The Fix Is In
NEED TO KNOW KYRGYZSTAN The Fix Is In Kyrgyzstan’s recent political turbulence began after protests erupted in the wake of the parliamentary […]
Not Sitting Down
NEED TO KNOW KAZAKHSTAN Not Sitting Down Kazakhstan didn’t take too kindly to Sacha Baron Cohen’s 2006 film, “Borat: Cultural Learnings of […]
Badge of Dishonor
NEED TO KNOW PHILIPPINES Badge of Dishonor The Philippines is having its George Floyd moment. An off-duty police officer in the East […]
Of Freedoms and Free-For-Alls
NEED TO KNOW SOLOMON ISLANDS Of Freedoms and Free-For-Alls Leaders in the Solomon Islands are considering a ban on Facebook in order […]
Chaos in the Mountains
NEED TO KNOW KYRGYZSTAN Chaos in the Mountains In the past two months, the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan has had three […]
Dancing Into Disease
NEED TO KNOW WORLD Dancing Into Disease China, like the US, Canada and the UK, is slowly rolling out plans to vaccinate […]
Choosing the Future
NEED TO KNOW WORLD Choosing the Future Maybe the dominant narrative of the origin of the coronavirus is wrong. As the South […]
The Uninvited
NEED TO KNOW WORLD The Uninvited President Donald Trump abandoned the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation trade agreement negotiated under President Barack Obama […]
Imitation and Limitation
NEED TO KNOW CHINA Imitation and Limitation Is Shenzhen the new Hong Kong? That’s how Chinese leaders want the world to think […]
The Freedoms of Choice
NEED TO KNOW MYANMAR The Freedoms of Choice Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi cast her ballot in advance of […]
Sellouts and Patriots
NEED TO KNOW GEORGIA Sellouts and Patriots A few weeks before a general election on Oct. 31, political candidates in Georgia received […]
The King and Them
NEED TO KNOW THAILAND The King and Them In May 1992, Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej summoned a military leader who had just […]
The Sick Man
NEED TO KNOW WORLD The Sick Man The coronavirus pandemic is undermining democracies worldwide. A report from Freedom House recently found that […]
Neverland, Discovered
NEED TO KNOW NEW ZEALAND Neverland, Discovered It’s almost like New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is living in a fairytale. Ardern […]
The Revolution Muscle
NEED TO KNOW KYRGYZSTAN The Revolution Muscle Revolution has come to Kyrgyzstan – again. In 2005 and 2010, popular uprisings overthrew authoritarian […]
A Fraying Hold
NEED TO KNOW TAJIKISTAN A Fraying Hold Usually, Tajikistan marks the Sept. 9 anniversary of its declaration of independence from the Soviet […]
Simmer, and Boil
NEED TO KNOW ARMENIA & AZERBAIJAN Simmer, and Boil Recently, Azerbaijan released a video of Azeri soldiers firing rockets at enemy emplacements […]
End of the Beginning
NEED TO KNOW WORLD End of the Beginning More people have died from the coronavirus since late last year than HIV, malaria, […]
A Sort of Dignity
NEED TO KNOW NEW CALEDONIA A Sort of Dignity The French overseas territory of New Caledonia has been called the Paris of […]
Dying for Justice
NEED TO KNOW KYRGYZSTAN Dying for Justice Journalist and human rights activist Azimjon Askarov was an ethnic Uzbek from southern Kyrgyzstan. He […]
Let Chaos Reign
We experienced a technical issue this morning resulting in a delivery delay. We apologize for this inconvenience. NEED TO KNOW PHILIPPINES Let […]
A New Emperor
NEED TO KNOW JAPAN A New Emperor Shinzo Abe’s decision to step down as prime minister of Japan due to health concerns […]
Time’s A-Tickin’
NEED TO KNOW CHINA Time’s A-Tickin’ Minnesota State Senator Matt Little has more than 140,000 followers on TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media […]
Endless End
NEED TO KNOW AFGHANISTAN Endless End The government of Afghanistan recently freed almost 200 Taliban prisoners to help build goodwill as negotiators […]