International Sources
Bhutan’s unique identity – Financial Times
Almost for as long as I could remember, Bhutan had been a dream – and a remarkably familiar one. The old clichés were rolled out again and again: the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH), the compulsory national dress and national … [read more]
Reader postcard from Punakha, Bhutan – Seattle Times
Photographer’s description: The Punakha Dzong is a historic Buddhist monastery in Bhutan. Established in the 1600s, it is the winter home of the country’s Buddhist leader. We visited in May in a collaboration between the University of Washington Burn … [read more]
Bhutanese PM to meet Manmohan Singh next week – Thaindian.com
New Delhi, June 27 (IANS) Bhutanese Prime Minister Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y. Thinley arrives here Tuesday on a four-day visit – the first by a foreign leader to India since the new government took charge last month. With the new Indian government placing … [read more]
India offers $2 mn to Bhutan flood victims – MSN India
New Delhi: India Thursday pledged $2 million for the victims of flash floods in Bhutan and offered its full support to Thimphu to host the 16th Saarc summit in April next year. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh conveyed his sympathies for the loss of … [read more]
NEPAL: Repatriation or resettlement for Bhutanese refugees? – IRIN
BELDANGI, 22 June 2009 (IRIN) – Over the past year thousands of Bhutanese refugees in Nepal have resettled in third countries – mainly the USA – but many others, especially the elderly, hope only for repatriation to Bhutan. Pahalman Bhattarai, aged … [read more]
Bhutanese PM first to visit India during Manmohan’s second term – Thaindian.com
New Delhi, June 29 (IANS) Bhutanese Prime Minister Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y. Thinley will become the first head of a foreign state to visit India during the second tenure of the Manmohan Singh government when he arrives here on a four-day visit Tuesday … [read more]
A Bhutanese in Afghanistan – Kuensel Online
29 June, 2009 – “Nothing moves here without paying bribes,†says one of the rare Bhutanese United Nations’ employees in Afghanistan, Karma Jimba. Karma is among four Bhutanese living and working in war torn Afghanistan. When he first started … [read more]
Nepal: Heartache for wives of Bhutanese refugees – Reliefweb.int
DAMAK, 2 July 2009 (IRIN) – More than a thousand Nepalese women married to Bhutanese refugees fear they may be left out of the third country resettlement programme and end up separated from their families. The UN Refugee Agency (UNCHR), in … [read more]
Bhutan liberalizes FDI laws to attract Indian investors – Economic Times
KOLKATA: Bhutan is keen to attract Indian investors in areas like generation of hydel power, information and communication technology, hospitality, agriculture and infrastructure. With such an objective, the Bhutanese government is liberalizing its … [read more]
Bhutan, India to develop 10 hydel projects by 2020 – New Kerala
Kolkata, June 30: India and Bhutan will jointly develop 10 hydroelectric projects by 2020, according to Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley. “By 2020, the two countries have agreed to develop a little over 11,000 megawatts hydel power green … [read more]
Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper
4 July, 2009 – None of them go to school. None of them have, what we’d call, a job. Yet every morning, they leave home to work. Their work being to comb the city, rummaging around open garbage pits to collect tins, iron, beer and pet bottles. [read more]
4 July, 2009 – Prime minister Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley returned yesterday from his four-day visit to India, which he said, “strengthened bilateral cooperation and time-tested friendship between the two countries.” [read more]
The bad news is the continuing mismatch between formal schooling and the job market
4 July, 2009 – There will be no dearth of jobs for Bhutanese jobseekers, at least until 2013, going by the annual job prospecting report released yesterday. There will be 16,359 jobs available in the 2009-13 period, according to the labour ministry report. The job prospecting exercise is the first one conducted by the labour ministry. [read more]
4 July, 2009 – On July 9, the National Council will deliberate on the Tobacco Control Bill. The bill is not an “urgent bill”, going by the parliament’s prioritisation. Yet, five years after the country imposed the ban on sale of tobacco and tobacco products, there is an urgency to put some legal footing in place. [read more]
The tobacco journey
3 July, 2009 – They work in groups bonded by an activity. Commitment and secrecy is the binding glue. If caught, the one in trouble will take all the blame.
And, rest assured, the group members will bail him/her out. [read more]
Industrialists re-petition for excise duty waiver to survive lean times
3 July, 2009 – Market conditions are starting to favour the steel industries, but those in Pasakha are unable to optimise production to cash in on it – most are producing below their normal or installed production capacity. [read more]
Petrol up by Nu 3.70 after a minimum slash on Wednesday
3 July, 2009 – Three days after the trade department announced a minimal drop in fuel price, the price of petrol has increased by around Nu 3.70 and diesel by about Nu 1.97.
The new price will come into effect from today. [read more]
3 July, 2009 – With just three months left for local government elections, the Tsirang dzongkhag election office is busy.
During the thromdey election, which comes under local government, the mayor (thrompon) and six to nine tshogpas will be elected. [read more]
3 July, 2009 – Heavy rains did not dampen the spirits of the community policing 50 students in the 15-day police-youth partnership program (PYPP) at Phuentsholing on July 1. [read more]
3 July, 2009 – The fact that the two political parties – DPT and PDP – are on the brink of financial breakdown is cause for serious concern in the young democratic Bhutan. The matter deserves national attention. [read more]
Bhutan Observer
Agriculture moved on
Over the past one year, according to what it called the “Triple Gem†approach to agriculture development, the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) has come a long way in enhancing production, access and market thereby increasing food production and income generating products.
The Renewable Natural Resources sector is trying to minimise the marketing cost by connecting the [...] [read more]
At least 300 civil servants in Yangphel archery
More than 30 teams for the 13th Yangphel Archery Tournament are from outside Thimphu. Out of the 924 archers participating in the tournament, up to 45 percent are expected to be civil servants, which means some 300 civil servants are taking part in the tournament.
This year 154 teams have registered for the Yangphel Archery Tournament, [...] [read more]
Tomorrow,Yangphel archery begins
The wait is finally over. The 13th Yangphel Archery Tournament begins tomorrow.
The opening match will be played between Jumlem 6, Gangri Tours and Law Dru at the lower bacho on the Changlingmithang ground in Thimphu tomorrow at 7:30 am. At the upper bacho, Gaa Drak Namgyal, Snipers and Rinpung Charo will clash.
In the afternoon, Talop [...] [read more]
Depleted forest
From the highway, Pemagatshel is all lush, green and dense. But walk into the forest, trees suitable for timber are few and far between, making them dear for the people.
It may look like the result of mismanagement on the part of the local people. It is not. It is the result of a government programme [...] [read more]
Dasho Karma Ura resigns
His Majesty approved resignation of Dasho Karma Ura as a National Council member on kidu grounds following which he informed the Chairperson of the National Council on July 1.
Dasho said that he had to resign owing to occasional health disruptions.
“I would like to direct my efforts where there is space and it is more beneficial,†[...] [read more]
160-km drive for water
It is Saturday evening in Pasakha, Phuentsholing, and everyone is planning for a relaxed Sunday. But for Naku Dukpa, it is time to go to Shaba Tomja in Paro where his family of four lives.
Naku is an employee of Tashi Beverages. Every Saturday, he drives 160 km to Paro to do an important task. On [...] [read more]
Each day, six road accidents
On average, there are six serious vehicle accidents in Thimphu every day. Last week, there were two deaths caused by vehicle accidents.
According to the traffic division of the police, a minimum of 30 people are caught every day violating traffic rules.
Major Passang Dorji, the Superintendent Police of traffic division, said accidents could be avoided if [...] [read more]
Gearing towards community policing
Four police officers have been sent to Japan as part of setting up a pilot community policing programme.
The officers will learn and observe the crime prevention activities that have been carried out in Japan. Upon their arrival back home, they will submit their study findings to the cabinet.
If the proposal is accepted, the community policing [...] [read more]
A guide to flowers of Bhutan
The effort made by Wangchuk, an untrained Botanist, for his first book A pictorial guide to the wild flowers of Bhutan is commendable. The book is the first of its kind written by a Bhutanese author. Most people, who study taxonomy, know how daunting it is to collect data on classification and identification. The four [...] [read more]
What cable operators broadcast
With an estimated 30,000 cable subscribers and 52 cable operators in 2008, there is a growing public concern over the contents broadcast by cable operators in their local channels. There seems to be a lack of stringent regulation for content broadcast by the local channels, which is evident in the quality of their broadcast.
According to [...] [read more]
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