According to a major government survey, more than 70% of young people in Malaysia are in debt. Officials say shopping addiction is the number one reason why.

Social media feeds that addiction by promoting “flex culture” — the desire to flash your wealth in person and online. Leeloo Larcombe, a fashion and lifestyle influencer, tells us about Malaysia’s shopping culture and her complicated relationship with it. Bryan Chen, the co-founder of Malaysia's biggest streetwear convention, Sneaker-LAH, explains how his shoe addiction has at times left him in debt.

The rise of buy now, pay later (BNPL) schemes also encourages people to live beyond their means. Doris Lieu, an economist at the IDEAS Malaysia think tank, explains how these schemes grew in popularity during the pandemic and why young people are attracted to them.

Finally, Pete Yong, the financial literacy expert behind the popular Mr Money TV YouTube channel, offers some practical tips to help people pull themselves out of debt.

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Thailand has become the first country in South East Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. The new law means that LGBTQ+ couples will have the same legal rights as other couples when it comes to adoption, inheritance and medical decisions. It’s taken activists years of campaigning to get to this point, and in September 2024 Thailand's king signed it into law. It will come into force in January 2025.

BBC Thai journalist Panisa Aemocha, in Bangkok, explains the same-sex marriage legalisation in Thailand and attitudes towards LGBTQ+ in the country. This includes how Thailand has embraced boy love (BL) and girl love (GL) TV series - which show same-sex couples.

We also hear from Best Chitsanupong Nithiwana, an activist who co-founded the Young Pride Club in Chiang Mai, who tells us what this new law means for same-sex couples in Thailand. And we ask, could other nearby countries do the same?

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A video of an Iranian student in her underwear at a university campus in Tehran has gone global. It shows Ahoo Daryaei walking around grey concrete buildings in a purple bra and knickers before being forcibly detained. Authorities were quick to claim that she was suffering from poor mental health, but many have seen it as an act of defiance against the hijab.

Faranak Amidi, a BBC journalist and presenter, tells us what life is like for women in Iran right now, and how they are bravely fighting for more rights. Azam Jangravi, an Iranian activist who now lives in Canada, shares her experience of being being arrested following her protest in 2018.

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You might have seen the viral video of 22-year-old MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke doing the haka in the middle of New Zealand’s parliament last Thursday. It was a protest aimed at disrupting the debate in parliament about a bill which, if it became law (which is unlikely), would transform the way the indigenous Māori population are treated by changing the nation’s 184-year-old treaty.

Then, on Tuesday, a nine-day march to New Zealand’s parliament building in the capital city Wellington came to an end, with over 40,000 people from different backgrounds voicing their opposition to the proposed new bill. BBC reporter Katy Watson was at the protests and describes what it was like.

So what is life like for Māori people? The BBC’s Kathryn Armstrong takes us through the background and history of New Zealand’s Treaty of Waitangi. Plus, the BBC’s Vandhna Bhan breaks down the details of the proposed new bill.

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Presenter: Hannah Gelbart

Elon Musk — the world’s richest man — has built several companies, including PayPal, Tesla, and SpaceX. He’s also built a close relationship with Donald Trump, president-elect of the United States. America’s next leader has appointed Musk to run the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, which is meant to slash government waste.

Nathalie Jimenez, a BBC reporter in New York, explains how Musk built his business empire and why he may have aligned with the Trump administration. She also discusses Musk’s personality traits and how they influence how he leads.

And Lily Jamali, the BBC’s North America Technology Correspondent, explains the ways Musk does and does not reflect “tech bro” stereotypes.

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Can you imagine sitting all of the most important exams of your life on one day? That’s the reality for Korean students, whose university-entrance exam, the Suneung, sees students sit an eight-hour marathon of exams, all on one day. Juna Moon, our reporter in Seoul, tells us why a record number of students are resitting the brutal exam this year. Plus Koh Ewe, a BBC journalist in Singapore, tells us which K-pop earworm students are trying to avoid to stop it from distracting them.

Julie Yoonnyung Lee, a BBC reporter from Seoul now in London, joins us in the studio, to give us her own experience of the exam, and the years of late nights and ‘cram schools’ preparing for it. We also discuss the mental health challenges that can come with such high academic pressure.

Plus we hear from our China media analyst Kerry Allen, who explains the Gaokao, China’s university entrance exam, which might be even harder.

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CBD products are everywhere. You can get the cannabis extract in oils, vapes, skincare products, even gummy bears, coffee and fizzy drinks. Videos recommending it are all over TikTok, and it’s so popular Kim Kardashian even had a CBD-themed baby shower.

Fans and influencers say it can help improve your mood, help you sleep, get rid of anxiety and chronic pain. But are these claims true?

BBC reporter Annabel Rackham explains what CBD is, where it’s legal and whether it can be addictive or have side effects. We hear from two people who take CBD. And Harry Sumnall, Professor in substance use at the Liverpool John Moores University in the UK, explains what we know from scientific studies on the health effects of CBD.

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Disputes over the South China Sea are back in the news, with China and the Philippines both marking out areas they say are theirs. China has previously been accused of hitting Philippine boats with water cannon and both sides say the other have rammed boats into each other.

Benny Lu from the BBC’s Chinese service in Hong Kong takes us through the background of it all and explains how the US’s relationship with China fits into it, especially with Donald Trump’s re-election.

It’s not just China and the Philippines arguing over this area. BBC Vietnamese reporter Thuong Le explains Vietnam’s involvement in the ongoing disputes, which even led to the Barbie movie being banned in Vietnam last summer.

Plus, we hear from people we spoke to in Manila when What in the World visited the Philippines, on why they feel strongly about the issue.

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Hundreds of sex tapes featuring Baltazar Ebang Engonga, the nephew of Equatorial Guinea’s president, have flooded social media. Many of the women seen in the tapes are the wives and relatives of people close to the centre of power.

The scandal has shone an unflattering spotlight on the central African country, which is sometimes called “The North Korea of Africa”. Its President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been in power for more than four decades and controls the majority of the country’s radio and television outlets, which are heavily censored. Following the sex tape leak, “Equatorial Guinea” was the top trending term in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa - even surpassing interest in the US election at times.

BBC Monitoring journalist Ines Silva gives explains how the scandal unfolded. And activist and human rights advocate Nsang Christia Esimi Cruz discusses how the government could use the controversy to crack down on social media use in the country.

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The World Health Organisation now officially recognises gaming disorder as a mental health condition - when someone’s gaming behaviour becomes so severe that it takes precedence over other interests.

Symptoms include losing control over the amount of time playing, prioritising gaming over other interests and responsibilities and continuing to game despite negative consequences.

But how do you know when you’re addicted to gaming? And how can you overcome it?

The Director of the National Centre for Gaming Disorders in the UK, Professor Henrietta Bowden-Jones joins us to explain more about gaming disorder and how she helps patients overcome it, and two gamers in recovery share how much better they feel after getting help.

Kerry Allen, our China Media Analyst, also takes us through how China is dealing with under 18s gaming.

If you’ve been affected by any of the issues in this episode please contact support organisations in your own country. Or, if you live in the UK, please check out bbc.co.uk/actionline

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