ECB clears PDP’s South Thimphu candidate of allegations (Kuensel)
1 March, 2008 - The Election Commission of Bhutan has reprimanded the People’s Democratic Party’s South Thimphu candidate, Sonam Tobgay Dorji, for his failure to conduct himself in a manner expected of a candidate but has cleared him of allegations that he had donated Nu 200,000 to a lhakhang in his constituency in August last year.

U.S. Resettlement Offer For Bhutanese Refugees (Scoop.co.nz)
According to Bhutan’s State media on 21 February 2008, the Bhutanese security forces arrested eight people from the Nepali speaking minority in Bhutan. They were detained in connection with a series of bombings apparently aimed at disrupting the forthcoming elections.

WNYC’s gift to Bhutan (New York Daily News)
Andrea Bernstein of WNYC has spent the last week in Bhutan, training 20 reporters how to cover the election campaign that none has ever experienced.

Je Khenpo on first tour of the year (Kuensel)
1 March, 2008 - In the first major religious tour of the male earth rat year, His Holiness the 70th Je Khenpo, Trulku Jigme Chhoeda, left Punakha Dzong yesterday to visit eastern and central Bhutan on a 40-day programme.

Correction: A Kingdom in the Mountains Shares Its Secrets (New York Times)
Because of an editing error, an article last Sunday about a Honolulu Academy of Arts exhibition on religion and ritual in Bhutan misidentified the nationality of Dr. Reda Sobky, an expert on Buddhist iconography who advised the show’s curators.

Bhutan team to arrive today (The Hindu)
KOCHI: The Bhutan team will land in Kochi on Sunday for the first South Asian athletic championship which begins at the Maharaja’s College Stadium here on March 7. The three-member team, all men, will be the first foreign squad to …

Feb 29, 2008 (Current (Public Broadcasting))
Excuse me, what is that music you play when you read the stock figures? While WNYC’s Andrea Bernstein is tutoring journalists in Bhutan (earlier item), Marketplace reporter Lisa Napoli has a Bhutanese radio producer shadowing her while she subs as morning host for the APM business newscast.

Bhutan haven for Maoists, N-E ultras (Hindustan Times)
Democracy has its downside. That’s what monarchial Bhutan is finding out along the porous 605 km border it shares with India. So are the Indian states bordering the Himalayan country, specially militancy-scarred Assam.

Royal Bhutan Army Goes On Arrest Spree In Bhutan (Scoop.co.nz)
As reported the Royal Bhutan Army (RBA) in Sarbhang like in ninety’s started crackdown in the villages and arresting people on suspicion of allegedly helping the so called militants and also keeping or meeting relatives from the refugee camps in Nepal.

Bhutanese monks to perform ritual dance in Honolulu (Honolulu Advertiser)
As part of the opening of “The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan,” every day this week at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., monks will perform Cham, the Buddhist ritual dances of Bhutan, in Central Court at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

ECB clears PDP’s South Thimphu candidate of allegations
1 March, 2008 - The Election Commission of Bhutan has reprimanded the People’s Democratic Party’s South Thimphu candidate, Sonam Tobgay Dorji, for his failure to conduct himself in a manner expected of a candidate but has cleared him of allegations that he had donated Nu 200,000 to a lhakhang in his constituency in August last year.

ECB disqualifies PDP’s Gelephu constituency candidate
1 March, 2008 - The Election Commission of Bhutan has cancelled the nomination of Garab Dorji, the People’s Democratic Party’s candidate for Gelephu Constituency, on the grounds that he had carried out activites with the aim of creating sectarian and regional discord, and ill will among different communities for political gain.

We want more
1 March, 2008 - With the general election drawing closer, the stress level among politicians appears to be rising, and the exchange of allegations is flowing faster. But, at this stage, we would like to think that it is more of a bark than a bite.

Fire season sparks off

Paro’s burnt out skeleton of once proud Dogsum lhakhang

1 March, 2008 - A 300-year-old lhakhang was razed to the ground by a forest, fire that started 11:30 on Thursday, above Satsam Chorten in Paro, and has still not been brought under control.

Sangay Ngedup: PDP giving confidence to the people
1 March, 2008 - The president of the People’s Democratic Party, Sangay Ngedup, made his first visit to the south-eastern dzongkhag of Samdrup Jongkhar this week, generating much excitement among voters. Ardent PDP supporters feel that the visit would help the party maintain its support in the 11 gewogs of the dzongkhag.

Jigmi Thinley: DPT not promoting fear
1 March, 2008 - The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) president, Jigmi Y Thinley, in response to the allegation that he was using fear tactics to win votes, said that it was untrue and he was merely making voters aware of the pitfalls that may lay on the path to democracy in Bhutan. He said he has never attacked the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).

A furore over ‘fear’
1 March, 2008 - The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa’s dzongkhag coordinators in Trongsa say that they are ready to bear the consequences if it can be proven that their party has been promoting fear among voters, as alleged by PDP supporters in Trongsa.

Je Khenpo on first tour of the year

1 March, 2008 - In the first major religious tour of the male earth rat year, His Holiness the 70th Je Khenpo, Trulku Jigme Chhoeda, left Punakha Dzong yesterday to visit eastern and central Bhutan on a 40-day programme.

SC complex - Back to square one?
Government takes over; private sector cries foul

The location of the contentious Supreme Court complex construction

29 February, 2008 - The construction of the Supreme Court complex in Thimphu, which has been embroiled in delays and controversy over the bidding process for the past year, will now be undertaken by the government, say judiciary officials.

Furniture proliferates

28 February, 2008 - Gone are the days when we used to ask our carpenters to make furniture for us. With the increase in the number of people in the city, furniture showrooms have sprouted, supplying one with an array of furniture in all kinds of designs.

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