Fifth Floor

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Afghanistan's Volatile North Sep 08, 2017

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In Northern Afghanistan, a ferocious and complicated fight has been raging for years with little attention from the outside world. In the remote Darzab distict in Jowzan province the Taliban, so called Islamic State, government forces and local warlords fight for control. It's a very difficult place to access as a journalist, but BBC Uzbek's Firuz Rahimi grew up in the area, and recently returned.

Image: a machine gun emplacement in Afghanistan's Jowzan province Credit: BBC

What's in a Name? Sep 01, 2017

Show notes

Geeta Pandey recently reported on a rare move by women in an Indian village to challenge the practice of wives never saying their husbands' names; a tradition her own parents observed. In Afghanistan a social media campaign #Whereismyname asserted the right for women to be known by their own names and not just by their relationship to a male relative. Shekiba Habib of BBC Afghan and Geeta Pandey in Delhi tell us what happens when traditions are challenged.

Image: couple holding hands with wedding rings Credit: JAY DIRECTO/AFP/Getty Images

Damascus Nightlife Aug 25, 2017

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It's Saturday night, bars and pubs are busy, and loud music pumps out of nightclubs. BBC Arabic's Omar Abdel-Razek tells David Amanor about discovering a surprising side to life in the Syrian capital Damascus, where six years into the civil war a new nightlife has emerged.

Image: barman pouring shots in Damascus Credit: BBC

On the world's highest battlefield Aug 18, 2017

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The Siachen Glacier is the world's highest battlefield, straddling the disputed border between India and Pakistan in northern Kashmir. Thousands of soldiers have died there - mostly, since the 2003 ceasefire, from the harsh conditions. BBC Urdu's Abid Hussain paid a rare visit.

Photo: Pakistan army drills on Siachen Glacier, credit: BBC

It all started with a letter Aug 11, 2017

Show notes

In 2007, BBC Urdu's Arif Shamim made a documentary based on letters he discovered after the death of his great-uncle in Lahore. They were written in 1947 by the original owner of his uncle's house, who fled to India after Partition. He was unable to trace the writer or his family, but the story has now moved on. Arif told Faranak Amidi how it all started.

Image: Letter and envelopes. Credit: Arif Shamim/BBC.

The Trouble with Che Aug 04, 2017

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The Argentinian revolutionary Che Guevara is an iconic figure whose face adorns countless t-shirts and posters. But some of his countrymen have mixed feelings about him, and there's even a campaign to pull down his statue in his birthplace, Rosario. BBC Mundo's Macarena Gagliardi explores Argentina's complex relationship with its famous son.

Image: Graffiti painting of Che Guevara Credit: EITAN ABRAMOVICH/Getty Images

Brazil: Facing the Legacy of Slavery Jul 28, 2017

Show notes

Cais do Valongo, or Valongo Wharf, was recently designated a world heritage site. It's an old stone pier in Rio de Janeiro built for the landing of almost one million enslaved Africans in the 19th century. It was unearthed a few years ago and has brought to the fore difficult questions about the legacy of the slave trade. Fernando Duarte of BBC Brasil, who's from Rio, feels it's a story that's been hidden from view for too long.

Image: People passing the Valongo slave wharf in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Inside Myanmar's Rakhine State Jul 21, 2017

Show notes

This week a Thai court convicted 60 people for human trafficking, with victims including Rohingya people. Rohingya are a muslim minority in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, but the Burmese government doesn't recognise them as citizens, and five years ago large numbers began to flee their homes after becoming victims of widespread violence and abuse. Rohmatin Bonasir of BBC Indonesian recently went to Rakhine State, where many of the Rohingya live, to visit an Indonesian funded school there, as well as a refugee camp in Bangladesh.

Image: BBC Indonesia's Rohmatin Bonasir holding a Rohingya child in Bangladesh refugee camp Credit: BBC

Taking Journalism to New Heights Jul 14, 2017

Show notes

BBC Urdu's Aliya Nazki and Suhail Haleem talk us through their reporting trip up a mountain in Indian-administered Kashmir - to visit the remarkable Haji Public School. The only way up was on foot or on horseback. So they saddled up, and tried not to look down...

Image: Aliya Nazki Credit: BBC

Biafra War 50 Years On Jul 07, 2017

Show notes

This week marked the 50th anniversary of the Biafra war. Millions died, mostly from famine, as Nigerian government forces defeated attempts by the Igbo people in the south east to claim an independent Biafran state. You might think an event of such magnitude would be burned into the nation's memory, but it's not a part of history that many young Nigerians know much about. BBC Africa's Tomi Oladipo has been filling in some of those gaps.

Image: Biafran flag painted on a wall Photo credit: STEFAN HEUNIS/AFP/Getty Images

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