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Kate Adie presents stories from South Africa, Russia, Japan, New York, and Ukraine.

Unprecedented power cuts has seen South Africa's national power company become the butt of jokes, but the continual outages are hitting the country's already struggling economy. Ed Habershon reveals how people adapt when the traffic lights stop working.

Vladimir Putin’s sabre-rattling has become a permanent feature on Russian state-run media, since the invasion of Ukraine began. But a more subtle device the Russian President has employed, is to appeal to Russia’s sense of victim-hood. Francis Scarr reveals the impact this daily narrative has had on his old friends in Russia.

Japan struggles with diversity and female representation in both its commercial and political spheres. Shaimaa Khalil met Tokyo’s first female district mayor, who is breaking through the barriers of tradition, to ensure women are seen and heard.

Puppy ownership saw a surge during the pandemic, as people discovered the joys of a four-legged companion during lockdown. In New York, the dog of choice for many was a doodle – a poodle hybrid. But there is now a growing backlash against the now ubiquitous doodle, as Laura Trevelyan reports from the dog parks of Brooklyn.

Transcarpathia, on the far western edge of Ukraine, is a mosaic of nationalities, languages and religious identities which once made up the Austro-Hungarian empire. But the strains of emigration, war, and displaced populations from elsewhere in the country, are erasing cultural differences, and creating a more uniform Ukraine, reports Nick Thorpe.

Producers: Serena Tarling & Emma Close
Researcher: Bethan Ashmead
Production coordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith