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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: Handball and Politics on BBC Serbian

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Serbian women's handball player in action

30/03/2018 GMT

Handball and Politics on BBC Serbian

BBC World Service - The Fifth Floor, Handball and Politics on BBC Serbian

A new service, but old politics: challenges for BBC Serbian

Serbian Handball tournament derailed; Thai TV Drama; Tanzanian traditional medicine; Mundo's riddle; vintage Nepali cars; Uzbek gardeners. With David Amanor.

BBC Serbian went live this week with a big challenge: reporting Serbian stories and issues without always getting drawn back into the 1990s Balkans conflict. Then there's the unresolved issue of Kosovo, which declared itself independent of Serbia ten years ago, a move Serbia rejects.  So maybe a story about a women's handball competition in Belgrade would be a safe one to launch with.  BBC Serbian editor Alexandra Niksic hoped so.

Thailand's TV drama proves a hit
Love Destiny has become one of the most popular television shows in Thailand. It follows the story of Ketsurang, a modern day archaeology student whose spirit is transported back in time into Karaket, a 17th century girl living under the rule of King Narai's Ayutthaya kingdom.  It's been tremendously popular, and among its fans is BBC Thai's Issariya Praithongyaem. 

Tanzanian traditional medicine
About 60 per cent of Tanzanians rely on herbal medicine, but not much is scientifically proven about the effectiveness of these remedies or the potential side effects.  But recently the Tanzanian government has declared five types of herbal medicines are safe to use.  So what difference will this make? Tanzanian born journalist Sammy Awami from BBC Africa reports.

BBC Mundo's riddle
It's an old riddle that involves a father, a son and a surgeon, and reveals a lot about our unconscious gender bias.  BBC Mundo's Inma Gil made a video about it that spread across Latin America.  So how well did our fifth floor colleagues do in answering the riddle?

Nepal's Royal Cars
BBC Nepali is running a story about the former Royal family's cars.  It's a remarkable collection, including a vintage Mercedes Benz gifted to the family by Adolf Hitler.  The cars have been languishing in the dark and dusty Royal Palace museum garage, but Shreejana Shrestha of BBC Nepali managed to sneak a peek. 

Uzbek gardeners
Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev wants people to go back to growing their own.  He says staples like milk and potatoes should be produced not purchased - does he have a point? We asked BBC Uzbek's Pahlavon Sodiq, who grew up with chickens and grew vegetables, that very same question.

Serbian women's handball player Kristina Liscevic 
Credit: BJORN LARSSON ROSVALL/AFP/Getty Images

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