Last week, the American government charged the former Cuban leader, Raúl Castro, with conspiracy to kill US nationals. They accuse him of playing a part in the downing of two planes in 1996, which were flying between Cuba and Florida. This comes after months of the US putting increasing pressure on the country. In January, President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any country who supplied oil to the island, resulting in huge energy shortages ever since, with some parts of the country being without power for 22 hours a day. But Cubans have been living under a strict trade embargo for decades, so they are not unfamiliar with such hardships. José Carlos Cueto López of BBC Mundo is from Cuba, and knows exactly what it's like for people living in such challenging circumstances.

 The UN says that at least 32 political prisoners have been executed in Iran since February this year. The UN's Human Rights Office has warned that the death penalty is increasingly being used to silence political dissent. Last year, Iran carried out 2,159 executions according to Amnesty International, the highest number since 1981. The Iranian government says that the vast majority are for drugs related offenses or murder. Ghoncheh Habibiazad of BBC Persian has been trying to find out more about the political prisoners who've been executed this year.

The Fifth Floor is at the heart of global storytelling on the BBC World Service, bringing you the best stories from journalists in the BBC's 43 language services. We're here to help you make sense of the stories making headlines around the world; to excite your curiosity and to get to grips with the facts.

This episode of The Documentary comes to you from The Fifth Floor, the show at the heart of global storytelling, with BBC journalists from all around the world.

Presented by Faranak Amidi.

Produced by Laura Thomas, Caroline Ferguson and Hannah Dean.

(Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)