Rest of World

Our 3 top read stories from accross the day: 🇮🇩 Netflix and thrill: The hunt for the next Squid Game in Southeast Asia - As Amazon and Disney step back, Netflix invests in “locally authentic” content to grab subscribers in the region. 📰 New data reveals exactly when the Chinese government blocked ChatGPT and other AI sites  - Rest of World received exclusive access to a platform that tracks patterns and timing of Chinese online censorship. 🇧🇷 Brazil banned X. Right-wing politicians are still using it - Echoing Elon Musk, the politicians claim they are defending free speech.

A collection of our trending and most read stories: 🇵🇰 Destined for clicks: YouTube is driving an astrology boom in Pakistan - Pakistanis are looking for certainty. Astrologers on YouTube want to help. 🇲🇽 Mexican shoppers say Shein’s and Temu’s delivery partner is stealing their stuff - Former employees at third-party logistics company J&T Express say the high volume of packages from the two Chinese companies has become unmanageable. 🇵🇭 Buy-now-pay-later plans lead to rampant scams and bad debt across Southeast Asia - From Thailand to Vietnam, a loophole in buy-now-pay-later schemes that allows users to get cash is raising concerns.

The 3 most popular stories right now: 🇧🇷 Brazil banned X. Right-wing politicians are still using it - Echoing Elon Musk, the politicians claim they are defending free speech. 🇹🇳 How InstaDeep became Africa’s biggest AI startup success - Karim Beguir is the co-founder and CEO of InstaDeep, a Tunisian startup that was acquired for $682 million by BioNTech. 🇵🇭 Filipinos are embracing electric three-wheelers faster than officials can regulate them - Unregistered three-wheelers big enough for whole families are a popular antidote to the country's terrible gridlock.

A collection of our trending and most read stories: 🇵🇰 Pakistan’s China-style firewall is rattling its tech industry - Internet speeds in the country have dropped by up to 40% due to the government's efforts to monitor internet traffic, said service providers. 🇵🇭 Buy-now-pay-later plans lead to rampant scams and bad debt across Southeast Asia - From Thailand to Vietnam, a loophole in buy-now-pay-later schemes that allows users to get cash is raising concerns. 🇮🇳 Building a food delivery app in the internet shutdown capital of the world - Jammu and Kashmir’s Gatoes was founded in 2020 in the middle of a months-long government-imposed internet restriction. It is now expanding in north India.

3 of our most popular stories right now: 🇲🇽 Mexican shoppers say Shein and Temu’s delivery partner is stealing their stuff - Former employees at third-party logistics company J&T Express say the high volume of packages from the two Chinese companies has become unmanageable. 🇵🇭 Filipinos are embracing electric three-wheelers faster than officials can regulate them - Unregistered three-wheelers big enough for whole families are a popular antidote to the country's terrible gridlock. 📷 Indigenous creators are clashing with YouTube’s and Instagram’s sensitive content bans - Deep in the heartlands of Brazil, Indigenous creators are having to censor themselves to avoid getting banned on social platforms.

Our 3 top read stories from accross the day: 🇨🇴 The Uruguayan company teaching people how to turn regular cars into EVs - Organización Autolibre is teaching individuals and companies across 14 countries to retrofit vehicles. Critics worry about the process’s safety. 🇨🇳 When EV startups shut down, will their cars still work? - As Chinese EV makers close, drivers of “smartphones on wheels” say software updates and maintenance are in jeopardy. 🇮🇳 Building a food delivery app in the internet shutdown capital of the world - Jammu and Kashmir’s Gatoes was founded in 2020 in the middle of a months-long government-imposed internet restriction. It is now expanding in north India.

3 of our most popular stories right now: 🇲🇽 Mexican shoppers say Shein and Temu’s delivery partner is stealing their stuff - Former employees at third-party logistics company J&T Express say the high volume of packages from the two Chinese companies has become unmanageable. 🇨🇳 Alibaba.com’s U.S. expansion hinges on wooing mom-and-pop shops - President Kuo Zhang tells Rest of World in an exclusive interview that the company is bullish about the U.S. market. 🇻🇳 Extreme weather is making life harder for Vietnam’s delivery riders - From intensive heat to flood risks, climate change has made the working lives of hundreds of thousands of gig workers harder and more dangerous, so many are banding together to help their communities cope.

A collection of our trending and most read stories: 🇵🇰 Pakistan’s China-style firewall is rattling its tech industry - Internet speeds in the country have dropped by up to 40% due to the government's efforts to monitor internet traffic, said service providers. 🇲🇽 Drivers in Tijuana are facing a surge in violence - Uber has rolled out new safety measures like a panic button linked to emergency services. 🇰🇪 Uber drivers in Kenya are ignoring the app and charging their own rates - The local gig workers’ union defends the practice, which Uber forbids, as a form of peaceful pushback against low earnings.

Our most popular stories across the last 24 hours...: 🇨🇳 Alibaba.com’s U.S. expansion hinges on wooing mom-and-pop shops - President Kuo Zhang tells Rest of World in an exclusive interview that the company is bullish about the U.S. market. 🇻🇳 Extreme weather is making life harder for Vietnam’s delivery riders - From intensive heat to flood risks, climate change has made the working lives of hundreds of thousands of gig workers harder and more dangerous, so many are banding together to help their communities cope. 🇵🇭 Filipinos are embracing electric three-wheelers faster than officials can regulate them - Unregistered three-wheelers big enough for whole families are a popular antidote to the country's terrible gridlock.

A collection of our trending and most read stories: 🇵🇰 Pakistan’s China-style firewall is rattling its tech industry - Internet speeds in the country have dropped by up to 40% due to the government's efforts to monitor internet traffic, said service providers. 🇧🇩 How Bangladesh’s tech industry navigated an unprecedented political crisis - July’s internet blackout and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s sudden exit is estimated to have cost the industry $300 million. 🇰🇪 Uber drivers in Kenya are ignoring the app and charging their own rates - The local gig workers’ union defends the practice, which Uber forbids, as a form of peaceful pushback against low earnings.