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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: Poison and Spies in Sleepy Salisbury

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Salisbury cathedral in the mist (credit: Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

09/03/2018 GMT

Poison and Spies in Sleepy Salisbury

BBC World Service - The Fifth Floor, Poison and Spies in Sleepy Salisbury

The spy mystery that put Salisbury on the map for BBC Russian

Russian spies; Bollywood sexism; cultural crying; Arab feminism; Thai child makeup prodigy; Kim Jong-un, Brazilian?  With David Amanor.

BBC Russian has been at the heart of this week's reporting on the mysterious poisoning of a former Russian spy in Salisbury. Olga Ivshina tells us that a complex investigation in a quiet English city is just as difficult in its own way as frontline reporting from eastern Ukraine. 

Bollywood sexism 
Accusations in Hollywood of sexual harassment have prompted soul searching in the film industry, including Bollywood.  Janhavee Moole of BBC Marathi in Mumbai and Prakitsha Ghildial at BBC Delhi share their findings.

Don't cry
This week BBC Gujarati ran a story about a crying club, all about getting your feelings out there and feeling better.  So when is it OK to cry?  Let's ask Maya Moussawi of BBC Arabic, BBC Africa's Victoria Uwonkunda, Manoshi Barua, Asad Ali Chaudhry of BBC Urdu, and Giang Nguyen of BBC Vietnamese.

Kim Jong-un, the Brazilian 
Recently pictures emerged of a Brazilian passport in the name of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.  Where did the document come from, and how can North Koreans be mistaken for Brazilians? Fernando Duarte is Brazilian, and shares his experience of Brazilian passports.

Being an Arab feminist  
Alma Hassoun, BBC Arabic's women's affairs journalist, has been investigating what makes an Arab feminist, and whether you can generalise across a huge region and many countries.

Thai child makeup artist
Natthan Sakonrat or "Prae" is 10 and already a professional make-up artist.  After attending London Fashion Week she met BBC Thai producer Sucheera Maguire, and demonstrated her skills on BBC Mundo's Lucía Blasco and Joice Etutu from Congo.

Image: Salisbury Cathedral in the mist      
Credit: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

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