These leading Syrian apps are helping rebuild the country after Assad

30 September 2025 at 11:31

This story is adapted from writer Emily Wither’s recent Rest of World feature, Syria’s quest to build its own Silicon Valley. For the first time in a long time, Syrian...

People working on laptops inside Karma Cafe in the Abu Rummaneh area of Damascus.

China charges ahead as South Korea’s battery giants lose their spark

Rest of World

By: Ananya Bhattacharya

30 September 2025 at 05:00

China’s battery giants have pulled the plug on South Korea’s dominance in powering electric vehicles. South Korea’s three top EV battery makers — LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung...

The UAE’s University of AI is a pipeline for top tech talent

Rest of World

By: Amar Diwakar

29 September 2025 at 05:00

In the fierce global war over workers skilled in artificial intelligence, the United Arab Emirates is luring researchers with a custom-built AI university that offers what many scientists dream of:...

China won the electric car race. Up next: freight trucks

Rest of World

By: Ananya Bhattacharya

26 September 2025 at 05:00

China flooded the world with electric cars. Its next target is freight trucks. BYD, the Chinese automaker that overtook Tesla in sales of electric cars last year, now ships electric...

AI is helping judges to quickly close cases, and lawyers to quickly open them

Rest of World

By: Pedro Nakamura

25 September 2025 at 05:00

Brazil’s judicial system — among the most litigious in the world — is turning to artificial intelligence for help. Judges are using AI to clear their dockets at a faster...

Brazilian Supreme Federal Court building in Brasilia, DF, Brazil.

Why I left Silicon Valley: Chinese tech workers talk about returning home

Rest of World

By: Selina Cheng

24 September 2025 at 05:00

China’s long-standing efforts to bring back talent are starting to pay off at a time when its tech and science rivalry with the U.S. has intensified. According to a Stanford...

Argentina wants to be an AI powerhouse, but its tech experts are leaving

Rest of World

By: David Feliba

23 September 2025 at 05:00

Argentina is known for its beef and soy exports. Now, in the age of artificial intelligence, it is also shipping talent overseas. Last year, Agustín Martínez, a researcher focused on...

What Trump’s H-1B crackdown means for Big Tech workers

Rest of World

By: Damilare Dosunmu

23 September 2025 at 02:51

It’s been a turbulent week for the global tech industry. On September 19, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a $100,000 fee for new applicants of H-1B visas, which allow highly...

Why Bangladesh’s unlikely satellite engineers are still waiting for liftoff

Rest of World

By: Jesmin Papri

22 September 2025 at 05:00

The launch of Bangladesh’s first satellite sparked an explosion of national pride and a mini space race in the country’s colleges seven years ago. Now, the local engineers who control...

Bangladeshi engineers inspect a satellite communications disk.

The invisible backbone of the UAE’s AI superpower dreams

Rest of World

By: Divsha Bhat

19 September 2025 at 05:00

The United Arab Emirates’ digital revolution has an unlikely architect. Khazna, a specialized real estate company that builds and rents out data centers, has quietly become the UAE’s AI infrastructure...

Banned in the U.S. and Europe, Huawei aims for the developing world’s AI

Rest of World

By: Viola Zhou

18 September 2025 at 05:00

Barred from many Western markets by U.S.-led restrictions, Huawei is doubling down on developing countries for its cloud and artificial intelligence businesses. The move has put Huawei on a collision...

A view of a Huawei retail store shows the company's logo and a large advertisement featuring a foldable smartphone on September 9, 2025, in Chongqing, China.

When Africa’s internet breaks, this ship answers the call

Rest of World

By: Jess Auerbach Jahajeeah and Stephanie Wangari

17 September 2025 at 05:00

As the Léon Thévenin eased into Cape Town port last month, Shuru Arendse was ready to rush home to his family. He had a month off and a laundry list...

Tyrone November (L) and Didier Towanou, both able seamen, wrangle a debris-covered segment of cable hauled in from the seabed.

Syria’s quest to build its own Silicon Valley

Rest of World

By: Emily Wither

16 September 2025 at 05:00

At the end of November, Hamza Hourani’s phone rang. It was a cloudy morning in Damascus, and some Syrians were quietly stocking their cupboards as rebel fighters marched south toward...

An aerial photo showing the Syrian capital Damascus.

Countries are struggling to meet the rising energy demands of data centers

Rest of World

By: Daniela Dib and Pablo Jiménez Arandia

15 September 2025 at 05:19

Behind a miles-long gray wall in the central Mexico town of Colón, a Microsoft data center portends the future for other data centers in the country. Unable to plug into...

The myth of sovereign AI: Countries rely on U.S. and Chinese tech

Rest of World

By: John Popko

12 September 2025 at 05:00

Every government aiming for sovereign artificial intelligence has roughly the same mantra: build their own ChatGPT, leapfrog into AI leadership, and be free of foreign dependence. It’s a compelling narrative,...

The cold truth about EVs: Freezing weather slashes battery mileage

Rest of World

By: Arsalan Bukhari and Kinling Lo

11 September 2025 at 05:00

Bashir Ahmad sold his wife’s gold jewelry to buy an electric three-wheeler that would revolutionize his apple business in Kashmir. Until winter arrived and killed it. On a freezing morning,...

A boy pushes an e-rickshaw in a snowbound area of Rafiabad, Jammu and Kashmir, India, on January 19, 2025. (Photo by Nasir Kachroo/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

How Vietnam’s military built one of the hottest tech companies in Southeast Asia

Rest of World

By: Lam Le

10 September 2025 at 05:00

A Vietnamese military-owned company has quietly become one of the most ambitious state-backed technology firms in the world. Viettel, launched by Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defense in 1989 to build...

Is Apple’s iPhone 17 launch a win for India? We asked experts

Rest of World

By: Mehboob Jeelani

10 September 2025 at 02:48

Apple launched the much-awaited iPhone 17 on September 9, defying geopolitical headwinds and complications in its effort to decouple its supply chain from China. The company will produce all the...

Apple iPhone 16 Pro smartphone on display at the Apple Inc.

How a movement against corruption on Nepali social media triggered unrest and death

Rest of World

By: Rest of World Staff

9 September 2025 at 06:30

Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has resigned following two days of protests against rampant corruption and inequality, exacerbated by the government’s recent decision to ban some social media platforms...

Demonstrators try to break through police barricades during a protest against corruption and the government's decision to block several social media platforms, in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 8, 2025. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

Latin American musicians say AI is stealing their streams

Rest of World

By: Laura Rodríguez Salamanca

9 September 2025 at 05:00

Afro-Chilean artist Nekki has been spreading her anti-racist message through her reggae-rap lyrics for years, but recently, she feels like she is being blocked from reaching a wider audience. She...

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