Highest percentage population of foreign-born residents

Vatican City has 100% foreign-born residents, but leaving that out, the countries with the highest percentage of foreign-born residents are UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait.  Immigrants account for 88% of UAE's population, as of 2017.

Pratibha Patil

Pratibha Patil was elected President of India in 2007, becoming the first woman president, and served until 2012.  Patil’s presidency was relatively quiet, but it was not without controversy, especially for her use of government funds. She was criticized for the large number of trips she took overseas, often accompanied by relatives.

Harris Treaty

The Harris Treaty was a 1958 agreement that provided for the opening of five ports to U.S. trade, in addition to those opened in 1854 as a result of the Treaty of Kanagawa; it also exempted U.S. citizens living in the ports from the jurisdiction of Japanese law, guaranteed them religious freedom, and arranged for diplomatic representation and a tariff agreement between the United States and Japan.

Tallest statue in the world

The tallest statue in the world is the Statue of Unity in Gujarat, India, which is 182 meters, or 597 feet tall.  It depicts Indian statesman and independence activist Vallabhbhai Patel (1875–1950), who was the first deputy prime minister and home minister of independent India and an adherent of Mahatma Gandhi.

The chau gong

The thing I learned today was that the name of the Chinese gong used in Western orchestras is called the Chau gong, or tam-tam.

Puja

The thing I learned today is that a puja is a Hindu prayer ritual performed at weddings, births, temple ceremonies, and so on, to commemorate the event.  The activities of the puja vary by school of Hinduism and by the occasion; it may involve libation, chanting, bowing, offering food to a deity, lighting incense sticks, and so on.

Haganah

The thing I learned today is that the Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization from 1920 to 1948 in British Palestine.  It was preceded by the Hashomar and, after the Haganah was disbanded in 1948, replaced with the IDF.

Minamata disease is a neurological condition brought on by severe mercury poisoning. Ataxia, numbness, paralysis, loss of senses, and muscle weakness are all symptoms. It is named after a Japanese city where the Chisso company opened a chemical plant in 1908.

The Medes were an ancient Iranian people with an empire flourishing in 6th century BC. They were eventually supplanted by Cyrus and the Persian Empire.

Bangladeshi national anthem

Rabindranath Tagore wrote the words to the national anthems of both Bangladesh ("Amar Shonar Bangla") and India ("Jana Gana Mana").

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates located on the Persian Gulf. It is made up of the capital Abu Dhabi (by far the largest in area), Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain (at 62,000 people the least populous of the seven). Here is a mnemonic for them: Apu Doubles Fudge, Rassles Sharks, Um... Quickly.

The shamisen, or samisen, also called samsen, is the three-stringed instrument used by geishas.

The Moro are an indigenous Muslim population in the Philippines, compromising about 5-10% of the total population. There is an organization called the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) which demands autonomy for the Moro peoples.

Edo

Edo is the former name of Tokyo, becoming the stronghold of power of Japan in 1603.  On September 3, 1868, the name was changed to Tokyo.

The first prime minister of Japan, Ito Hirobumi, was also PM four more times (the 5th, 7th, and 10th). First taking office when the position was established in 1885, Ito was a samurai who was later assassinated by a Korean nationalist.

The West Bank is so called because it is the area west of the Jordan River. It was coined to differentiate the area from the east bank, which was called the Transjordan.

The origin of the name of Seoul is probably derived from an old Korean word, seo'ul, meaning "capital city." Or perhaps it is an abbreviation of Seorabeol, a name for an ancient local capital. The exact origins are uncertain. An alternate name, Gyeongseong, also means "capital city," and that doesn't seem akin to "Seoul" at all. Hmmm.

Sriracha hot sauce is named after the Thai city of Si Racha. It is also known as rooster sauce because of the bird on the bottle.

Nathuram Godse was the Hindu radical who killed Mohandas Gandhi on January 30, 1848. He was an RSS activist who ran a radical newspaper.

Doha is the capital and largest city of Qatar. Its name is derived from the Arabic for "big tree." Those Qataris sure have a lot of dough, ha!