NEED TO KNOW The Absence of Embarrassment FIJI A court in Fiji recently sentenced former Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama to a year […]

NEED TO KNOW Sharing the Wealth MONGOLIA Mongolian judges recently visited Plainview, Texas to learn about American justice. They also visited the […]

NEED TO KNOW Talking Trash NORTH KOREA The French first used balloons in war for reconnaissance during the battles that erupted after […]

NEED TO KNOW Colonial Democracy NEW CALEDONIA Four people, including a security officer, died recently in riots in the French territory of […]

NEED TO KNOW The Misery of Zugzwang ARMENIA Since the end of the Cold War, Russia has protected the former Soviet republic […]

NEED TO KNOW Stopping the Hopping VANUATU Voters in Vanuatu, an archipelago in the South Pacific, will decide on May 29 whether […]

NEED TO KNOW Mixed Messages SRI LANKA Sri Lanka has been grappling with political and economic instability since the end of its […]

NEED TO KNOW Silencing the Music HONG KONG The chairwoman of Hong Kong’s weightlifting and powerlifting association mistakenly referred to “13 countries” […]

NEED TO KNOW A Wan Smile THAILAND A single clinic on Thailand’s border receives 500 refugees fleeing neighboring Myanmar’s civil war every […]

NEED TO KNOW Plows to Swords JAPAN A recent survey found that more than 92 percent of Japanese respondents held unfavorable views […]

NEED TO KNOW My Enemy, Myself RUSSIA/ TAJIKISTAN Life in Russia has become difficult for migrants from Tajikistan and other Central Asian […]

NEED TO KNOW Kitchen-Table Politics INDIA The upcoming parliamentary election in India is expected to go well for Prime Minister Narendra Modi […]

NEED TO KNOW The Cost of Allegiance SOLOMON ISLANDS Parliamentary and local elections in the Solomon Islands on April 17 are yet […]

NEED TO KNOW The Wedge Between Two Giants MALDIVES In January, the president of the Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu, suspended ex-Deputy Youth Minister […]

NEED TO KNOW The Third Wheel SOUTH KOREA Politicians from the ruling People Power Party and the opposition Democratic Party have traditionally […]

NEED TO KNOW Putin-ification KYRGYZSTAN Between 2005 and 2020, the former Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan had five presidential transitions of power. Three […]

NEED TO KNOW Blazing Furnace VIETNAM Although the president of Vietnam, Vo Van Thuong, resigned on March 20 for undisclosed reasons, he […]

NEED TO KNOW Echoes of a Boom MARSHALL ISLANDS March 1 is Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Day in the South Pacific. […]

NEED TO KNOW Friends With Benefits PHILIPPINES American Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo recently joined executives from GreenFire Energy, Google Asia Pacific, […]

NEED TO KNOW Old Wine, New Bottle CAMBODIA American diplomats recently registered their “serious concerns” about Chinese investments in the Ream Naval […]

NEED TO KNOW A Place in the World NORTH KOREA North Korea’s tourism industry shut down during the coronavirus pandemic. Around 100 […]

NEED TO KNOW Kua takoto te Mānuka NEW ZEALAND Courses in the Māori language, te reo, are immensely popular in New Zealand, […]

NEED TO KNOW A Popular Resistance MYANMAR In Nam Hpat Kar in northern Myanmar, a towering golden Buddha statue stands above the […]

NEED TO KNOW Warm and Fuzzy Politics INDONESIA Gen. Prabowo Subianto, 72, who is Indonesia’s defense minister, has pioneered the use of […]