Fifth Floor
Faranak Amidi takes a fresh look at the stories of the week with journalists from our 40 language sections.
Episodes
A journalist’s life in Israel
What is it like to work in Jerusalem right now? BBC journalist Shaina Oppenheimer shares her experience of living in Israel and monitoring the conflicting narratives published on Israeli and Palestinian media. Plus, BBC Mundo's Alicia Hernandez explains why Equatorial Guinea is the only African country which has Spanish as one of its official languages and shares the unusual local Spanish words sh
My Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It’s a period of prayer, celebrations and community gatherings and Muslims worldwide observe it by fasting from dawn to sunset. As this year’s Ramadan draws to a close, Faranak Amidi is joined by three BBC World Service colleagues who share their personal experiences and the stories that made headlines in their countries during this year’s celebr
From prison to president
After an election held just days after his release from prison, Bassirou Diomaye Faye is set to become Senegal's next president, and at 44, the youngest in the country’s history. From Dakar, the BBC's Khadidiatou Cissé and Thomas Naadi tell us more about the new Senegalese leader.Banksy's new neighbour
BBC Mundo's Carlos Serrano shares his experience of finding himself at the centre of a big news
Women's radio in Afghanistan
As a new school year starts in Afghanistan, 330,000 more girls will be excluded from secondary education, one of the ways in which women and girls are increasingly confined to their homes under the Taliban regime. In light of this, BBC Media Action is running the Women’s Voice radio project, training women to make programmes for other women on vital topics like health, work and education. Getti S
Israel’s Orthodox Jews and the army
The war in Gaza is forcing Israeli society to confront a long-standing conflict over who serves in the army. Ultra-Orthodox Jews enjoy an exemption, but many Israelis now say this should end. Both sides took to the streets to protest, while the Israeli Supreme Court hears a case related to this matter, as BBC Arabic’s Michael Shuval reports. Ukraine's Ushanka hat sell off
The Ukrainian government
The gangs of Haiti
The Caribbean nation of Haiti is in the grip of gang violence, with armed groups controlling much of the country. The lawlessness came to a head after gangs stormed two jails, freeing thousands of prisoners. Meanwhile Prime Minister Ariel Henry is being prevented from returning after a trip abroad. Luis Fajardo from BBC Monitoring in Miami tells us about the key players in Haiti, and the backgroun
Searching for missing migrants
The Eagles of the Desert are a group of volunteers who look for migrants who've been reported missing while crossing the hazardous Sonoran Desert from Mexico into the United States. BBC Mundo reporter Valentina Oropeza and cameraman Jose Maria Rodero joined them on a search, and they share their experience of the desert and the work of the volunteers. Policing Uzbekistan's schools
Last month, P
Living with war: Ukraine's new normal
Two years after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, we hear from colleagues in BBC Ukrainian about life in Kyiv. How different is the new normal from their old lives, and how have they adapted? Daria Taradai and Halyna Korba share their stories.Sri Lanka's cashew village
Kajugama is famous for its cashew nuts, in fact its name means "cashew village" in Sinhala. Many local women depend on
Medicines and cinema: Gaza Lifeline
BBC Arabic's Gaza Lifeline launched 3 months ago to provide life-saving information for citizens forced from their homes by the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, and struggling to find the necessities of life. Journalists Karim Moustafa, Amira Dakroury and Marwa Gamal tell us about the information they provide, and the stories they've covered.Kazakhstan’s school headscarf ban
There's a dilemma
What is happening at Zaporizhzhia?
There have been concerns about the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, which was seized by Russian forces in March 2022. Following this week's visit to the plant by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vitaliy Shevchenko of BBC Monitoring explains the findings of the team.The Year of the Dragon
At the start of the Year of the Dragon, we look at the
Election symbols in Pakistan
Electoral symbols are crucial in Pakistani elections, helping illiterate voters find their party on the ballot paper. So when Pakistan's Supreme Court upheld a decision to strip the PTI party of Imran Khan of its cricket bat symbol last week, many cried foul. BBC Urdu editor Asif Farooqi explains the rich history of symbols, and how this relates to Pakistan's forthcoming elections.The 63-year-ol
Balochistan: Iran Pakistan conflict
This month Iran launched a missile attack into Pakistan's Balochistan region, claiming to target an Iranian anti-regime militant group based there. Days later Pakistan retaliated with missiles it claimed were directed at Baloch-Pakistan militants in Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan province. BBC Urdu's Saher Baloch visited the border city of Turbat in Pakistan's Balochistan province to find out what im
Bring them home: Israel's hostages
Since the 7th October attacks, BBC Arabic's Michael Shuval has interviewed many of the families of those abducted by Hamas and held captive in Gaza. The families held an event marking 100 days since their abduction, close to the Nova festival site, as part of their campaign to bring their loved ones home. The new Ram temple and the transformation of Ayodhya
Next week, Indian Prime Minister Naren
Discovering the real TB Joshua
A BBC Africa Eye investigation has found evidence of widespread abuse and torture by the late TB Joshua, founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos, which has followers around the world. The team was supported by Nigerian investigative journalist Adejuwon Soyinka, who tells us when the pastor first came to his attention and what he discovered about him.Secret trains and Russian prison
Rushdi Abualouf: family, work and war
The BBC’s Gaza correspondent Rushdi Abualouf reported from Gaza for more than 20 years, but last November he and his family left for the safety of Istanbul. He tells us about the challenges of his new life, and the chaos, death and destruction of his final weeks in Gaza, as Israel retaliated for the Hamas cross-border assault of 7 October.The Brazilian bat rediscovered after 100 years
A bat discov
Stories of hope and joy
BBC language service journalists share stories and experiences that lifted their spirits in a year with more than its fair share of tragic news.BBC Russian's Nataliya Zotova explains how an imperious seagull named Agamemnon helped her settle in her new home in Riga, after leaving Russia. BBC Delhi’s Divya Arya tells us about helping an interviewee who had shared her story of surviving domestic vio
Ukraine: ancient and modern
Presented by Irena TaranyukA stalled front line and diplomatic challenges - we look at the pressures on Ukraine with Vitaliy Shevchenko, Russia editor at BBC Monitoring. And Daria Taradai of BBC Ukrainian tells us about the return to Kyiv of hundreds of ancient Scythian treasures from Crimea, which were on loan to a European museum when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Their arrival in Kyiv follows
Somalia after the floods
Somalia is struggling with the aftermath of its worst floods for many decades, which have affected more than two million people. Some were already displaced, having lost their livelihoods in the acute drought which preceded the flooding. It’s a big story for BBC Somali, and journalist Fardowsa Hanshi tells us how they’ve been covering it.Being a tourist in Afghanistan
Since the Taliban returned t
Breathless: the human cost of flaring
A BBC Arabic investigation has revealed that toxic pollutants released during gas flaring are endangering millions more people than previously feared. Flaring - the burning of waste gas during oil drilling - is taking place across the Gulf, including by COP28 hosts, the United Arab Emirates. Reporter Sarah Ibraham tells us what the documentary, Breathless, reveals about how the pollution can sprea
Sudan's IDP crisis
It's seven months since fighting in Sudan erupted between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Peace talks in Saudi Arabia have so far failed to secure a truce, leaving over five million Sudanese internally displaced, and a humanitarian crisis imminent without a ceasefire according to the UN. BBC Arabic's Mohamed Osman was forced to leave his home in Omdurman, but returne
Eagles helping locate Israel's dead
Following the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7th October, conservationists have been using unconventional methods to locate the bodies of the dead. Its civilian Nature and Parks Authority is using tracking devices on rare migratory birds to help locate the missing, passing information on where they stop onto the authorities. It says one eagle has helped recover four bodies, as BBC Arabic’s Michael Sh
A lifeline for Gaza
Presented by Andrea KennedyBBC Arabic has begun an emergency radio service for Gaza in response to the conflict in the region. Adel Soliman tells us about providing news and information, and also key lifeline advice on access to medical care, food and water. The floating duck farms of Bangladesh
Low-lying farmland in north east Bangladesh is flooded every year during the monsoon, and local people
What's happening in Ukraine?
Presented by Irena TaranyukThe intense focus of the world’s media on events in the Middle East has taken attention away from the war in Ukraine. We ask what's the latest on the war, and what important stories are being reported from the region? Answers from Diana Kuryshko of BBC Ukrainian and Vitaliy Shevchenko, Russia editor at BBC Monitoring and co-presenter of Ukrainecast.Factories versus fishe
Meet the BBC Korean team in Seoul
The Fifth Floor visits the BBC's Seoul Bureau to meet the journalists working for BBC Korean, serving audiences across the whole of the Korean peninsula, with different output for both North and South Korea. Journalists David Oh, Hyunjung Kim and Yuna Ku talk about the stories they've been working on for the domestic audience, from the growing global interest in Korean popular culture to what div
Israel Gaza conflict: the war of words
With constant new developments in Israel and Gaza, we find out how BBC Monitoring is reporting and analysing news from the heart of the conflict. Joel Greenberg from the team in Jerusalem tells us about the war of words between Israeli and Palestinian media; Kian Sharifi analyses what’s being said on Iranian state media and social media; and Alex Wright has been looking at online jihadist sources
Reporting the Israel Gaza conflict
A week after the attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, we look at how some of the BBC’s major language services have been covering the conflict for their audiences, with William Marquez from BBC Mundo, Zubair Ahmed from BBC Delhi and Daniel Dadzie from the Focus on Africa podcast team. Banking and slavery in Brazil
Brazil’s oldest bank, the Banco do Brasil, is facing a public
Pakistan and Iran: expelling Afghans
Presented by Sana SafiMillions of Afghans living in Pakistan and Iran are facing growing pressure to return to Afghanistan. In Pakistan, around 1.7 million unauthorised Afghan asylum seekers have been ordered to leave by the end of this month. In Iran, the authorities say there are five million Afghans living without legal status, and forced removals are increasing. We hear from BBC Urdu’s Asif Fa
Venezuela's extraordinary prison raid
Last week Venezuela sent 11,000 troops into the notorious Tocorón jail to retake control. For years it's been run by inmates, and was headquarters to the international crime organisation, the "Aragua Train", although its leader, Héctor Guerrero, escaped. BBC Mundo's Valentina Oropeza shares insights into the story and the prison, which boasted a pool, nightclub and even a mini-zoo. Esports at th
Helping Libya’s flood survivors
In the aftermath of the devastating floods in Derna, following the collapse of two dams, we hear from Sara Alhouni, outreach officer for BBC Media Action's platform for Libyan audiences, about their response to the catastrophe and how they are providing lifesaving information for those affected.India or Bharat?
Could India be officially renamed “Bharat”? The idea was reported in the press this w
Mahsa Amini: the woman behind the icon
As the world marks the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death, we hear from journalist Farzad Seifikaran, who gained an exclusive interview with her mother, Mojgan Eftekhari, for BBC Persian. Farzad, who’s from Mahsa’s home town in Kurdistan, tells us what he learned from Mojgan about the young woman whose death led to protests that shook Iran.Job-hunting in Africa and “full-time children”
A gro
Anti-government protests in Syria
There has been a spate of protests across Syria, with unrest spilling into areas which were previously strongholds of support for President Bashar al-Assad. Anger at poor living conditions has spiralled into calls for political change. Amira Fathalla is a Middle East specialist with BBC Monitoring and she tells us why this is so significant.A new image for millet in Nepal
The United Nations is enc
Reporting Pakistan's cable car rescue
BBC Urdu’s Azizullah Khan was on the scene soon after last week’s dramatic rescue in northwest Pakistan, when a broken cable car was left dangling hundreds of metres above the ground. He interviewed survivors and local people, and tells us about the harshness of their lives. The rescue put an international spotlight on these remote villages, but will that change anything? Andalusian Spanish
BBC M
Families facing starvation in Tigray
Officials in Ethiopia's Tigray region have reported that more than 1,400 have died of starvation since international food aid was suspended a few months ago. Deliveries were halted after reports of widespread theft and corruption, but the impact has been catastrophic for many people living there. BBC Tigrinya’s Girmay Gebru tells us what he's seen in displaced people's camps in the region, where
Peshawar's school for Afghans
Since August 2021 when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, an estimated 600,000 Afghans have crossed the border into Pakistan. Pakistan has hosted millions of refugees over the years, but has recently cracked down on undocumented Afghans, who now struggle to find jobs and housing, and to educate their children. BBC Urdu's Nazish Faiz met a teacher who’s set up a free school in Peshawar for
Reporting the global heatwave
July 2023 was world’s hottest month on record, with extreme temperatures and weather patterns making global headlines. We asked colleagues from the language services how they had been covering the story. BBC Arabic's North Africa correspondent Bassam Bounenni reported on the heatwave in Tunisia, and the wildfires that spilled over from Algeria. BBC Korean's Damin Jung shares the stories of Sout
Beirut port explosion: 3 years on
Beirut's devastating port explosion killed more than 200, and injured thousands, but three years on, while neighbourhoods have largely returned to normal the families of victims are still waiting for answers. BBC Arabic's Carine Torbey spoke to three people directly affected by the explosion about their experiences and perspectives. Why being a 'pure vegetarian' got Sudha Murty into trouble
Sudh
India shamed: Manipur women speak up
It’s been two months since violence in Manipur broke out between the majority Meitei and minority Kuki communities. When a video emerged showing two women being sexually assaulted, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it ‘shamed’ India. BBC Delhi's Divya Arya has covered women’s affairs for many years, and explains how in Manipur, as in many other inter-community conflicts, women’s bodies have becom
Stories from Sudan Lifeline radio
It's three months since the beginning of the conflict in Sudan between the army and the Rapid Support Forces militia, and since the launch of BBC Arabic's Sudan Lifeline radio service. We hear from Mays Baki in London and Zeinab Dabaa in Cairo about the scope of their work and stories they have been covering, from the barber offering free haircuts in Khartoum to the tragic killing of the governor
Prigozhin and the President
BBC Russian editor Famil Ismailov shares his insights into what's been going on between Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and President Vladimir Putin. How vulnerable is Prigozhin after his failed mutiny, and how has his relationship with the president changed?Inter Miami and Messi
Why would footballing superstar Lionel Messi, who earlier this year captained Argentina to World Cup victory, sign with
Tracking Pakistan’s petrol smugglers
BBC Urdu’s Saher Baloch follows in the dirt tracks of the petrol smugglers bringing fuel from Iran into the border town of Mashkel in Balochistan, and onwards into the markets of Karachi, Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Vietnam's coffee culture
Vietnam’s coffee culture is vibrant and unique, with popular coffee orders that include egg yolk and even fruit. Which may explain why international chains hav
Who's behind Syria's Captagon trade?
Captagon, a highly addictive amphetamine-like drug, is causing huge problems around the Middle East, as millions of pills are smuggled out of Syria. BBC News Arabic collaborated with the investigative journalism network OCCRP to find out who's behind the trade. Emir Nader tells us about the direct links they discovered to leading members of the Syrian Armed Forces and President Bashar al-Assad's f
Two villages that lost their sons
After the capsize of a migrant boat off the Greek coast BBC Arabic's Murad Shishani went to the Greek port of Kalamata to meet relatives hoping to find their loved ones. One man was waiting for news of 30 relatives and acquaintances from the Egyptian district of Sharkia. So why are so many trying to leave this place? Pakistanis were one of the largest groups of migrants on the boat, including ma
Jungle craft and childhood games
BBC Mundo's correspondent in Bogota, Daniel Pardo, shares the story behind the extraordinary survival of four indigenous children who used ancestral knowledge to stay alive in the Colombian jungle after a plane crash. Their story has sparked a debate about the divide in the country between indigenous and urbanised communities. Indian wrestler protest
Since January some of India's top female wrest
Afghanistan’s opium problem
The Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have sent anti-narcotics units across the country to destroy this year's opium poppy crop. BBC Afghan's Dawood Azami explains how Afghanistan became the world’s biggest producer of opium, and why this campaign is succeeding after years of failure.Pakistan's Bombay Bakery
The Bombay Bakery in Hyderabad, Pakistan has been serving its famous cakes since 1911 an
India's women-led households
BBC Delhi explores the steady rise in female-led households in their documentary "Women in Charge: Is India Changing?" From widows to the growing number of women whose husbands have left home to find work, these women are assuming control of household finances, their children's education and local communities. Divya Arya discusses how this 'mini revolution' is affecting India's traditionally patr
Manipur’s deadly tribal clashes
Violence broke out in the north eastern Indian state of Manipur earlier this month after a rally by indigenous communities protesting against moves to grant tribal status to the state's main ethnic group. Raghvendra Rao of BBC Delhi spoke to people affected by the violence. Cool pavements in Saudi Arabia
In Saudi Arabia, a trial project is turning some streets and pavements white. It's called 'Co
Reporting Cyclone Mocha
BBC Bengali's Shahnewaj Rocky shares the experiences of the fishermen of Teknaf in Bangladesh following Cyclone Mocha. Plus BBC Burmese Editor Soe Win Than shares his reporting team's experience of being in Rakhine State's capital Sittwe as the cyclone made landfall. Thai voters ‘big leaps’
Thai social media has been full of people’s photos of themselves taking big leaps after the election succe
Leaving Sudan
BBC Arabic’s Mohamed Osman has reported from Sudan for two decades and is used to covering conflict. But two weeks ago he was forced to flee the capital with his family as he was no longer able to live or work safely. From Cairo he told us about his decision, the journey, and his mixed feelings now that he is safe. Saving one of Brazil's rarest birds
Efforts are underway in Brazil to save a rar
A lifeline for Sudan
This week, BBC Arabic launched an emergency radio service for Sudan, providing information and advice. Editor Adel Soliman tells us how they're putting together information about essential needs like how to obtain fuel, food and support. They also provide a platform for Sudanese people to share news from across the country.Thailand's election jargon
Election time always spawns new buzzwords in Th
Artists targeted by the state
High profile artists and cultural figures in both Iran and Russia face punishment and restrictions on their work if they speak out against their governments. Following the protests in Iran, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, artists are increasingly under pressure to toe the political line. With BBC Persian's Parham Ghobadi, and BBC Monitoring's Vitaliy Shevchenko. Couple living the Vietnames
Uganda's child pregnancy problem
Since the pandemic, reports from Uganda say there has been a 300% increase in pregnancies among girls aged 10-14. Sexual violence has been further fuelled in the north by the legacy of a 20-year insurgency led by notorious warlord Joseph Kony, and cases of sexual abuse of girls as young as three are being reported. For BBC Africa Eye, Paul Bakibinga investigates the true scale of the problem. R
Defending against the death penalty
Since anti-government protests erupted in Iran following the death in police custody last September of Mahsa Amini, at least 30,000 people have been arrested. While most have been released on bail, it's reported that more than a hundred have been sentenced to death or charged with capital offences. BBC Persian's Firouzeh Akbarian tells us about the lawyers who are trying to stop more executions as
Indian students returning to Ukraine
A year ago India evacuated thousands of students, mostly studying medicine, from Ukraine following the Russian invasion. Their arrival home was greeted with great thanks and fanfare, so why have more than a thousand felt compelled to return? BBC Hindi’s Jugal Purohit has been finding out. Chicken poop power
A farmer in Kenya has developed an original way of tackling the rising cost of living, us
Exposing bogus blindness treatments
BBC Arabic’s recent film ‘Blind Faith’ exposes the clinics offering bogus, and potentially dangerous, treatments to people living with an incurable eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa, or RP. The reporter is Ramadan Younes, who's based in Egypt. He also has RP and is visually impaired, and underwent one of these treatments himself. Vietnamese embassy protests in Poland
Poland's Vietnamese
The Fifth Floor in São Paulo
With big political changes in Brazil after a divisive election which brought in a new president, Faranak Amidi is in the country's largest city São Paulo to look at the stories being covered by the BBC journalists based there.The heart of São Paulo: Avenida Paulista
Leticia Mori takes us to the famous Avenida Paulista, built for the rich of São Paulo and now home to many businesses and banks. It h
Aid, politics and Syria’s earthquake
February's earthquake spanned the Turkey-Syria border and refocused international attention on the complicated geopolitics of northern Syria. We hear how the earthquake aid operation presented both challenges and opportunities to the different groups controlling Syria, from the government in Damascus to the rebel leaders of Idlib province. With BBC Monitoring jihadi expert Mina al-Lami and BBC Mi
The Belarusians fighting in Ukraine
We look at the Belarusian regiment of volunteers serving under Ukrainian command in the war against Russia, and explore Ukraine's complex relationship with Belarus, with BBC Monitoring journalist, and Belarusian, Gennadiy Kot. Me and my name
BBC Mundo's Atahualpa Amerise reflects on what it’s like to be a Spaniard named after the last Inca emperor.Thai punishment haircuts
Historically Thai studen
Reporting Iran's school poisonings
There's fear and anger in Iran over a wave of poisonings that have affected hundreds of schoolgirls across the country. Soroush Pakzad from BBC Persian's social media team describes the challenges of investigating the story, and Aalia Farzan from BBC Dari tells us how the cause of similar incidents in Afghanistan a few years back was never established. BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year
The sporti
BBC Russian: meet the Riga team
Faranak Amidi meets the BBC Russian journalists who relocated from Moscow to the Latvian capital after the invasion of Ukraine.The first anniversary: what's in the news?
Editor Sergei Zakin tells us what the news focus has been for his team in the week of the first anniversary of the invasion. The move from Moscow to Riga
Bureau chief Andrei Goryanov explains why the difficult decision was taken t
BBC Ukrainian: a year of war
Since the start of the war in Ukraine nearly a year ago, thousands of lives have been lost on both sides, and millions of Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes. For BBC Ukrainian, it's been a year of upheaval, with many journalists from Kyiv moving to new hubs in Lviv and Warsaw, and some living apart from family members. We hear how the team have continued to report the war, from edito
Reporting the earthquake
We hear from some of the language service journalists reporting on the catastrophic earthquakes that struck southern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday. Fundanur Öztürk from BBC Turkish travelled to Hatay, one of the worst hit cities, while BBC Arabic's Nisrine Hatoum was on holiday in Turkey at the time and quickly switched to reporting the disaster. Meanwhile her colleague Dina Waqqaf is Syrian
The Myanmar coup, two years on
Since the 2021 coup in Myanmar, many Burmese have taken up arms against the military and thousands more have fled. BBC Burmese editor Soe Win Than tells us about life in the country now, and the challenges he and his team face in reporting it.What's in a name?
People in Thailand take naming very seriously. BBC Thai's Tossapol Chaisomritpol explains the meanings behind his many names - from birth,
Ukraine’s corruption crackdown
Ukraine’s anti-corruption campaign is in the spotlight, with the recent dismissal or resignation of several top officials after a string of corruption scandals. Vitaliy Shevchenko of BBC Monitoring explains how the war with Russia has affected Ukraine’s long-running efforts to deal with corruption.Iraq and the Gulf Cup
A recent sports story from Iraq provided a welcome change from conflict and pol
Belarus language crackdown
It's becoming more and more dangerous to speak Belarusian in Belarus, with reports of people being sacked and even arrested for trying to conduct their work in Belarusian. The linguistic clampdown escalated after the 2020 pro-democracy protests against long-term leader Alexander Lukashenko, as BBC Russian journalist, and Belarusian, Tatsiana Yanutsevich reports. Sri Lanka's education crisis
In Sr
Why Kenyan pupils are burning schools
Why are students in Kenya burning their boarding schools? That was the question that inspired BBC Africa reporter Ashley Lime in the Nairobi bureau to investigate these sometimes deadly arson attacks which escalated after the covid pandemic. She spoke to students, relatives of teenagers who died in the fires and experts to better understand this decades old problem. Russian 'Old New Year'
After t
The decline of Ukraine’s oligarchs
For decades, Ukraine's super-rich oligarchs wielded enormous economic and political power. But in 2021, a new law was introduced to curb their influence, and the war with Russia has cost them billions in lost assets and revenue. Vitaly Shevchenko of BBC Monitoring tells us about the dramatic change in their fortunes.The endangered pink iguanas of the Galapagos
Scientists have for the first time d
Memorable interviews from 2022
In a year packed with big news stories, who are the interviewees whose stories have stayed with our language service colleagues?
BBC Ukrainian's Zhanna Bezpiatchuk tells the story of the teenager forced to flee his home in Borodianka, who now dreams of becoming a journalist.
BBC Pashto's Shazia Haya shares the story of a mother of daughters now denied their secondary school education.
Parham G
Can saying fool land you in jail?
Last week Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu was sentenced to two years seven months in jail and banned from taking part in politics. It’s not clear if his sentence will be ratified by two higher courts, but his crime was to call Turkey’s election officials ‘fools’ after the rerun 2019 mayoral elections, though many believe it has more to do with next year's presidential elections. BBC Monitoring j
Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin?
Yevgeny Prigozhin is the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, a role that he denied until September. Andrei Zakharov of BBC Russian has been investigating the story of Mr Prigozhin for many years, and he shares his insights. Qatar cultural exchange
As the Arab world's first football World Cup concludes, the BBC's Lina Shaikhouni shares her impressions of the cultural exchanges the event h
The Arab world and the war in Ukraine
Hisham Yezza of BBC Monitoring has been observing the impact in the Middle East and North Africa of the war in Ukraine since the invasion nearly ten months ago. He tells us how the war is reported and discussed in the region, and how at a political level, traditional alliances with the West are shifting.A sweet treat that could help the Amazon
People from Brazil's Amazon region enjoy many dishes
China protests
A fire in a residential block fire in Urumqi, which killed 10 people, sparked protests among citizens tired of living under China’s strict zero-Covid policy. As well as brave and vocal protests, many have adopted more creative ways to get their voices heard, as BBC Chinese Editor Howard Zhang reports. India street girl update
BBC Marathi's Dipali Jagtap won India’s Laadli Award for her report into
Unmasking a Russian police torturer
On March 6th, huge anti-war demonstrations across Russia led to the arrest of more than 5,000 protesters. Among them were at least 11 women who were taken to Moscow's Brateyevo Police Station, where they were questioned and subjected to verbal and physical abuse, which in some cases amounted to torture. The man overseeing this was an unnamed police officer they nicknamed 'the man in black'. Usi
Kherson: a presidential visit
President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit this week to Kherson, soon after the Russian withdrawal, prompted lively commentary on Ukrainian social media, and some comparisons with the Russian president. BBC Monitoring's Margaryta Maliukova tells us more. Hell on earth: the Korean Japanese people persuaded to move to North Korea
In 1960, Eika Kawasaki left her family in Japan and moved to North Korea.
Reporting COP27
BBC Arabic's Sally Nabil is one of the team in Sharm el-Sheikh reporting on the COP27 climate summit. She tells us how the conference centre and beach resort exist side by side, and why this choice of venue offers so many advantages to the host country, Egypt. COP27: three stories from the language services
BBC Swahili's Anne Ngugi visited Kenya's Amboseli national park, where the worst drought
Ethiopia: an end to the fighting
The BBC’s Addis Ababa correspondent Kalkidan Yibeltal tells us about the agreement just reached between the Ethiopian government and officials from the Tigray region, to stop fighting and to allow unhindered humanitarian access. He also reflects on the challenges of reporting the civil war over the last two years. The centenary of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb
It's 100 years since the disco
Ukraine's water wars
Russia is accused of deliberately cutting water supplies to the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, which has been without fresh drinking water since April. A BBC Ukrainian investigation reveals that the supply pipes, which travel through Russian occupied areas, were most likely deliberately sabotaged by Russian forces. Viktoriia Zhuhan explains the evidence behind this claim, and reveals how civilians i
Iran protests: the ripple effect
The protests in Iran are now the longest and most widespread in the 43 years of the Islamic Republic. What began as a reaction to the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22 year old Kurdish woman, arrested for allegedly violating strict hijab rules, quickly changed into a wider protest against the regime. What's happening in Iran has had a ripple effect for women across the region. To find out m
TikTok begging in Syria
A BBC investigation has discovered that up to 70% of donations being sent to displaced families in Syria via TikTok was being taken by the social media platform. Families in camps in northern Syria said they only receive a fraction of the donations, as BBC Arabic's Mamdouh Akbiek reports.Bangladesh’s matriarchal Garo people
The Garo people are one of the largest of Bangladesh’s indigenous communi
Life in the Russian army
BBC Russian journalist Olga Ivshina shares the findings of her investigation into the reality of life for soldiers serving in Russia's armies, from crowd-sourcing to buy their own equipment, to why it’s so hard to leave. Iran protest: 'For...’
The lyrics to 'Baraye', which translates as ‘for’ or ‘because’, by Shervin Hajipour were taken from ordinary Iranians posting on social media to explain wh
Mahsa Amini’s father speaks out
Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, died a week ago after being detained by Iran’s so called ‘morality police’, who claimed she was violating the country's strict dress code laws. Witnesses claim she was beaten, while the official explanations claim she had pre-existing health issues. We hear from BBC Persian's Jiyar Gol about his interview with her father Amjad Amini, who has spoken out a
