1.) What would be the best currency to use for international transfers from the US to places like India, North Korea, the Middle East.
Bitcoin will still the best cryptocurrency for that purpose but surely you need to make sure about the regulation at the mentioned countries. Afaik India has very strict rules about crypto, the last time I heard that Zebpay which is the biggest exchange in India stopped their service to cash out fiat money to local bank account. Not really sure about the latest news.
2.) How could the recipients turn their crypto into cash without going through a bank? For example, if we sent 10,000 worth of Rupee to India via crypto, how would the end user convert this into Rupee in their country?
Peer to peer would be the best option, or maybe bitcoin ATM (if any).