A campaign on TikTok recently started a fresh conversation about cultural appropriation of food. It started when content creator Yen Bui, who now lives in London, highlighted that a British-owned restaurant chain called Pho had trademarked the name of the Vietnamese national dish a while ago, which limited the rights of other restaurant owners to use the word in their names because they could have faced legal action. Yen Bui tells us why she started the campaign, and why it matters to so many.

What is cultural appropriation of food? US-based content creator Kim Pham explains. And the BBC’s Charlotte Edwards talks us through how and why trade marks are used in food in the first place.

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South Africa has the largest population of canned lions in the world - these are lions born in captivity and bred for trophy hunting. People can pay (usually tens of thousands of dollars) to hunt and shoot the animals. Now the government has said it will ban it, but hasn’t said when, or what will happen to the lions.

Breeders argue it is better that hunters shoot a captive-bred lion than further endanger the wild populations, but conservationists and animal welfare groups dispute this, saying wild populations of lions are in decline and that the lion farms are creating a market for canned lion hunts and encouraging the hunting of wild lions too.

BBC Africa’s Danai Nesta Kupemba explains what canned hunting is and why campaigners want to end the practice. We discuss the ethical considerations and why lion bones are sought after. Stephanie Klarmann, from Blood Lions, which campaigns to bring an end to the commercial captive breeding of lions, tells us why they disagree with it.

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We all disagree on some things. For some people disagreeing is natural and, in some instances, even enjoyable. While for others it’s super uncomfortable, and something they want to avoid at all costs. Social media is alive with angry keyboard warriors at each other’s throats, but it is possible to disagree without hurting someone’s feelings.

Bo Seo is an expert at this. He’s a world debate champion, author, and a former coach of the Australian national debating team. He shares the art of having a good debate, and therefore a good conversation. Plus, we speak to Jason Lee, the founder of Jubilee, about why his YouTube and TikTok videos, which bring people together despite their differences, are gaining billions of views.

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Nearly half the world's population had elections this year, but for the first time in at least 20 years, progress for women's representation has slowed. In 60% of countries that voted this year, the number of women in parliament fell.

Stephanie Hegarty, the BBC’s population correspondent, discusses some of the countries where fewer women were elected and explains some of the factors behind the drop. She also looks at the regions — from Latin America to Africa — where female politicians made gains.

We also hear from Puakena Boreham, a former member of parliament in the Pacific island of Tuvalu, and Indira Kempis, a former member of the Senate in Mexico. They discuss the importance of female representation and the challenges that female politicians face.

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Cyclone Chido has wreaked havoc in Mozambique and Mayotte.

In Mozambique, 120 people have been confirmed dead and hundreds of thousands more impacted by the storm. It’s further strained a country where protests and civil unrest have been ongoing since disputed elections in October. Mozambique’s constitutional council has confirmed the ruling party won the election. Our reporter, Evelin Uachave, explains what’s behind the protests.

But the French territory of Mayotte could be in worse shape - it’s the poorest part of France and already faced major challenges even before the cyclone made landfall. The BBC’s Sara Menai explains why things are so bad.

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BMX Freestyle is one of the events at the 2024 Urban Cycling World Championships which are being held in Abu Dhabi. It features fearless BMX riders jumping, spinning and hurling themselves around the course on a small bike, pulling off mind-blowing tricks that get you gasping. Think acrobatic gymnastics but on a bike.

What does it take to become a BMX rider though? Tom Clemens from Germany, who sits 18th in the BMX Freestyle world rankings, tells us how he became a professional BMX rider.

Plus, Olympic commentator and professional skateboarder Lucy Adams explains how BMX Freestyle riders compete, and how new ‘action’ sports like BMX are trying to grow their popularity.

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Even if you haven’t seen them in person, you might be familiar with images of the Northern Lights - dark skies with moving ribbons of green and purple. But what actually are they? And why do we seem to be seeing more of them in 2024?

BBC science presenter Caroline Steele answers loads of questions about the Northern Lights, like why are they different colours and when and where are the best times to see them? We also chat about the Southern Lights and ask why don’t people talk about them as much?

And 21 year old photographer Hugo Korhonen from Finland tell us what it’s like to see the Northern Lights in person and how you can take the best photos of them.

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A law passed earlier this year means TikTok will be banned in the US unless it is sold by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, before 19 January 2025. On Monday US President-elect Donald Trump met the company’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, and now people are questioning if he will try and stop this ban, and save the app.

Rhiannon Williams, a UK-based tech journalist, talks us through how Trump’s relationship to TikTok has changed over the years, including how he utilised it to target young people in the presidential election, and why some people are calling this a clever move politically.

Plus Natalie Jimenez, a BBC reporter based in New York, reviews Trump’s TikTok page for us and shares if it’s hot, or a flop.

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Since Syria’s civil war began, six million people have left the country and seven million more have been internally displaced. Now Bashar al-Assad’s regime has been overthrown by rebels, many refugees are wondering if they can return to their home. According to the UN, it’s the world’s largest refugee crisis.

BBC journalist, Lina Shaikhouni, explains what caused this crisis and we hear from three Syrian refugees in Germany, Lebanon and the UK.

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Gukesh Dommaraju — an 18-year-old from India — has become the youngest-ever world chess champion. That’s after beating defending champion Ding Liren, a 32-year-old from China.

Dommaraju comes from Chennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu. Saradha V, a BBC reporter in Chennai, explains how the city became India’s chess capital and how schools there are producing an impressive generation of young players.

Plus: Giovanni Sala, a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Liverpool, explains how the Internet is helping chess players master the game more quickly than players did decades ago. He also describes the benefits that chess has for young people.

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