Rebuilding lives in DR Congo

Kate Adie introduces stories from DR Congo, Israel, Ecuador, Malaysia and Germany.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by the ongoing conflict in the DR Congo. Amid the violence, a clinic in Goma is helping civilian casualties recover and rehabilitate. Hugh Kinsella-Cunnigham met some of the people trying to rebuild their lives.

Regional leaders in the Middle East are focusing their attention on the second stage of the ceasefire – and the continuation of the hostage and prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas. Some hardliners in the Knesset are demanding a resumption of the war, which worries families still waiting for their relatives to be released, reports Wyre Davies.

Ecuador goes to the polls this weekend, in a vote which is seen by many as a referendum on President Daniel Noboa's hardline war on the country's criminal gangs, which critics say has led to innocent people arrested and detained. Ione Wells reports from the city of Guayaquil.

A recent survey in Malaysia revealed more than 70 per cent of young Malaysians are in debt. Officials says this is down to a ‘shopping addiction’ and the growth of ‘flex culture’ on social media. Hannah Gelbart went to find out more about the country's appetite to spend.

In an age of translation apps achieving fluency in a foreign language can perhaps seem a futile exercise. Undeterred, Lucy Ash recently moved to Berlin to learn German. After making little progress, she moved to the country’s Baltic coast where she volunteered as a farm hand - and could finally escape the multitude of English-speakers in the capital.

Series producer: Serena Tarling Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Production coordinators: Katie Morrison & Sophie Hill

Image: Naomi at the Shirika La Umoja centre in Goma. Taken by Hugh Kinsella Cunningham