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.

The guide to luxury Bhutan (Times Online)
It was a disturbing scene. Three half-naked men, all wearing hideous carved masks, were running towards me, brandishing wooden phalluses the size of monkey wrenches. On my right, a shaven-headed monk mumbled a monotone mantra while striking a pair of discordant cymbals.

Vigilant guard foils inside job (Kuensel)
27 February, 2008 - The Bhutan Power Corporation limited (BPCL) has suspended 15 employees for attempting to lift steel material from their storehouse in Jungshina, Thimphu on January 31. Of the 15, four were working on a daily wage system, while the rest were technicians.

Folklife Festival to Feature Texas, NASA and Bhutan (WTOP Radio Network)
This year’s festival will feature the food music and wine of the Lone Star state. It also celebrate NASA’s 50th anniversary and will explore the arts and crafts of the Himalayan country Bhutan.

A rights groups criticises Bhutan govt for action against minorities (Nepalnews. com)
A report by a rights group has criticised the Druk regime in Bhutan for a spate of crackdown and arrest of minorities.

Bhutan: Start Of Government Crackdown (Scoop.co.nz)
Like in early ninety’s, the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGOB) started crackdown in Bhutan.

Landlines go under - cellulars soar (Kuensel)
26 February, 2008 - Before Ugyen left for Lobesa, Punakha, on an official assignment, he checked to see if the email connection on his computer was working. His plan was to email his document rather than fax it.

Bhutan security forces bust two Maoist militant camps (Islamic Republic News Agency)
India - Bhutan - Crackdown Bhutan’s security forces have busted two Maoist militant camps and captured at least eight Communist rebels with weapons in a crackdown that began last week, Bhutanese authorities said Thursday.

Maoist camps busted in Bhutan, eight rebels captured (New Kerala)
By Syed Zarir Hussain, Guwahati, Feb 21 : Bhutan’s security forces have busted two Maoist militant camps and have captured at least eight rebels with weapons in a crackdown that began last week, Bhutanese authorities said Thursday.

A Kingdom in the Mountains Shares Its Secrets (New York Times)
Rounding up artifacts and traditions from the remote country of Bhutan for an exhibition took a years-long effort from a team of experts.

Scholarship criterion constant
27 February, 2008 - Education officials have said that students, applying for government undergraduate scholarships in professional studies outside the country, will need a minimum score of 55 percent in English, refuting rumours that the qualifying mark had been reduced.

It’s back to (school for) the future

27 February, 2008 - 160,000 children returned to schools on Monday for the start of another academic session

Vigilant guard foils inside job
27 February, 2008 - The Bhutan Power Corporation limited (BPCL) has suspended 15 employees for attempting to lift steel material from their storehouse in Jungshina, Thimphu on January 31. Of the 15, four were working on a daily wage system, while the rest were technicians.

“Dragon’s gift” opens in Honolulu

The 7th to 8th century seated goddess, Kongtsedemo

27 February, 2008 - About 5,000 islanders of Honolulu got an insight into Bhutan when the “Dragon’s Gift: the Sacred Arts of Bhutan”, one of the most highly anticipated exhibition on Buddhist arts formally opened to the public yesterday at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, USA.

Yonphula airstrip

27 February, 2008 - Yonphula airstrip, also a favourite Sherubtsean picnic spot, gets spruced up. (For future domestic flights?)

Sharing treasures
27 February, 2008 - Bhutan, in all its beauty and sacred grandeur, is being introduced to the world, beginning in the United States this week. “The Dragon’s Gift”, the largest exhibition of rare Bhutanese artifacts put together so far, is expected to give viewers an insight into Bhutanese culture and spiritual heritage, as well as an idea of the history that the kingdom has preserved.

Landlines go under - cellulars soar

26 February, 2008 - Before Ugyen left for Lobesa, Punakha, on an official assignment, he checked to see if the email connection on his computer was working. His plan was to email his document rather than fax it.

Necessity, the mother of invention

Devi Charan with his brainwave

26 February, 2008 - Unlike in the past, Devi Charan Baraily does not have to strain his eyes studying for his exams under a dimly lit kerosene lamp or find his nostrils soot-stained in the morning from the smoke arising from the lamp.

Thimphu's changing cityspace
Redefining traditional architecture with modern expression

25 February, 2008 - Thimphu’s face is changing.

Yes, there are still long rows of matchbox-like houses, that seem to be built purely for rental income at minimum cost, but there are also many new structures where some thought seems to have gone into aesthetics. You can see this as you stroll along Norzin Lam, Thimphu’s main thoroughfare.

Then I Saw Her Face
The wide sun twinkles
behind willow branches,
which sway gently in the late afternoon breeze. A group of sparrows twitters from out of sight. In the distance, a horse neighs twice and another reciprocates faintly as if in a dream. Then dogs start to howl. I pull the blanket over my head, trying to shut them out; sleep is an expensive affair.

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