Buying Ex-army Scrap in Kandahar
Buying ex-army scrap in Kandahar, charting an Egyptian rivalry - Morsi v Sisi, a Brazilian mixtape, hiding out in South Sudan, and how to cope when your money is worthless
Mamoon Durrani, who contributes to the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Afghan service, describes the scrap markets that have sprung up in Kandahar selling ex-army equipment from the military bases that are closing down as the international forces leave Afghanistan. He's seen car parts, washing machines and even military fatigues being sold for crazy prices.
Also in the programme:
Morsi and Sisi
This week the former President of Egypt Mohammed Morsi was in the dock, and rather extraordinarily, sealed in a glass box to mute his protests. In the same week, the man widely tipped to be his successor - General al-Sisi - was endorsed by the army to run for the presidency. The rivalry between these two men has fascinated Egyptian media. Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Arabic's Dina Demrdash reports.
Mixtape: Brazil
Bruno Garcez of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Brasil spins the first ever Fifth Floor mixtape. He chooses tracks from unexpected areas of Brazil where techno, Afrobeat, "guitarrada" and groove all thrive - sometimes in the same piece of music. And he explains why his tracks reflect the Caribbean and African influences as well as international trends.
Online Greatest Hits
Fifi Haroon gives the low down on the top-hitting stories across the Language Service websites, including flatulent German cows and placenta recipes.
Fleeing Bor
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Media Action's Manyang David Mayar was among the thousands of civilians fleeing heavy fighting in Bor, a market town on the Nile river in South Sudan. When fierce fighting erupted between two factions of government in December, he decided to seek sanctuary for his family in a makeshift camp in the bush.
Dishonouring the Family Name?
A court in India has begun hearing a case where a father is suing his son for ruining the family name, because he married a woman of a lower caste. He says his son has demolished nearly 400 years of family tradition. Marrying for love in India has never been a smooth business as Suhail Haleem from Delhi explains.
Currency Crisis
So how do you cope when your country's currency goes awol? They call it devaluation - and Buenos Aires has just seen its most dramatic in a decade. Language service journalists from Argentina, Azerbaijan, Brazil and Zimbabwe share stories of economic woes of when their money becomes worthless.
The Fifth Floor is presented by David Amanor.
Image: Boys push wheelbarrows through a market in Afghanistan. Credit: AFP
Last on
More episodes
Charting an Egyptian rivalry - the tale of Morsi and Sisi
The story of the rise and fall of General al Sisi and former President Morsi
Clip
-
Brazil Mixtape
Duration: 08:52
Broadcasts
- Fri 31 Jan 2014 12:06GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online
- Fri 31 Jan 2014 23:06GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online
- Sat 1 Feb 2014 02:06GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online