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Pascale Harter introduces stories from South Africa, Hong Kong, the USA and Sweden.

The South African town of Stilfontein is the scene of a stand-off between authorities and hundreds - maybe thousands - of illegal miners living and working in an abandoned mine. Nomsa Maseko recalls her first trip hundreds of metres underground, into an unseen world where an illicit economy thrives, and reflects on the thousands of people who have made illegal mining their livelihood.

In Hong Kong, Danny Vincent reports from inside the courtroom where the pro-democracy media mogul, Jimmy Lai, is on trial. Mr Lai is already serving a prison sentence for his involvement in the pro-democracy protests in 2019. Since then, China has imposed a sweeping national security law which many critics fear is being used to dismantle and chill all political opposition.

Donald Trump has been masterminding nominations for his new cabinet from his Mar a Lago resort in Florida's Palm Beach. It was the nerve-centre of operations during his campaign, and has become the place to be seen for West Wing hopefuls. Jessica Parker found out what locals make of the political circus.

Every home in Sweden recently received updated advice on what to do in the event of war. This stark advice isn’t new to Swedes – but has been updated, because of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and ongoing concern that war could escalate across Europe. Miranda Colchester has been gauging public reaction in the Swedish capital.

Producer: Bob Howard
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Katie Morrison

(Image: South African Minister Senzo Mchunu visits site of illegal miners trapped underground in Stilfontein, South Africa. (Photo by Elizabeth Sejake/Rapport/Gallo Images via Getty Images)