Fifth Floor

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The Kenyan clan branded 'evil' Jul 31, 2020

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The BBC’s Anne Soy has been to her birthplace, Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, to meet members of the Talai clan, who have been feared and shunned since colonial times. When the Talai resisted British settlers more than a century ago, they were punished and branded ‘evil’, a slur that left them impoverished and marginalised, and still persists today.

Afghan etiquette - what's in a title? BBC Pashto's Payenda Sargand has been putting the spotlight on the importance of titles in Afghan society. Why is it more important to know a person’s title than their name, and what happens if you get it wrong? He’s been sharing his discoveries with presenter Faranak Amidi.

My Home Town: Snezhinsk, Russia Ksenia Idrisova of BBC Russian takes us to her hometown of Snezhinsk in the Ural mountains of Russia, a town so secret in her childhood that it wasn’t even shown on maps.

Image: Members of Talai clan on tractor Credit: BBC

The president and the hostage-taker Jul 24, 2020

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There's hot debate in Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelensky helped secure the release of a busload of hostages by complying with the hostage-taker's bizarre demand. Irena Taranyuk of BBC Ukrainian has been following the arguments over whether he took the right decision.

Birdwatching in lockdown Kathmandu For Shreejana Shrestha of BBC Nepali, lockdown in the capital Kathmandu brought an unexpected new interest. She's become an avid birdwatcher. She tells us about the many beautiful and unusual birds she's been able to see and hear in the quieter and cleaner city.

Cathedral, museum, mosque: Hagia Sophia The first Friday prayers have been said at Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, after a court ruling ended its museum status. It was built as a cathedral 1500 years ago, then became a mosque after the Ottoman conquest. In the 1930s it was made into a museum, and now it's a mosque again. Esra Yalcinalp has been covering the story for BBC Turkish.

Image: Hostage bus Lutsk, Ukraine Credit: EPA/MARKIIAN LYSEIKO

Risking death for a fragment of jade Jul 17, 2020

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The world’s largest jade mines are in Myanmar. It’s an industry worth an estimated $30 billion a year for the mine owners. But it's a hazardous living for the hundreds of thousands who scavenge through mountains of rubble in search of fragments of jade. Earlier this month 172 died when one of those piles collapsed. A BBC Burmese team visited the area last weekend - their editor in London, Soe Win Than, shares their findings.

Ertugrul: the Turkish conquest of Pakistan It’s a story of strength, courage, and the foundation of a great empire. The Turkish TV series Ertugrul is set eight centuries ago, its hero is a tribal leader whose son Osman founded the Ottoman Empire. It’s gripped audiences in Turkey and beyond, and a version dubbed into Urdu is a hit in Pakistan. Aliya Nazki of BBC Urdu is a fan.

Image: Jade scavenging in Myanmar Credit: BBC

Iran's female gamers Jul 10, 2020

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Lockdown has boosted online gaming everywhere, but when Sheida Hooshmandi of BBC Persian investigated Iran’s gaming scene she discovered a surprising number of participants are women. So what are the particular challenges for female gamers in the Islamic Republic of Iran?

ABC…. It’s as easy as ABC, but learning your alphabet is trickier in some places than others. Fifth Floor class of 2015 takes us through their ABCs.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM, has seen a surge in popularity in China since the Covid-19 pandemic. Beijing recently considered making criticism of TCM a crime in the province, but this sparked a huge backlash amongst citizens. Yashan Zhao of BBC Chinese explores the differing views of TCM within China.

Photo: Iranian girls watching gaming Credit: BBC

Nollywood’s Coronavirus intermission Jul 03, 2020

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Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry, is famous for high productivity, addictive plots and glamorous premiers. Princess Abumere in BBC Lagos has been to a few premiers herself, and has been finding out how Nollywood is adapting to the Covid-19 shutdown.

Tongue Twisters revisited Fun and epic fails from the Fifth Floor teams trying to get their tongues round some fieldish tongue twisters.

Black Lives Matter in Tunisia “I can’t breathe” was chanted by crowds in the Tunisian capital after the killing of African-American George Floyd in the USA. It’s part of the black community’s response to racism and lack of opportunities for the minority black population of the country. Nora Fakim has been following the story for BBC Africa.

Image: Ada Afoluwake Ogunkeye AKA Folu Storms in sparkly mask Credit: Damilola Oduolowu-BBC

Filming from behind 5 layers Jun 26, 2020

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India's financial capital Mumbai is its worst affected city with 70,000 confirmed Covid-19 infections and more than 5,000 deaths. BBC Marathi's Mayuresh Konnur filmed doctors and nurses in the King Edward Memorial hospital ICU to find out how they are coping. It was a challenging story to report.

My Home Town: Eldoret BBC Swahili’s Beryl Munoko shares memories of her home town in western Kenya.

The price of mocking Myanmar’s military Last year members of a satirical drama group, the Peacock Generation. were jailed for mocking the military, and still face additional charges. They were performing "thangyat”, a mix of poetry, dance and song traditionally used to criticise those in authority. Soe Win Than of BBC Burmese explains why this one fell foul of the government.

Image: Mayuresh Konnur wears full PPE to film in ICU Covid ward Credit: BBC, Sharad Badhe

The herders caught between two armies Jun 19, 2020

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This week 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese forces in the disputed region of Ladakh. It's the first fatality in 45 years, but one of many skirmishes along the de facto border. BBC Indian languages journalist Aamir Peerzada looks at the impact of the current stand-off on the nomadic livestock herders who inhabit the high altitude desert.

#A man should know his place Many women in Turkey have taken to Twitter to mock sexist language and patriarchal attitudes. Under the hashtag 'A man should know his place', they've turned popular sayings and clichés upside down, applying them to men rather than women. Beril Akman of BBC Monitoring in Istanbul shares some of her favourite tweets.

Colombian love in the time of Covid-19 The coronavirus pandemic has taught us many unexpected things about our world and our eagle-eyed BBC Monitoring journalist Luis Fajardo spotted a curiosity from his home country, Colombia. It seems Colombians are finding it hard to give up their “love motel” habit, despite the lockdown.

Image: Nomadic herder in Ladakh with livestock Credit: BBC Aamir Peerzada

Brazil's Black Lives Matter protests Jun 12, 2020

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The killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis policeman has reignited the ongoing debate about institutional racism in Brazil. BBC Brasil's Camilla Costa tells the stories of some of Brazil's own George Floyds, including 5 year old Miguel, whose shocking death last week led to the #justiçaparamiguel protests.

My home town: Cali, Colombia Luis Fajardo of BBC Monitoring takes us to his hometown of Cali to swim in crystal clear rivers and hang out at his favourite bar.

Love, war and Communism 77-year-old actress Kim Chi is famous in Vietnam for her film roles during Vietnam War era, and more recently, for quitting the Communist Party. She's back in the news now having found love, and married an 82-year-old academic. She spoke to Thu Phan of BBC Vietnamese.

Picture: Woman holds "Justice for Miguel - Black Lives Matter" banner, Brazil Credit: Leo Malafaia AFP via Getty Images

Lockdown in London’s Arabic community Jun 05, 2020

Show notes

BBC Arabic tells the stories doctors, restaurateurs, bus-drivers, volunteers, and pianists from London’s Arabic speaking community as they lived through two months of the corona virus lockdown. Producer Emir Nader, and film-maker Namak Khoshnaw, take us behind the scenes of ‘London Lockdown’.

Animal noises around the world Does your tiger roar, or say halloom? Another chance to hear animal noises around the world.

Profiting from the pandemic May 29, 2020

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The Covid-19 pandemic is being exploited in many ways by criminal organisations across the world. For BBC Monitoring, Laura Gozzi and Luis Fajardo have been looking at the new opportunities which have opened up for the Italian mafia and the Mexican drug cartels.

Picture: Portrait of mafia boss Credit: Jilla Dastmalchi

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