Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch has been crowned Miss Universe at a ceremony in Bangkok, marking the end of an exceptionally scandal-filled pageant season. It's the 74th Miss Universe pageant and there was a lot of drama before a single contestant took to the stage.

Early in November, Miss Mexico walked out of an event after she was told off by a Thai official and those who supported her were threatened with disqualification.

Then in the days before the final, some judges resigned, one over claims the competition is rigged - which is of course denied by the Miss Universe Organisation.

Social media has shown some of the drama behind the scenes… and at the centre of it is two of the men running the pageant. Nawat Itsaragrisil and Raúl Rocha Cantú have very different visions for the future of the pageant, which has been dealing with declining ratings and financial issues.

William Lee Adams, host of Marketplace Morning Report, takes us through what’s been going on behind the scenes, everything from finances to clashes over how it should be run.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Benita Barden, Chelsea Coates and Emily Horler Video producer: Baldeep Chahal Editor: Verity Wilde

After months of mounting pressure, US lawmakers have just voted to release all of the so-called Epstein files. So documents from criminal investigations into the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein before his death could soon be made public. The vote was passed in the House of Representatives 427-1 and the Senate unanimously fast-tracked it without a formal vote. Now it’s down to US President Donald Trump, who’s already said he’ll release them.

This story has been around for a while, and it’s become a bit of a thorny issue for the US president. Trump used to socialise with Epstein, although there are no allegations of wrongdoing against him. During his re-election campaign, Trump called for the Epstein files to be released. Then, once in power, he changed his mind. But, after a rebellion from some in his own party, he switched sides again, calling for their release.

Following this vote, lots of people have questions: When will the Epstein files be released? What are the Epstein files? And who’s in them? In this episode we explain everything we know so far.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Mora Morrison and Imogen James Editor: Verity Wilde

In Sudan, where a civil war has been raging for over two years, millions of students have had their education disrupted. Over half of all schools are in conflict zones. Many schools are being used as shelters and many students have missed their exams. In some parts of the country there is no education at all.

Sudan is one of the biggest countries in Africa. It’s mostly Muslim and is also one of the poorest countries in the world. More than 150,000 people have been killed in the conflict, and around 12 million have had to flee their homes. The UN has called it the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis.

In this episode school and university students in Sudan tells us how their education has been affected by the war. And BBC journalist Maha El Gaml explains how some schools are now re-opening.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Video producer: Baldeep Chahal Producers: Julia Ross-Roy and Chelsea Coates Editor: Verity Wilde

Both Jamaica and the Philippines have been battered by tropical storms in the past month. Hurricane Melissa, a category five storm, was the worst storm to ever hit Jamaica and one of the strongest so far to affect the Caribbean, leaving at least 30 people dead. And super-typhoon Fungwong displaced more than a million people in the Philippines, only days after an earlier storm claimed hundreds of lives.

Neither region is a stranger to storms - the Philippines is hit with an average of 20 typhoons each year - but scientists say that climate change is making these storms more severe. So, how can island nations better protect themselves in the face of natural disasters?

Environment and climate journalist Jhesset Enano, who’s from the Philippines, tells us what it’s like to live in a region where tropical storms are common - and what’s being done to protect people. And Rosanne Martyr, a senior scientist from Climate Analytics, tells us about the natural defences small islands around the world are using to minimise the damage caused by storms.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Iqra Farooq Producers: Chelsea Coates and Mora Morrison Editor: Verity Wilde

These days, buying concert tickets is a huge expense. If fans miss out, they can often find tickets on resale sites at hugely inflated prices. Sometimes people resell their tickets because they can’t go but there are also lots of “professional resellers” or ticket touts playing the system and making loads of profit. They buy tickets in bulk from the original seller platform, then mark them up to fans.

We hear from a Taylor Swift super fan, who has spent hundreds on resale tickets.

Now, a group of musicians including Dua Lipa, Coldplay, Sam Fender and Radiohead have sent a letter to the UK government, asking politicians to introduce a price cap on resale tickets to "stop touts from fleecing fans”. Ireland has already introduced a law to stop people selling tickets for more than their original price. Gary Devitt, who co-founded a platform in Ireland for fan-to-fan ticket resales called Toutless, gives us his view on what effect the law has had.

In this episode we hear some stories about buying resale tickets, and ask whether price caps can actually stop the touts. The BBC’s music correspondent Mark Savage also explains how ticket touts operate, and what artists could do themselves to reduce dodgy reselling.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Julia Ross-Roy, Imogen James and Maria Clara Montoya Editor: Verity Wilde

Prepping is a big deal in the US. There’s even a reality TV show called “Doomsday Preppers”. Prepping is when you stockpile loads of stuff - food, water, medicine - in case of a disaster, nuclear war or an unstoppable virus. Now billionaires are taking it to the next level, building underground mansions and self-sustaining bunkers that look like something out of a zombie apocalypse movie.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is building a $100 million compound in Hawaii—complete with plans for a huge underground bunker, although he’s described it as a “little shelter, like a basement”. Peter Thiel, the CEO of Paypal tried to build one in New Zealand and Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, is rumoured to have underground security areas under every one of his homes.

In this episode BBC reporter Nathalia Jimenez joins us again to chat about what exactly these billionaires are building and what they’re so worried about. And we hear from Lauren, a prepper in the US, about why she thinks it’s important to get organised.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Julia Ross-Roy and Benita Barden Video producer: Baldeep Chahal Editor: Verity Wilde

Are Christians being targeted and killed in their thousands in Nigeria? That’s the claim made by US President Donald Trump in several social media posts. He’s blamed the Nigerian Government for allowing the killing of Christians, and has threatened to stop aid and send troops into the African country. It not only caught the attention of Nigerians, but also rapper Nicki Minaj. In a post on X that’s been seen more than 50 million times, she said she’s grateful to Trump, writing that no group should be persecuted for their religion.

But is there truth to what Trump says? We speak to BBC reporter Ijeoma Ndukwe to learn more about the religious tensions in Nigeria and what’s really happening. We also hear from two young Nigerians, who offer up their thoughts on the situation.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Imogen James and Mora Morrison Editor: Verity Wilde

Do aliens exist? What’s out there in the universe beyond Earth? These are some of the questions which have plagued astronomers and film producers for years.

Well, now astronomers are revisiting these questions following the discovery of a possible atmosphere around an Earth-sized planet about 40 light years away. The exoplanet is called Trappist-1e and may be able to host life.

BBC science presenter Caroline Steel joins us to explain what we need to know about this discovery. Plus, we speak to Ximena from Venezuela and Vanessa from Finland - who are both members of the Cosmic Girls Foundation - about what they make of Trappist-1e.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Mora Morrison and Chelsea Coates Video Journalist: Baldeep Chahal Editor: Verity Wilde

The COP30 climate summit is taking place in the Brazilian city of Belém for the next two weeks. It's run by the United Nations (UN) and every year is one of the biggest events in the calendar, especially for world leaders and environmental campaigners. This COP is in the Amazon rainforest. The country's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, says it will be an historic summit because it is "a COP in the Amazon, not a COP about the Amazon". All world leaders are invited, but not all attend. US President Donald Trump, for example, won’t be there.

Every year at COP countries make commitments about what they will do over the next year with the aim of reducing climate change. But this year's summit is particularly important as it marks ten years since the Paris Agreement and people will be tracking our progress. The BBC’s Georgina Rannard breaks down everything we need to know about this year’s COP. Plus Natalia Tsuyama, who’s a climate activist based in Brazil, shares why she’s feeling hopeful.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Mora Morrison, Maria Clara Montoya and Rio Rennalls Editor: Verity Wilde

New York has chosen its new mayor - Zohran Mamdani. He’s a Muslim, was born in Uganda, and loves Arsenal. He’s also pretty young. The politician has been making waves online with his social media campaign and united a huge Gen Z force behind him. From viral moments like jumping in the sea in a suit to walking the entire length of Manhattan, he’s probably appeared on your timeline.

So, what made his campaign go down so well with younger voters? We speak to BBC journalist Nathalia Jimenez, who has watched all this unfold in New York. She explains whether other politicians around the world can learn from his success.

We also hear from young New Yorkers and their experience taking part in some of the mayor-elect’s events, as well as Ugandans, who share what it’s like to see someone from their country go and win an American election.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Pria Rai Producers: Imogen James and Julia Ross-Roy Editor: Verity Wilde

The Amazon rainforest is home to billions of trees, animals and people. It’s spread across nine countries in South America - Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela - but the majority of it, almost 60%, is in Brazil. As well as being rich in biodiversity, the Amazon is also very important in the world's fight against climate change; as it absorbs carbon dioxide and produces oxygen.

But the Amazon has been declining. In fact, in 2022 Brazil set a new deforestation record for the amount of trees cut down in the rainforest in one month. This impact is being felt directly by the indigenous groups who have been living there for thousands of years, but also the world as a whole. In this episode we’re joined by Graihagh Jackson, from the BBC’s The Climate Question podcast, and Dr Erika Berenguer, who’s a Senior Research Associate at the University of Oxford and Lancaster. We chat about why the Amazon is so important, and what’s being done to protect it. This year’s climate summit Cop30 is being held in Belem, in the Amazon, for the first time. So we also discuss what impact this could have on the world’s largest rainforest.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producer: Mora Morrison and Chelsea Coates Video producer: Baldeep Chahal Editor: Verity Wilde

The RSF (Rapid Support Forces) have taken the city of el-Fasher, in Darfur, from the Sudanese army. The city had been under siege by RSF fighters for 18 months, trapping hundreds of thousands of civilians and sparking a hunger crisis. Thousands are now trying to flee. And there are mounting fears of mass killings and sexual violence - some of which are feared to be ethically motivated.

The civil war in Sudan has been going on since 2023. But some believe that this could be a turning point. Deka Barrow, a journalist from BBC Monitoring who’s based in Nairobi, joins us to explain why. We also hear from someone who is trapped in el-Fasher.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producer: Mora Morrison Editor: Verity Wilde