https://restofworld.org A continuous stream of the latest articles published from Rest of World Fri, 03 Jan 2025 16:47:23 +0000 Copyright 2025 Rest of World daily 2 https://restofworld.org/2024/kenya-ev-bus-adoption-supply-shortage/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Mon, 30 Dec 2024 11:00:44 +0000 Damilare Dosunmu and Stephanie Wangari https://restofworld.org/2024/kenya-ev-bus-adoption-supply-shortage/ <![CDATA[Companies have ordered hundreds of EV buses — but they won’t arrive for years.]]> <![CDATA[Alfred Njoka had driven diesel buses in Nairobi since 2011 until he switched to electric two years ago, becoming one of Kenya’s first e-bus drivers. His electric bus is more...]]> Wang Guansen Xinhua/eyevine/Redux https://restofworld.org/2024/filipino-ai-chatbot-launches-2025-local-languages/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:00:02 +0000 Angel Martinez https://restofworld.org/2024/filipino-ai-chatbot-launches-2025-local-languages/ <![CDATA[ ITanong will be a local version of ChatGPT, its developers say, built with considerably fewer resources.]]> <![CDATA[ChatGPT impressed millions of internet users when it was first launched in December 2022. To Filipino Elmer Peramo, though, it felt familiar. After typing in some prompts and seeing the...]]> Rest of World https://restofworld.org/2024/amlo-youtubers-mexico-president/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Thu, 19 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000 Lorena Ríos https://restofworld.org/2024/amlo-youtubers-mexico-president/ <![CDATA[A slew of content creators built small social media empires off Andrés Manuel López Obrador, whose term ended in October.]]> <![CDATA[In 2019, Carlos Pozos began lining up outside Mexico City’s National Palace at dawn for a seat at then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s daily morning media briefings — hourslong events...]]> Jeoffrey Guillemard/Hatham-rea/Redux https://restofworld.org/2024/indonesia-influencers-politics/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Wed, 18 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000 Michelle Anindya https://restofworld.org/2024/indonesia-influencers-politics/ <![CDATA[More influencers are joining political parties and contesting elections, raising concerns about the spread of misinformation and the lack of leadership.]]> <![CDATA[The social media feed of Indonesian singer and content creator Vicky Shu generally features her clothes, makeup, and family. But when she decided to run for the regional elections in...]]> Natalia Sayuri for Rest of World https://restofworld.org/2024/china-us-immigration-policy-ai-talent/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Tue, 17 Dec 2024 11:00:30 +0000 Yvonne Lau https://restofworld.org/2024/china-us-immigration-policy-ai-talent/ <![CDATA[The West may lose out in the talent race amid U.S. national security and immigration hurdles]]> <![CDATA[China’s elite AI tech workers are at a crossroads. “It’s simple. Chinese professionals who specialize in AI, if given the chance, definitely [prefer to] come to the U.S. to work...]]> Aly Song/Reuters/Redux https://restofworld.org/2024/buscaro-pakistan-transit-group-commutes/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Mon, 16 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000 Zuha Siddiqui and Ananya Bhattacharya https://restofworld.org/2024/buscaro-pakistan-transit-group-commutes/ <![CDATA[After the failure of Airlift and Swvl, this startup is stepping in to provide an alternative to Pakistan’s unreliable public transport system.]]> <![CDATA[The day mass transit startup Swvl announced its decision to downsize operations in Pakistan in June 2022, its country general manager Maha Shahzad fully grasped the dire circumstances that female...]]> BusCaro https://restofworld.org/2024/starlink-in-zimbabwe-sold-out/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Fri, 13 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000 Chris Muronzi https://restofworld.org/2024/starlink-in-zimbabwe-sold-out/ <![CDATA[Traditional internet in Zimbabwe is slow, unreliable, and expensive. Elon Musk’s satellite service sold out within weeks of launching in the country.]]> <![CDATA[When Alois Kachere decided to order a Starlink kit after the company’s launch in Zimbabwe in September, he hoped to be the first person in his neighborhood to get the...]]> Rest of World/Starlink https://restofworld.org/2024/malaysia-internet-censorship-creators/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Thu, 12 Dec 2024 11:00:19 +0000 Tashny Sukumaran https://restofworld.org/2024/malaysia-internet-censorship-creators/ <![CDATA[Authorities say new regulations are needed to limit hate speech and scams, but creators say they are self-censoring to avoid a crackdown. ]]> <![CDATA[Malaysian digital artist Kitty Misa, like many other creators in the country, had long used the ArtStation site to showcase her work. Since the site was blocked by the government...]]> Natalia Sayuri for Rest of World https://restofworld.org/2024/mexico-suicide-rates-yucatan-memind-app/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Thu, 12 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000 Lillian Perlmutter https://restofworld.org/2024/mexico-suicide-rates-yucatan-memind-app/ <![CDATA[MeMind has connected 10,000 at-risk people with mental health treatment, contributing to a 9% drop in suicides.]]> <![CDATA[Last fall, school administrators at the University of Yucatán asked Abraham Slim, a 23-year-old medical student, to fill out a survey on his smartphone. The questions on the survey did...]]> Ruwangi Amarasinghe for Rest of World https://restofworld.org/2024/whatsapp-lifeline-conflict-zone-natural-disaster/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Wed, 11 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000 John Beck https://restofworld.org/2024/whatsapp-lifeline-conflict-zone-natural-disaster/ <![CDATA[Meta's messaging app has transformed communication in conflict and crisis areas.]]> <![CDATA[Fidaa Maksour, a dispatcher with the White Helmets, a volunteer organization that operates largely in the war-torn northwestern region of Syria, was on duty in the early morning hours of...]]> Joanne Joo for Rest of World https://restofworld.org/2024/how-whatsapp-became-a-global-cultural-force/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Tue, 10 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000 Sonia Faleiro https://restofworld.org/2024/how-whatsapp-became-a-global-cultural-force/ <![CDATA[The world’s most popular messaging platform is synonymous with the internet for millions of people.]]> <![CDATA[It’s a warm September afternoon in Lagos and filming of the Nollywood slapstick comedy Osas and Nosa is delayed for the day. The scene being shot takes place in the...]]> Joanne Joo for Rest of World https://restofworld.org/2024/how-whatsapp-for-business-changed-the-world/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Mon, 09 Dec 2024 11:29:08 +0000 Issie Lapowsky https://restofworld.org/2024/how-whatsapp-for-business-changed-the-world/ <![CDATA[WhatsApp is already the world’s most widely used messaging app. Meta wants it to be a lot more.]]> <![CDATA[Shivika Sabharwal’s nerves kicked in the second she spotted the size of the crowd. It was mid-September, and Sabharwal was standing center stage inside a massive event space at Mumbai’s...]]> Joanne Joo for Rest of World