Colombia's famous city Medellin not always bad news

Nestled at 5,000 ft above sea level, this city has many residential areas perched in hilly tracts where people have to climb up to 1,200 feet to get from one place to another. As part of a project to improve the living conditions of the poor, a giant escalator has just been commissioned to reduce the time and effort required by commuters. INstead of climbing up stairs that feel like climbing up 28 storeys, the residents of Medellin's Comuna 13 neighbourhood now can take an escalator up to their homes.

Colombia is famous for coffee as well as textiles and Medellin is a major production center for designer garments which are shipped across the world from this city.