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The Fifth Floor

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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: Pakistan and Iran: Expelling Afghans

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Afghan families on the road in Pakistan's Khyber district, returning to Afghanistan.

06/10/2023 GMT

Pakistan and Iran: Expelling Afghans

BBC World Service - The Fifth Floor, Pakistan and Iran: Expelling Afghans

The growing pressure on undocumented Afghans in Pakistan and Iran to return home

Why pressure is growing on undocumented Afghans in Pakistan and Iran to return home.

Presented by Sana Safi

Millions of Afghans living in Pakistan and Iran are facing growing pressure to return to Afghanistan. In Pakistan, around 1.7 million unauthorised Afghan asylum seekers have been ordered to leave by the end of this month. In Iran, the authorities say there are five million Afghans living without legal status, and forced removals are increasing. We hear from BBC Urdu’s Asif Farooqi and BBC Persian’s Zia Shahreyar about the latest developments.

Turkish beach towel revolution 
Fences, fees for sun loungers and private beach clubs are on the rise in Turkey, and in many tourist areas it's becoming increasingly difficult to find a free place to lay your beach towel.  But now some locals are protesting, as Mahmut Hamsici of BBC Turkish explains. 

Celebrating Mahatma Gandhi's iconic loincloth 
BBC Indian marked the anniversary of Gandhi's birth this week with a story about the history of his iconic loincloth or dhoti, and why he chose to wear it, as Vandana in Delhi explains.  

Flappy Bird and beyond: Vietnam's gaming industry 
Vietnam today has become a regional hub for game app development, spurred on by the success of Flappy Bird, which 10 years ago took the world by storm.  Thuong Le from BBC Vietnamese is a gaming fan, and tells us about the growth of the homegrown games development industry.

Sudan's all-female rap group 
BBC Arabic's Sarah Magdy took her personal interest in conflict rap to report a story for their culture show about Sudan's first all-female rap group, 249 Gang.  

(Photo: Afghan families on the road in Pakistan's Khyber district, returning to Afghanistan. Credit: Abdul Majeed/AFP via Getty Images)

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