Mehboob Jeelani
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jeelanireports.bsky.social
Mehboob Jeelani
@jeelanireports.bsky.social
38 followers 33 following 20 posts
Asia Editor at Rest of World. https://restofworld.org/
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jeelanireports.bsky.social
Viettel, launched by Vietnam’s military in 1989 to build antenna towers, now leads as a telecom giant in seven international markets. And it makes everything from 5G chips, robots, & radar systems to phones & surveillance tech. By
@lamle52.bsky.social restofworld.org/2025/vietnam...
How Vietnam’s military built one of the hottest tech companies in Southeast Asia
Over two decades, Viettel grew from a state telco into a tech powerhouse that makes everything from 5G chips to robots to affordable mobile phones.
restofworld.org
September 15, 2025 at 5:44 AM
Reposted by Mehboob Jeelani
restofworld.org
For the first time, Apple will produce all new U.S.-bound iPhone models in India.

While Apple fans celebrate the launch of the iPhone 17, @jeelanireports.bsky.social spoke with phone manufacturing and supply chain experts to understand why this launch is a geopolitical landmark.
Is Apple’s iPhone 17 launch a win for India? We asked experts
All U.S.-bound iPhones will reportedly be produced in India, showing how U.S.-China tensions are reshaping global supply chains.
restofworld.org
September 10, 2025 at 1:47 PM
jeelanireports.bsky.social
While Apple fans celebrate the launch of the iPhone 17, Rest of World spoke with phone manufacturing and supply chain experts to understand why this launch is a geopolitical landmark.

restofworld.org/2025/is-appl...
Is Apple’s iPhone 17 launch a win for India? We asked experts
All U.S.-bound iPhones will reportedly be produced in India, showing how U.S.-China tensions are reshaping global supply chains.
restofworld.org
September 11, 2025 at 5:56 AM
jeelanireports.bsky.social
Not everything is black and white in Trump's tariff war. Unexpected winners are emerging in Vietnam's semiconductor sector. Check out @lamle52.bsky.social's latest: restofworld.org/2025/vietnam...
The surprise winner in the U.S.-China tech war? Vietnam’s chip industry
Vietnamese chip component suppliers are responding to growing market demands for products with no Chinese link.
restofworld.org
July 28, 2025 at 12:10 PM
jeelanireports.bsky.social
Earlier this month, I flew to Bengaluru to meet Nandan Nilekani, India's tech billionaire and co-founder of Infosys. He told me and my colleague, Itika, that the future of AI will be spoken, not written restofworld.org/2025/nandan-...
Why the world should stop obsessing over LLMs
Nandan Nilekani, the mind behind India’s digital revolution, says the future of AI will not be shaped by who builds the bigger model but by small systems designed to resolve real-world problems.
restofworld.org
July 21, 2025 at 11:55 AM
jeelanireports.bsky.social
A year on after Chinese heavyweight ByteDance bought a majority stake in Tokopedia, the Indonesian giant has “lost its soul”, and “reduced to just another generic Chinese marketplace”. Read this by @michelleanindya.bsky.social: restofworld.org/2025/tiktok-...
TikTok’s messy merger in Indonesia could be a preview of what’s to come in the U.S.
A year after merging with local giant Tokopedia, TikTok’s business model is alienating sellers, forcing many to join rival platforms.
restofworld.org
July 15, 2025 at 4:27 AM
jeelanireports.bsky.social
Despite having 500 million users in India, WhatsApp couldn’t crack the country’s $3 trillion fintech market.
restofworld.org/2025/whatsap...
Meta’s grand WhatsApp fintech experiment in India has fizzled
Despite having 500 million users in India, WhatsApp couldn’t crack the country’s $3 trillion fintech market.
restofworld.org
July 11, 2025 at 3:55 PM
jeelanireports.bsky.social
Online retail eludes India’s richest man. Here's why Mukesh Ambani needed Shein in India. restofworld.org/2025/shein-i...
India’s richest man can’t crack e-commerce, even with Shein
Early data shows the partnership is off to a slow start, as Reliance’s retail machine struggles to cement its place in a market dominated by Amazon and Walmart.
restofworld.org
June 16, 2025 at 3:38 PM
jeelanireports.bsky.social
Surviving Chinese e-commerce big shots in Southeast Asia has never been easy, but Vietnam's Sendo has employed housewives and anyone else with unused fridge space to sell grocery. It's a survival tactic and it's working. restofworld.org/2025/sendo-f...
How do you compete with Chinese e-commerce giants? A Vietnamese company is deploying housewives
Sendo, once poised to become Vietnam’s leading e-commerce company, is reinventing itself to survive against TikTok Shop and Shopee.
restofworld.org
May 12, 2025 at 10:15 AM
jeelanireports.bsky.social
Do read this definitive profile of Ola’s eccentric CEO, once “a kid roaming around in shorts with an SLR,” now dubbed India’s Elon Musk.
restofworld.org/2025/bhavish...
Inside the spectacular rise and crash of India’s largest EV company
Can Bhavish Aggarwal fix Ola Electric's problems — or is he one of them?
restofworld.org
May 2, 2025 at 5:57 AM
jeelanireports.bsky.social
A strong piece on how India is working to accelerate high-tech manufacturing and develop its own AI tools. restofworld.org/2025/india-f...
Why India fell behind China in tech innovation
India’s government urges the private sector to take the lead in tech innovation, while industry experts say it’s complicated.
restofworld.org
April 28, 2025 at 6:24 AM
Reposted by Mehboob Jeelani
rinachandran.bsky.social
New data reveals the hidden network of African workers powering AI. They are pushing for greater transparency from the global companies that employ them through outsourcing firms. Reporting by Stephanie Wangari and Gayathri Vaidyanathan on @restofworld.org
restofworld.org/2025/big-tec...
How Big Tech hides its outsourced African workforce
New data reveals the hidden network of African workers powering AI, as they push for transparency from the global companies that employ them indirectly.
restofworld.org
April 21, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Reposted by Mehboob Jeelani
restofworld.org
In a few weeks, Skype is going the way of other early internet icons like AOL Instant Messenger and Friendster. But before it shuts down, we asked Rest of World readers to share their favorite memories of using the video-calling service
restofworld.org/2025/skype-s...
When the world connected on Skype
On the eve of its demise, Rest of World readers remember how Skype changed their world.
restofworld.org
April 22, 2025 at 1:40 PM
jeelanireports.bsky.social
Foxconn’s arrival has set off urban sprawl in an Indian agricultural town. The iPhone supplier is diversifying from China to escape Trump's trade war. Here's our latest on how quickly a rural Bengaluru town changed as the Taiwanese giant Foxconn stepped in. restofworld.org/2025/foxconn...
Foxconn’s iPhone factory is fueling a real estate boom in a small Indian farming town
The $2.5 billion “Project Elephant” will be the company’s second-largest factory outside China and create 40,000 jobs.
restofworld.org
April 17, 2025 at 12:41 PM
jeelanireports.bsky.social
Vietnam is still on edge. Trump’s tariff pause offers only brief relief. In Bac Ninh, where Apple and Samsung contractors operate, the chill is already setting in.
Read @LamLe52’s report from the heart of Vietnam's manufacturing engine: restofworld.org/2025/vietnam...
Trump’s tariffs test Vietnam’s role as manufacturing alternative to China
The U.S.-China trade war drove Apple’s Chinese suppliers to Vietnam. Now they’re stuck with hard choices.
restofworld.org
April 10, 2025 at 10:49 AM
jeelanireports.bsky.social
“Uber knows slashing prices is the only way to keep customers hooked”.
India's taxi wars in the ride-hailing sector have gotten intense, as Uber squeezes margins. Our latest: restofworld.org/2025/uber-in...
Uber wades into a fierce price war to stay competitive in India
Upstarts and political pressures are forcing Uber to play by new rules as they reshape India’s ride-hailing economy.
restofworld.org
April 8, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Reposted by Mehboob Jeelani
restofworld.org
As Myanmar tries to recover from last week’s devastating earthquake, which has claimed more than 2,700 lives, internet blackout are an obstacle to relief and rescue work:
restofworld.org/2025/myanmar...
Myanmar’s internet blackout is costing lives in earthquake-hit areas
Digital rights activist says Starlink could have connected survivors, but the devices are banned.
restofworld.org
April 3, 2025 at 2:10 PM
jeelanireports.bsky.social
Can Vietnam’s leading automaker VinFast survive in markets dominated by Chinese rivals like BYD and Indian giants like Tata and go where Tesla hasn’t?
Here's more on VinFast’s second act after a US debacle: restofworld.org/2025/vinfast...
After U.S. failure, Vietnam’s EV leader turns to markets dominated by Tesla and BYD
VinFast follows its Vietnam playbook in Asia and targets the luxury market in the Gulf.
restofworld.org
April 6, 2025 at 5:54 AM
Reposted by Mehboob Jeelani
garydrawnsley.bsky.social
A fascinating discussion of Alvin Toffler's influence in/on modern #China by @hofrench.bsky.social in @nybooks.com The digital transformation of China reflects Toffler's ideas, but Toffler did not anticipate how it would help create a surveillance society.
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
Toffler in China | Howard W. French
The work of the eclectic American futurist exerted a profound and unanticipated influence on China's digital transformation since the 1980s.
www.nybooks.com
April 4, 2025 at 7:21 AM
jeelanireports.bsky.social
Dunzo's collapse isn’t just one company’s failure but a symptom of India’s startup cash-burn culture, where even strong backers like Google & Reliance can't save you restofworld.org/2025/dunzo-s...
Screaming customers, unpaid workers: Inside the chaotic demise of Indian online delivery pioneer Dunzo
Dunzo was a trailblazer in India’s online delivery sector, but things went awry when it shifted from its core strength.
restofworld.org
March 20, 2025 at 3:08 PM
jeelanireports.bsky.social
India’s largest EV company is losing ground - in charts
restofworld.org/2025/ola-ele...
The decline of India’s largest EV company — in charts
Ola Electric Mobility struggles to maintain its edge as legacy players tap into customer trust and brand loyalty.
restofworld.org
March 13, 2025 at 2:41 PM
jeelanireports.bsky.social
@restofworld.org is looking for experienced freelance journalists to send their pitches to mehboob@restofworld.org for Asia and indranil@restofworld.org for the Middle East and Africa.
Please go through RoW's pitch guidelines before reaching out to us restofworld.org/about/how-to...
How to pitch a story to Rest of World
We cover most of the countries outside the West, with a focus and presence in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.
restofworld.org
March 12, 2025 at 9:59 AM
jeelanireports.bsky.social
The Chinese EV company Gotion expected a warm welcome in a small Michigan town but faced protests and suspicion instead, with many residents seeing it as a Communist Trojan horse. Superb piece. restofworld.org/2025/gotion-...
How a Chinese battery factory sparked a political meltdown in a small Michigan town
The ambitious executives at Gotion wanted to join America’s EV gold rush. Then came geopolitics.
restofworld.org
March 12, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Reposted by Mehboob Jeelani
restofworld.org
Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet is finally making its way into India. Here’s what to know about its partnership with Airtel, the country’s second-largest telecom firm restofworld.org/2025/airtel-...
Starlink is coming to India. Here’s what to know
An alliance with Airtel, one of India’s largest telcos, opens the door for Elon Musk’s satellite giant to access the world’s second-largest internet user base.
restofworld.org
March 11, 2025 at 5:35 PM
jeelanireports.bsky.social
"Grimes was there, gaggle of kids orbiting her on the floor, transfixed. One said this must be what monsters listen to"

Reading this piece reminded me of a Hemingway quote: 'All things truly wicked start from innocence.'

www.wired.com/story/inside...
Inside a Fusion Startup's Insane, Top-Secret Opening Ceremony
Robots! Huge capacitors! A pianist-programmer of impossible skill! One of Silicon Valley's formative figures takes the stage at a wild event.
www.wired.com
December 13, 2024 at 2:12 PM