Say cheese! Taking snapshots popular pastime for public

SHANGHAI - When Sedig Omas Shabur saw curious Chinese visitors at the Expo taking pictures, the 54-year-old drummer from Eritrea, who gives regular performances at the Joint Africa Pavilion, went out of his way to have his photograph taken with them.

He did not expect that would make him a star, but his act of kindness has earned him a day job standing at his country's pavilion dressed in his trademark white robe, posing for photographs for visitors.

"It's impossible for me to stop as the Chinese visitors kept coming up to me, asking for a photo with me," said Shabur, a member of Sibrit cultural troupe, a group formed to perform and promote traditional dances and songs from Eritrea's nine ethnic groups.