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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: Colombia's first leftist leader

Documentaries

Gustavo Petro and Francia Marquez

24/06/2022 GMT

Colombia's first leftist leader

BBC World Service - The Fifth Floor, Colombia's first leftist leader

Gustavo Petro, a former rebel, has become the first leftist president of Colombia

Gustavo Petro, a former rebel, has become the first leftist president of Colombia.

In more than 200 years as a republic, Colombia has never elected a left-wing leader - until now. Gustavo Petro, a former member of the M-19 rebel group, narrowly won in a very polarised election. He said Colombia “voted for change.” BBC Mundo’s Daniel Pardo, who's from Bogota, witnessed the celebrations. 

North Korean trash 
Seoul politics professor Kang Dong-wan is fascinated by life inside North Korea, and based his latest research on the vast array of packaging washed up on South Korea’s Five West Sea Islands. BBC Korean’s Jungmin Choi tells us what he discovered there, and what it reveals about life inside the communist state.

Russia's lost generals
Why are so many Russian generals dying in the Ukraine conflict? At least four have been killed, possibly more, and yet it's usually rare for a general to die in battle. BBC Russian's Olga Ivshina explains what the high casualty rate tells us about the way Russian forces are fighting.

The imprisonment of Aung San Suu Kyi 
The deposed former leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been moved from house arrest to solitary confinement in prison. BBC Burmese editor Soe Win Than tells us what's known about her previous living conditions, and the significance of the junta's decision to put her behind bars.

Vietnamese brides 
China has a huge sex imbalance in its population, with 10% more men than women. This legacy of the one child policy has had a huge impact on neighbouring Vietnam; it's estimated 100,000 Vietnamese women married to Chinese men. Bui Thu from BBC Vietnamese spoke with one woman who married for love about her experiences.  

(Photo: Gustavo Petro and Francia Marquez. Credit: Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images)

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