Original version

BBC World Service South Asia

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

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

The Fifth Floor: Mariupol: City at the heart of war

Documentaries

Mariupol: City at the heart of war

13/05/2022 GMT

BBC World Service - The Fifth Floor, Mariupol: City at the heart of war

How a once pro-Russian city became a symbol of resistance to the invasion

How a once pro-Russian city became a symbol of resistance to the invasion.

The Ukrainian port city of Mariupol has been under attack by the Russians since the first day of the invasion on 24 February. It now lies in ruins, but still Ukrainian fighters are resisting in the Azovstal steelworks. Vitaliy Shevchenko, Russia editor of BBC Monitoring, tells us about the complex history and identity of Mariupol.

Reporting Sri Lanka 
It’s been a week of violent unrest in Sri Lanka, where peaceful protests in the capital turned into riots on Monday after the resignation of prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. For two members of the BBC Sinhala team, it’s a doubly difficult story, having moved from Colombo to Delhi. Editor Ishara Danasekara and her colleague Amanda Abeysooriya tell us about the challenges of reporting from a distance.  

South Korea's hijabi influencer 
Sabrina is a young hijab-wearing Malaysian Muslim who loves to dance to K-pop. When she moved to South Korea, she opened a YouTube channel and became a popular influencer. However, not all responses have been positive, as BBC Korean’s Bugyeong Jung found out.

My Childhood, My Country 
A remarkable documentary which follows the life of a young Afghan from the age of 7 to 27 has just won a BAFTA award for Shoaib Sharifi, who runs the Kabul office of the BBC’s international charity, BBC Media Action. It’s called My Childhood, My Country, and Shoaib tells us how he first met its star, Mir Hussain, then recorded his life from child to adult.

Presenter: Faranak Amidi
Producer: Sue Waldram

(Photo: Theatre building destroyed in the Ukraine-Russia conflict in Mariupol, April 25, 2022. Credit: Reuters/Alexander Ermochenko)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Fifth Floor

Mariupol: City at the heart of war

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service South Asia

About BBC World Service