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Offbeat: China’s web celebrities

Brazil: farewell to a miracle

On the referendum bandwagon

Who are Islamic morality police?

MAY 2016

T H E W O R L D T H R O U G H I T S M E D I A

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Welcome to the latest edition of Monitor.

As the Olympic countdown begins, our lead story, by Brazilian-born journalist Daniela Traldi, examines the political drama that is keeping the host nation glued to their news screens.

Daniela works with our new team in Miami on a mission to expand the coverage of Latin America. The political scandal unfolding in Brazil has given plenty of scope for that. In our Inside Monitoring column, John Sutherland, who heads up our first state-side operation, talks about the challenges and excitement of setting up a new monitoring outpost.

The move to Miami is one of many changes taking place in BBC Monitoring as we focus on the quality of our products and continue to adapt to the dramatic shifts in the global media landscape. Another, is the launch this month of our new user portal at monitoring.bbc.co.uk, which makes our content easy to access from any device, at any time. This is a big step forward, but by no means the final version. We will continue to add new features to the portal as we get feedback from our users.

As usual, this issue reflects the diverse range of expertise offered at Monitoring: from Al Qaeda in Yemen to the quirky tastes of internet users in China.

Enjoy the read, and do get in touch to learn more about our products and services.

Sara Beck

What We Do

We bring you words as spoken in the media around the world, as well as the "why" and the "how". Our purpose is to help customers understand the ever changing environment in which they do business.

Contact Us

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BBC © 2016 All rights reserved. No publication or distribution of the whole or any part of this magazine is permitted without the written consent of BBC Monitoring.

Sara Beck Director, BBC Monitoring

Who We Are

BBC Monitoring provides news and information from media sources around the world. Our round-the-clock monitoring of TV, radio, press, internet and news agencies is provided to the BBC and a range of customers – commercial clients, including media organisations, foreign governments, NGOs and universities, and the UK government.

BBC Monitoring is part of the BBC World Service Group. It employs 370 staff and a network of contributors based in Reading, near London, and offices in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the former Soviet Union.

Editorial

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1 Farewell to a dream

Daniela Traldi sees Brazil’s dream of prosperity traded in for the political soap played out in parliament and on TV

2 Referendums: are they catching?

Paula Kennedy explains Brexit’s populist appeal

3 Al-Qaeda's march

Steve Metcalf tracks the group’s gains in Yemen

8 Who tops China’s internet celebrity list

Kerry Allen asks what the web influencer rankings tell us about the nation’s tastes

9 Lake of disunion

Mutalib Khalikov finds post-Soviet scars running deep in the row over a scenic tourist spot in Central Asia

10 Inside Monitoring

John Sutherland describes his experience of starting a new Monitoring outpost across the Atlantic

4 Russian anti-terror bills: who are the targets?

Olga Bugorkova in Moscow explains why the proposed anti-terror legislation worries the opposition

5 Twitter’s war on Islamic State

Tse Yin Lee reviews ups and downs in the effort to curb IS propaganda

6 News from Elsewhere

Extraordinary reports from the world media selected by our blog editor Cassandra Cavallaro

7 Guarding Muslim morals

Adam Robinson examines the phenomenon of Islamic morality police

Featured Stories

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Ahead of the Rio Olympics, the Latin American nation is in the throes of political drama that threatens to thwart its global ambition. Daniela Traldi looks at the plot and characters

Farewell, sweetheart: Brazil's soap tragedy

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Not everyone is a winner: A Rio favela community was demolished to make way for Olympic venues

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Hosting the 2016 Olympic Games was meant to be the icing on the cake that was Brazil’s “economic miracle”

In Brazil, there is no better drama than a television soap opera. Fictional heroes and villains enter our homes every evening, ready to grab our hearts and minds - and quickly gain the status of close family members.

Iconic characters are usually referred to by name. "She was like a crazy Maria de Fatima," I would overhear at school about one of the most evil soap opera characters of the late 1980s.

That's why, generation after generation, soap operas have been shaping behaviour and identities in Brazil. They have become part of who we are.

But the villains in Brazil's latest soap take a different seat at the nation’s dinner table: the primetime newscast.

Brazilians themselves have become characters in a complicated political tragedy that is just as compelling as any of the country's iconic TV dramas.

The petralhas and the coxinhas

The nation is torn between those for and against the government, following Operation Car Wash (Lava Jato), an investigation into a scandalous bribery scheme at one of the country's national treasures, the state-controlled oil company Petrobras.

The investigation led many to associate corruption directly with the ruling Workers' Party.

In a dramatic turning point, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva – who founded the Workers’ Party (PT) - was forcibly questioned by police in early March.

Without ever being formally charged, Lula soon became a symbol of disgrace, a "thief", "chief mobster" and "communist".

On the streets, the PT's colour - red - became unwearable, a symbol of the "petralhas", the word coined for people who supported Lula's PT party. People were physically assaulted and families fought each other.

Any suggestions in social media that Lula had not yet been found guilty would be immediately condemned. "The petralhas will be unfriended," many would say on Facebook.

On the opposing side, those with anti-PT positions are seen as being part of a white ruling elite unhappy with the social progress said to have been achieved during the Lula government.

The "coxinhas" were named after a popular Brazilian food that resembles a chicken leg – it is also a derogatory word for conservatism and the bourgeois. Critics call them "coup mongers", "dictators" and "dumb neoliberals".

The nickname gained further popularity after newspaper polls revealed the "coxinhas'" profile: upper middle class, college educated and over 35 years old.

A powerless and divided nation watched the live television spectacle in parliament. Votes were cast: "Yes for God", "for my grandchildren", or "for Dilma's terror"

Heading nowhere: a cycle track in Rio built ahead of the games collapsed weeks after it opened

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Scars of the pastThis recent wave of polarisation is less about politics and more about just how much the two factions despise each other. Their mutual hatred has its roots in the two-decade dictatorship, which started after a military coup in 1964. At that time, the country was split between those who believed in extreme anti-communism and, on the other side, fierce anti-imperialism.

The embarrassing truth is that the only loser was Brazil itself. The impeachment vote against president Dilma Rousseff was its moment of tragedy.

A powerless and divided nation watched the live television spectacle in parliament. Votes were cast: "Yes for God", "for my grandchildren", or "for Dilma's terror", when one congressman praised a well-known torturer of the 1970s.

Eduardo Cunha, the speaker of the lower house, was accused of bribery and money laundering. At least half of the Chamber of Deputies are being investigated for corruption. Vice-president Michel Temer was accused of conspiring against President Rousseff.

In the end, the impeachment debate led to a sad realisation. Both the coxinhas and the petralhas finally saw their country heading for a speedy decline. "What a shame" is a unifying sentiment.

Daniela Traldi is a freelance journalist from Brazil, part of a BBC Monitoring team covering Latin America. See Inside Monitoring p 30 for an insider's look at our new Latin America operation

"Good-bye, sweetheart"Not too long ago, Brazil boasted a booming economy and international ambition. Hosting the 2016 Olympic Games was meant to be the icing on the cake that was Brazil’s “economic miracle”.

Just a few months ahead of the Games in Rio de Janeiro, however, Latin America's largest nation is a shrinking economy with unhealthy public finances and, on top of it all, politically humiliated.

One recent hashtag created on Twitter epitomises the Brazilian tragedy: "Tchau, Querida" ("Good-bye, sweetheart"). This is how Lula ended a phone call to President Rousseff, a conversation which was tapped and released to the media with much fanfare.

Initially popular among those who wanted to impeach her, the term has been adopted by her supporters as a cry of farewell to democracy.

But a curt farewell would be too simple a finale for Brazilians on either side of the conflict.

Keep watching.

"What a shame" is a unifying sentiment

“Temer conspirator, Cunha thief”: protesters lash out after Operation Car Wash

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Speaker Eduardo Cunha, accused of bribery and money laundering, appears on fake bills handed out during protests

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Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva: Brazil’s former president being investigated for corruption. A divisive figure, he set up the left-wing Workers' Party and is a villain to some and a hero to others, being credited with achieving social progress.

Eduardo Cunha: the speaker of the lower house, accused of bribery and money laundering. He plays an important role in impeachment proceedings.

Michel Temer: the vice-president, being investigated for corruption. Set to stand in for Rousseff if she is impeached. While initially close to Dilma, relations between the two have broken down.

Dilma Rousseff: incumbent president and the first woman to hold the office. Hand-picked by Lula as his successor, her time in office has been marked by the Lava Jato corruption scandal.

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The characters in the political drama

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Any suggestion that ‘old guard’ countries such as France and Germany may be trying to dictate policy to the more recent members of the club is used to stoke up Eurosceptic sentiment

The announcement of the UK's Brexit poll triggered warnings of "referendum contagion", with populist politicians in some countries seeing a chance to boost their approval ratings. Our global writer Paula Kennedy examines these attempts

Calling for a referendum on a matter of national sovereignty has long been a common ploy among populist politicians in the EU.

When in opposition, their campaign typically focuses on how much their country has lost rather than gained from membership.

French Front National (FN) leader Marie Le Pen has made it clear that if ever she comes to power, she would not hesitate to push for a "Frexit" if she fails to renegotiate the terms of France's membership. According to the French paper Liberation, the far-right party sees the possibility of a Brexit as "an opportunity to give credibility to its own proposals on European issues".

Among the former communist countries of eastern Europe, clear divisions can be observed between political leaders with regard to the EU and the potential impact of a Brexit.

In most of these countries, becoming members of the EU in 2004 was seen as a crucial step signalling that their former status as Soviet satellite states was now firmly in the past and that they deserved to take their place among other developed western democracies.

However, 12 years on, any suggestion that "old guard" countries such as France and Germany may be trying to dictate policy to the more recent members of the club - especially immigration policy - is used to stoke up Eurosceptic sentiment.

Referendum bug or gesture politics?

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Ukrainians taste bitter pill from the Dutch

There is understandable gloom in the Ukrainian media following the "no" vote in the Dutch advisory referendum on the EU-Ukraine association agreement.

"The Netherlands does not want to see Ukraine in the EU," concludes the leading headline of a national news bulletin.

In a report captioned "A bitter Dutch pill", another TV channel suggested there was a lack of serious debate in the Netherlands on the substance of the deal.

But others blamed the outcome on corruption and human rights violations in Ukraine failing to impress the Dutch.

Several pundits described the vote as a "yellow card for Ukraine", with the danger of more damaging referendums elsewhere in the EU.

There is also a feeling that the Dutch vote was more about EU expansion than Ukraine itself. The popular One Plus One TV channel showed Kees Verhoeven of the Dutch D66 party, saying: "They voted against the EU, not against Ukraine." The channel warned that the government was unlikely to ignore the vote: "There is an election in the Netherlands next year, and of course, politicians here will try to demonstrate respect for the people's will, no matter how strongly they may oppose this referendum."

Ukraine’s Opposition Bloc wasted no time in describing the Dutch vote as a defeat of the government and called for an early election. "The Dutch voted against corruption and lawlessness in Ukraine," the party’s statement said.

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Domino effectImmediately after British Prime Minister David Cameron's announcement of a referendum on the United Kingdom's EU membership, the pro-EU Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka warned of the impact of a Brexit, saying that it could produce a "domino effect" that would result in a "wave of nationalism and separatism" sweeping across Europe.

Sobotka hinted that there were some fringe right-wing groups in his country who would jump at the chance to push for a "Czexit", though he insisted that such a scenario would be "senseless and dangerous" and could even return the Czech Republic to Russia's sphere of influence.

European Council President (and former Polish Prime Minister) Donald Tusk has also warned of the possibility of other EU leaders following the lead set by the Brexit referendum, saying that this path was "a very attractive model for some politicians in Europe to achieve some internal, very egotistic goals".

However, not all Eastern European politicians appear to be as concerned as Sobotka and Tusk at the prospect of a wave of referendums and their potential to cause division.

Paula Kennedy is a writer in our global hub. She has a special interest in Eastern Europe

Vote of confidenceHungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has long chafed at what he sees as EU attempts to lay down the law over immigration, and within days of the announcement of the date of the Brexit vote, he announced that Hungary would be holding its own referendum on the issue of EU-imposed quotas for the distribution of migrants.

However, despite Orban's maverick stance towards the EU, he has never suggested that it would be to Hungary's advantage to leave the bloc. The country gets back far more from the EU budget than it contributes, and Orban's anti-EU rhetoric has always focused on the issue of perceived threats to Hungary's sovereignty and national identity.

Moreover, the Hungarian PM clearly sees referendums as a kind of vote of confidence in his government's policies, and is careful to limit them to issues on which he is absolutely sure that the result will go in his favour.

While he is confident that he will win a referendum on the migrant quotas issue, he recently made a u-turn on another government policy that had proved to be deeply unpopular, lifting a ban he imposed earlier on Sunday retail trade instead of having to face an opposition-sponsored referendum.

Potential EU policy on migrant resettlement is a major concern for many within the union

Some opposition leaders, such as French right wing politician Marine Le Pen, have said that they would

consider referendums if they came to power

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Almost one year since the start of the Saudi-led military campaign to restore the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has substantially expanded its area of control in southern Yemen, writes Middle East analyst Steve Metcalf

Al-Qaeda's onward march in Yemen

Government officials and pro-Saudi media rarely refer to Al-Qaeda by name. Instead, they prefer to speak of operations against "armed groups","extremists" or "terrorists"

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A boy surveys the damage in the southern city of Taiz

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Since its April 2015 seizure of Al-Mukalla, the country's fifth largest city and capital of Hadramawt province, AQAP has gradually become the dominant - and in many places, the only - armed force along some 700 km of Yemen's southern coastline.

Pro-Saudi and Hadi media are largely ignoring this development.

On 13 March, AQAP fighters took control of the town of Al-Raydah al-Sharqiyyah, approximately 150 km east of Al-Mukalla. There were no state institutions present to oppose them.

AQAP now has checkpoints all along the road linking Hadramawt and Al-Mahra, Yemen's easternmost province, according to the pro-Houthi news website Yaqin. Security sources say the group is getting ready to move into Al-Mahra, from where it would pose a threat to neighbouring Oman.

Government officials and pro-Saudi media rarely refer to Al-Qaeda by name. Instead, they prefer to speak of operations against "armed groups", "extremists" or "terrorists".

In part, this may be because there are many armed factions present on the ground, and all contributing to the chaotic security situation.

But there is also a consistent government line that the groups creating and exploiting this chaos (including AQAP) are being manipulated by Hadi's predecessor, former president Ali Abdallah Saleh.

Contradictory evidence This was exemplified by the remarks of Khalid Bahah, vice-president and prime minister, in an interview with the Saudi-owned news channel Al-Arabiya. Bahah said there was "clear evidence" that Saleh and the Houthis were supporting groups such as AQAP and Islamic State.

The view of pro-Houthi media, however, is that AQAP took over the city "with Saudi supervision", according to the Yaqin report.

This public and official linking of the former president with a designated terrorist group, help sustain the Saudi/Hadi narrative that AQAP is a Saleh puppet rather than an independent actor.

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An Al-Qaeda checkpoint in the southern province of Shabwa. The group have reportedly set up more such checkpoints in the easternmost region, perhaps in preparation for a move into Al-Mahra close to Oman

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Yemen Conflict

Despite its ancient roots as the crossroads of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, the modern Republic of Yemen is a relatively new state.

It was created after communist South Yemen and traditional North Yemen merged in 1990, following years of strife.

Tensions remain between the north and the south, however. A southern separatist movement was defeated in a short civil war in 1994, and tensions re-emerged in 2009 when government troops and rebels, known as the Houthi, clashed in the north, killing hundreds and displacing more than a quarter of a million people.

A fresh wave of protests in 2011, inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, forced then-President Ali Abdallah Saleh to resign.

Yemen has also become a base for militant groups, like Al-Qaeda and Islamic State, adding to instability. The country spiralled into civil war in 2014 and, despite peace initiatives, fighting continues.

Reports in the Saudi-owned leading pan-Arab daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat, and the anti-Huthi Yemeni agency Mareb Press, said that retreating Saleh forces had left behind vehicles loaded with AQAP and IS flags, along with other equipment.

The reports said that Saleh and the Houthis were planning to activate sleeper cells, using the jihadist banners, to create chaos in Taiz and Aden.

Again, pro-Houthi media told a different story, saying that Al-Qaeda and other "mercenaries of the Saudi aggression" had engaged in lynchings and reprisals against local residents.

Meanwhile, correspondents covering the recapture of Aden last July reported that AQAP fighters, local militias and UAE special forces were all involved in the battle against pro-Houthi forces, although they may not have fought side by side.

In November, AQAP's front organisation, Ansar al-Sharia, issued a professional video production, "The Battle of Al-Jahmaliyah", which showed its fighters engaging in street-to-street clashes with Houthi forces in Taiz.

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The conflict dominates national media: TV shows locals in Taiz celebrating the end of a siege

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Steve Metcalf tracks the media narratives of the Arab world from our HQ in Caversham Park

On 6 March, the Yemeni weekly Al-Wasat published a lengthy interview with Khalid Batarfi, a senior figure in AQAP. While making clear that the organisation had little time for President Hadi or the Saudis, Batarfi said that AQAP had fought against the Houthis in Aden, Taiz and elsewhere.

Danger warning

A rare warning about the danger of ignoring AQAP's expansion recently came from Hadi's transport minister, Badr Ba-Salma. Posting on Facebook he said the group was making several million dollars a day from taxes on oil imports and smuggled goods.

He said the fight against AQAP should go hand-in-hand with operations against the Houthis.

AQAP fighters, local militias and UAE special forces were all involved in the battle against pro-Houthi forces, although they may not have fought side by side

"The Battle of Al-Jahmaliyah", an Ansar al-Sharia video issued in November last year, showed AQAP fighters engaging in street-to-street clashes with Houthi forces in Taiz

Forces loyal to the Saudi-backed Yemeni president head off on an operation to drive Al-Qaeda fighters out of the southern provincial capital of Abyan

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Russian MPs have tabled a package of bills seeking to toughen punishment for terrorist and extremist activities, but critics say this is just another attempt to restrict the freedoms of ordinary Russians. Olga Bugorkova hears opposing arguments

Russian anti-terrorism bills: a threat to dissent?

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The country mourned its worst air disaster after a Russian plane carrying tourists was downed over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula killing all 224 on board

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Two ambitious anti-terrorism bills have been submitted to the Russian parliament.

The first seeks to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 14 for those accused of inciting terrorism in the media, with a minimum jail term of five years. The bill also introduces a number of new articles to the Criminal Code: "Act of international terrorism", "Failure to report a crime of a terrorist nature" and "Complicity in extremist activity".

Another bill suggests stripping those with dual citizenship of their Russian nationality if convicted of terrorism. It also stipulates a five-year foreign travel ban for those formally warned. Finally, the bill proposes that telecom companies are required to store and share data with the authorities.

The set of amendments, according to one of the proposers, MP Irina Yarovaya (pro-Putin United Russia), will render terrorism powerless "in all its manifestations".

Why now?

Russian lawmakers started to talk about changing domestic anti-terrorism legislation late last year, in the wake of the downing of a Russian Boeing A321 over Egypt and a series of terrorist attacks in Paris.

On 20 November, both houses of the Russian parliament - the State Duma and the Federation Council - convened to debate the need to toughen punishment for terrorism-related crimes.

Before being unveiled to the Duma, the bill was reviewed by the Security Council,

The bills' other author, Victor Ozerov, says they are aimed at preventing crime, but liberal politicians and rights activists doubt it will achieve its aims.

"If suicide bombers choose to die for their faith, then neither the death penalty nor criminal punishment are of much concern to them because they have already taken the most important decision, to end their life," president of the Veterans Association of the Alfa Antiterror Squad Sergei Goncharov told the RBK business channel.

Opposition figures, for their part, see the bill as a potential threat to dissenters. "Putin is looking for extra safeguards against a revolution," opposition activist Ilya Yashin said in an interview with independent Ekho Moskvy radio.

What's next?There is a high likelihood that the bill will become law, as Yarovaya and Ozerov chair the security committees of the Duma and the Federation Council, respectively.

However, the wording of the bill may still change: to become law, it needs to first pass three readings in the lower house of parliament, the State Duma. Between each reading, the bill may be revised and amended. After the Duma it goes to the upper house, the Federation Council, and once approved there, it needs to be signed off by President Putin.

Olga Bugorkova watches the Russian media in our Moscow office

"If suicide bombers choose to die for their faith, then neither the death penalty nor criminal punishment are

of much concern to them because they have already taken the most

important decision, to end their life"

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The bills' authors Victor Ozerov and Irina Yarovaya head the security committees of the upper and lower houses

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Twitter may have suspended around 125,000 accounts supporting IS between October and March this year, but as many as 90,000 still exist, according to US government records.

While IS supporters make up a tiny proportion of the estimated 305 million or so active users worldwide, the group has successfully used Twitter to gain and hold the attention of a mass audience, and to attract supporters.

"The user often starts with a link in a tweet and is then led further and further into the narrative on blogs, videos and other social media - possibly ending up in a conversation with a recruiter," says military researcher Thomas Nissen.

The IS puts out timely information in several languages and uses a range of multimedia hooks to emotionally engage its audience - cat images, religious music as well as horrifying killings - and frames messages in line with its strict Caliphate ideology.

It uses hashtags to group information from its "provinces" such as #Raqqa, as well as to exult in major attacks, such as #ParisOnFire in November and #BrusselsOnFire in late March.

When IS captured Mosul in Iraq in 2014, the group used bots and spammed popular hashtags to ensure its propaganda was visible. One Arabic-language app sent out almost 40,000 tweets a day at its peak - a volume large enough to ensure IS propaganda appeared at the top of search results.

The group maintains a resilient network by preparing reserve accounts that are used to quickly replace those taken down. And while the suspensions meant some IS activity moved to a different network, Telegram, Twitter continued to be the group's primary platform.

Joseph Shaheen, a researcher who has studied IS accounts for NATO, argues that Twitter should go further in its suspensions, targeting whole clusters and communities, instead of only active accounts.

"No other platform offers the kind of exposure and ease of adaptation that Twitter does," he says.

Turjuman al-Asawirti is a long-standing online jihadist who has carved out a role as a producer of pro-IS videos. In April 2016 he boasted that he was now on his 487th account

Could Twitter go further in limiting the activities of the so-called Islamic State? Some argue it could, writes social media analyst Tse Yin Lee

Is Twitter's crackdown on Islamic State working?

Tse Yin Lee follows global social media trends from our UK headquarters

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The News from Elsewhere blog is a partnership between the BBC News Magazine and BBC Monitoring. It aims to provide readers with an insight into life in other countries through their media, using short posts to illustrate the differences between cultures.

It also highlights unusual stories being reported around the globe, spots trends in social media, examines the use of propaganda by governments and others, and attempts to see events through the eyes of foreign reporters.

The blog is based on contributions from BBC Monitoring journalists around the world, which are curated by our multimedia producer Cassandra Cavallaro. In addition to BBC Monitoring she has worked in a number of BBC newsrooms, bringing stories to a variety of UK and global audiences.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs/news_from_elsewhere

Use #NewsfromElsewhere to stay up-to-date with our reports via Twitter.

News From Elsewhere


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Farmers are struggling with the legacy of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant disaster

The Catania shop's sign makes clear that Riina's book won't be ordered or sold

Japan: Fukushima farmers use polyester "soil"Farmers in Japan's Fukushima prefecture are using polyester "soil" to grow plants, in the hope of restoring consumer confidence in their produce following the 2011 nuclear disaster.

A trial run in the Ojima district has seen 2,000 ornamental anthurium plants grown using thin polyester fibres in the place of soil, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reports. The district is about about 50km (30 miles) inland from the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which suffered a series of meltdowns after the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami five years ago.

While local produce has passed safety tests, consumer nervousness about radiation has hit farmers hard, the paper says. It's a problem that has been felt across Fukushima prefecture - Japan's third largest - even when produce has been grown miles away from contaminated areas.

"By using polyester fabrics as a cultivation medium instead of ground soil, this new method will help protect Fukushima farmers from harmful rumours that may stem from consumers' concerns over soil contamination," says Prof Takahiro Hayashi from Kinki University, which is helping to run the project.

Local farmers are hoping to expand production and plan to set up an agricultural corporation later this year.

Bookshops across Italy are refusing to stock a new book written by the son of one of the country's most notorious Mafia bosses.

Signs have appeared in store windows from Sicily to Milan advising customers that the book - called Riina Family Life - won't be found on the shelves and can't be ordered either. It's written by Giuseppe Salvatore Riina, whose father, Toto, is serving multiple life sentences for murder. On Wednesday, state broadcaster Rai provoked outrage by airing an interview with the younger Riina, himself a convicted mobster.

The first sign was posted in the Sicilian city of Catania, where bookseller Angela Sciacca called on others to follow suit, Il Fatto Quotidiano reports. More then appeared in bookshop windows in Florence, Brescia and Milan, where one proprietor compared the book to Mein Kampf. Some stores says they'll stock the title to give their customers the choice, but won't promote it in their window displays.

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"I have seen and we have seen - the people of Palermo more than those of Catania - what the Mafia is," the paper quotes Ms Sciacca as saying. "I don't need Riina's son to write a book to tell me who his family are and what the Mafia is," she says, adding that it would be disrespectful to the victims of Mafia violence to stock the title. The shop's Facebook post has been shared 23,000 times and garnered hundreds of supportive comments, although some users express concern that the move amounts to censorship.

The book's publisher, Mario Tricarico, is unmoved by the protest, saying 5,000 copies have already been sold and a first reprint is being planned. "Those who criticise the book should at least read it first," he tells Corriere del Veneto.

Italy: Bookshops refuse to stock Mafia family book


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Stray dogs are an enduring problem for the authorities in Delhi

Fang Binxing is known as the "father" of China's system of internet controls

India: Stray dogs deemed terrorism threatAuthorities at Delhi's largest airport say stray dogs roaming operational areas could be used in a terrorist attack, but are having difficulty removing them due to animal welfare laws.

The Times of India newspaper says the operators of Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport wrote to the local South Delhi council asking for the immediate removal of dogs from around the terminal buildings, claiming there has been a trend where animals "have been used to explode explosive devices at public places". The call came immediately after the four-day long attack in January on Pathankot air base by jihadist fighters.

But the removal of the strays may not be as straightforward as hoped, as the law stipulates that councils can only remove dogs for neutering and must then release them at the same place where they were captured. The best that can be done is to remove the animals from terminal buildings and relocate them "to adjacent areas such as parking lots after sterilisation", the Animal Welfare Board says. Now the case has come to court as the council tries to convince judges that the animals should not be released in or near the airport. It says they'd only make their way back to operational areas, where they are "a serious inconvenience to passengers and tourists".

It could be another four months before a final decision and workable solution can be found, the Times of India says.

China: "Great Firewall" blocks its creatorThe designer of China's "Great Firewall" has been mocked online after he reportedly had to bypass the censorship system that he helped create during a public event.

Fang Binxing was giving a speech on internet security at the Harbin Institute of Technology when he tried to access a South Korean website, but was blocked by the system, according to the Hong Kong-based Ming Pao website. To continue with his speech, he was forced to set up a virtual private network (VPN) - a common practice used to skirt state censorship - in full view of the audience. Perhaps to avoid embarrassment, the university scrapped a scheduled question-and-answer session.

Mr Fang was using South Korea as an example of another country that - according to him - uses a similar system to China's internet controls, the website reports. Government censors in South Korea are known to block some sensitive content, such as websites which praise North Korea, although nowhere near on the same scale as in China.

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As "father" of the Great Firewall, Mr Fang has long been a controversial figure among Chinese internet users, and this latest incident quickly drew ridicule on social media. "Blocked by his own system… This is just too hilarious," one Sina Weibo user writes. Another mocks Mr Fang for being so dedicated to his work that he didn't leave a back-door in the system, "even for himself".

While the story hasn't appeared on mainland news sites, hundreds of comments referring to it remain visible on China's often heavily censored social media.

Following news that Iran has deployed thousands of undercover agents to enforce rules on dress, Adam Robinson casts the spotlight on this part of daily life in Muslim-majority countries

Who are Islamic "morality police"?

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The thousands of women wearing trousers on the streets of Sudan every day run the risk of fines and flogging if their outfits are deemed indecent by the Public Order Police

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Police forces tasked with implementing strict state interpretations of Islamic morality exist in several countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Malaysia.

Many - especially those with an affinity with Western lifestyles - chafe against such restrictions on daily life, but others support the idea, and growing religious conservatism has led to pressure for similar forces to be created in countries that do not have them.

Here are some places where "morality police" forces patrol.

IranName: Gasht-e Ershad (Persian for Guidance Patrols), supported by Basij militia.

Who they are: Iran has had various forms of "morality police" since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, but the Gasht-e Ershad are currently the main agency tasked with enforcing Iran's Islamic code of conduct in public.

Their focus is on ensuring observance of hijab - mandatory rules requiring women to cover their hair and bodies and discouraging cosmetics.

They are empowered to admonish suspects, impose fines or arrest members of the public, but under reforms that come into force this year, will soon no longer be able to do any of these things.

Instead, 7,000 undercover Gasht-e Ershad agents will be deployed to report suspected transgressions to the police, who will decide whether to take action.

The Gasht-e Ershad is thought to draw a lot of its personnel from the Basij, a hard-line paramilitary unit; it also includes many women.

What people think: They are mainly seen as a scourge for urban women - usually from wealthier social groups - who try to push the boundaries of the dress code.

This includes wearing the headscarf as far back on the head as possible, or by wearing looser clothing, especially in the heat of summer, although men sporting "Western" hairstyles are also at risk.

Fear of encountering them has even prompted the creation of Android app that helps people avoid Gasht-e Ershad mobile checkpoints.

President Hassan Rouhani has expressed opposition to the Gasht-e Ershad, but Iran's constitution gives him little sway over the security forces.

Even conservatives have been irritated by recent high-profile cases deemed excessive or internationally embarrassing

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Here comes the Guidance Patrol: the Gasht-e Ershad were formed during a crackdown on "un-Islamic" dress in 2007

In previous crackdowns barber shops in Tehran have been closed for offering hairstyles that are too

"Western" or unconventional

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Adam Robinson is a writer in BBC Monitoring's global hub.

Saudi ArabiaName: Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, or Mutawa (Arabic for "particularly obedient to God")

Who they are: Formed in 1940, the Mutawa is tasked with enforcing Islamic religious law - Sharia - in public places.

This includes rules forbidding unrelated males and females to socialise in public, as well as a dress code that encourages women to wear a veil covering all but their eyes.

Instead of a police-style uniform, they wear a traditional Saudi robe and keffiyeh.

What people think: Although the Mutawa is widely disliked among liberals and the youth, general opinion in the conservative Sunni-majority kingdom supports it.

But even conservatives have been irritated by recent high-profile cases deemed excessive or internationally embarrassing, such as an actor being charged for letting fans take selfies with him, or a female mannequin being seized because of its clothing.

Perhaps in response to this criticism, the authorities have curbed the force's powers, as a result of which it can no longer arrest or pursue people but can only report them to the regular police.

SudanName: Public Order Police

Who they are: The Public Order Police was set up in 1993 to enforce Sharia for Muslims in the then-northern Sudan by President Omar al-Bashir.

They have the power to arrest, and suspects are tried - often at speed - in special Public Order Courts; punishments can include flogging or prison.

What people think: Many Sudanese resent their activity as an oppressive and often arbitrary interference in private lives, although some - mostly Salafists and other religious conservatives - support their activities.

The force is known for shutting down private mixed-sex events, reprimanding women for immodest dress and raiding businesses seen as being in breach of Sharia.

It drew international condemnation when female journalist Lubna al-Hussein was arrested and jailed after being caught wearing loose-fitting slacks in public in 2008.

MalaysiaName: Various, usually collectively known as "religious officers".

Who they are: These are bodies run by Malaysia's federal states - or the federal government for federal territories - to enforce Sharia, which applies to the two thirds of the population who are Muslim.

They have the power of arrest, and possible offences range from day-time eating during Ramadan to women and men being "in close proximity".

Cases are tried by Sharia courts separate from the ordinary court system.

What people think: Religious officers have often been accused of overstepping their remit - a situation often muddied by ambiguity about which takes precedence in certain cases - normal legislation or Sharia.

In April, religious officers arrested several people during a raid on a transgender group's fundraising event, accusing participants of hosting a beauty pageant, which Muslims were banned from attending by a 1996 fatwa, or Islamic religious decree.

The group denies the accusation.

A Kuwaiti actor taking selfies with women in a Saudi shopping centre ended up being taken away for questioning after Mutawa intervened

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Sudanese journalist Lubna al-Hussein (in sunglasses) went to prison for refusing to pay a fine after wearing trousers to a restaurant

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The Gasht-e Ershad are mainly seen as a scourge for urban women who try to push the boundaries of the dress code

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Wearing your headscarf too casually in Iran can result in a telling off by the morality police

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What does China's list of most influential internet users tell us about the young Chinese? Media analyst Kerry Allen profiles the top five

China's web celebrity list reveals offbeat public tastes

Aikelili's humorous makeup tutorials and dance moves keep millions entertained, but some find his celebrity difficult to stomach

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Official data showing China's most influential web users over the last 12 months have grabbed the attention of tens of thousands of social media users.

The son of China's richest man ranks top, but the list also includes users whose unconventional posts have propelled them to online fame.

Wang Sicong

When the businessman and philanthropist Wang Jianlin was declared by Bloomberg to be China's richest man in 2015, attention swiftly centred on his only son, 28-year-old Wang Sicong.

UK-educated (Winchester College and UCL), Wang Sicong has over 19 million followers on Sina Weibo. Although he playfully lists himself as "widowed" and "bisexual", he is better known as China's "most eligible bachelor" with lots of fanmail.

He is reputed for an extravagant lifestyle. In November, Entertainment Sina reported he spent 200,000 yuan (nearly 2,900 US dollars) on a night out in Beijing.

In March, thousands of Weibo users set him trending with the hashtag #ChinaBrotherHurlsMoney, after he was filmed throwing money to guests at a restaurant in Thailand.

The son of China's richest man ranks top, but the list also includes users whose unconventional posts

have propelled them to online fame

Video blogger Papi Jiang takes her twelve million plus followers through a range of emotions during her short videos on contemporary issues

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PanadaBeijing-based cartoonist Panada has over five million fans.

His strips have become an engaging way to discuss developments in the domestic tech industry and often poke fun at China's obsession with the latest gadget.

He often uses footage from presentations by Apple CEO Tim Cook, interspersing his descriptions of a product's technological function with jokes about how the evolution of technology has surpassed the evolution of the Chinese public.

One cartoon jokes that the Apple Watch has a "payment function", so Chinese men can stop their wives overspending.

Panada points out that although much of China's technology is outdated and demand is high, companies bend over backwards to please Chinese consumers as a key market.

Papi SauceWith over twelve million followers, Beijing blogger Papi Sauce (Papi Jiang) rose to fame in 2015 by posting short videos on contemporary issues.

A student at China's Central Academy of Drama, she has gained a reputation for her acid tongue and humorous style.

Videos of her impersonating accents, including Shanghainese and Taiwanese, have received tens of thousands of comments.

She has posted several videos on women's rights, including a series of "men's survival rules" advising her male followers on how to respond to girlfriends in given situations.

Some find her style too brash. One user gained hundreds of likes after posting: "It is because of this girl, Papi Sauce, that so many men now are looking for a man."

Top 10 web influencers Ranked according to post views

1 Wang Sicong son of businessman and philanthropist Wang Jianlin, 19.7 million followers on Weibo

2 Papi Jiang outspoken video blogger, 12 million followers

3 Panada commercial cartoonist, 5.8 million followers

4 Aikelili viral video personality, 6.4 million followers

5 Memories of Majia viral user who posts pictures of his loveable pets, 24 million followers

6 Professor Yi Xiaoxing online video producer 7.3 million followers

7 Gossip I'm Too Innocent controversial online commentator, 9 million followers

8 Mu Yalan vlogger and former model, 2.8 million followers

9 Zhang Dayi former model and fashion designer, 4.3 million followers

10 Zhang Zetian wife of the founder of business giant JD.com nicknamed Milk Tea Girl, 1.3 million followers

Kerry Allen follows Chinese media from our UK headquarters in Caversham Park. She writes in English and Chinese.

Wang Sicong, richer than all of his 19 million followers. His dog uses two Apple watches

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AikeliliWith over five million followers, bleach-blonde independent film maker Aikelili became an online sensation with his humorous makeup tutorials imitating the lives of supermodels.

His videos often show him applying heavy makeup and posing as a supermodel while his friends act as assistants. In January, he shared an image of himself imitating US model Gigi Hadid which gained over 200,000 likes.

As well as their comic appeal, his videos have won him followers for the awareness they give to cross-dressing.

However, some find his celebrity difficult to stomach. "Why when I look at him am I simply put off my dinner?" one user asks.

Ma Jianguo

Ma Jianguo found online fame with his blog Memories of Majia which documents the lives of his pets: Niuniu the dog and Duanwu the cat.

His five million followers, with over four million using the hashtag #NiuniuDuanwu, were charmed by the close but unusual bond between the two animals.

His page has become a popular place for people to talk about their own pets and he has since become a spokesperson against animal cruelty and the protection of endangered species.

Panada, on hand for helpful technology insight

Unlikely friends and online stars Niuniu the dog and Duanwu the cat. They "never hold a grudge"

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Central Asia resort row exposes old wounds

The battle of two ’stans – Uzbek and Kyrgyz - over who owns resorts around scenic Lake Issyk-Kul is a typical example of unresolved post-Soviet disputes, Mutalib Khalikov writes from Tashkent

The Kyrgyz authorities say they already had plans to nationalise the resorts, and that the decision to go ahead was accelerated by the two countries' recent tension over a disputed border

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The Kyrgyzstan-based resorts, around Lake Issyk-Kul, were built using money provided by Uzbekistan in the late 1960s

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Kyrgyzstan's decision to nationalise four Uzbek holiday resorts located on its territory has put additional strain on the two countries’ already fragile relationship.

The decision comes only weeks after the countries ended their worst-ever military standoff along a disputed section of their border.

A former Kyrgyz foreign minister believes Uzbekistan may take Kyrgyzstan to international courts to claim compensation.

Mutalib Khalikov watches Central Asia media from our Tashkent office

On 4 April, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Temir Sariyev signed an order nationalising the resorts of Rokhat, Dilorom, Zolotyye Peski and Bustor, located on the shores of scenic Lake Issyk-Kul, in the northern Tien Shan mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan.

They were built using money provided by Uzbekistan in the late 1960s, when both countries were part of the former Soviet Union, and Uzbekistan continued to use them after the two countries became independent in 1991.

Kyrgyz officials say an agreement signed between the countries in 1992 stipulated that the resorts should become the property of Kyrgyzstan.

Why now?

The Kyrgyz authorities say they already had plans to nationalise the resorts, and that the decision to go ahead was accelerated by the two countries' recent tension over a disputed border.

Kyrgyz Economy Minister Arzybek Kojoshev says that previously, his country had lacked the "political will" to implement the 1992 agreement, because of its reliance on natural gas and electricity supplies from Uzbekistan.

But now, this dependence has been reduced by the construction of new power lines, as well as gas supplies from the Russian gas giant Gazprom, according to Kojoshev.

“Populist decision”

Former Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Alikbek Jekshenkulov has criticised the government's decision on the resorts as "hasty" and "populist".

He adds that Kyrgyzstan must consider compensating Tashkent for the funds used to construct the resorts.

Jekshenkulov believes Uzbekistan is likely to take the Kyrgyz government to international arbitration over the decision - and could have a case.

"Although it is our land, Uzbekistan built these facilities using the Uzbek money," he says.

Kojoshev says that if Uzbekistan does lodge an appeal, Bishkek will file a counterclaim over what he says is Uzbekistan's failure to fulfil commitments to invest in the resorts, as well as for electricity charges and welfare insurance contributions allegedly not paid by Uzbek users of the resorts.

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John Sutherland is on a mission to expand BBCM’s coverage of Latin America

It came as a complete surprise to me - and I think to most of my colleagues - when BBC Monitoring announced that it was opening an office in Miami to cover Latin America.

For years Latin America had not figured among BBC Monitoring’s priorities, although we did publish material produced by our US partner, Open Source Enterprise. Lately however both the news agenda and our user profile has called for a closer look at the continent and its media, and so the LatAm pilot began.

While most of our offices are in time zones ahead of GMT - in Eastern Europe, the Middle East or Asia - Miami is five hours behind the UK. It is also the first time as far as I am aware that we have had an office in the United States, although BBCM did monitor the US media in the early days of World War II.

As my background was largely in monitoring the Spanish and Portuguese speaking world, I decided to apply when the Editorial Lead position in Miami was advertised. The fact that the lucky winner would be running the new team in a sun-drenched subtropical paradise was - of course - nothing to do with my decision.

I genuinely did not think I would be offered the job, but as they say: if you don’t ask, you won’t get.

Imagine my astonishment when I was invited to lead the new team for its one-year pilot! I felt like I had won the job lottery. And then it dawned on me that actually there was a lot of work to do before the new office could open. Various other people were already working hard at the preparations for the new office: the IT, the desks, what TV channels would be needed on our PCs and so on. What was the legal situation in Latin American countries with regard to hiring contributors?

Why Miami, you might ask, and not one of the region’s own vibrant cities? Well, the BBC already has a bureau in Miami, home to BBC Mundo and BBC Worldwide, with good access to the region’s media channels. And it is a bilingual city, home to many people from all parts of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Setting up shop in Miami

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John (right) and his team have joined BBC colleagues in Miami, which is already home to BBC Mundo and BBC Worldwide, and has good access to the region’s media

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The first big job for me was to recruit the two full time Miami-based staff for the team, which also includes a researcher based in the UK. Shortlisting, testing and assessing candidates ran to a challenging schedule and the time difference between the UK and Florida did not make it any easier.

In early January, I flew over to Miami, which instantly lived up to its sun-and-palm-trees image, and with two other BBC colleagues interviewed the highest ranked candidates while valiantly battling jetlag.

It was fascinating to meet the applicants. Some were from various Latin American countries, others from the US Hispanic community. All had wide-ranging experience in covering the region for Latin American, US or world media.

Strikingly, when we asked for an example of a breaking story they had covered recently, quite a few of the candidates spoke about shootings, which was not what I was expecting. It was refreshing to meet so many enthusiastic and obviously able people, but sadly we could only hire two.

The first piece we worked on was a Q and A on a Bolivian referendum. To our great surprise it was published on the BBC News website. Since then we have scored several hits with the coverage of Obama’s historic visit to Cuba and the Panama Papers scandal, so the team has exceeded certainly my expectations and I hope it continues to do so. I am sure it will.

John Sutherland is the newly appointed BBCM editorial lead for Latin America. He has worked both in business development and in media monitoring teams

Other stories we are following include the Colombian peace process, the Zika virus, Argentina after the Kirchners, Brazil's ongoing Car Wash corruption investigation and impeachment process, violence in Central America and the Rio Olympics, to name a few. There are also environmental, energy and human rights issues to follow so we will never be short of stories.

Finally: the Latin American pilot is, above all else, a pilot, so expect things to evolve quite a bit over the next 12 months. Watch this space!

Strikingly, when we asked for an example of a breaking story they had

covered recently, quite a few of the candidates spoke about shootings

Brazil, Argentina and Mexico (highlighted) are the big three for the team, but they also follow stories across the region

BBC offices Miami: John is managing to tolerate conditions

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BBC Monitoring observes, understands and explains media throughout the world, providing deep insight and enabling organisations to make better, more informed decisions. Our teams monitor and analyse developments in areas including geopolitics, terrorism and other security-related issues and our clients include governments, NGOs and major corporations worldwide.

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