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What in the World
(A very temporary) RIP to American TikTok
What in the World
Jan 20, 2025

TikTok officially went offline in the US on Saturday - only to come back online the following day. The comeback was due to President Donald Trump saying he would issue an executive order to delay the implementation of a ban.

The BBC’s Cyber correspondent Joe Tidy explains exactly what happened and what Trump’s Presidency may mean for the future of the app.

Plus, BBC World reporter Koh Ewe tells us more about RedNote - another Chinese app that US “TikTok refugees” have been flocking to.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: William Lee Adams Producers: Emily Horler, Emilia Jansson and Maria Clara Montoya Editor: Verity Wilde

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Feb 5, 2025
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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(A very temporary) RIP to American TikTok

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