One method of combating extreme poverty is providing cash grants to allow people to start businesses. We go to Uganda to take a look at one such program that has changed their model in an effort to increase the impact of their support. And the changes caused intended consequences.

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Jews in Israel had been looking forward to the Hanukkah holiday this year, since recent public celebrations had been curtailed first by COVID and then the wars that followed the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023. But this year’s celebration is happening in the aftermath of a horrific attack on a Hanukkah event in Australia that killed at least 15. We go to Tel Aviv to hear how people are feeling about the holiday this year.

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NPR recently met with a senior Hamas leader on the outskirts of Doha, Qatar as the organization prepares to negotiate the next stage of the Gaza ceasefire. He says Hamas is willing to lay down its weapons for up to ten years. Our correspondent gives us the highlights of the conversation.

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Life for Russians has changed in myriad ways since the start of the full scale war in Ukraine in 2022. It has affected everything from what they can say to what they can buy. But perhaps the most far reaching change is in what Russians learn. Our correspondent in Moscow tells us about a new undercover documentary that shows the changes to Russian schools.

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The mayor of a city in the state of Michoacan, Mexico launched a full-frontal assault on organized crime in his community. Last month he was assassinated by a lone gunman. His death has lead to a protests across Mexico and calls for more to be done to combat drug cartels and corruption.

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Even as Ukraine is engaged in high stakes peace talks with the U.S. and Russia, the country is dealing with a massive corruption scandal which has reached very high levels of the government. Though President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not been implicated, it has been a challenge for him. We go to Kyiv to get reaction from Ukrainians.

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Today’s episode explores a pair of business stories in China that may be unexpected. We hear about the robust service industry springing up as young people in China increasingly choose having pets over having children. And we go to the Chinese town where nearly all of an iconic Russian handicraft are actually produced.

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