How TikTok cozied up to wealthy investors in Saudi Arabia and the UAE

6 November 2025 at 06:00

When TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew arrived at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in October 2024, he had no intention of criticizing the Saudi government. He was there at...

Shou Zi Chew, chief executive officer of TikTok Inc., in 2022.

Microsoft, Google say their data centers create thousands of jobs. Their permit filings say otherwise

Rest of World

By: Laura Rodríguez Salamanca

5 November 2025 at 06:00

One winter morning in Quilicura, Chile, plumes of water vapor rose out of a warehouse-like building that serves as Google’s only operational data center in Latin America. Inside, vast halls...

Security workers at the Ascenty Datacenter in Quilicura, Santiago de Chile. On Tuesday, October 07. 2025

The bombing of Gaza Sky Geeks

Rest of World

By: Mohammed R. Mhawish and Aseel Mousa

4 November 2025 at 06:00

In late September 2023, staff at Gaza Sky Geeks were preparing for an October full of milestones. The pioneering tech hub, headquartered in Gaza City, was planning a traveling hackathon...

“I Deliver Parcels in Beijing”: Chinese literary sensation reaches U.S.

Rest of World

By: Viola Zhou

3 November 2025 at 06:00

Hu Anyan has held 19 jobs in six cities across China — selling bicycles, running a clothing store, working in a bakery, making 3D architectural renderings, doing night shifts at...

A delivery man pushes a trolley along a street in Beijing on September 20, 2022.

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

Rest of World

By: Jorge C. Carrasco

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...

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

China’s $143 billion push to dominate the global EV industry

Rest of World

By: Ananya Bhattacharya

29 October 2025 at 05:00

Chinese electric-vehicle companies have invested big bucks over the past decade to establish their global supremacy. Companies such as CATL and BYD, among others, poured $143 billion into foreign EV...

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

Rest of World

By: Hazel Gandhi

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,...

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.

The metaverse is rewriting the rules of who can be a K-pop star

Rest of World

By: Michelle Kim

27 October 2025 at 05:00

Jack, one of four virtual idols in the K-pop group Re:Revolution, sat on a stool in the metaverse — digital worlds where people interact through avatars — sporting a sleek...

Do India’s EV policies discriminate against China? Experts weigh in

Rest of World

By: Ananya Bhattacharya

24 October 2025 at 05:00

China is questioning India’s electric vehicle subsidies on the global stage. The world’s largest EV producer, China has requested the World Trade Organization to settle a dispute with India over incentive...

Vehicles for Vinfast roll off an assembly line at a factory in Thoothukudi, India.

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

Rest of World

By: Stephanie Wangari

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...

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

Rest of World

By: David Feliba

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...

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

The world needs more spaceports. Oman wants to help

Rest of World

By: Laura Jedeed

21 October 2025 at 05:00

Oman’s dream for a spaceport sits in a swath of desert overlooking the Arabian Sea. If all goes according to plan, three separate complexes here will launch everything from small...

The launchpade at the Etlaq spaceport in Oman

Japanese convenience stores are hiring robots run by workers in the Philippines

Rest of World

By: Michael Beltran

20 October 2025 at 05:00

Inside a multistory office building in Manila’s financial district, around 60 young men and women monitored and controlled artificial intelligence robots restocking convenience store shelves in distant Japan. Occasionally, when...

EVs are depreciating much faster than gas-powered cars

Rest of World

By: Ananya Bhattacharya

17 October 2025 at 05:00

The resale value of electric vehicles is collapsing worldwide, hurting private owners and fleet operators. The crisis became especially apparent when BluSmart, India’s pioneering all-electric ride-hailing service, collapsed in April...

China, Taiwan, and the vulnerable web of undersea cables

Rest of World

By: Samanth Subramanian

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,...

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.

AI-powered textbooks fail to make the grade in South Korea

Rest of World

By: Junhyup Kwon

15 October 2025 at 05:00

Ko Ho-dam, a high school junior on South Korea’s Jeju Island, was at first curious to hear that the government planned to roll out artificial intelligence-powered textbooks. The program would...

AI flood forecasting allows aid to reach farmers before disaster strikes

Rest of World

By: Jesmin Papri and Gayathri Vaidyanathan

14 October 2025 at 05:00

Farmers on Jamira, a tiny island on Bangladesh’s flood-prone Jamuna River, are used to warring with the river that’s eating their land. Next year, they’ll have one more weapon in...

The AI dilemma: To compete with China, the U.S. needs Chinese talent

Rest of World

By: Mehran Gul

13 October 2025 at 05:00

As Washington tries to curb Chinese influence in artificial intelligence, Silicon Valley can’t get enough of Chinese researchers. The tension highlights a paradox at the heart of America’s AI strategy:...

Indonesia’s film industry embraces AI to make Hollywood-style movies for cheap

Rest of World

By: Linda Yulisman

10 October 2025 at 05:00

OpenAI last week launched Sora 2, an artificial intelligence model that can generate high-definition video clips with sound and more realistic physics. The release has been described by the company...

Tesla starts slashing prices amid costly battle with BYD

Rest of World

By: Ananya Bhattacharya

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...

Reading view