December 23, 2016

Saudi Women: Small Steps Towards Change

40 minutes

A year after Saudi women participated and voted in municipal elections for the first time, BBC Arabic's Hanan Razek has been back to see what's changed in the kingdom. She also tracked down the 'Niqabi Comedian' to find out why this mystery woman is making so many people laugh.

Odd insults

There's been a lot of heavy news in 2016, but on the Fifth Floor we like to spread a bit of happiness, and when one of our morsels of merriment was picked as a "laugh out loud moment of 2016", it seemed the right moment to share it again. So in a year where political insults took a rather undiplomatic turn, we asked colleagues for more creative and nuanced insults from their home countries.

Highlights and happiness

2016 has been an eventful year on the news agenda. We ask Famil Ismailov of BBC Russian, Fernando Duarte of BBC Brasil, Victoria Uwonkunda of BBC Africa and Hanan Razek of BBC Arabic for their stand out moments, and the good news stories that sometimes get left behind.

Jihadi daughters' fashion

Why has a fashion magazine article about three stylish Afghan women caused such a stir in Afghanistan? It turns out two of them come from prominent jihadi families, and photographs of them without their heads covered have broken a social taboo. Mariam Aman of BBC Persian has been looking at the reactions - positive as well as negative.

Why the Chinese love "Titanic"

A full size replica of the Titanic is being built in the landlocked Chinese province of Sichuan, complete with bars and ballrooms. The Chinese obsession with the Titanic relates more to the film than the ship, and after its 1998 release there it became a pop culture phenomenon. Yashan Zhao of BBC Chinese is a fan, and explains why the film had such massive appeal.

(Image: Woman casting her ballot in last December's elections, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Credit: AFP/Getty Images.)

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