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As China tightens its grip on rare earths, can Brazil be an alternative source?

30 October 2025 at 05:14
Earlier this month, China announced new export restrictions on rare earths — critical minerals that are used in semiconductors, smartphones, electric vehicles, and more. The new curbs sparked a race...

© Victor Moriyama/Getty Images

A worker handles a soil sample at a rare earth exploration project in Caldas Novas, Brazil.

Most of the world’s space launches are controlled by just three countries

28 October 2025 at 05:00
The world is increasingly reaching for the stars, but only a few countries have the ability to make it there. As of 2023, over 85 nations have space exploration programs,...

© Tara Atkinson for Rest of World

A nighttime long exposure of the rock formations at the Rock Garden in Duqm, Oman, captured under a star-filled sky. The six-kilometre site features sandstone and limestone formations shaped by natural forces over millions of years. Photo taken on October 14, 2025, by Tara Atkinson.

Malawi’s new farmhand: AI that speaks the local language

23 October 2025 at 05:00
Alifosina Mtseteka’s family has been farming for generations in central Malawi, but she recently ran into a pest infestation that had her stumped. The okra she grows along with beans...

© Thoko Chikundi for Rest of World

Misha Katema an Opportunity International Malawi Field Support Agent shares information from Ulangizi AI on a farm in Lilongwe Central Malawi on Monday, 4 August 2025

A lithium bust leaves Latin American towns in the dust

22 October 2025 at 05:00
Tolar Grande, a windswept settlement perched at 11,500 feet above sea level in northern Argentina, once received little more than a trickle of visitors. Then, in the late 2010s, hostels...

© Anita Pouchard Serra for Rest of World

View of Tolar Grande, in Salta Province, Argentina on October 1, 2025. Anita Pouchard Serra / Rest of World.

China, Taiwan, and the vulnerable web of undersea cables

16 October 2025 at 05:00
In February 2023, half a year or so before I visited, a couple of Chinese ships cut two domestic undersea cables running out from Taiwan’s main island. One of these,...

© Taiwan Coast Guard via Getty Images

Two Taiwan Coast Guard personnel board a Togo-flagged cargo ship suspected of damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan Island and Penghu Island on February 25, 2025.

Tesla starts slashing prices amid costly battle with BYD

9 October 2025 at 04:00
Tesla has cut prices on its bestselling models to compete with Chinese rivals that have been giving it a run for its money. On October 7, the company reduced the...

© Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg/Getty Images

A worker cleans a Tesla Model Y electric vehicle at the newly opened Tesla Inc. store at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. Tesla opened its first India showroom, showcasing Model Y cars priced at nearly $70,000, as Elon Musk's electric-vehicle maker looks to tap new markets and offset slowing sales where it's already well established. Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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