Diamond Platinumz to Headline Malawi's Sand Music Festival as Ticket Sales Commences Friday

Tanzanian artist Naseeb Abdul Juma well known as Diamond Platinumz will headline this years Sand Music Festival to be held at Sunbird Livingstonia Beach Hotel in the Central Region Lakeshore district of Salima.

The festival is being organized by Impakt Events led by its founder and Director Lucious Banda.

This years event which happens to be the 6th edition will take place from 28th to 30th October, 2016.

According to information released by the organizers, ticket sales for the much awaited festival will commence on Friday 14th October 2016 and can be accesses at Blantyre, Lilongwe and Salima Total Filling Stations.

Lagos storm Notting Hill Carnival in London

The sound and sight of Lagos will on Monday dominate the popular Nothinghill Carnival in London as the #LoveLagosWeekend campaign enters Day three.
To this end, the popular Nigerian Corner on Adelaja street at Nottinghill carnival will on Monday transform to Lagos Corner courtesy of the Lagos branding campaign by the Lagos State Government that has taken the city of London by storm since Saturday.
The #LoveLagosWeekend started on Saturday with a town hall meeting and media parley addressed by Lagos State top officials and continued on Saturday evening at I Laugh with MC Abbey and the Love Lagos Crack Ya Ribs with Julius Agu on Sunday.

Promoter of the Lagos Corner, Mr. Ayo Sonaiya said that Monday’s event coincides with the Nothinghill Carnival’s 50th edition.
“We are happy that at a time that Lagos State is counting down to its 50th anniversary, the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is using the huge platform of Nothinghill Carnival, which is also celebrating its 50th edition this year to reach out to millions of Nigerians and Lagosians in particular about the emerging powerful brand that Lagos has become in the areas of arts and entertainment and in connecting with the Diaspora about the great things being recorded in Lagos,” he said.

The Lagos Corner will provide a veritable platform for performing artistes from Lagos State to showcase their talents and further give verve to Brand Lagos as the home of creativity.
The Love Lagos Weekend, according to the State’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, is a three-day event designed to communicate the Lagos tourism brand initiative to the world.

African Teams that Lit up the Rio Olympic Opening Ceremony

The Rio 2016 opening ceremony began with a bang. As the first Olympics to be held on South American soil came to life in stunning fashion after months of negative publicity on and off the track.

207 countries took part in the famed parade of nations (including a team made up of refugees) as each team soaked up the grandeur before the hard work of competition started. Some African teams at the ceremony came out in formal suits, but we take a look at five teams that rocked their local attire.

1.

Burundi

Not to be mistaken for javelin competitors, the Burundi team stand out in this beautiful two-piece attire finished off with neon trainers. Stylish!!!

Members of Burundi walk during the Opening Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games © Jamie Squire /Getty

2.

Cameroon

Colourful ensemble by the Cameroonian women at Rio. No doubt a post-ceremony party played a role in the choice of this outfit.

Cameroon’s delegation parade during the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games © Olivier Morin
AFP/Getty

3.

Mali

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The Mali team show that they will be competing clean at Rio with their all-white attires.

Miss BumBum 2016 contestants brought traffic to a standstill

The annual Miss Bumbum contest, Brazil’s most popular beauty pageant, contestants put on ‘butt-

iful’ display on the streets of Brazil yesterday by running in their own 100-metre sprint – in nothing

but skimpy, bum flaunting bikinis. this brought traffic to a standstill as they ran down the famous 

Avenida Paulista, the main street of the country’s biggest city Sao Paulo. It was quite an eye-popping 

time yesterday in Brazil when the 27 women competing to win the title of best buttocks in Brazil got 

into the Olympic spirit. 

more pictures:

Animals Roam Free And People Are Caged in the Most Ferocious Zoo In China

At the Lehe Ledu Wildlife Zoo in Chongqing City, China visitors pay to travel through in a caged vehicle while the animals roam free around them.

When people go to visit animals at the zoo, they never get to see how if feels to be the ones in the cages. Well a zoo in China is switching it up by having the visitors in the cages when they go see animals.

The people get to get up close and personal with the wild and sometimes ferocious animals, and the animals get to have freedom to walk around the parks without being in an enclosure.

The people are safe inside the caged area, and the humans get to leave whenever they want. Whereas in a regular zoo, the animals are cooped up all day long in their cages.

The Lehe Ledu Wildlife Zoo is one of the very few zoos in the world where humans moved through the park in a vehicle. They get to offer food through a small gap to lions, tigers and bears.

The Annual Penis(Phallus) Festival in Japan

The popular festival — Kanamara Matsuri — is marked annually on the first Sunday in April every year, attracting hundreds of visitors from both inside and outside Japan.Participants sucked on phallus-shaped lollipops and posed for photographs in
phallus-shaped masks as several men pushed the portable penis shrine through the street, Hundreds of locals have been parading through the streets with three giant phalluses, some as big as a full-grown man, in a tribute to the humble penis.

9 Beautiful Beach Vacation Spots in Africa

Too often, wildlife activities have overshadowed tourism in Africa, however, that is not the only reason why people visit Africa during their holidays. Africa is blessed with stunning attractions, vibrant culture and amazing things to do but there are still lots of surprises and unique hidden gems such as beaches that truly provide a real tropical experience. Like many other coastal destinations, the continent is teeming with wonderful coastlines, island resorts and clandestine beaches.

If you are planning a laid-back weekend getaway or vacation, you should probably take a look at these vacation spots. We present to you 9 beautiful beach vacation spots in Africa. Guess what? Some of them are close to home than you can imagine. All you need to do is to grab your towel and your beach bag, book cheap flights and make your hotel reservation and get going.
1. Nungwi, Zanzibar



Photo Source: Kevin Harber on Flickr

Have your camera ready for your vacation here. On the north of the Zanzibar lies the Nungwi beach that is one of the laid back island beaches in Africa. Once upon an era, this place was a fishing village and over the years the dhow-building center became the pride of Zanzibar. It is a popular vacation spot where the palms are beautifully ambled on the beach.

1500 Year Old Bible Confirms that Jesus Was Not Crucified, Vatican In Awe

Much to the dismay of the Vatican , an approx. 1500-2000 year old bible was found in Turkey, in the Ethnography Museum of Ankara. Discovered and kept secret in the year 2000, the book contains the Gospel of Barnabas – a disciple of Christ – which shows that Jesus was not crucified, nor was he the son of God, But a Prophet. The book also calls Apostle Paul “The Impostor”. The book also claims that Jesus ascended to heaven alive, and that Judas Iscariot was crucified in his place. A report by The National Turk says that the Bible was seized from a gang of smugglers in a Mediterranean-area operation. The report states the gang was charged with smuggling antiquities, illegal excavations, and the possession of explosives. The books itself is valued as high as 40 Million Turkish Liras (approx. 28 mil. Dollars). Man, where is the Thieves Guild, when you need them?

Meet The Man Who Spent 57 Years Counting The Bricks Of The Great Wall Of China

A 74-year old man has attracted a lot of attention from across China over the last few weeks, for his incredible dedication to his suprising lifelong mission: counting all the bricks of the Great Wall of China. Zhāng Ming-húa is the son of a melon farmer from the Gansu Province, who joined the Red Guards in 1966, when he was only sixteen years old. In December 1968, in the midst of all the turmoil of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, he met Chairman Mao Zedong and was given a rather singular and unusual mission. He was asked to count the bricks of the Great Wall, in order to inspire greatness in modern-day Chinese by showing them the accomplishments of their ancestors.

Mr Zhāng has devoted his entire life to fulfilling his mission, and he has now almost completed his task. He has only 418.7 kilometers of wall left to count, out of a total of 21,196 km (13,171 miles), and hopes to finish in less than two and a half years. He says he was honored to receive such an important mission and says his main concern in life is to be able to finish before he dies. “This wall is my life” says the old man. “I have put so much time and effort in my job, that I can’t even think of anything else I would rather be doing. At this point, my only wish is to be able to make it to the end.”

Zimbabwe tourism crippled by Ebola, Tax and Hunting ban

Not the best of times for Zimbabwe’s tourism industry. Tourist arrivals were down by 20% in 2015 in comparison to the previous year, according to the Employers’ Association of Tourism and Safari Operators, the reason was, quite predictably, the largely reported Ebola outbreak, which put the whole world in danger, but had its center in West Africa.

The industry isn’t backing down, though, and several actions have been put in place in order not only to improve on last year’s disappointing results, which saw companies suspending the payment of bonuses, but also beat 2009, a record-year for Zimbabwe.

Tourism stakeholders expect a 10% rise in demand, but insiders estimate that big marketing campaigns will be needed for companies to accomplish their goals.

2004’s Ebola outbreak cost Zimbabwe a whopping $6 million, as cancellations rained down and buyers withdrew from the important tourism expo, but the Zimbabwe tourism authority believes the industry is making its recovery.

Top 25 Travel Destinations in the World for the year 2015

The following destinations were rated based on millions of reviews by travelers and tourists in the year 2015:

#1: Marrakech (Morroco)

#2: Siem Reap (Cambodia)

#3: Instanbul (Turkey)

#4: Hanoi (Vietnam)

#5: Prague (Czech republic)

#6: London (United Kingdom)

#7: Rome (Italy)

#8: buenos aires (Argentina)

#9: Paris (France)

#10: Cape Town central (southafrica)

#11: New York city (United state)

#12: zermatt (switzerland)

#13: Barcelona (Spain)

#14: Goreme (Turkey)

#15: Ubud (Indonesia)

#16: cusco (Peru)

#17: St. Petersburg (Russia)

#18: Bangkok (Thailand)

#19: Kathmandu (Nepal)

#20: Athens (Greece)

#21: Budapest (Hungary)

#22: queenstown (New zealand)

#23: Hong Kong (China)

#24: Dubai (United Arab Emirates)

#25: Sydney (Australia)