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The Fifth Floor

Factual: Life Stories

Global stories from the BBC’s 40 Language Services, with Faranak Amidi

Faranak Amidi presents global stories from the Fifth Floor, home to the BBC’s 40 Language Services.

Faranak Amidi presents global stories from the Fifth Floor, home to the BBC’s 40 Language Services

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The Fifth Floor: Life under Karimov

Documentaries

President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov

09/09/2016 GMT

Life under Karimov

BBC World Service - The Fifth Floor, Life under Karimov

Memories of life in Uzbekistan during the rule of former President Islam Karimov

Life under Islam Karimov; creative insults from around the world; celebrating Saadat Hasan Manto; and who are China's Little Pink?

This week Uzbekistan got a new leader, the prime minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev become acting president following the death of Islam Karimov one week ago.  For 25 years Karimov ruled the former Soviet Republic with an iron hand. His time in power was marked by allegations of state violence and elections derided as a sham. But what was life like for the Uzbeks he ruled over? Rustam Qobil and Pahlavon Sodiq of BBC Uzbek share memories of life under Karimov.

Who are you calling a brother-in-law?
Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte raised a few eyebrows, and the political temperature, this week with his less than presidential language about President Obama.  But aside from being rude, was he missing a trick?  We take the microphone on a tour of the 5th Floor to investigate what more creative, nuanced and intriguing insults he might have deployed instead.

Saadat Hasan Manto
Saadat Hasan Manto was one of the most respected  writers of short stories in the Urdu language.  His work documents the struggles of life in post-partition India and Pakistan, but he remains relevant today.  A biopic is about to be released in India about him, hot on the heels of a Pakistani film about his life.  Indian author Aakar Patel, who also edits and translates Manto's work, and BBC journalist Haniya Ali, who is from Pakistan, explain his enduring appeal.

Slovyansk Library
In 2014, Slovyansk in Ukraine was briefly occupied by pro-Russian rebels.  It's in the Donbass region, a Russian-speaking, Russian-leaning area at the heart of fighting between pro-independence rebels and government forces.  So it came as a surprise to Anastasiya Gabonova of BBC Ukrainian, herself born in the region, to discover that since that occupation, the city is seeing a flourishing of interest in Ukrainian language, arts and culture, and driving it all are the staff of Slovyansk library.     

Beware the Little Pink 
What do the pop star Lady Gaga, the Australian Olympic swimmer Mack Horton and the President of Taiwan have in common? They have all been victims of xiao fenhong or "little pink", a group of young Chinese who use the internet and social media as a battleground for patriotism, attacking those who they believe have disrespected China. Howard Zhang of BBC Chinese provides a guide to the postings and posturings of this online group.

And Fifi Haroon takes a turn around the stranger offerings to be found on the internet this week.

Credit: NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP/Getty Images

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