Fifth Floor

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India's controversial new citizenship law Jan 03, 2020

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India's new Citizenship Amendment Act has sparked protests across the country. Its stated aim is to offer sanctuary and Indian citizenship to people fleeing religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. But critics say it undermines India's secular constitution and may also affect India's own Muslim population. Clashes between protestors and police have led to violence and even deaths, and accusations that the police have carried out attacks on Muslim property. Zubair Ahmed of BBC Hindi went to Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh to investigate.

Picture: Protesters burning copies of the CAA Credit: Sumit Sanyal-SOPA Images-LightRocket via Getty Images

A refugee's story and a football shirt Dec 27, 2019

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Namak Khoshnaw is a journalist and award winning film maker with BBC Arabic. His documentary ‘Iraq: A State of Mind’ charts the impact of decades of conflict on mental health, ‘Life on the Rubbish Dump’ is about the children who pick rubbish in the city of Erbil, and his fascinating 3D journey below the Nabi Yunus shrine near Mosul reveals an ancient Assyrian palace in underground tunnels. These films all took him back to Iraq, the country he left nearly two decades ago, following a dream to play football for Chelsea. It was a perilous journey. Image: Namak Khoshnaw Credit: BBC/Daniel Adamson

Chernobyl: Lyudmila's story Dec 20, 2019

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The 1986 nuclear reactor explosion was dramatised this year in the HBO/Sky series Chernobyl. It includes the story of Lyudmila Ignatenko, whose husband was one of the firefighters who tackled the blaze at the nuclear plant. The series has brought her back into public view, with many people critical of her behaviour at the time. Lyudmila tells her side of the story to Olga Malchevska for BBC Russian. Picture: Lyudmila Ignatenko and husband Credit: Lyudmila Ignatenko

Music and lockdown in Kashmir Dec 13, 2019

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The My Indian Life podcast looks at India through young people’s eyes. It recently told the story of Ahmer Javed, a rapper from Indian-administered Kashmir. Ishleen Kaur met him and other artists during August’s lockdown, and found a generation who feel very separate from the rest of India. Image and credit: Ahmer Javed, Kashmiri rapper

In praise of pine nuts Dec 06, 2019

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Afghanistan’s pine nuts are in demand, with China signing a 5-year deal worth US$2.2 billion. BBC Afghan editor Shoaib Sharifi tells us about the importance of this tiny but valuable nut.

Picture: Pine nut harvest in Afghanistan. Credit: EPA/Ghulamullah Habibi

Behind the tragic headlines Nov 29, 2019

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The first funerals of the victims of human trafficking were conducted in Vietnam this week. 39 people died in the back of a lorry trailer discovered in Grays, Essex. The victims were initially thought to be Chinese, but BBC Vietnamese journalists Giang Nguyen and Khue Luu Binh were among the team who confirmed they were Vietnamese and pieced together their stories.

Image: Candles for the Vietnamese lorry dead Credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire

What’s the secret of a happy and active old age? Nov 22, 2019

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The Nicoya peninsula is a “blue zone”, where people live much longer than average. The BBC's Rafael Rojas joined an inspiring group of people aged 100 plus to find out the secrets of their longevity.

Image: Nicoya peninsula, Costa Rica. Credit: Gerhard/ullstein bild via Getty Images

Inside the Taliban prison Nov 15, 2019

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Block Six of Afghanistan’s Pul-e-Charkhi prison is where the Taliban prisoners are held. BBC Afghan’s Zuhal Ahad was part of the team given rare access to their cells to see how they live, and discover what views they now hold.

The peace corridor of Kartarpur Nov 08, 2019

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The Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan is one of Sikhism's holiest sites, but since Partition between India and Pakistan in 1947, Indian Sikhs have been unable to visit. This weekend an historic arrangement will allow Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit the Shrine visa-free. Umer Draz Nangiana of BBC Urdu has been covering the story.

Bought and sold like used cars Nov 01, 2019

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BBC News Arabic’s undercover investigation, Silicon Valley’s Online Slave Market, exposes the mainstream app users in Kuwait breaking local and international laws on modern slavery by trading domestic staff, including a 16-year-old girl from Guinea in West Africa. Picture: Domestic workers for sale on an online app. Credit: BBC

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