Colombia’s ministry of transport may decide to ban colorful buses called “chivas” in a new plan for modernizing transport. The folkloric chivas, which have long delighted tourists, are at risk of extinction due to new plans set out by the ministry of transport.The colorful buses, which are often heard before they are seen, are regarded by some as a “party on wheels” with passengers playing music and even occasionally passing around a bottle of rum.

This week on South2North Redi speaks to three film directors who have dealt with different forms of censorship and story-telling in Africa. Jahmil Qubeka’s film Of Good Report was banned on the opening night of the Durban International Film Festival - allegedly for showing child pornography.

On one side, an eagle reaches its claws out toward a big red apple. On the other side, a creature wearing multiple masks moves toward the apple. These are images in a mural meant to depict the struggles of people of different backgrounds to make it to New York City. The mural is coming to life on a wall in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that runs much of the length of a road that hardly counts as a road. Area street artists know the wall, stretching about 200 feet on Vandervoort Place, as a prized space to show off their talents.

Two varied art forms staged recently at Greenix Village, a heritage art centre in Fort Kochi, as part of the inauguration of a hospitality service, left the audience spellbound. Ottamthullal presented by National Hartmut Schmidt, a German, and Tanoura, an Egyptian dance, presented by the internationally renowned artiste Hussein Muhammed, was an exotic treat. It was a perfect melange of cross-cultural exchange.

Chinese tourists may be flocking to Paris, but they are ignoring their own little piece of the City of Lights on the mainland. A small development called Tianducheng on the outskirts of Hangzhou is known within the country as China’s “little Paris.” It is complete with tree-lined plazas, stalls for quaint coffee shops and storefronts (mostly empty), and even an Eiffel Tower at one-third of full size. Some architectural experts have lauded the imitation, but five years after its construction, few Chinese residents have taken a shine to it.

UNICEF Ambassador and National Basketball Association (NBA) star Pau Gasol, returned today to Barcelona, Spain following a visit with Syrian refugees in Iraq. More than 1.7 million people - of which around 50 percent are children- have fled the armed conflict in Syria into neighboring countries, including more than 160,000 in Iraq.

Russia is prepared to open its arms to athletes from around the world to compete in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics – as long as they leave their rainbow flags at home. If there were any doubt about how the country’s new “gay propaganda” law would affect athletes and others attending in February, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko made clear the government’s true position today. Visitors will be accountable under the restrictions banning any positive information and communication to children about “nontraditional sexual relationships.”

USAID has been working in Nyungwe since the mid-1980s. Our work there has helped to build an eco-tourism industry through activities like trail maintenance, training park guides, and creating partnerships with the private sector to invest in things like lodging around the park. We’re also working with communities living in and around Nyungwe to help them earn steady incomes in ways that don’t deplete the park’s resources.