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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: Chile's Covid-19 paradox

Documentaries

Chilean woman holding a card that says “I had my Covid vaccination”

09/04/2021 GMT

Chile's Covid-19 paradox

BBC World Service - The Fifth Floor, Chile's Covid-19 paradox

Why Chile's high vaccine rollout has not meant the end of the Covid-19 pandemic

Why Chile's high vaccine rollout has not meant the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chile has become a global example of how a high vaccine rollout may not mean the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. Numbers of infections and deaths are higher than ever, and a strict new lockdown has been imposed. BBC Mundo contributor Paula Molina explains how this situation arose. 

Egypt's new Coptic speakers  
Coptic can be traced back to the language spoken in Ancient Egypt, but only survives today in the liturgy of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Apart, that is, from a growing number of Egyptians who want to reconnect with their history. Rana Taha of BBC Arabic explains how they're bringing the language back to life. 

South Korea's Olympic diplomacy 
North Korea's announcement that it will not take part in the Tokyo Olympics, in order to protect its athletes from Covid-19, has disappointed South Korea. Julie Yoonnyung Lee of BBC Korean explains why the Games are seen as such an important opportunity for South Korea to engage with the North.

Meeting the female 'kolbars' 
The 'kolbars' or porters, who illegally carry heavy loads across the Iran-Iraq border, are mostly Kurdish people, who turn to this dangerous work because it's impossible to find other employment. It is thought of as a man's job, but Parham Ghobadi of BBC Persian tells us there are also women taking part. 

Bosnia's forgotten king  
Tvrtko I, the first King of Bosnia, ruled over Serbs, Croats and Bosnians in the 14th century, and expanded Bosnian territory to the greatest it's been before or since. Today, he's largely forgotten. BBC Serbian's Nataša Anđelković tells us why she wanted to remind her audience about him.

Image: A Chilean woman shows an identification card during the vaccination against Covid-19
Credit: Claudio Santana / Getty Images

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