SEREF ISLER

VPN demand in Myanmar has increased by 7200% according to top10vpn.com in the aftermath of the coup. And internet blackouts have cost over $4 billion in 2020. Samuel Woodhams explains not just the human rights impact but also the economic cost of internet blackouts to countries.

Mariko Oi broadcasts from Palu on 4 October 2019. We show the shopping mall that had partially collapsed. I was the field producer.

A year ago I got caught up in the Turkey coup attempt by pure chance. It was pretty traumatic and I later addressed the trauma by writing things down. A very abridged version of my writings were turned into a piece for BBC Radio 4's From Our Own Correspondent last year (audio in the video below). I didn't really want to share it publicly because I felt that I didn't want to make a name out of an event that traumatised so many people. A year later, when I came across photos I never uploaded from those days, I decided to turn the recording into a mini video / photo collage. I don't feel the trauma anymore. Writing it all down really helped. And in a way (as you always do on bad days) I came to see who were my real friends.. silver lining I guess.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gave an interview in Arabic (dubbed into Turkish) to Turkish channel Ulusal on 5 April 2013. He spoke about Arab unity, Israeli and Western interference in Syrian affairs and how displeased he was with Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Seref Isler summarised its contents on BBC World News with Zeinab Badawi. Copyright: BBC

Singapore's famous urban otters have delighted two British otter fans by photobombing their marriage proposal. Jordan Doyle and Mary Lister had gone out otter-watching with a wildlife photographer when the animals appeared.