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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: Living in a Lawless Libya

Living in a Lawless in Libya

29/08/2014

Living in a Lawless Libya

BBC World Service - The Fifth Floor, Living in a Lawless Libya

Tanks in the driveway and AK-47s in the market - how residents are coping in Benghazi

Tanks in the driveway, and AK-47s in the market - how residents are coping in Benghazi.

When the international airport of your capital city looks more like a smouldering scrap yard you know that your country is surely in trouble. In Libya, rival militia factions have left Tripoli airport in tatters. Some are saying it is a symbol of the state of the country. It's not a new story - the fall of a dictator who has ruled for years leaving a vacuum of power that allows lawlessness to blossom. But what of the people who have to live through this? Mohammed Hossein is from Benghazi and he's been talking regularly to his family there as the situation deteriorates.

Also in the programme:

Hear My Country: Zimbabwe
Can you pick a song that defines your country? This week it's Zimbabwe, and BBC Africa's Kim Chakanetsa is joined by her fellow countrymen Stanley Kwenda and Farayi Mungazi to battle it out to select a song from their homeland. With music from Thomas Mapfumo, Bhundu Boys and Leonard Zhakata.

Fascinating Facts about Venezuelan Petrol
Earlier this month Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro called for a national debate on petrol prices in the country. And here's why - prices of fuel have been kept so low that you can fill up your tank for the equivalent of a packet of mints. BBC Mundo's Daniel Pardo shares top five facts about that you might not know about petrol in Venezuela.

Living with Ebola
Ebola has been at the top of the agenda for BBC Africa reporters in the worst affected countries: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. As well as the fatal consequences of the virus, it's changed cultural practices, movement and the economy. Alhassan Sillah in Conakry and Umaru Fofana in Freetown discuss how Ebola has affected daily life and reporting. 

Bogota's Anti-Groping Bus Squad
BBC Mundo's Arturo Wallace spends a day with Bogota's newest police squad - an all-women undercover team formed to combat groping on the public bus system. Can they make a difference to the sexual harassment faced by female commuters in Colombia's capital? 

Online Greatest Hits
Digital diva Fifi Haroon gives the low down on the top-hitting stories across the web including 400 missing Austrian gnomes, Ugandan military presiding over beauty pageants, and the Russian bank offering a free cat with every mortgage.

The Fifth Floor is presented by Kim Chakanetsa.

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