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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: Reporting the global heatwave

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Baghdad bakery

11/08/2023 GMT

Reporting the global heatwave

BBC World Service - The Fifth Floor, Reporting the global heatwave

Wildfires in Tunisia, South Korean ‘fox-rain’ and enduring a Baghdad bakery

Wildfires in Tunisia, South Korean ‘fox-rain’ and enduring a Baghdad bakery: how the language services have covered the world's hottest recorded month

July 2023 was world’s hottest month on record, with extreme temperatures and weather patterns making global headlines.  We asked colleagues from the language services how they had been covering the story.  BBC Arabic's North Africa correspondent Bassam Bounenni reported on the heatwave in Tunisia, and the wildfires that spilled over from Algeria.  BBC Korean's Damin Jung shares the stories of South Korea's extreme heat and torrential rains, which led to several deaths and severely disrupted the international Scout Jamboree.  And Haider Ahmed reported from Iraq for BBC Arabic about the life of a Baghdad baker, working with temperatures hitting 50C outside and 60C inside.   

Miami Vice and jai alai
Jai alai is the world’s fastest ball game.  It originated in the Basque region of Spain, and became synonymous with the ‘Miami vice’ era of drug violence and excess of 1970s and 80s, with packed stadiums hosting millionaires, celebrities, and mobsters.  BBC Mundo's Atahualpa Amerise charts the changing fortunes of the game.  

Sexism and misogyny in Pakistan
Sexist attitudes in Pakistan have been in the spotlight after a senior minister called female leaders of the opposition PTI party “trash and leftovers”. For BBC Urdu, Saher Baloch has been reporting on the fierce backlash that followed. 

Kyiv statue makeover 
Kyiv’s towering Soviet-era Motherland Monument shows a woman raising a sword in her right hand and a shield in her left.  The hammer and sickle emblem that used to be on the shield is being replaced with a tryzub, the three-pronged emblem of Ukraine.  BBC Ukrainian’s Irena Taranyuk explains the significance of the tryzub and why this change matters.

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