What in the World

South Africa’s government is warning young women not to fall for social media recruitment drives promoting job opportunities abroad. That’s after a number of online videos by South African social media influencers advertising jobs for young women in Russia went viral. There have been allegations that some of those recruited to work in Tatarstan have ended up working in a weapons factory, making dr...

Toxic masculinity can be seen online - and IRL. Chads, Alphas and Stacys are some terms that are used in an online space known as the ‘manosphere’. In this space men often share content that can be toxic, misogynistic, and, in extreme cases, lead to real-world violence. In this episode the BBC’s global disinformation reporter Jacqui Wakefield unpacks how people can become part of the ‘manosphere’,...

A chunk of the planet Mars - the largest ever found on Earth - recently sold for $4.3 million at Sotheby’s auction house in New York City. A meteorite hunter first discovered the massive rock in the Sahara desert in Niger in 2023. So how did the meteorite end up at an auction in New York City and why would anyone pay millions of dollars for it? BBC reporter Damian Zane walks us through the rock’s...

It’s a question artists have been racking their brains over for years: how long is the perfect pop song? The rise of streaming platforms meant that for a while, the answer was to keep it short and snappy, so listeners would be less likely to hit the skip button. After the launch of TikTok, pop songs shrank even more, with the average song in the charts lasting only three minutes and twelve seconds...

Ghana has been described as the fashion industry’s dumping ground. Around 15 million second-hand garments arrive every week, making Ghana the world’s largest importer of used clothing. Many of the garments are re-sold and re-purposed at Kantamanto Market in the capital Accra. But estimates suggest that 40% of these garments are too damaged to be sold or upcycled, so much of it ends up as waste on...

In the UK, if you want to watch pornography or see content on sites like X, Reddit and Discord that is deemed only suitable for people over 18 years old, you now need to provide your identification to prove you are old enough to access this material. The UK government says its Online Safety Act aims to make the internet safer, especially for children. However, some are concerned about their online...

The big fat 'fake' Indian wedding is social media’s latest party trend. Fake wedding parties have taken the world and social media by storm with people getting together to enjoy all the fun of a wedding party: the food, Bollywood music, dancing and glamorous outfits. But there aren't any of the rules on how to dress or act and none of the nagging questions from nosey relatives. We speak to Devina...

Life is full of plastic, but it’s not always fantastic. We know that plastic is super useful: it helps keep food fresh and lets medicines, like vaccines, be delivered at scale to billions of people. But the world is drowning in it. In fact, the amount of plastic on our planet now weighs more all the land and sea creatures currently alive. Last week countries from around the world gathered in Genev...

North Korea is one of the world’s most secretive nations. For years it’s been almost entirely closed to foreign visitors (apart from a few highly-controlled tours each year). But in July the state opened the luxury Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone, which was promoted as an attraction for both locals and foreigners. It has hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and a water park, with a capacity of 20...

Jamestown in Accra, Ghana, is famous for producing boxing world champions like Azumah Nelson. However, it wasn't until last year that a female boxer brought back a historic new title. Abigail Kwartekaa Quartey defeated British boxer Sangeeta Birdie, making her Ghana's first female boxing champion and Jamestown's newest boxing prodigy. Abigail tells us how the journey to victory was a difficult one...

Mexico's president is among those who have criticised Adidas for perceived cultural appropriation. The brand's Oaxaca Slip-On was inspired by traditional leather sandals known as huaraches made by Indigenous artisans in Mexico. But with its slip-ons, Adidas and its designer Willy Chavarria didn’t work with the original designers and there are some reports that the sandals were made in China. We un...

Costa Rica is known as a world leader in eco-tourism. It has lush rainforests, tranquil beaches and protected wildlife and is famous for sustainable travel. It’s part of a growing market that promises to protect nature, support local economies and let people explore the world without harming it. But can tourism ever really be eco-friendly? Or is the very act of getting on a plane, staying at a res...

Players on Nigeria’s female basketball team will receive a cash reward of $100,000 each and a three-bedroom apartment following their win at the Fiba Women’s AfroBasket Championship. That comes just weeks after Nigeria’s women’s football team, the Super Falcons, were promised a similar award after winning the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. President Bola Tinubu says the women are deserving of the...

Experts have discovered a new small species of dinosaur. It has been named Enigmacursor mollyborthwickae, and scientists say it lived around 150 million years ago, during the late Jurassic period. Millions of years following their extinction, how are we still finding new dinosaurs? And how much can we learn from them? BBC Science correspondent Victoria Gill explains the discovery and why we’re fas...

Back in 2019, Ghana’s then president sent out an invitation to people with African heritage to come to Ghana. It was called the Year of Return - a campaign by Ghana's tourism board to mark 400 years since the first documented African slaves were taken to America. The campaign built on ideas of Pan-Africanism, a movement to promote unity and liberation on the continent. So five years on, how is it...

If you’re a Barca fan, you might want to look out for a small change to the players’ kits that’s coming soon. The Democratic Republic of Congo has struck a four-year sponsorship deal with FC Barcelona, that will see “DR Congo - Heart of Africa" emblazoned on the back of their training shirts from the start of next season. The deal reportedly cost the country around 50 million dollars and includes...

At least 30,000 of the 350,000 known plant species on our planet are edible, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, but only 170 species of plant are cultivated for food on a large scale. As climate change affects plant yields and disease threatens some of our most popular crops (bananas, we’re looking at you), scientists say we need to explore so-called “forgotten foo...

If you look at the list of box office hits from the past year, you’ll see lots of live action versions of children’s and young adult films, and even film adaptations of video games. Films like A Minecraft movie and Lilo and Stitch. Last year Inside Out 2 led the global box office earning $1.69 billion, and 6 out of the top 10 movies were animated - it’s a big jump up from the year before. Previous...

Botox - or Botulinum toxin injections - has become mainstream. It’s no longer for the super-rich and A-list celebrities. As it’s become cheaper and more beauticians on the high street are offering it, its use is starting to become more widespread and normalised. Influencers are open about (some of) the non-surgical procedures they’ve had done. Why has it become so popular? BBC Health and Wellbeing...

A growing number of countries have said they could recognise Palestine as a state. What does a Palestinian state mean? And why is this one of the most divisive issues on the planet? In recent weeks France has joined the list of countries that think that a Palestinian state should be recognised. Canada and the UK say they may do it the same, if conditions aren’t met by Israel. The BBC’s Chief Inter...

Albinism is a rare genetic condition that reduces melanin; that’s the pigment that gives colour to your skin, eyes, and hair. The condition can make people more vulnerable to skin cancer and it can also cause problems with vision. There’s a history of discrimination and stigma. Journalist and disability advocate Teejay Ameen talks about his experience of growing up in Nigeria with albinism and how...

Agronejo is a relatively new genre of Brazilian music. It draws on Brazil’s ever-popular traditional country music, sertanejo but adds a modern twist adding pop, electronic, funk or hiphop. Crucially agronejo, like sertanejo, celebrates the Brazilian rural and farming lifestyle. The music videos - with farmers in cowboy hats, bling watches, and expensive tractors - are getting millions of views on...

In June 2025, a Europe-wide law enforcement operation shut down Archetyp Market, the longest-running illegal drug marketplace on the dark web. 300 officers were involved and assets worth €7.8 million were seized. It’s estimated that Archetyp had over 600,000 users worldwide, with a total transaction volume of at least €250 million, mainly offering illegal drugs for sale, like cocaine, MDMA, amphet...

Sinkholes are holes that suddenly appear in the ground. They can be any size but some are enormous. Some have swallowed cars, parts of buildings and even people. There are terrifying videos online of football pitches being sucked into the ground, or the resulting huge circular chasms in the middle of cities. They are found all over the world but some parts of the world are more prone to them than...

Outer space is starting to get crowded. Private companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin are launching rockets regularly, thousands of satellites now orbit Earth, and celebrities like Katy Perry are signing up for space tourism. There’s talk of more missions to the Moon, and Elon Musk is even hoping for human landings on Mars, within the next decade. But while space tech is ra...