Fifth Floor

Audrey Brown's documentary Give Back the Land tells the story of a white Western Cape vineyard owner attempting to make reparations for the land his family "stole" 6 generations ago. Land rights and reparations remain contentious in South Africa 23 years after the end of apartheid, and are close to the heart of Audrey, whose family come from this area. Image: Solms winery in South Africa Credit: S...

BBC Hindi recently brought together two schoolgirls, one from Delhi and one from Indian-administered Kashmir, to became penfriends. What they have in common is music and youth, but they're divided by regional loyalties and religion in the long-running dispute over Kashmir. So the question is: can the two teenagers find common ground? The reporter behind the project is Divya Arya. Image and credit:...

BBC Afghan's Auliya Atrafi is just back from his home province, Helmand, where for the first time he had access to areas under Taliban control. He visited the de facto Taliban capital of Musa, and found much to surprise him. Image: Auliya Atrafi with the Taliban Credit: BBC

Rumours of a film project about Sudanese ancient history have been raising hackles in neighbouring Egypt. The dispute is over which country had the most significant ancient civilisation on the Nile. BBC Africa's Mohanad Hashim, who's from Khartoum, puts the case for Sudan. Camel riders in front of the Sudanese pyramids Credit: Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty Images

The images coming out of Venezuela show a country in turmoil. The economy is failing, violent protests on the streets have left nearly 60 dead, and figures recently released show that child mortality has also increased in a country that was once the wealthiest in the region. Vladimir Hernandez is a Venezuelan journalist with the BBC and recently came back with a troubling report from his home coun...

The news has been full of China's One Belt One Road mega-infrastructure project to connect Asia, Europe and the Horn of Africa. It's a sort of modern day version of the ancient Silk Road - and what better opportunity to take a trip of our own. The Fifth Floor follows those famous caravan routes with Rustam Qobil of BBC Uzbek, Venera Koicheva of BBC Kyrgyz, Temtsel Hao of BBC Chinese and Daud Junbi...

Natalia Guerrero of BBC Mundo has tackled a taboo issue in her home country, Colombia. Thousands of soldiers have lost limbs due to land mines during the country's 50 year conflict with rebels, but what's seldom talked about are the numbers who've experienced genital injury, or the 'silent wound'. Natalia talks to soldiers and doctors keen to break that silence. Image: Soldier Stivinson Mena Rivas...

Last month 25 soldiers were killed in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh by Maoist or Naxalite rebels. It's the latest episode in a 50 year conflict which has left thousands dead and tens of thousands homeless. So who are the Naxalites? BBC Hindi's Salman Ravi explains the movement and its origins. Guyanese rodeo Grab your Stetson and pull on those cowboy boots: it's rodeo time in Guyana. This unexp...

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has a long history of instability and conflict. Trouble recently flared up in the central Kasai region, and the BBC's Catherine Byaruhanga got rare access to the area, meeting the rebel militias fighting in this little-known uprising. Keep Your Distance! When it comes to personal space how close is too close? We get up close and personal with our Fifth Floor co...

If India's Uttar Pradesh were a country it would be the fifth largest in the world. The state's new chief minister is Yogi Adityanath of the BJP party, which won a sweeping victory in last month's elections. The BBC's Geeta Pandey in Delhi has been analysing his popularity and following the controversies that surround him. Goodbye Krushchyovkas... Around 1.5 million people in Moscow are waiting an...

Tanzanians have been mystified by the recent kidnapping and reappearance of two rappers. Who was behind the abductions? Why are musicians being singled out? Sammy Awami has been following the story for BBC Swahili. Kathmandu bans horn-honking Horn-honking reaches deafening proportions on Nepali New Year, 14th April. So will a new honking ban for drivers in Kathmandu return the city to a quieter, m...

Since leaving Gambia, former President Yahya Jammeh has been living in Equatorial Guinea. Home to Africa's longest serving leader, it's rich in resources, but tends to be in the news for all the wrong reasons. BBC Africa's Umaru Fofana has been following ex-President Jammeh's progress. He gives us a short guide to his new home. The famous guavas of Kohat Kohat in northern Pakistan is famous for it...

A hometown on the front-line in Yemen; revisiting Brazilian childhood stories; a behaviour guide for Russian's abroad; African communities in India; Fifi Haroon's web roundup; and cleaning up the sex trade in Thailand.

First daughters; Thai street food; India's phone Romeos; escape from Raqqa; joy in CAR Image: Influential First Daughters Credit: Getty, Reuters, BBC and Presidency of Tajikistan

Astana; Brazilian ghosts; Harare potholes; Belarus protests; fire jumping; Somali pirates Image: Astana Credit: LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images

Passions that unite - and divide: what does it mean to be Indian? Stories from BBC Delhi. (Photo: David Amanor and Vikas Pandey in Delhi)

South Africa has recently seen immigrant communities targeted in a spate of attacks, with Nigerians, Somalis and Zimbabweans among those whose homes and businesses have been looted. Mpho Lakaje who reports for the BBC Africa from Johannesburg compares this current wave of violence with previous xenophobic attacks. Congolese Libanga With the collapse of CD sales and little to share out from concert...

Empty football stadia; Ethiopian raw meat; PC Carnival; mother tongues; Somali nicknames

A Sri Lankan astrologer was recently arrested for wrongly predicting the death of his president during January. In many cultures, the advice of an astrologer is a crucial part of everyday life, and often influences business and political decisions. Why are astrologers still so popular in this technological age? A question for Carol Yarwood of BBC Chinese, Nopporn Wong-Anan of BBC Thai, and Sangeet...

Jiyar Gol recently met the Iranian Kurdish strongmen who haul dozens of tyres on their backs over the border from Iraqi Kurdistan. It's a story that went out on BBC Persian, and had a big impact in Iran, as it coincided with the death this week of three smugglers in an avalanche. Jiyar tells us more about the people he met and the dangerous border crossing. The many accents of Colombia Cachaco, pa...

The new president of the United States has set a challenge to interpreters and translators. His off the cuff, informal style sometimes makes it hard to convey his exact meaning in other languages - even in English it can be unclear. We explore the intricacies of translating Trump into Farsi and French with BBC Persian's Siavash Ardalan and BBC Afrique's Olivier Weber. Colombia's other war Much has...

How to survive Chinese New Year It's Chinese New Year, with millions on the move to be with their families. But some young Chinese say they're fed up with what awaits them when they finally get home - a grilling about their personal lives. Yashan Zhao from BBC Hong Kong explains why Chinese New Year can be such a mixed experience. The secret of a long life? Devote yourself to art. Everyone wants t...

As the Obamas leave the White House to make way for the Trumps, we hear about some less smooth handovers of official residences. Venezuelan Patricia Sulbaran of BBC Mundo, Sammy Darko in Ghana and BBC Hindi's Shivaani Kohok share tales of presidents, officials and family members who have become rather too attached to their state-owned homes. You've been scammed... Police in central China have raid...

This week's funeral of former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani drew an estimated 2.5 million mourners. Rana Rahimpour of BBC Persian shares her memories of Rafsanjani, and explains why one of the founding fathers of the Islamic Revolution was mourned by so many reformists. Where are Gambia's judges? Gambian President Yahya Jammeh claims he won't leave office until the Gambian Supreme Cou...

Russian assassins strike in Turkey; shaping perfect eyebrows in Afghanistan; life along militarised walls; handball in the Arab World, family feud thrilling Indian politics. Photo Credit: OZAN KOSE-AFP-Getty Images.