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Pascale Harter introduces stories from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Italy and the USA.

Over the past year, an outbreak of mpox across central and west Africa has infected tens of thousands of people - and cost hundreds of lives. Children and infants are most vulnerable to infection and the patients most likely to die. Simi Jolaoso met the doctors and nurses at one treatment centre in South Kivu, in the east of the DRC, who are struggling to deal with a surge in patient infections - and who are still waiting for vaccines to be delivered.

George Orwell's satirical novella Animal Farm is nearly 80 years old - but its pointed observations about people and power are as sharp as ever. Magdi Abdelhadi translated the book into colloquial Egyptian Arabic, and recently found some Orwellian echoes as I went through the process of gaining official approval to publish it in Cairo.

Why would a town council ban people from playing cricket or praying in public? In the northeastern Italian town of Monfalcone, both sport and religion recently became matters of political controversy, as its mayor claimed she was fighting "the Islamisation of Europe". Sofia Bettiza reports from a corner of
Friuli-Venezia Giulia where around a fifth of the residents have roots in Bangladesh.

San Francisco is an international symbol of the appeal of northern California - with its stunning views, beautiful architecture and history of radical thinking. But across the Bay lies another American city with a proud heritage of political action and cultural clout, which has a far harder-edged image: Oakland. Lindsay Johns recently visited "O-Town" to learn about its past glories and current concerns.

Producer: Polly Hope
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison

Image: Health workers consult suspected mpox patients in a treatment centre in eastern D R Congo, summer 2024. Credit: REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi