Bento 🍱

Sample something new

Bento 🍱 14 June 2024

Rest of World’s 2024 global playlist

What's that sound? It's your perfect soundtrack to just about everything.

By Rest of World Staff

An illustration showing emoji characters sitting on a blue text bubble laughing hysterically.

Bento 🍱 18 December 2023

How different languages laugh online

Laughter is universal, but lol is not.

By Amy Thorpe and Ravi Hiranand

A Gojek delivery rider resting on his bike using a phone.

Bento 🍱 15 December 2023

Global gig worker slang, explained

Shapar and amagundane are two types of platform workers their peers can’t stand.

By Zuha Siddiqui, Laís Martins, Lam Le and Kimberly Mutandiro

A collage of domain names with different suffixes in small browser windows over a light blue background.

Bento 🍱 21 September 2023

What’s in a domain name?

From .ai to .vc, inside the weird and lucrative marketplace of website addresses.

Bento 🍱 21 July 2023

Japan’s digital ID program is a complicated mess

The “My Number” card program, initially hopeful, is now making more headaches than headway.

By Sarah Hilton

Bento 🍱 13 July 2023

Foxconn’s whirlwind year in India

The iPhone manufacturer went from increasing investments to pulling out of a major semiconductor deal.

By Nilesh Christopher

A collage showing icons of songs on a fictional music player.

Bento 🍱 30 June 2023

Turn it up: Rest of World’s 2023 global party playlist

Impress your friends by queuing up these chart-topping pop songs from the countries we cover.

By Rest of World Staff

A photo of a man and two women walking on a street, with a tall building and a sign that reads Zhonngguancun in Chinese characters, in the background.

The Rise of AI 30 June 2023

Four new Chinese AI startups to watch

China’s OpenAI might come from one park in Beijing’s Silicon Valley.

An illustration of word bubbles and greetings in different languages.

Bento 🍱 7 June 2023

What languages dominate the internet?

The one you’re reading this in, for starters.

By Russell Brandom

A close-up photo of a hand using a touchscreen phone.

China Outside China 26 May 2023

Five globally successful Chinese companies you’ve never heard of

TikTok and Shein are household names, but ShareIt and Yalla aren't far behind.

Meet the Influencer 23 May 2023

Meet the Nigerian YouTuber bringing a positive lens to African stories

With 600,000 subscribers, Tayo Aina is one of Africa’s most prominent creators.

By Ugonna-Ora Owoh

Bento 🍱 12 May 2023

Five of the coolest projects to come out of India’s first AI hackathon

From a plug-in that lets you interrogate YouTube videos to creating comic strips with text prompts, India’s first generative AI hackathon was a peek into what’s to come.

By Nilesh Christopher