International Sources

THE RIGHT VIEW - Times of India
(This is the concluding piece of a two-part series on India’s China policy. The first part appeared last week) A nation is as strong as its people. Bombs and other military hardware help to keep the morale high and give a wining-edge feeling, but …

The Himalayas: Over the hills and far away - Daily Telegraph
How do you define luxury? In a world where hotels offering private villas with a pool and butler have become almost commonplace, those blandishments, in themselves, are not enough. Many people are rediscovering luxury in its very absence: that simple …

Get, set, go for 3G - Kuensel Online
8 May, 2008 - Sixty of the estimated 200,000 cellular users in the country have subscribed for Bhutan telecom ltd’s (BTL) 3G services, which allow video calls and high speed internet on cell phones. The service, which was launched on May 5, and is …

Bhutan to allow more tourists, but no bungee jumping - Mail & Guardian Online
The insular Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan aims to boost tourists five-fold but will preserve its cachet as an exclusive destination with no bungee-jumping backpackers allowed, officials say. The small and stunning mountainous nation first welcomed …

The world’s scariest runways - Rediff.com
I t’s 10:45 am on a cloudy day, and the crew of Druk Air flight KB205 is preparing to land at their home airport of Paro, Bhutan. Suddenly, ominous warnings start blaring, alerting them that their flight angle is all wrong and their rate of descent …

Author of ‘Disappearing World’ says choosing tours wisely can help … - Miami Herald
It’s too late to see the great Buddhas of Afghanistan. The prehistoric cave paintings in Lascaux, France, are fading away. Even the Galapagos Islands are changing. You can’t blame tourists for all of that, but we certainly have played our part. Even …

Dratshang defers summer return by a month - Kuensel Online
7 May, 2008 - The central monk body, which was supposed to move from its winter headquarters in Puna Dewachhenpoi Phodrang to their summer residence in Tashichhodzong on the 1st day of the fourth month (yesterday) of the Bhutanese calendar, surprised …

Stagnant water over flows in Calcutta - Trinidad and Tobago’s Newsday
A BLOCKED culvert has been the cause of concern for residents of Calcutta Number Two, in Freeport, for the past six months. According to residents, parts of Calcutta Road have been submerged in dirty, black water, which has backed up onto the road …

Geometry of compassion: Monks build sand mandala at Lincoln-Sudbury - MetroWest Daily News
In a busy corridor at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, the steady grating of metal funnels was the only sound as students gathered behind velvet ropes to watch two Buddhist monks create a mandala, a work of art in which millions of grains of …

Treaty-ing Nepal right must be India’s first priority - Rediff
As a Maoist-led government gets set to assume power in Nepal, Indian authorities are reconciled to overhauling the 58-year-old controversial India-Nepal Peace and Friendship Treaty, which has been blamed for anti-India sentiment in Nepal in recent …

Kuensel - Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Bhutan Observer

bO Column: Miss GNH: Credibility Inc.
I enjoyed reading Khenden Lhamo’s views and comments on my article on the ‘Miss GNH’ pageant. As they say – “Ignorance hurts but never an open debate”.
Khenden Lhamo quotes Lin Chi’s famous words – “if you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him”. As an unashamed dharma bum, I believe any statement without a […]

bO observation: The weekly stupor
Thimphu resembles a bubble. A lubricious fizz wherein toys the tenants of the six realms. There’s a zoo under construction. The irony is the zoo is built by monkeys, and the monkeys are building it so that the lions can occupy it. Who gets caged or fenced in is anyone’s guess. For now, the kings […]

Readers Voice: Spoilt brats and wayward parents
Every parent wants his or her children to do well not only in their studies, but in their lives as well.
It is with this intention that we as parents go to the extent of doing almost anything to help them fulfill their dreams. Sometimes,the good intentions go awfully wrong and we have to ultimately bear […]

Signboards: bringing down democracy
Yesterday was d-day for putting up the new uniform sign boards as mandated by the Thimphu City Corporation but about 100 business outlets resisted the order.
Earlier, the TCC stated that this was as per the instructions of the government and it was streamlined after a discussion with the town committee and the MoWHS. The reasons […]

Did something go wrong, again?
The august Upper House is supposed to be the moral, ethical and apolitical voice of the new political system. The house, more than any other institution, is the conscientious guardian. The Chairperson of the house, therefore,should represent all of the qualities and principles the house should uphold.
The Chairperson, Namgay Penjore , was elected by 13 […]

No show for Indian idol
Indian Idol, Prashant Tamang, and co-contestant Charu were to perform live at the Changjiji ground in Thimphu today but there will not be any show.
Following a confusion of last-minute bureaucratic procedure and protocol, the show has been postponed. Official approval for live musical concert was given, then revoked and the matter was bounced about between […]

Who is getting what?
The pay, allowances and other benefits of the Cabinet Ministers and the MPs are tentatively in place, after much disgruntlement from members and the public.The second meeting of the cabinet ministers (CCM) held on April 29, resolved most of these issues considered pertinent by the members.
Some members expressed relief that they will not have to […]

A ground: no play
Trashigang: It is supposed to be a football ground. Only playing here could get ones feet broken because the ground is littered with boulders and stones.
The only open ground in Trashigang belongs to the Trashigang Middle Secondary School but it remains just a ground, not one that football lovers can enjoy.
The ground has, over the […]

Readers’ Voice: Teachers’ Day – a long drawn tribute
May 2, is perhaps, the only day when teachers realise that a certain group of people still acknowledge their hard work.
When world leaders decided to observe October 5 as World Teachers’ Day in 1994, they wanted to commemorate the signing of the UNESCO/ILO, which stressed the recommendation concerning the status of teachers.
The recommendations, among others, […]

Young volunteers show the way
Pemagatshel: There is nothing like youth in responsible action. This was proven in Pemagatsel on April 20 when 25 girls and 25 boys of the Y-VIA (Youth Volunteers In Action) cleaned up the water tanks and improved drinking water sources at the Nangkor Higher Secondary school, Hospital and Bhutan Telecom.
Apart from cleaning debris, the volunteers […]

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