What in the World

Five men in northern Nigeria were sentenced to death last week. Their crime? Murdering a woman they accused of being a witch. They said that the wife of one of the men had a dream she was being chased by the woman. The death penalty is rare in Nigeria and it has opened up a discussion on why people are being attacked for supposedly using witchcraft. Olaronke Alo is a BBC journalist working in the...

Is there any evidence that having a female leader actually changes a country? Do women make better politicians - or is it all based on stereotypes? Women make up less than 7% of world leaders, and last year in 2024 the number of women in parliament globally fell. However, Mexico, Namibia and North Macedonia all elected their first female presidents, and as more women get elected to the top jobs, t...

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is under fire. It is the world’s biggest donor and spends billions of dollars a year, funding programmes around the world, like fighting malaria in Bangladesh, clearing unexploded landmines in Cambodia and Laos and providing medical supplies in Sudan. But President Trump says it is run by “radical lunatics” and he and billionaire Elon Musk, who...

More young men are inquiring about and getting vasectomies. It’s a trend that’s been observed informally in several countries, and has particularly spiked in the United States since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade. But what exactly does the procedure involve? Dr Jeff Foster specialises in men’s health. He talks us through the procedure, and debunks some common myths about pain,...

Forget dating apps or meet cutes... marriage matchmaking is back. Young people in South Korea have been signing up to professional agencies to find love, and sales are booming. Birth and marriage rates in South Korea remain at record lows and now even the government is playing Cupid by organising speed-dating events. Our reporter Rachel Lee has been speaking to young people in Seoul to find out mo...

Kenya’s government has launched an ambitious initiative to vaccinate all livestock in the country. Following misleading claims about the vaccines, the initiative has been met with fierce resistance from some farmers. Peter Mwai, a BBC reporter from Nairobi, explains how misinformation is driving a series of conspiracy theories. Plus: BBC disinformation reporter Jacqui Wakefield explains why so man...

There are so many foods and substances that people can be allergic to; peanuts, cows' milk, eggs, pollen, or animals. Even mangoes or bananas. We are so much more aware of allergies now but there is also evidence that more people than ever have allergies. BBC journalist Frances Mao talks us through what allergies are - and why more of us are suffering with allergies. She also tells us about some n...

DeepSeek, a Chinese AI chatbot launched last week, has shaken up the tech world and fuelled a new AI race between China, Europe and the US. The creators of the app say that it cost just $6 million to make compared to the billions spent by giants like Microsoft and Google. Amid the buzz surrounding this new chatbot, there are concerns about security, personal data and censorship. BBC’s cyber corres...

Huge clashes are taking place in the DRC, with the Congolese army facing the rebel group M23. M23 claims to have taken over the city of Goma in the eastern part of the country. UN aid agencies say there are hundreds wounded, bodies in the streets, and an increase in rape and gender-based violence. The UN has long said M23 is backed by Rwanda, but the Rwandan government has always denied this. The...

2025 marks 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. It was at the centre of the Nazi campaign to eradicate Europe's Jewish population, and almost one million of those who died there were Jews - but Poles, Roma and Russian prisoners of war, among many others, also perished at the camp. Memorials, historical documentation and testimony from survivors help preserve this tro...

Malaysia has the highest obesity rate in South East Asia, and experts say that by 2035 two in every three children could be overweight. On our recent trip to Kuala Lumpur we wanted to find out why obese rates are so high, and what’s being done to address the issue. We’re joined by nutritionist Fatin Keri, health and fitness coach Kevin Zahri, and two women who he trained - who’ve both been on thei...

Dugongs are grey sea mammals, also called “sea cows”, partly because of how they look and because they graze on seagrass. The dugong can be found off the coast of 48 countries between East Africa and Vanuatu in Oceania. They are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. There used to be common sightings off the coast of Thailand but now, at least 70 dugongs have been found d...

There are about 12 million Uyghurs, mostly Muslim, living in Xinjiang. China has been accused of committing crimes against humanity and possibly genocide against them. This includes the use of ‘re-education camps’ to eradicate Uyghur identity and culture. China denies any human rights abuses. Many Uyghurs have fled to countries including Turkey and Thailand. But once they get there they face new c...

People who live in remote areas of the world often lack access to basic healthcare. Their difficulties are magnified during disasters. But around the world doctors are turning to drones to helping deliver medicine, vaccines, and other much-needed supplies. Paediatrician Heidi Sampang has run medical clinics in remote areas of several countries, including China, Costa Rica, Haiti, Mozambique and th...

TikTok officially went offline in the US on Saturday - only to come back online the following day. The comeback was due to President Donald Trump saying he would issue an executive order to delay the implementation of a ban. The BBC’s Cyber correspondent Joe Tidy explains exactly what happened and what Trump’s Presidency may mean for the future of the app. Plus, BBC World reporter Koh Ewe tells us...

On Monday, Donald Trump will become the 47th President of the United States of America. 76 days after winning the election back in November last year, he will be appointed in an inauguration ceremony in Washington DC. But what actually happens at an inauguration? The BBC’s Nathalia Jimenez tells us all you need to know about the ceremony and why it takes so long to become President of the United S...

WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) and UFC (Ultimate Fighting Champion) both started off as niche TV and at small events, but are now thoroughly mainstream. The two companies merged in 2023 under TKO Holdings in a multi-billion dollar deal and now Netflix has signed a deal to pay more than $5bn for rights to show WWE programming. President-elect Donald Trump has had ties to both WWE and UFC for d...

After 15 months of war and long negotiations, the leaders of Israel and Hamas have reached a deal to stop fighting in Gaza and to release prisoners and hostages. Full details haven’t been released, but the first phase of the deal is due to come into effect on Sunday - as long as it’s approved by the Israeli cabinet and government - a decision that’s been delayed. The health ministry in Gaza says d...

The fast fashion giant Shein has taken the world by storm and is now worth an estimated $66billion. But have you ever wondered where their clothes come from? The BBC’s China correspondent Laura Bicker has been to Panyu, in the city of Guangzhou in China, to find out. She tells us how Shein became so successful, why some people in their factories are working 75 hours a week, and what Shein is doing...

The Darién Gap is one of the most dangerous migration routes in the world but thousands attempt the journey with hopes to reach the US. It’s a 96km stretch of rainforest across the Colombia-Panama border and it’s the only land bridge between South and Central America. According to official statistics over 50 people died crossing the region last year. But the treacherous conditions makes it difficu...

Haiti has been engulfed in a wave of gang violence since the assassination of the then-president, in 2021. Now an estimated 85% of the capital, Port au Prince is under gang control. The UN says in 2024, 5000 people died in the violence, which has left the country on the verge of collapse. To combat the violence, the UN Security Council authorised a Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) in O...

Wildfires in Los Angeles have killed at least 10 people and destroyed thousands of homes. Officials are worried more high winds could make the flames spread even further. At the same time, new data shows that 2024 was the world's hottest year on record. So is climate change making these types of fires worse? Esme Stallard, a BBC Climate and Science journalist, takes us through the conditions that...

Carbon offsetting is a way to try to balance carbon emissions. It’s when an individual, company or governments invest in projects that try to take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, to compensate for their own carbon footprint. Many of the schemes - like planting trees, protecting forests or switching to cleaner fuels - are set up in places like Africa or South America. But how do these schemes...

Tibet was struck by a powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday. It’s been reported by Chinese state media that at least 126 people have died, making the quake one of the deadliest in recent years. The epicentre of the earthquake is near the Nepal-Tibet border, some hundred miles away from the holy city of Shigatse. More than 14,000 rescue workers are working to find survivors. Much of what we...

Over the last few days the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, has turned his attention to European politics. The billionaire owner of X has been relentlessly tweeting his criticism of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He’s also endorsed the far-right AfD party ahead of next month’s snap elections in Germany. These actions have been criticised by both the French President Emmanuel Macron and German...