A Wan Smile
NEED TO KNOW A Wan Smile THAILAND A single clinic on Thailand’s border receives 500 refugees fleeing neighboring Myanmar’s civil war every […]
Plows to Swords
NEED TO KNOW Plows to Swords JAPAN A recent survey found that more than 92 percent of Japanese respondents held unfavorable views […]
My Enemy, Myself
NEED TO KNOW My Enemy, Myself RUSSIA/ TAJIKISTAN Life in Russia has become difficult for migrants from Tajikistan and other Central Asian […]
Kitchen-Table Politics
NEED TO KNOW Kitchen-Table Politics INDIA The upcoming parliamentary election in India is expected to go well for Prime Minister Narendra Modi […]
The Cost of Allegiance
NEED TO KNOW The Cost of Allegiance SOLOMON ISLANDS Parliamentary and local elections in the Solomon Islands on April 17 are yet […]
The Wedge Between Two Giants
NEED TO KNOW The Wedge Between Two Giants MALDIVES In January, the president of the Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu, suspended ex-Deputy Youth Minister […]
The Third Wheel
NEED TO KNOW The Third Wheel SOUTH KOREA Politicians from the ruling People Power Party and the opposition Democratic Party have traditionally […]
Putin-ification
NEED TO KNOW Putin-ification KYRGYZSTAN Between 2005 and 2020, the former Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan had five presidential transitions of power. Three […]
Blazing Furnace
NEED TO KNOW Blazing Furnace VIETNAM Although the president of Vietnam, Vo Van Thuong, resigned on March 20 for undisclosed reasons, he […]
Echoes of a Boom
NEED TO KNOW Echoes of a Boom MARSHALL ISLANDS March 1 is Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Day in the South Pacific. […]
Friends With Benefits
NEED TO KNOW Friends With Benefits PHILIPPINES American Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo recently joined executives from GreenFire Energy, Google Asia Pacific, […]
Old Wine, New Bottle
NEED TO KNOW Old Wine, New Bottle CAMBODIA American diplomats recently registered their “serious concerns” about Chinese investments in the Ream Naval […]
A Place in the World
NEED TO KNOW A Place in the World NORTH KOREA North Korea’s tourism industry shut down during the coronavirus pandemic. Around 100 […]
Kua takoto te Mānuka
NEED TO KNOW Kua takoto te Mānuka NEW ZEALAND Courses in the Māori language, te reo, are immensely popular in New Zealand, […]
A Popular Resistance
NEED TO KNOW A Popular Resistance MYANMAR In Nam Hpat Kar in northern Myanmar, a towering golden Buddha statue stands above the […]
Warm and Fuzzy Politics
NEED TO KNOW Warm and Fuzzy Politics INDONESIA Gen. Prabowo Subianto, 72, who is Indonesia’s defense minister, has pioneered the use of […]
Skidding Off the Rails
NEED TO KNOW Skidding Off the Rails PAKISTAN Late last month, courts in Pakistan in different rulings convicted ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan […]
Target Practice
NEED TO KNOW Target Practice BALUCHISTAN Iran and Pakistan fired missiles and drones at each other this month ostensibly to kill separatists […]
All That Glitters …
NEED TO KNOW All That Glitters … BRUNEI Prince Abdul Mateen of the small Southeast Asian nation of Brunei was described in […]
Gross National Gloom
NEED TO KNOW Gross National Gloom BHUTAN In Bhutan’s recent elections – the fourth since 2008, when the Himalayan nation replaced its […]
The Loss of Patience
NEED TO KNOW The Loss of Patience TAIWAN Taiwan’s general election on Jan. 13 will have major implications for the small country […]
My Rival, My Friend
NEED TO KNOW My Rival, My Friend AUSTRALIA The AUKUS deal signed in 2021 by Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United […]
The Fix Is In
NEED TO KNOW The Fix Is In BANGLADESH The prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, recently launched her ruling Awami League party’s […]
A Matter of Taste
NEED TO KNOW A Matter of Taste SOUTH KOREA Bruno, Max, Mia, Nana, Raspberry, Roxy, Trudy, and Zelda were not originally supposed […]