What in the World

366 million adults worldwide have ADHD as of 2020 - that’s over 6% of the whole population. And more young adults are being diagnosed with the condition. BBC health reporter Dominic Hughes explains the causes and treatment of ADHD. Does your culture and background affect your diagnosis? Some women have found that their symptoms are not the standard ones that doctors have traditionally linked to AD...

Last week Iran carried out an airstrike on Pakistan’s territory in Balochistan. Pakistan responded with an attack of its own. Both sides say they were targeting rebel groups rather than each other but it’s an escalation in an area of the world that is already very tense. Iran had also attacked targets in Syria and Iraq. Like Pakistan, both of these countries are technically its allies. It all can...

Wrestling is huge in India. Not just the type with WWE stars like Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins - but amateur wrestling, which is an Olympic sport. But last year women’s wrestling in India was rocked by a sexual harassment scandal. Top athletes, like Rio Olympics bronze medal winner Sakshi Malik, accused wrestling official Brij Bhusan Singh of abusing female wrestlers. He denied the claims but eve...

There are a growing number of people speaking out about their decision not to have children because of climate change. They worry about the environmental impact of bringing a new person into the world. But how polluting is it to have kids? And is staying childfree a good way to limit how much carbon dioxide we put into the atmosphere? The BBC’s Georgina Rannard talks us through some research from...

For the first time, Ubisoft have released a Prince of Persia game with an option to have all the characters fully voiced in Farsi. It says it wants Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown to "depict and respect Persia and Iran". The game has great reviews and a lot of Iranian fans are very excited they’ll be able to experience it in their own language. What does this say about culturally sensitivity in g...

Young people seem to be moving away from Romania. In 2000, it had a population of 22.4 million people. But two decades later it had fallen to just 19.5 million - outward migration is responsible for most of that decline. They’re mostly moving to other European countries, like the UK. Madeleine, from the What in the World team, went to a gig in London by a Romanian band called Subcarpați. While she...

It’s estimated that a garbage truck full of clothing is being sent to a landfill every second, with less than 1% recycled into new clothes. One way to stop clothes reaching landfill is reusing, repairing and recycling them. This is part of ‘circular fashion’ - where textiles already in circulation are used again and again, instead of producing new ones. Lots of fashion brands and consumers are try...

Cape Verde has become the first sub-Saharan nation to be declared malaria-free in fifty years. But mosquitoes, the insects that spread the deadly disease, have started to fight back. One type of the insect has adapted to break all the rules and dodge all the measures we’ve brought in to beat them. Unlike most mosquitoes, Anopheles Stephensi, can live in urban environments potentially putting peopl...

The Houthi, a political and military group in Yemen, have been attacking ships in the Red Sea since November. They say they’re targeting vessels headed to or owned by Israel as a way to support Palestinians in Gaza. Not all of the ships are connected to Israel. And now the US and UK has launched military airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen to reduce their military capability. So what’s happening...

Hundreds of people have been trying to set new world records in Ghana, with applications flying in since July 2023. Earlier this week a Ghanaian chef, Faila Abdul-Razak, completed the longest non-stop cook-a-thon, chopping and frying for more than 227 hours. She hasn’t yet officially been given the title. She isn’t the first to try though - last year a Nigerian chef, Hilda Baci, broke the world re...

The notorious leader of Ecuador’s main criminal gang escaped from prison this week - he is still missing. The country’s President declared a state of emergency and the gangs fought back, with gunmen breaking into a TV studio during a live broadcast. Separately 130 prison staff are being held hostage by inmates. BBC Monitoring’s Rachelle Krygier, who focuses on Latin America, explains who the gangs...

More than one in five people between the ages of 16 and 24 are jobless in China according to the latest government data. But the figure could be even higher. Millions of university graduates are struggling to find high paying jobs. So the government is encouraging them to roll up their sleeves and consider manual work in the countryside instead. But many aren’t keen and some are ducking out of the...

We need precious metals to run green tech but what’s the cost of mining them? Norway has approved commercial-scale deep-sea mining off its shores in the hunt for precious metals which are in high demand for green technologies. However, environmental scientists warn it could be devastating for marine life. Climate reporter Esme Stallard takes us through the controversial plans. One of the metals No...

It’s been nearly two years since Russia invaded Ukraine. Millions of people have fled the country and thousands have been killed. The fighting is still going on, with Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky continuing to appeal for international support. BBC Monitoring’s Russia editor, Vitaly Shevchenko, takes us through what Zelensky’s life has been like since the war began. Before becoming president...

Disney’s copyright on ‘Steamboat Willie’, which features the earliest version of Mickey Mouse, expired in the US on New Year’s Day - meaning the image is in the public domain and free to use… with some caveats. So what’s next for Mickey? Some creatives have already sprung into action. Noor Nanji, a BBC Culture reporter, tells us about an upcoming Mickey Mouse slasher movie and a video game. We als...

Pictures of a burning Japan Airlines plane have been all over the news this week after it collided with a smaller aircraft on a runway in Tokyo. Amazingly, all 379 passengers in the larger plane survived, thanks to a flawless evacuation. But how common are plane crashes, and how can you improve your chances of survival? Geoffrey Thomas, the editor of the website Airline Ratings, explains. Sadly, f...

Officials in Lahore, Pakistan have been using artificial rain in an effort to lower levels of air pollution. They make it rain through cloud seeding, a process that involves firing special particulates from a plane. Alex from the What in the World team explains how the process works. And Navin Singh Kadka, the BBC’s global environment correspondent, discusses the impact of creating artificial rain...

China’s population is shrinking so its government is trying to get more people to have kids by offering financial incentives and its own dating app. But not everyone is on board. Some people, especially young women, aren’t keen to follow in their parents’ more traditional footsteps. The BBC’s Fan Wang tells us how China got into this situation. Is it fair to put it all on women? And Mei Fong, the...

Russia’s president Vladimir Putin says he’s going to stand for the top job again in March. He’s been in charge of the country in some way or another for almost 25 years. The BBC’s Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg takes us through his rise to power and how the country has dramatically changed under his rule. Plus Alex from the What in the World team brings us five surprising facts about the man himsel...

From the Chupacabra to the Yeti, lots of countries and regions around the world have their own myths about strange creatures whose existence has never been scientifically proven - known as cryptids. These 'eyewitness sightings' have captured people’s imaginations for decades and even centuries. Alex from the What in the World team takes Hannah on a tour of some of them - with help from BBC reporte...

There are more than 2000 billionaires worldwide with a combined wealth of $13 trillion. Some say they’re good for society, others call them a symbol of inequality. Even though many billionaires donate to philanthropic causes, there is growing scrutiny on how they make and spend their money. We hear from Simon Jack, the BBC’s Business Editor, about how people get rich nowadays - and why tax is such...

Ethiopia says its huge dam upstream on the Nile will generate electricity for millions. But downstream countries like Sudan and Egypt are worried about what it’ll mean for their water supply. We get the details from two BBC reporters: Kalkidan Yibeltal, in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa and Jaidaa Taha, in Egypt’s capital Cairo. We also take a look at disagreements over the Mekong River in Asia. I...

Kush is rumoured to contain everything from chemicals used to preserve dead bodies to shoe polish. Nobody really know what’s in it or where it’s coming from. But we do know that it’s having a big impact on young people in Sierra Leone, who are already struggling with high unemployment and a difficult economy. We speak to the BBC’s West Africa Correspondent, Mayeni Jones, to establish what we know...

Indian software billionaire Narayana Murthy (the father-in-law of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak!) - says that young people in his country should be happy to work 70 hours a week to help India’s development. Indians already work long hours but how does it compare to other countries? We take a trip to India, Mexico, and Sweden to hear from three BBC reporters: Umang Podder, Laura Garcia and Phelan C...

A volcanic eruption in the Reykjanes peninsula of south-west Iceland has captured the world’s attention. But how dangerous are volcanoes, and how much do we know about their activity? The BBC's Science correspondent Pallab Ghosh explains why Iceland is such a hotbed of volcanic activity and the health risks that volcanoes can pose. Nick Beake, the BBC’s Europe correspondent, describes his helicopt...