Original version

BBC World Service Online

The Fifth Floor

Factual: Life Stories

Global stories from the BBC’s 40 Language Services, with Faranak Amidi

Faranak Amidi presents global stories from the Fifth Floor, home to the BBC’s 40 Language Services.

Faranak Amidi presents global stories from the Fifth Floor, home to the BBC’s 40 Language Services

The Fifth Floor: 03/11/2012

03/11/2012

BBC World Service - The Fifth Floor, 03/11/2012

Reporting Rakhine's unrest: tough challenges for BBC Burmese and neighbouring Bengali

BBC Burmese and Bengali perspectives of in Rakhine sectarianism; unfortunate case of mistaken identity for a Hausa reporter; an Arab and Brazilian on the US campaign trail; and Putin's "bad back"

A fresh look at the week's global news from across the World Service's 27 language sections, with David Amanor. 

REPORTING RAKHINE: A CHALLENGE FOR BBC BURMESE AND BENGALI
A state of emergency has been in place in Burma's western Rakhine state since deadly communal clashes in June, and last month violence erupted once more with renewed ferocity. Tensions have been simmering for decades between the Rakhine who are predominantly Buddhist and the Muslim Rohingya, whom many Burmese regard as foreigners from across the Bangladesh border. It hasn't been an easy story to tell for Ba Maw of our Burmese service. He is from Rakhine state and belongs to the Kamein ethnic group. Although his family is seen by the Rakhine as indigenes, some of his family are Muslim and because of this have also found themselves on the receiving end of attacks. How does he manage to remain calm when his family are forced to flee for their lives? 

The unrest in Rakhine state has meant that thousands of Rohingya Muslims have been displaced - around 75,000, according to UN estimates. As a result, many Rohingyas have been seeking refugee across the Bay of Bengal and into Bangladesh. So how have our Burmese and Bengali Services been covering this ongoing story? Section heads Tin Htar Swe and Sabir Mustafa talk about how they've been covering both sides of a complicated conflict. 

ONLINE GREATEST HITS
BBC Brasil's Thomas Pappon gives the lowdown on the big-hitting stories across the World Service language sites this week - including the hope of hula girls on Mars, and boxing victory for Afghanistan 

JIMMY WHO? 
The Facebook page of BBC Hausa was recently bombarded with comments from listeners shocked to hear reports about Jimmy Savile, the deceased television presenter at the centre of a huge child abuse scandal in Britain. But they had confused two very different names which could sound similar when heard on crackly shortwave radios, and Hausa presenter Jimmeh Saleh had found himself the victim of a case of mistaken identity among millions of listeners in West Africa.

TALES FROM THE TRAIL
In case you hadn't noticed, the US Presidential election is on Tuesday. While small children may cry about how sick they are of hearing from Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the politicking from both sides still roars on. Sudanese reporter Lukman Ahmed for BBC Arabic and BBC Brasil journalist Pablo Uchoa are on the tip of the beltway. What has life been like on the campaign trail?  

POORLY PUTIN?
"It's a common sports injury - Vladimir Putin pulled a muscle." A press spokesman has finally ended weeks of media speculation on President Putin's limbs, and admitted that the notoriously buff Russian leader had in fact sustained an injury - though declining to say where - while exercising. But this certainly isn't the first time a Russian head of state has had a hushed up illness. Marina Fokina at BBC Monitoring wheels out the Kremlin's old sickbed. 


(Image: A man walks past a destroyed mosque in Burma's Rakhine state. Credit: Getty)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Fifth Floor

03/11/2012

Genres

Brand

BBC World Service Online

About BBC World Service