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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

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The Fifth Floor: Egypt's Silent Stadiums

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Empty Stadium

24/02/2017 GMT

Egypt's Silent Stadiums

BBC World Service - The Fifth Floor, Egypt's Silent Stadiums

Why a football-loving nation has banned its crowds

Egyptian football's empty stadiums, raw meat in Ethiopia, politically correct carnival in Brazil, a rare language in Pakistan, and Somali nicknames. With David Amanor.

Five years ago this month, football riots in Port Said in Egypt left 74 dead.  Since then a crowd ban has been enforced and almost all games are played to empty stadiums. Mohamed Qoutb, a sports journalist with BBC Arabic in Cairo, has witnessed the effect the ban has had on the game.

I'll have mine raw... 
For social gatherings and family get-togethers in Ethiopia, one ingredient popular with all generations is raw meat. BBC Africa's Emmanuel Igunza, who's from Kenya, has been trying raw delicacies for himself in his adopted hometown Addis Ababa.

Making carnival 'PC'  
With Brazil's carnival season approaching, it's time for partygoers to cut loose, have a dance and perhaps get involved in a bit of transgression. But this year there have been calls for more political correctness, especially when it comes to marchinhas, the songs sung during the famous street parades. Neli Pereira from BBC Brasil explains.

Mother Tongue  
International Mother Tongue day gave BBC Urdu's Zafar Syed the opportunity to visit a remote mountain village in northern Pakistan with its own language.  Only 400 people currently speak it, and despite being a keen linguist, and coming from the same region, even Zafar couldn't get his tongue around it.

Somali nicknames  
Somali MPs elected a new president earlier this month - Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, better known as Farmajo or 'Mr Cheese'. Nicknames are very common among Somalis - so what's the meaning? An insult, a compliment, or perhaps something even simpler?  We spoke to BBC Swahili's Abdinoor Aden in Nairobi to find out.

And Fifi Haroon's pick of the world wide web.

Image: A girl sits in the empty stands during an Egyptian league football match in Cairo
Credit: STR AFP Getty Images

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