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Brazil heatwave: What’s it got to do with El Niño?
What in the World
Nov 22, 2023

Brazil has recorded its hottest ever temperature - 44.8C (112.6F) - as parts of the country endure a stifling heatwave.

You may have seen the video of Taylor Swift struggling to catch her breath while performing in Rio de Janeiro. She pushed back a performance on Saturday after it emerged a fan had died after going into cardiac arrest at the stadium.

Climate change and El Niño are both impacting this heatwave. But what is El Niño? We explain.

And Dr Sooj (@doctorsooj on Tik Tok) offers advice about how to spot, and prevent, heat stroke.

Plus, North Korea has revealed that its put its first spy satellite into orbit. Surbhi Kaul from BBC Monitoring tells us more.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Alex Rhodes Producers: Mora Morrison, Benita Barden and Luis Felipe Molina Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

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USAID: Can the world live without it?

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is under fire. It is the world’s biggest donor and spends billions of dollars a year, funding programmes around the world, like fighting malaria in Bangladesh, clearing unexploded landmines in Cambodia and Laos and providing medical supplies in Sudan.

But President Trump says it is run by “radical lunatics” and he and billionaire Elon Musk, who’s got the job of trying to slash American government spending, want to shut it down. They have paused almost all international spending for 90 days and issued “stop work” orders to their staff. BBC journalist Nathalia Jimenez tells us what USAID does - and why the Trump administration wants to close it.

A large proportion of USAID funding goes towards healthcare and HIV medication in sub-Saharan Africa. Makuochi Okafor, the BBC’s Africa Health correspondent tells us what impact closing USAID could have in this region.

Anselm Gibbs, a BBC reporter based in Trinidad and Tobago, tells us about programmes USAID funds in the Caribbean. And Hilde Deman from Search for Common Ground, an international NGO that uses USAID funding in countries affected by violent conflict, talks about the impact to their work in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: William Lee Adams Producers: Benita Barden and Julia Ross-Roy Editor: Rosanna La Falce


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Brazil heatwave: What’s it got to do with El Niño?

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