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The Fifth Floor

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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: Zimbabwe's Controversial First Lady

Documentaries

Grace Mugabe

01/09/2017 GMT

Zimbabwe's Controversial First Lady

BBC World Service - The Fifth Floor, Zimbabwe's Controversial First Lady

How divisive is Zimbabwe's First Lady Grace Mugabe?

Zimbabwean views on Grace Mugabe; taboos around names; twin Montevideos; seeking Yingluck; China's Tang Dynasty; Eid in Dakar. With David Amanor.

Zimbabwe's First Lady has been in the headlines since her alleged assault of a South African model.   Grace Mugabe arouses strong emotions - her fans applaud her style and forthright nature, while her detractors nicknamed her "Gucci Grace"  because of her reported appetite for extravagant shopping.  BBC Africa's Shingai Nyoka in Harare says she's a controversial figure at home. 

What's in a name? 
Geeta Pandey recently reported on a rare move by women in an Indian village to challenge the practice of wives never saying their husbands' names; a tradition her own parents observed.  In Afghanistan a social media campaign #Whereismyname asserted the right for women to be known by their own names and not just by their relationship to a male relative.  Shekiba Habib of BBC Afghan and Geeta Pandey in Delhi tell us what happens when traditions are challenged.

A tale of two Montevideos 
In Chippewa County, Minnesota, there's a small town called Montevideo.  Once a year it throws a celebration in honour of Uruguay and its sister city, the other Montevideo.  Most Uruguayans don't know about the pairing, but BBC Mundo's Ana Pais always did: in 1989 her parents flew to Minnesota as honoured guests of that year's fiesta.  More than 30 years later, Ana travels in their footsteps.

Seeking Yingluck   
BBC Thai have had a momentous few days, starting with the disappearance of a former prime minister. Yingluck Shinawatra was due at the Supreme Court in Bangkok last Friday, but she failed to turn up. She's believed to have fled to Dubai to join her brother Thaksin, also a former prime minister.  Is this the end of the Shinawatra political dynasty?  Over to Issariya Praithongyaem of BBC Thai. 

China's Golden Age
When was your country's golden era?  For Su Ping of BBC Chinese there's no contest - the Tang Dynasty.

Sheep in Dakar
Today it's Eid el Kebir, celebrated across the Muslim world with a sacrifice of meat.  And in Senegal that means sheep - and lots of them.  BBC Afrique's Arwa Barkallah is based in the capital Dakar and watched the city transform itself into a giant sheep market.
  
And Fifi Haroon's pick of the world wide web

Image: Grace Mugabe
Credit: Getty Images/ALEXANDER JOE

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