The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has led to tens of thousands of deaths. And it’s estimated around 8 million Ukrainians left the country to find sanctuary. James Reynolds meets mothers and their daughters who share their experiences of escaping the war and the challenges of making a new life for themselves in the UK. We also hear from three young Ukrainian women, currently living in London. They express the guilt they feel about leaving friends and family behind, while also offering observations on some quirks of British culture.

Relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia have historically been difficult. Eritrea won independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year war. A bitter border war between the two countries began a few years later. But by 2020, Eritrea sent troops to fight alongside the Ethiopian government against rebel forces in its northern Tigray region. Kalkidan Yibeltal is a BBC correspondent in Addis Ababa. He explains the complex history between the two countries, and looks at the tentative peace now emerging in Tigray.

Two countries a world apart are linked by a multi-million dollar corruption scandal, and it is all about fish. At one end, the southern African nation of Namibia where leading politicians and businessmen are facing trial on racketeering charges, accused of running an elaborate scheme that squandered valuable fish stocks, meant to help people out of poverty. On the other a powerful fishing company under scrutiny in Iceland, a country long credited with the image of transparency and honest dealing.

A military coup in 1989 brought Omar al-Bashir to power, until being overthrown by the military in the face of mass protests in 2019. During this time, war has raged in Darfur, South Sudan has gained independence and the Sudanese people demanded a return to civil government. BBC journalist Mohanad Hashim grew up in Khartoum and has reported extensively on the Middle East and Africa. He speaks to Claire Graham about Sudan’s journey from independence to revolution.

The Freedman’s Bank was established in 1865 after the abolition of slavery and the Civil War. The Bank was designed to help newly freed African-Americans in their quest to become financially stable. At its peak, it stretched across huge swathes of America. But what began with huge promise ended in massive failure nine years later, leaving a legacy of distrust in its wake. Szu Ping Chan looks at the history and lessons from the collapse of America's first black bank.

We have been hearing from people in Turkey and Syria since the earthquake struck the region on Monday. Three survivors tell us about their escape from shaking buildings onto bitterly cold streets, including Canan who was staying in a hotel in Gazientep: “We were in PJs,” she says. “We were barefoot and people were screaming and crying.” It’s an anxious and emotional time for relatives watching from abroad. Germany is home to the largest Turkish diaspora in the world and we bring together Aeyna and Hazal, as well as Khalil, who has close family in Aleppo in Syria.

After almost a decade of fighting, civil war in Yemen has caused one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Nawal Al-Maghafi is a Special Correspondent with the BBC who has been reporting on the Middle East since 2012. She explains to Claire Graham how this complex war began between government backed forces and the Houthi rebels.

In Germany in 2002 there were some 19,000 small, neighbourhood butchers’ shops. They made and sold, among other things, that “great emblem of Germany’s national diet” – sausages. At last count, in 2021, there were fewer than 11,000 shops left. The German butchers’ trade association says there are “massive problems” finding trained staff and young people who want to learn from the bottom up. In Lörrach, in the south-west of Germany, the Chamber of Handcraft, is now looking overseas in order to preserve local culinary traditions. A group of apprentices from India has just started a three-year training programme at the local college and various shops in the vicinity. The decline of the butchers’ shop – and the threat to the sausage – mirrors a problem in many branches across the whole of Germany; in social care, in bakeries, in the building trade: people at the top of an ageing population are leaving the workforce at a higher rate than those entering at the bottom. “The lack of skilled workers is becoming ever more palpable,” says the chamber of trade. They’ll be going back to India later this year to recruit for other industries. Producer/presenter: Tim Mansel

Around the world, millions of people live with daily electricity blackouts. In recent days in South Africa, protesters – angry that the electricity keeps going off – marched through Johannesburg and Cape Town. Three women in South Africa share their experiences of their daily struggles to get everything done before the power goes off. Two business owners, in Sri Lanka and Nigeria, come together to discuss the financial impact of power cuts.

China has been accused of the mistreatment of the Uyghur people in the north-western region of Xinjiang for a number of years. This Muslim ethnic group are distinct with different culture, language and history to China's ethnic majority, Han Chinese. But why did the government start this crackdown? And what is really going on? Senior correspondent John Sudworth was based in China for nine years, and reported on the treatment of the Uyghur people. He speaks to Claire Graham to help us understand the region and how Xinjiang became a surveillance state.