Fifth Floor

The gangs of Haiti


Listen Later

The Caribbean nation of Haiti is in the grip of gang violence, with armed groups controlling much of the country. The lawlessness came to a head after gangs stormed two jails, freeing thousands of prisoners. Meanwhile Prime Minister Ariel Henry is being prevented from returning after a trip abroad. Luis Fajardo from BBC Monitoring in Miami tells us about the key players in Haiti, and the background to what’s happening.

The women saving a river

A group of women in Bangladesh have been mobilising to save the Moyur river from land grabbers. They have successfully recovered parts of the river and protected them from pollution. Shahnewaj Rocky of BBC Bangla went to meet them.

Women running in Iraq

Women competitors in a recent 13-kilometre race in the Iraqi city of Basra were banned just days before it took place. Organisers decided to exclude them after comments by Muslim clerics that the participation of women would 'deprive them of their chastity and honour'. Dima Babilie of BBC Arabic has spoken to women who had been training for the race.

Filming the Mayor of Freetown

When she took office in 2018, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr was the first democratically elected female mayor of Sierra Leone’s capital city, Freetown. During her successful re-election campaign last year, she was filmed for a BBC Africa Eye documentary, which set out to follow her environmental work, but became a record of a fiercely contested election, as we hear from Africa Eye’s Abdul Brima.

Baraye: the protest anthem that Iran has tried to suppress

Iranian singer Shervin Hajipour became famous after his song Baraye became widely popular in the country, and went on to win a Grammy award for Best Song for Social Change. He has now received a prison sentence after being charged with "spreading propaganda against the establishment". Taraneh Stone of BBC Persian has been looking into Shervin’s story.

(Photo: Tyres on fire near the main prison of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 3, 2024. Credit: Luckenson Jean/AFPTV/AFP)

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Fifth FloorBy BBC World Service

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

33 ratings


More shows like Fifth Floor

View all
Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,834 Listeners

The Archers by BBC Radio 4

The Archers

1,113 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,074 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,494 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,820 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,843 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,051 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,049 Listeners

Lives Less Ordinary by BBC World Service

Lives Less Ordinary

602 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,211 Listeners

The Bomb by BBC World Service

The Bomb

1,044 Listeners