What in the World

Anura Kumara Dissanayaka has just been elected as president in Sri Lanka’s first election since its economy collapsed in 2022. The National People's Power, the coalition alliance he ran for, drew support by promising to stamp out corruption and improve living conditions. But he faces the challenge of trying to sort out the country’s $92 billion debt. We speak to the BBC’s South East Asia Regional...

Time capsules preserve artefacts and memories so that people in the future can learn about a particular time in the past. Now scientists at the University of Southampton in the U.K. have come up with an innovative memento: a “memory crystal” that fits in your hand and contains the entire human genome. It’s essentially a manual that defines what makes us human. How could future generations use the...

Two years ago, rapper and music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs threw a lavish 53rd birthday party at his $61m mansion in Beverly Hills. A host of stars lined up to toast his career with a guest list that included Jay-Z, Travis Scott, Mary J Blige, Kehlani, Tinashe, Chris Brown and Machine Gun Kelly. The party coincided with his 30th year in the music industry - three decades in which he formed his own e...

This week thousands of pagers and walkie talkies exploded all at once in Lebanon. Dozens were killed and thousands injured. These gadgets were used to communicate by members of Hezbollah, a designated terrorist group in Lebanon. Israel is widely believed to be behind these attacks, but Israel has not confirmed or denied its involvement. There are fears this could make the ongoing conflict in the M...

Sex education is a hot topic around the world. In Hong Kong, the Education Bureau has released teaching materials that suggest teenagers who want to have sex with each other should “go out to play badminton together” instead. The materials also encourage students to “resist” pornography and exercise self-control. That’s opened a discussion about sex education and whether officials understand the n...

On Sunday authorities say a second attempt was made on the life of Donald Trump. A gunman was allegedly hiding in the bushes on one of Mr Trump’s golf courses just 500 yards from the US presidential candidate. He was spotted by a Secret Service agent who opened fire at the suspect and whisked Mr Trump to safety. The alleged gunman was later arrested. On this episode we go through the latest about...

American entrepreneur and billionaire Jared Isaacman has become the first non-professional astronaut to walk in space. According to Time magazine, he paid $200million for the privilege. Georgina Rannard, a BBC climate and science reporter, talks us through the mission, including his super suit, and the risks involved. Georgina also updates us on those two NASA astronauts stuck on the International...

Huge parts of Brazil are on fire. And it’s not just the drier areas. It’s the wetlands and the rainforests, too. Smoke from the fires can even be seen from space. Brazil has long struggled with wildfires, but they’re getting harder to control. And on top of this, Brazil is also experiencing its worst drought since records began 70 years ago. Leandro Prazeres, a BBC reporter in the capital, Brasili...

Sickle cell is an inherited blood disorder caused by abnormal red blood cells. It can cause sudden bouts of severe pain, as well as fatigue, a stroke, even death. It’s one of the most common genetic disorders in the world, but there’s still some stigma and a lot of misunderstanding around the condition. We hear from Dunstan Nicol-Wilson, who was born with the condition, about what it’s like to gro...

Last week in the US State of Georgia 14-year-old Colt Gray allegedly walked into his Apalachee High School, took out a gun and shot two students and two teachers dead. It’s the 45th school shooting to happen in America this year. With an upcoming election taking place in November is there any desire from the country’s top politicians for change? We speak to the BBC’s North America Correspondent An...

YouTube might seem like an easy way to make money, but hungry algorithms and nasty comments are leading to fatigue and depression. Hannah chats to William from the What in the World team about his pretty successful side hustle as a YouTuber. He explains why more and more content creators are leaving the platform due to “burnout” and the pressure content creators feel under to pander to the algorit...

Venezuela’s opposition candidate, Edmundo González, has arrived in Spain after being granted asylum. He’d spent weeks in hiding following a disputed election which erupted into unrest across the country. He’s said he will continue to fight from the outside. Many believe González is the rightful president, however the official result gave the incumbent Nicolás Maduro another term. With González in...

A lot of films and TV shows like Game of Thrones, Dune, and Shadow and Bone have their own languages, and some are so complex that they have lore and history. But have you ever wondered how languages like Dothraki are created, or if the actors are just making it up as they go along? We take our questions to married couple Jessie and David Peterson whose shared love of linguistics and making up lan...

Some university students in Kenya have been protesting a new funding model which, they say, favours the rich. The government says the changes are needed to help with funding issues. The BBC’s Anita Nkonge, based in Nairobi, explains. Many universities around the world are struggling with the cost of living, and this burden is often felt most sharply by students. We know that students have been que...

Chappell Roan has posted on TikTok about "creepy behaviour" she's experienced in person and online. She’s one of this year’s most successful popstars with a growing fanbase, but are some of those fans starting to overstep the mark? Pete Allison, our BBC Newsbeat reporter, tells us what Chappell has been saying. We also look at K-pop fandoms with our Bilingual Reporter, Julie Yoonnyung Lee. There’s...

Millions of students around the world will be starting a new term of school or university this month. And one thing they might notice is more conversations around how education is embracing artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT. Some people think ChatGPT is a way to cheat and bypass proper learning, while others are excited about how it could make education more efficient. Tech journa...

The market for men’s beauty and grooming is blowing up, with more masculine beauty products on the shelves than ever before. It’s not uncommon to see men with manicures. And people like Harry Styles, Pharrell Williams and Idris Elba have even launched luxury product lines. It’s estimated that the global male grooming market will be worth $115 billion by 2028. It’s fair to say male beauty standards...

Pavel Durov’s arrest could impact free speech, and the war between Russia and Ukraine. Over the last few years the social media and messaging app Telegram has become increasingly popular. It’s different from other apps, like WhatsApp and Facebook, partly because it allows you to create massive groups, of up to 200,000 people. But the app has also faced criticism relating to disinformation, and the...

For the past 100 years diamonds have been the ultimate symbol of love, luxury and opulence. But then, a darker side to them was exposed. Diamond mining was shown to have links to conflict, human rights abuses and state corruption, putting off a lot of consumers. Lab-grown diamonds then appeared on the market as a more eco-friendly, ethical and cheaper alternative, but do they have the same appeal?...

The war in Gaza has lead to a surge in settler violence. Extreme Israeli settlers are the perpetrators behind the attacks. Not only have they become more aggressive, Israeli settlers have also seized more and more land. One spokesperson from Peace Now, an Israeli organisation that monitors settlement growth, says Jewish extremists in the West Bank are exacerbating an already tense and volatile sit...

With the Olympics over the eyes of the sporting world are back on Paris once again ahead of the start of the Paralympic Games. More than 4000 athletes will be competing for 549 medals over the next two weeks in sports such as Boccia, Swimming and Wheelchair Rugby. We hear from Egyptian swimmer Malak Abdelshafi on what it means to represent her country at the games. And BBC Sport’s Peter Harding te...

Last week the newly announced CEO of Starbucks landed in hot water when it emerged that he’d be commuting from his home in California to the Starbucks headquarters in Washington using a private jet. The 1,600 km, three-hour commute stoked a wave of criticism online. It’s not the first time a public figure has come under fire for their eye-watering air mileage; earlier this year media outlets began...

This week we’ve had the release of what is, right now, the most popular game in the world - but it’s not a new version of GTA or Minecraft - this one is from China and it’s called Black Myth: Wukong. There are predictions it’s going to make hundreds of millions of dollars - and it now has more than two million active online players. It’s been made by a relatively small Chinese company called Game...

The Somali Parliament recently passed the National Disability Act. Twelve percent of the population in Somalia are estimated to be living with a disability. People with disabilities in Somalia have less access to formal education and higher rates of unemployment. This new law aims to protect their rights, make sure they get equal opportunities in jobs, education, and healthcare, and help reduce th...

A legal battle has been raging after a woman suffered a severe allergic reaction and died at Disney World Orlando in Florida. The restaurant she ate at isn’t owned by Disney itself but her husband believes the entertainment giant does have some liability as well and tried to sue the company. But here’s the catch - Disney’s lawyers said he couldn’t take the company to court because of terms in a Di...