
Ethiopia arrests TikTok creators over ‘indecent’ outfits
19/12/2025 | 8 min
At the end of November, Ethiopia’s biggest social media creators gathered in Addis Ababa for the Ethiopia Creative Awards. It was supposed to be a night celebrating the thriving digital culture but the outfits of the attendees stole the spotlight. A few weeks later six creators were arrested and detained for wearing “indecent attire” at the event and undermining public morality - but what exactly does that mean?Kalkidan Yibeltal, a BBC journalist based in Nairobi, tells us about cultural expectations for clothing in Ethiopia and why the outfits sparked so much controversy there. Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Benita Barden, Chelsea Coates and Julia Ross-Roy Editor: Verity Wilde

Why Iran is running out of water
18/12/2025 | 8 min
Iran is facing its worst drought in decades, with rainfall hitting a record low. Several of the reservoirs that supply water to the capital Tehran are almost empty: one of them, the Latian Dam, is currently holding less than 10% of its capacity. The government is encouraging people in Tehran to use less water and putting heavy restrictions on water supplies, especially at night.But Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has also suggested another solution - relocating the capital.BBC journalist Ghoncheh Habibiazad outlines these plans and explains what other solutions Iran is using to tackle the problem. We hear from someone living in Tehran about what it’s like living with extreme water shortages. And the BBC’s climate and science correspondent Georgina Rannard explains how climate change is contributing to this drought - and what solutions Iran could use to mitigate water shortages.Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Julia Ross-Roy and Chelsea Coates Editor: Verity Wilde

The growing trend of influencers fronting charity campaigns
17/12/2025 | 8 min
Charity used to be about bake sales and running marathons. Now it’s all about thumbnails, hashtags, and stunts.Recently, MrBeast ran a massive campaign called #TeamWater - he partnered up with WaterAid and 10,000 other content creators. It raised over $40 million and is the biggest example so far in terms of number of influencers involved in a charitable campaign.Now other influencers, and charities are following this trend - working together on campaigns. So what happens when charity becomes content? Does this represent the future of philanthropy? Makuochi Okafor, a BBC reporter in Nigeria talks us through this growing trend and we hear from Gisela Amponsa, a Ghanaian digital creator, who was part of the #TeamWater campaign. Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producer: Julia Ross-Roy Editors: Verity Wilde and Harriet Oliver

Taiwan and China: Everything you need to know
16/12/2025 | 13 min
Taiwan is an island about 180 kilometres off the coast of China - nearly 24 million people live there. Taiwan is self governed but China says it’s part of its territory. Only 12 countries (plus the Vatican) officially recognise Taiwan as a country. Taiwan is increasingly worried that China could be preparing to take the island by force. Whatever happens there could affect your whole online life, because Taiwan makes most of the world’s computer chips, which power your phone, your laptop, AI apps and electric cars. In this episode Shawn Yuan from the BBC’s Global China Unit explains the relationship between Taiwan and China and how the whole world could be affected if conflict broke out. We also hear from Taiwanese students Yi-Ting and Louis and Chinese student Rongzhi, who tell us how they feel about Taiwan-China relations. Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Video producer: Baldeep Chahal Producers: Julia Ross-Roy, Imogen James and Benita Barden Editor: Verity Wilde

Bondi Beach shooting: What we know so far
15/12/2025 | 9 min
On Sunday evening in Australia, two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah event on Sydney’s Bondi Beach in Australia. Fifteen people were killed and dozens more are in hospital.In this episode we’re going to look at what we know about what happened and talk about why the Jewish community in Australia were already concerned about their safety before the shooting.Australia has some of the strictest gun laws in the world - we’ll also talk about how they work and why some people are now calling for them to be tightened. BBC’s William Lee Adams joins us to helpInstagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Benita Barden and Chelsea Coates Editor: Verity Wilde



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