's 100th birthday is also in October.
No one's entirely sure where the Southern treat called the Goo Goo Cluster got its name.
The iconic candy from Nashville, Tenn., celebrates its 100th birthday this year. The confection of marshmallow, peanuts and caramel wrapped in milk chocolate may owe its longevity in part to another Nashville icon: the Grand Ole Opry.
Goo Goo Cluster sponsored the venue's radio broadcasts from 1966 until 2006. In one popular advertisement, stage performers crooned, "Go get a Goo Goo ... it's gooooooood!"
Real-life Hollywood couple Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard are a.) famous b.) adorable c.) funny d.) the stars of Hit and Run, a new movie they made together,and e.) amazingly, all of the above.
Credit Lee Toland Krieger / Sony Pictures Classics
"This is a story about your first love," says Jones. "Can you take it with you, can it still be a part of your life, can you integrate it into your life? Do you have to let them go forever to move on?"
Credit David Lanzenberg / Sony Pictures Classics
"This is a story about your first love," says Jones. "Can you take it with you, can it still be a part of your life, can you integrate it into your life? Do you have to let them go forever to move on?"
Credit Lee Toland Krieger / Sony Pictures Classics
Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg are Celeste and Jesse, a couple who try to stay friends after their marriage ends. Jones co-wrote Celeste and JesseForever with Will McCormack, who has a supporting role in the film.
Don't be fooled by the title of Rashida Jones' new movie: It's called Celeste and Jesse Forever, but Celeste and Jesse, played by Jones and Andy Samberg, are not forever — in fact, they're getting divorced. And they have a weird way of dealing with it: They keep spending time together as if they were best friends.
Jeremy Renner stars in The Bourne Legacy, the latest in a franchise previously fronted by Matt Damon. But when an actor departs a Hollywood cash cow, it can be less a death knell than a chance for rejuvenation.
Credit Mary Cybulski / Universal Pictures
Now Jeremy Renner takes over the franchise (though not as Jason Bourne) with The Bourne Legacy, which opens on Aug. 10.
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Richard Harris' tenure as Professor Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series was cut short by his death in 2002.
Credit MGM/United Artists / The Kobal Collection
Daniel Craig has played Bond since 2006's Casino Royale. Six actors have played the licensed-to-kill agent on the big screen.
Credit Jasin Boland / AP
Matt Damon played Jason Bourne three times, starting in 2002 with The Bourne Identity and ending in 2007 with The Bourne Ultimatum.
Credit AP
Sean Connery, seen here in Tokyo filming 1966's You Only Live Twice, was the first actor to play James Bond in 1962's Dr. No.
The Bourne Legacy, which opens in theaters this week, is the fourth thriller in the series, and the first without either Jason Bourne or the star playing him, Matt Damon. They're suddenly not necessary, even though the series is named for Bourne? Why am I not surprised?