Home  >  Fifth Floor  >  Ukraine’s corruption crackdown
Fifth Floor
Ukraine’s corruption crackdown
Fifth Floor
Jan 27, 2023

Ukraine’s anti-corruption campaign is in the spotlight, with the recent dismissal or resignation of several top officials after a string of corruption scandals. Vitaliy Shevchenko of BBC Monitoring explains how the war with Russia has affected Ukraine’s long-running efforts to deal with corruption.

Iraq and the Gulf Cup A recent sports story from Iraq provided a welcome change from conflict and political turmoil, when the country hosted football’s Arabian Gulf Cup for the first time since 1979 - and won the championship. Tragically, there was a crush of fans outside the stadium in Basra before the final, leaving two people dead and many injured. BBC Arabic's Haider Hadi, who’s based in Baghdad, shares his reflections.

VDGs return to Indian-administered Kashmir A suspected militant attack in a village in Jammu on New Year's Day propelled Village Defence Groups back into the headlines. The original Village Defence Committees, set up in the 1990s, were disbanded in 2018 following illegal killings and accusations of other human rights abuses, but last August the Indian government announced the reintroduction of armed VDGs. BBC Urdu's Riyaz Masroor spoke to villagers in the latest attack, and the family of a victim from the previous era.

Disinformation for sale in Nigeria A BBC investigation has discovered that political parties in Nigeria are secretly paying social media influencers to spread disinformation about their opponents ahead of general elections in February. Fauziyya Tukur of the BBC's disinformation unit in Abuja joins us to explain how this works.

A visit to the ‘Little Manhattan’ of Caracas The economic crisis in Venezuela has left much of the population struggling to survive, and more than seven million people have left in search of better lives. But in one neighbourhood of the capital Caracas, there are casinos, restaurants and luxury stores. Norberto Paredes of BBC Mundo tells us about Las Mercedes, nicknamed “Little Manhattan”.

(Photo: Ukrainian hryvnia in a yellow envelope. Credit: Victoria Kotlyarchuk/ Getty Images)

More Episodes


Mar 29, 2024
From prison to president

After an election held just days after his release from prison, Bassirou Diomaye Faye is set to become Senegal's next president, and at 44, the youngest in the country’s history. From Dakar, the BBC's Khadidiatou Cissé and Thomas Naadi tell us more about the new Senegalese leader.

Banksy's new neighbour BBC Mundo's Carlos Serrano shares his experience of finding himself at the centre of a big news story, after a Banksy mural was painted outside his apartment.

Kashmiri carpet weavers In Indian-administered Kashmir, an ancient code called 'talim' was traditionally used to pass on complex patterns to carpet weavers. BBC India's Priti Gupta reports on how computers and AI are changing this, and the impact on the traditional carpet industry.

Brazil’s forest-friendly rubber tappers The growing interest in sustainable ways of exploiting the Amazon rainforest has created new opportunities for Brazil's traditional rubber tappers, who can get enhanced payments for preserving the areas where they work. Julia Carneiro reported for BBC Brasil on how the scheme works.

The Big Korean Dictionary The Korean language has been diverging between North and South Korea since the peninsula was divided. To keep track of the changes, an inter-Korean dictionary project was set up in 2005, with linguists from both sides. But worsening relations mean the project was suspended in 2015, as BBC Korean's Seonwook Lee reports.

Come with us! The Fifth Floor is moving and we would love it if you can join us. You can now find all our episodes on The Documentary, the home of original, global storytelling, from the BBC World Service. Search for The Documentary, wherever you found this podcast, and don’t forget to subscribe or follow.

(Photo: Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Credit: Getty)


40min 56sec

Mar 22, 2024
Women's radio in Afghanistan

As a new school year starts in Afghanistan, 330,000 more girls will be excluded from secondary education, one of the ways in which women and girls are increasingly confined to their homes under the Taliban regime. In light of this, BBC Media Action is running the Women’s Voice radio project, training women to make programmes for other women on vital topics like health, work and education. Getti Sediqi is one of the trainers in Kabul.

Isabel, the giant armadillo The giant armadillo, found only in Latin America, has been called a "ghost species" because it's so rarely seen. But thanks to one particular armadillo in Brazil, called Isabel by researchers, many discoveries have now been made, as BBC Brasil’s Giulia Granchi reports.

Haji Firouz: Nowruz controversy in Iran Iran traditionally heralds its New Year with a festive figure known as Haji Firouz. The jester-like character sings and dances through the streets but has become controversial because performers blacken their faces and hands, a practice many find highly offensive. Now the character is being used as a form of protest to highlight the ongoing struggle for women's rights in Iran, as BBC Monitoring's Sarbas Nazari explains.

No bidders for Aung San Suu Kyi's iconic house A failed attempt was made this week to auction the lakeside home of the detained Burmese leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. A court had ordered its sale after a long drawn-out legal battle between Suu Kyi and her brother Aung San Oo. BBC Burmese editor Soe Win Than explains the significance of this house, and the possible reasons why no bidders showed up.

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia's money glitch Ethiopia's largest commercial bank is trying to recoup millions of dollars' worth of currency after a 'system problem' allowed customers to withdraw unlimited funds. It's been reported that a large portion of the cash was withdrawn by students as news of the banking glitch spread around universities. Kaleb Moges tells us about developments.

(Photo: Nadia Shekib, journalist, producer and news editor at Radio TV Oboor. Credit: BBC Media Action)


41min 01sec

Ukraine’s corruption crackdown

--:--
--:--