Original version

BBC World Service East Asia

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

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

The Fifth Floor: Bashiqa: Beyond the Battleground

Documentaries

Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters near Bashiqa northeast of Mosul during an operation against Islamic State (IS)

28/10/2016 GMT

Bashiqa: Beyond the Battleground

BBC World Service - The Fifth Floor, Bashiqa: Beyond the Battleground

Picnics and sesame oil - memories of the Iraqi town at the heart of the fight for Mosul

Memories of Bashiqa; how to translate body language; summers in Crimea; artistic spats between India and Pakistan; and rat hunting in Jakarta

For Iraqis, Bashiqa used to be synonymous with arak, sesame oil and picnics. Now it is in the headlines as a key battleground in the campaign to retake Mosul from so-called Islamic State. BBC Arabic's Basheer al-Zaidi is from Mosul, and he shares memories of Bashiqa. 

Yawning? Must be Hungry
It is well known that words get lost in translation, but what about body language? Colleagues from the Fifth Floor give us the inside track on how to avoid cross cultural-confusion.

Summer Holidays in Crimea
For Anastasia Gribanova of BBC Ukrainian, childhood summers meant a seaside holiday in Crimea. Since Russia annexed the territory, many Ukrainians refuse to go to Crimea on principle, or are put off by checkpoints and long queues. Anastasia shares her memories. 

Rat Hunting in Jakarta
People in the Indonesian capital are excited by news that a generous bounty could be offered for dead rats, in an effort to get the population under control. Liston Siregar of BBC Indonesian explains why the city authorities might rethink their offer after calculating just how much it could cost.

Artistic Differences Between India and Pakistan
How have military tensions between India and Pakistan affected arts and entertainment? BBC Hindi's Vandana Dhand and Ziad Zafar of BBC Urdu describe the fall-out, from a ban on Pakistani actors in Bollywood to the removal of Indian programmes from Pakistani TV.  

(Photo: Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters near Bashiqa. Credit: Safin Hamed/AFP/Getty Images)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Fifth Floor

Bashiqa: Beyond the Battleground

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service East Asia

About BBC World Service