Is the future of Bangladesh’s space program still up in the air? https://restofworld.org/2025/bangladesh-satellite-starlink/

Drafting a legal defense used to take 20 minutes. Now it can be done in seconds. “For a lawyer who bills by the hour, that’s a big efficiency gain” https://restofworld.org/2025/brazil-ai-courts-lawsuits/

Spotify says it's cracking down on AI slop (newsroom.spotify.com/2025-09-25/s...) We recently spoke with musicians who say they're struggling to be heard above the growing noise of AI-generated songs. Read our report here: restofworld.org/2025/ai-musi...

Rest of World has entered the media tote bag wars. For a limited time only, shop our pop-up merch store https://shop.restofworld.org/

BYD, the Chinese automaker that overtook Tesla in electric car sales last year, is now shipping electric freight trucks to Italy, Poland, Spain, and Mexico. In total, Chinese companies accounted for 80% of the world’s 90,000 electric cargo truck sales last year

Can human–AI partnerships accelerate sustainable development? Join us today at SDG MediaZone's #UNGA80 for a panel moderated by Rest of World executive editor @mvzelenko.bsky.social — tune in here at 1:30PM EDT un.org/sdgmediazone/

Judges are using AI to clear their dockets faster than ever before. But it's a “vicious circle,” as the same AI tools allow lawyers to open more and more cases Today's story: restofworld.org/2025/brazil-...

The U.S. has over 8,000 satellites, and China has nearly 1,000. Among countries in South Asia, India has more than 135 satellites, Pakistan has six, and Bhutan has two. Bangladesh has just one, and its future may or may not be up in the air https://restofworld.org/2025/bangladesh-satellite-starlink

Rest of World founder & publisher Sophie Schmidt spoke on a panel at #Concordia25 about why moderation alone can't stop misinformation: “Information will always find a new home. People who seek it out know how to get there. The actual solution, which is painful, is inoculation”

“I believe returning to China was the most correct decision in my life.” Chinese tech workers talk about why they left Silicon Valley restofworld.org/2025/chinese...

Syria's tech entrepreneurs are optimistic about the future, saying that the new government — led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, a man who was once designated a terrorist by the U.S., but is now in NYC to address the UN — is inviting them to collaborate in the rebuilding process restofworld.org/2025/syria-t...

Rest of World's @tarykuh.bsky.social spoke to tech experts and founders to learn how U.S. companies could be affected by Donald Trump’s new plan to add a $100,000 fee for applicants to the H-1B visa restofworld.org/2025/trumps-...

Argentina is known for its beef and soy exports. Now, in the age of artificial intelligence, it is also shipping tech talent overseas. New: https://restofworld.org/2025/javier-milei-ai-hub-argentina-talent/

Chinese EV makers are cashing in on Western luxury knockoffs https://restofworld.org/2025/china-ev-luxury-lookalikes/

The U.S. has 8,000 satellites, and China has 1,000. In South Asia, India has 135, Pakistan has six, and Bhutan has two. Bangladesh has just one, and its future is in jeopardy. Our new story: Bangladesh’s unlikely satellite engineers are still waiting for liftoff restofworld.org/2025/banglad...

“Our forefathers did this… No one else can do it,” says the Monitor King, whose family controls an e-waste facility in New Delhi that brings in 2.5M rupees ($24,000) per week. “If someone tried, he will be beaten black and blue.” https://restofworld.org/2025/india-e-waste-recycling-electronics/

A look at the grueling but rewarding life aboard an internet cable repair ship https://restofworld.org/2025/africa-internet-cable-repair-ship

“‘The first thing that happened when the regime fell is that the mobile phones started working again!’ It was, maybe, a good omen.” @emilywither.bsky.social for @restofworld.org : restofworld.org/2025/syria-t...

Who's building the UAE's AI revolution? restofworld.org/2025/khazna-...

Syria’s tech industry was put on pause by 14 years of devastating civil war and crippling economic sanctions. Now it’s roaring back to life. Meet the tech founders trying to reboot the country https://restofworld.org/2025/syria-tech-industry

“We are seeing a bifurcation of the global AI stack. The U.S. government is saying: Let’s lock in market dominance for U.S. companies, including chip designers and hyperscalers, so that those markets are not won by Chinese companies.”

Barred from many Western markets by U.S.-led restrictions, Huawei is targeting emerging markets to build data centers and push its AI chips. But its gameplan clashes with America’s goal to dominate the AI stack, reports @violazhou.bsky.social @restofworld.org restofworld.org/2025/huawei-...

A glimpse of what life is like aboard the only undersea internet cable repair ship permanently stationed in Africa https://restofworld.org/2025/africa-internet-cable-repair-ship

"When you’re in Silicon Valley, you never really think of the ordinary. You’re always thinking of the disruptive. Syria will be the ultimate disrupter." @emilywither.bsky.social @restofworld.org restofworld.org/2025/syria-t...

Syria's tech scene was decimated by 14 years of civil war. Now that the Assad regime is out, those who fled are returning home and tech entrepreneurs are hoping they can help rebuild the country https://restofworld.org/2025/syria-tech-industry

Assad is out. Startups are in. Read @emilywither.bsky.social's feature on the new Syria restofworld.org/2025/syria-t...

In the midst of the AI boom, countries are scrambling to meet rising energy demands from data centers. In Mexico, Microsoft has had to rely on gas generators in at least one of its data centers

TikTok is investing in a $10 billion data center in Brazil. Indigenous people who claim the land are suing, saying they were not consulted on the project https://restofworld.org/2025/brazil-indigenous-group-sues-tiktok-data-center/

Weekend #longreads: The dirty truth behind the e-waste recycling industry https://restofworld.org/2025/india-e-waste-recycling-electronics

“States should think very carefully about what they actually want to get out of this before spending hundreds of billions of dollars trying to indigenize the entire AI stack”

What’s new in AI? We dug through the latest research https://restofworld.org/2025/ai-research-roundup-september-2025/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_content=1757635501

“If there are royalties from bots or AI music, they’re stealing from everyone else.” Musicians in Latin America say AI-generated music is flooding streaming services and siphoning their income. Not even Bad Bunny is safe https://restofworld.org/2025/ai-music-spotify-deezer-latin-america/

EVs are facing an unexpected challenge: cold weather. Lithium ion batteries can 40% their driving distance when temperatures drop

In what has come to be known as the “Gen Z protest,” thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Nepal, and 19 people were reportedly killed. The prime minister has since resigned https://restofworld.org/2025/nepal-gen-z-protest

What are you wearing? Shop the Rest of World pop-up merch store https://shop.restofworld.org/

For the first time, Apple will produce all new U.S.-bound iPhone models in India. While Apple fans celebrate the launch of the iPhone 17, @jeelanireports.bsky.social spoke with phone manufacturing and supply chain experts to understand why this launch is a geopolitical landmark.

While fertility rates are dropping in rich countries, one Taiwanese city bucks the trend, showing how high salaries and family perks can make having kids much more feasible https://restofworld.org/2025/taiwan-birth-rate-hsinchu-semiconductor-hub/

Nepal's prime minister has resigned following two days of protests triggered by the government’s decision to ban Facebook, WhatsApp, IG, and other social media apps in the country restofworld.org/2025/nepal-g...

Breaking through the noise to find a listening audience has always been tough, but AI-generated songs are now making it nearly impossible, musicians in Latin America say. Our new story: https://restofworld.org/2025/ai-music-spotify-deezer-latin-america/

“In the past, they killed and expelled us,” a tribe leader said. Now, “they make us invisible.” TikTok is investing in a $10 billion data center in Brazil. An Indigenous group who says the project is being built on their land is trying to stop it, claiming they were not consulted on the project

Taiwan’s fertility rate is plummeting everywhere, except in the tech hub of Hinschu, where high salaries and childcare perks make raising multiple children more affordable https://restofworld.org/2025/taiwan-birth-rate-hsinchu-semiconductor-hub/

China has become the world’s hub for producing everything from toys to smartphones, and more recently, solar panels and electric vehicles. In his new book, Breakneck, Dan Wang talks about how the country got so good at making things https://restofworld.org/2025/dan-wang-breakneck-book-china-tech/

AI robot dolls charm their way into nursing the elderly https://restofworld.org/2025/korea-ai-robot-senior-care-hyodol/

“‘DeepSeek is more humane,’ my mother told me. ‘Doctors are more like machines.’” Read @violazhou.bsky.social's feature on why some patients — including her mom — are embracing AI chatbots, despite knowing that their advice may be flawed or even dangerous

Chinese EV makers are cashing in on Western luxury knockoffs https://restofworld.org/2025/china-ev-luxury-lookalikes/

What do you need to know about what’s new in AI? @rinachandran.bsky.social has a roundup of the latest research: restofworld.org/2025/ai-rese...

In our Top 5: *The doctor is always in @restofworld.org *The good boy @nplusonemag.com *The pathway of pigment @emergencemagazine.bsky.social *The shame of Mary Oliver @yalereview.bsky.social *The wealthy on water @vanityfair.com longreads.com/2025/09/05/t...

They went to Turkey as refugees. They return to Syria to build a tech sector https://restofworld.org/2025/syrian-tech-industry/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_content=1757002145

More than 30,000 workers have lost their positions at electric-vehicle makers and related industries worldwide over the past year, according to a Rest of World analysis of layoff announcements restofworld.org/2025/ev-comp...

China's delivery leader wants to shake things up in Brazil https://restofworld.org/2025/meituan-brazil-launch-food-delivery/