Folklore

Zimbabwe’s president says he fired his longtime ally for scheming to take power, including by consulting witch doctors.

Today is Friday 13th - a date that is often associated with bad luck. Over the day, millions of superstitious people will avoid meeting black cats, stay away from mirrors for fear of breaking them. Here are some of the most sinister events that happen on this date:

1. Lightning strike

Vampires are more than ghost stories in some places. In Malawi, a vampire scare has led to a spate of ongoing killings.

The African country is facing on-going mob violence, forcing the United Nations to evacuate its staff from some parts of the country. This isn’t the first time Malawi faced a vampire crisis. It happened before in 2002.

In the fairy tale of "The Traveling Princess," the heroine is granted three wishes: to travel through foreign lands, meet new friends and share her riches with the people she meets.

Members of a Greek folk-dancing group perform during the International Folklore Festival in Bautzen, Germany, in this photograph published on Friday. The festival, which ends on Sunday, brings together groups from around the world showcasing their customs and traditions. This is the 12th installment of the biennial festival and it will culminate with a big party. [Filip Singer/EPA]

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) invites families with young children to its garden on Saturday, April 15, for an Easter egg and treasure hunt. The objective of the game - which will be organized in 40-minute installments for up to 10 families at a time - is to find Mister Easter Bunny and take home the loot of chocolate eggs. The admission-free event runs from 10 a.m.

I was personally swept away by how that beautiful, bright and charismatic American saw Athens back in 1964, when she had her son in downtown Exarchia.

A group of men from the youth group of the ultranationalist Alperen Hearts protested Christmas and New Year's celebrations in Turkey by holding a man dressed as Santa Claus at gunpoint on Dec. 28 in the Nazilli district of the western province of Aydın.

I have hated everything about New Year's all my life: cheap street decorations, things no one would try to pass off as gifts at any other time of the year, restaurants where food is bad and the music is worse, television channels with loud and gaudy programs and connections to main squares in New York, Paris and London, street parties where there are just too many people, friends' house parties

Christmas is upon us and it seems these ladies know ALL about it!…
Enjoy, and remember: If you have been nice, maybe Santa will be nice to you too…