Archive for the 'News Archives' Category



Bhutan News archive for 02 September 2010

Thursday 2 September 2010 @ 4:04 pm

International Sources

30,000 Bhutanese refugees resettled in US - Himalayan Times
KATHMANDU: The United States has so far resettled 30,000 Bhutanese refugees, with 5,000 others elsewhere during the on-going large scale resettlement of Bhutanese refugees to several countries around the …    [read more]

Agnes Scott enrolls record freshman class - Atlanta Journal Constitution
The private women’s college in Decatur has 265 first-year students and the number may increase slightly, officials said. The previous record was 257 first-years in the fall of 2000. The students come from …    [read more]

Immigrants Weave New Connections Through Old Looms - msnbc.com
Old wooden looms sat unused at an arts center in Cleveland for more than 20 years - until an Ohio woman started weekly weaving workshops where Bhutanese women practice English and learn American-style weaving. Rebecca …    [read more]

Two Buddhist teachers coming to Salt Lake City this month - Salt Lake Tribune
Two prominent Buddhist teachers — one a monk and the other a lama — will be in Salt Lake City for separate events Sept. 18 and 19. His Holiness Katog Getse Rinpoche, one of five reincarnate masters at Katag Gonpa …    [read more]

Check on Jefferson County parolee’s home finds meth labs - Everything Alabama Blog
A check up on a Alabama parolee in eastern Jefferson County turned up three active methamphetamine labs and led to the arrest of five people. Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies assisted the Alabama State …    [read more]

Ten Things I Learned in Vietnam - Huffingtonpost.com
I have just returned from a two-week trip to Vietnam including Ho Chi Minh City, Ke Ga Bay south of Phan Thiet, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue, Halong Bay and Hanoi. Up until this visit, I had always thought the Bhutanese …    [read more]

Passions and Detachment in Journalism - New York Times Blogs
Last week, in writing about James Hansen’s essay on why he became a climate campaigner after decades working as a NASA climate scientist, I promised to post a lecture I gave in 2005 at Willamette …    [read more]

Growth for the sake of happiness - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
NEW YORK - I have just returned from Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom of unmatched natural beauty, cultural richness and inspiring self-reflection. From the kingdom’s uniqueness now arises a set of economic and social …    [read more]

Corrected: When getting away means staying in touch - msnbc.com
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - People used to go on holiday to unplug. Now they’re demanding to be plugged in. That secluded, desert island-type getaway may soon be as dated as the post-vacation slide show as more travelers …    [read more]

Immigrant clients at Mid-County Health Center now greeted by multicultural art exhibit - Oregonian
View full size Faith Cathcart/The Oregonian Kwa Franklin, a native of Cameroon, stands beside his painting, “Tears of Joy,” which is one of 44 pieces of art on display as part of the Multicultural Art Wall …    [read more]

Kuensel - Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Big amounts, bigger opportunities
Community contracting gets a shot in the arm

31 August, 2010 - A gup can do more for his community today. He can now dish out almost thirty times the amount he was authorised to earlier.    [read more]

Opening ‘em with caution
Safeguarding the community and its culture

31 August, 2010 - Even as the remote nomadic communities of Merak and Sakteng in Trashigang open to tourism officially tomorrow, home ministry officials see an urgent need to draw up measures to safeguard its arcane customs and culture.    [read more]

Indo-Bhutan cooperation talks
31 August, 2010 - A high level delegation team led by the foreign secretary, Daw Penjo, will be in New Delhi, India, for the annual Bhutan-Indo development cooperation talks on September 1 and 2.During the talks, the two governments will review the progress in the implementation of the government of India ( GoI) assisted projects in Bhutan during the 10th Plan.    [read more]

Dr Vandana Shiva to share experiences on organic farming
31 August, 2010 - Dr Vandana Shiva, a recipient of Right Livelihood Award, will share her experiences and knowledge on organic agriculture at a seminar on September 9 in Thimphu.    [read more]

Still blocked
Gelephu-Zhemgang road 31 August, 2010 - Falling boulders and mudslides had hampered road-clearing work on the Zhemgang Gelephu highway, which had been blocked since August 26.
   [read more]

Gravitating away from government
31 August, 2010 - So, young professionals, who have the qualification and working experience, are leaving the civil service for other options.    [read more]

The costliest connection
Nu 15M was spent in linking up the northernmost gewog as part of BT’s social mandate
Sky High: Transportation costs made it an expensive business Photo: Tenzin Dorji

B-Mobile in Laya 31 August, 2010 - Layaps may have access to the cheapest mobile phones from across the border, but reaching the service to the northernmost gewog was the most expensive, according to B-Mobile officials.    [read more]

An 8-year long wait for an upgrade
Grade I would mean a permanent doctor, an ambulance & etc.
A Relic Of The ‘70s: The five-room BHU with a small two-bed ward behind it was set up by the Norwegian mission

Khaling BHU 31 August, 2010 - It was more than eight years ago when villagers of Khaling gewog in Trashigang first heard their basic health unit would be upgraded to grade one status.

   [read more]

Five acquitted in bribery case
31 August, 2010 - The Phuentsholing dungkhag court on August 5 acquitted two regional customs officials and three employees of the Bhutan brewery Pvt. Ltd charged by police for their alleged involvement in a bribery case earlier this year.    [read more]

Towards analytical reporting
4-day workshop for 14 reporters organised by the Bhutan centre for media and democracy

Enterprise Reporting Training 31 August, 2010 - The emphasis on the role of journalism in a fledgling democracy has been stated time and again to a point that it has begun to sound almost like a clich.    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Nganglam needs the same favours
Sir, Nganglam is a growing town in Pemagatshel. The Gyalpoizhing-Nganglam road and Dungsam Cement Project, which are under construc­tion, are going to be a huge economic boost for the place. Soon, it will become like Phuentsholing, Gelephu and Samdrupjonkhar. Even then, there are accom­modation problems. Contrac­tors, private employees, and government servants working here face a […]    [read more]

Yangphel open archery tournament in the quarters
The quarter finals of the Yangphel Archery Tourna­ment begin today. 24 teams, comprising 14 winners and 10 wild card en­tries from the knockout round two, will play the quarter finals. The quarter finalists are grouped into eight pools. Winners from each pool will proceed to the semi-finals with one lucky team on wild card entry. […]    [read more]

Meet the wicked lady of Bhutanese films
Known for her negative roles in Bhutanese films, Aum Lhamo is the wicked lady of the film industry. She has acted in 30 films, mostly as a stern mother, for which she won two awards during the annual national film awards in 2002 and 2009. But Aum Lhamo in real life is just the opposite […]    [read more]

From dung to clean energy
To address the local energy demand and national energy security, a biogas pilot project will be started in Samtse, Chukha, Sarpang and Tsirang from early 2011 for a period of five years. Targeting 1,600 domes­tic households, the biogas technology will convert cattle dung into clean and renew­able gas to replace firewood, kerosene and LPG. Dr […]    [read more]

Contractors appeal to PM to solve stone shortage crisis
Contractors in Trongsa have recently appealed to the Prime Minister to help solve the dire shortage of boulders and aggregates in the dzong­khag. According to the contrac­tors, the shortage became acute after Natural Resources Development Corporation Limited (NRDCL) took over mining authorities from the Department of Forests (DoF). Dawa, a contractor from Trongsa, said that […]    [read more]

Villagers cry foul of farm road alignment
The people of Samdrup Choling Dungkhag in Samdrup Jongkhar are at loggerheads with the dungkhag authorities over the construction of a 13-km farm road in the dungkhag. The people claim that the dzongkhag, dungkhag and the gewog have realigned the road without their consent. Earlier, in a meeting chaired by Samdrup Choling Dungpa, it had […]    [read more]

Tor Jap – hurling ritual cakes
“Woi!!! I have to teach the people of Jew a lesson.” This is how the Paro Penlop Tshering Penjor (r.1918-1949) reacted when he heard gunshots from his camp. According to oral sources, the sound of the gun not only ignited the interest of the governor in an ancient Tantric Buddhist ceremony of ritual cake hurling […]    [read more]

PTC teachers need professional incentives
We the PTC teach­ers serving in different parts of our country would like to extend our heartfelt grati­tude firstly to the Ministry of Education for providing us various in-country training opportunities to upgrade our qualification. Secondly, we are also grateful to the RCSC and the agencies concerned for lifting us equally to the level of […]    [read more]

Tudors win easy over Aspens
Tudors had an easy win over Aspens during the Open Sum­mer Basketball Champion­ship’s super-league round on August 25 in Thimphu. Tudors thrashed Aspens 53-28. Aspens took the lead in the first-quarter but Tudors came back strong in the next two quarters. In the fourth-quarter, Tudors took an as­tounding lead with 38 points to Aspens’ 8. […]    [read more]

136 power tillers distributed
Out of 152 power tillers received through KR-II, a Japanese grant scheme for de­veloping countries to increase food production, 136 have been allotted to farmers from different dzongkhags (see table). An official from Agriculture Machinery Centre in Paro said that the existing functional farmer’s group with clear agriculture production and development plan will be given […]    [read more]




Bhutan News archive for 01 September 2010

Wednesday 1 September 2010 @ 5:04 pm

International Sources

Number of Bhutanese refugees leaving Nepal for US to hit 30,000 - Earthtimes
Kathmandu - The number of Bhutanese refugees who have departed Nepal for the United States is to reach 30,000 this week, the US embassy in Nepal said Wednesday. The United States along with the United …    [read more]

Check on Jefferson County parolee’s home finds meth labs - Everything Alabama Blog
A check up on a Alabama parolee in eastern Jefferson County turned up three active methamphetamine labs and led to the arrest of five people. Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies assisted the Alabama State …    [read more]

Immigrants Weave New Connections Through Old Looms - msnbc.com
Old wooden looms sat unused at an arts center in Cleveland for more than 20 years - until an Ohio woman started weekly weaving workshops where Bhutanese women practice English and learn American-style weaving. Rebecca …    [read more]

Ten Things I Learned in Vietnam - Huffingtonpost.com
I have just returned from a two-week trip to Vietnam including Ho Chi Minh City, Ke Ga Bay south of Phan Thiet, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue, Halong Bay and Hanoi. Up until this visit, I had always thought the Bhutanese …    [read more]

Passions and Detachment in Journalism - New York Times Blogs
Last week, in writing about James Hansen’s essay on why he became a climate campaigner after decades working as a NASA climate scientist, I promised to post a lecture I gave in 2005 at Willamette …    [read more]

Growth for the sake of happiness - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
NEW YORK - I have just returned from Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom of unmatched natural beauty, cultural richness and inspiring self-reflection. From the kingdom’s uniqueness now arises a set of economic and social …    [read more]

Corrected: When getting away means staying in touch - msnbc.com
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - People used to go on holiday to unplug. Now they’re demanding to be plugged in. That secluded, desert island-type getaway may soon be as dated as the post-vacation slide show as more …    [read more]

Immigrant clients at Mid-County Health Center now greeted by multicultural art exhibit - Oregonian
View full size Faith Cathcart/The Oregonian Kwa Franklin, a native of Cameroon, stands beside his painting, “Tears of Joy,” which is one of 44 pieces of art on display as part of the Multicultural Art Wall …    [read more]

Asia’s glaciers in retreat, could signal crop failure and flooding in the future - USA Today
Asia’s glaciers are retreating, which could mean drought, plus crop losses upstream and flood conditions downstream for millions of people. A report published by the U.S. Geological Survey , in …    [read more]

A newsmaker you should know: Busy college student still finds time to volunteer - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Looking back, 21-year-old Marie Berube can trace her desire to help others back to the time when a Vietnamese family moved into her neighborhood when she was 2. She grew up with that family’s children on Troy Hill …    [read more]

Kuensel - Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Big amounts, bigger opportunities
Community contracting gets a shot in the arm

31 August, 2010 - A gup can do more for his community today. He can now dish out almost thirty times the amount he was authorised to earlier.    [read more]

Opening ‘em with caution
Safeguarding the community and its culture

31 August, 2010 - Even as the remote nomadic communities of Merak and Sakteng in Trashigang open to tourism officially tomorrow, home ministry officials see an urgent need to draw up measures to safeguard its arcane customs and culture.    [read more]

Indo-Bhutan cooperation talks
31 August, 2010 - A high level delegation team led by the foreign secretary, Daw Penjo, will be in New Delhi, India, for the annual Bhutan-Indo development cooperation talks on September 1 and 2.During the talks, the two governments will review the progress in the implementation of the government of India ( GoI) assisted projects in Bhutan during the 10th Plan.    [read more]

Dr Vandana Shiva to share experiences on organic farming
31 August, 2010 - Dr Vandana Shiva, a recipient of Right Livelihood Award, will share her experiences and knowledge on organic agriculture at a seminar on September 9 in Thimphu.    [read more]

Still blocked
Gelephu-Zhemgang road 31 August, 2010 - Falling boulders and mudslides had hampered road-clearing work on the Zhemgang Gelephu highway, which had been blocked since August 26.
   [read more]

Gravitating away from government
31 August, 2010 - So, young professionals, who have the qualification and working experience, are leaving the civil service for other options.    [read more]

The costliest connection
Nu 15M was spent in linking up the northernmost gewog as part of BT’s social mandate
Sky High: Transportation costs made it an expensive business Photo: Tenzin Dorji

B-Mobile in Laya 31 August, 2010 - Layaps may have access to the cheapest mobile phones from across the border, but reaching the service to the northernmost gewog was the most expensive, according to B-Mobile officials.    [read more]

An 8-year long wait for an upgrade
Grade I would mean a permanent doctor, an ambulance & etc.
A Relic Of The ‘70s: The five-room BHU with a small two-bed ward behind it was set up by the Norwegian mission

Khaling BHU 31 August, 2010 - It was more than eight years ago when villagers of Khaling gewog in Trashigang first heard their basic health unit would be upgraded to grade one status.

   [read more]

Five acquitted in bribery case
31 August, 2010 - The Phuentsholing dungkhag court on August 5 acquitted two regional customs officials and three employees of the Bhutan brewery Pvt. Ltd charged by police for their alleged involvement in a bribery case earlier this year.    [read more]

Towards analytical reporting
4-day workshop for 14 reporters organised by the Bhutan centre for media and democracy

Enterprise Reporting Training 31 August, 2010 - The emphasis on the role of journalism in a fledgling democracy has been stated time and again to a point that it has begun to sound almost like a clich.    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Nganglam needs the same favours
Sir, Nganglam is a growing town in Pemagatshel. The Gyalpoizhing-Nganglam road and Dungsam Cement Project, which are under construc­tion, are going to be a huge economic boost for the place. Soon, it will become like Phuentsholing, Gelephu and Samdrupjonkhar. Even then, there are accom­modation problems. Contrac­tors, private employees, and government servants working here face a […]    [read more]

Yangphel open archery tournament in the quarters
The quarter finals of the Yangphel Archery Tourna­ment begin today. 24 teams, comprising 14 winners and 10 wild card en­tries from the knockout round two, will play the quarter finals. The quarter finalists are grouped into eight pools. Winners from each pool will proceed to the semi-finals with one lucky team on wild card entry. […]    [read more]

Meet the wicked lady of Bhutanese films
Known for her negative roles in Bhutanese films, Aum Lhamo is the wicked lady of the film industry. She has acted in 30 films, mostly as a stern mother, for which she won two awards during the annual national film awards in 2002 and 2009. But Aum Lhamo in real life is just the opposite […]    [read more]

From dung to clean energy
To address the local energy demand and national energy security, a biogas pilot project will be started in Samtse, Chukha, Sarpang and Tsirang from early 2011 for a period of five years. Targeting 1,600 domes­tic households, the biogas technology will convert cattle dung into clean and renew­able gas to replace firewood, kerosene and LPG. Dr […]    [read more]

Contractors appeal to PM to solve stone shortage crisis
Contractors in Trongsa have recently appealed to the Prime Minister to help solve the dire shortage of boulders and aggregates in the dzong­khag. According to the contrac­tors, the shortage became acute after Natural Resources Development Corporation Limited (NRDCL) took over mining authorities from the Department of Forests (DoF). Dawa, a contractor from Trongsa, said that […]    [read more]

Villagers cry foul of farm road alignment
The people of Samdrup Choling Dungkhag in Samdrup Jongkhar are at loggerheads with the dungkhag authorities over the construction of a 13-km farm road in the dungkhag. The people claim that the dzongkhag, dungkhag and the gewog have realigned the road without their consent. Earlier, in a meeting chaired by Samdrup Choling Dungpa, it had […]    [read more]

Tor Jap – hurling ritual cakes
“Woi!!! I have to teach the people of Jew a lesson.” This is how the Paro Penlop Tshering Penjor (r.1918-1949) reacted when he heard gunshots from his camp. According to oral sources, the sound of the gun not only ignited the interest of the governor in an ancient Tantric Buddhist ceremony of ritual cake hurling […]    [read more]

PTC teachers need professional incentives
We the PTC teach­ers serving in different parts of our country would like to extend our heartfelt grati­tude firstly to the Ministry of Education for providing us various in-country training opportunities to upgrade our qualification. Secondly, we are also grateful to the RCSC and the agencies concerned for lifting us equally to the level of […]    [read more]

Tudors win easy over Aspens
Tudors had an easy win over Aspens during the Open Sum­mer Basketball Champion­ship’s super-league round on August 25 in Thimphu. Tudors thrashed Aspens 53-28. Aspens took the lead in the first-quarter but Tudors came back strong in the next two quarters. In the fourth-quarter, Tudors took an as­tounding lead with 38 points to Aspens’ 8. […]    [read more]

136 power tillers distributed
Out of 152 power tillers received through KR-II, a Japanese grant scheme for de­veloping countries to increase food production, 136 have been allotted to farmers from different dzongkhags (see table). An official from Agriculture Machinery Centre in Paro said that the existing functional farmer’s group with clear agriculture production and development plan will be given […]    [read more]




Bhutan News archive for 31 August 2010

Tuesday 31 August 2010 @ 6:03 pm

International Sources

Ten Things I Learned in Vietnam - Huffingtonpost.com
I have just returned from a two-week trip to Vietnam including Ho Chi Minh City, Ke Ga Bay south of Phan Thiet, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue, Halong Bay and Hanoi. Up until this visit, I had always thought the Bhutanese …    [read more]

Passions and Detachment in Journalism - New York Times Blogs
Last week, in writing about James Hansen’s essay on why he became a climate campaigner after decades working as a NASA climate scientist, I promised to post a lecture I gave in 2005 at Willamette University …    [read more]

Immigrants Weave New Connections Through Old Looms - msnbc.com
Old wooden looms sat unused at an arts center in Cleveland for more than 20 years - until an Ohio woman started weekly weaving workshops where Bhutanese women practice English and learn American-style weaving. Rebecca …    [read more]

BJP Blackmails Manmohan Singh - Gather.com
Although political blackmailing has served various domains of politics and diplomacy, yet in the modern era of mass communication, especially democratic governments and opposition parties avoid practice of …    [read more]

Growth for the sake of happiness - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
NEW YORK - I have just returned from Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom of unmatched natural beauty, cultural richness and inspiring self-reflection. From the kingdom’s uniqueness now arises a set of economic and social …    [read more]

Corrected: When getting away means staying in touch - msnbc.com
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - People used to go on holiday to unplug. Now they’re demanding to be plugged in. That secluded, desert island-type getaway may soon be as dated as the post-vacation slide show as more travelers …    [read more]

Immigrant clients at Mid-County Health Center now greeted by multicultural art exhibit - Oregonian
View full size Faith Cathcart/The Oregonian Kwa Franklin, a native of Cameroon, stands beside his painting, “Tears of Joy,” which is one of 44 pieces of art on display as part of the Multicultural Art Wall at …    [read more]

Asia’s glaciers in retreat, could signal crop failure and flooding in the future - USA Today
Asia’s glaciers are retreating, which could mean drought, plus crop losses upstream and flood conditions downstream for millions of people. A report published by the U.S. Geological Survey , in collaboration …    [read more]

A newsmaker you should know: Busy college student still finds time to volunteer - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Looking back, 21-year-old Marie Berube can trace her desire to help others back to the time when a Vietnamese family moved into her neighborhood when she was 2. She grew up with that family’s children on Troy Hill until …    [read more]

Refugees find the American dream down on the farm - Los Angeles Times
A dingy floral print peels from the walls, and sheets of plastic are taped over some of the windows. But for Harka Rai, the sagging trailer home he bought in rural Oregon is his piece of the American dream …    [read more]

Kuensel - Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Big amounts, bigger opportunities
Community contracting gets a shot in the arm

31 August, 2010 - A gup can do more for his community today. He can now dish out almost thirty times the amount he was authorised to earlier.    [read more]

Opening ‘em with caution
Safeguarding the community and its culture

31 August, 2010 - Even as the remote nomadic communities of Merak and Sakteng in Trashigang open to tourism officially tomorrow, home ministry officials see an urgent need to draw up measures to safeguard its arcane customs and culture.    [read more]

Indo-Bhutan cooperation talks
31 August, 2010 - A high level delegation team led by the foreign secretary, Daw Penjo, will be in New Delhi, India, for the annual Bhutan-Indo development cooperation talks on September 1 and 2.During the talks, the two governments will review the progress in the implementation of the government of India ( GoI) assisted projects in Bhutan during the 10th Plan.    [read more]

Dr Vandana Shiva to share experiences on organic farming
31 August, 2010 - Dr Vandana Shiva, a recipient of Right Livelihood Award, will share her experiences and knowledge on organic agriculture at a seminar on September 9 in Thimphu.    [read more]

Still blocked
Gelephu-Zhemgang road 31 August, 2010 - Falling boulders and mudslides had hampered road-clearing work on the Zhemgang Gelephu highway, which had been blocked since August 26.
   [read more]

Gravitating away from government
31 August, 2010 - So, young professionals, who have the qualification and working experience, are leaving the civil service for other options.    [read more]

The costliest connection
Nu 15M was spent in linking up the northernmost gewog as part of BT’s social mandate
Sky High: Transportation costs made it an expensive business Photo: Tenzin Dorji

B-Mobile in Laya 31 August, 2010 - Layaps may have access to the cheapest mobile phones from across the border, but reaching the service to the northernmost gewog was the most expensive, according to B-Mobile officials.    [read more]

An 8-year long wait for an upgrade
Grade I would mean a permanent doctor, an ambulance & etc.
A Relic Of The ‘70s: The five-room BHU with a small two-bed ward behind it was set up by the Norwegian mission

Khaling BHU 31 August, 2010 - It was more than eight years ago when villagers of Khaling gewog in Trashigang first heard their basic health unit would be upgraded to grade one status.

   [read more]

Five acquitted in bribery case
31 August, 2010 - The Phuentsholing dungkhag court on August 5 acquitted two regional customs officials and three employees of the Bhutan brewery Pvt. Ltd charged by police for their alleged involvement in a bribery case earlier this year.    [read more]

Towards analytical reporting
4-day workshop for 14 reporters organised by the Bhutan centre for media and democracy

Enterprise Reporting Training 31 August, 2010 - The emphasis on the role of journalism in a fledgling democracy has been stated time and again to a point that it has begun to sound almost like a clich.    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Yangphel open archery tournament in the quarters
The quarter finals of the Yangphel Archery Tourna­ment begin today. 24 teams, comprising 14 winners and 10 wild card en­tries from the knockout round two, will play the quarter finals. The quarter finalists are grouped into eight pools. Winners from each pool will proceed to the semi-finals with one lucky team on wild card entry. […]    [read more]

Meet the wicked lady of Bhutanese films
Known for her negative roles in Bhutanese films, Aum Lhamo is the wicked lady of the film industry. She has acted in 30 films, mostly as a stern mother, for which she won two awards during the annual national film awards in 2002 and 2009. But Aum Lhamo in real life is just the opposite […]    [read more]

From dung to clean energy
To address the local energy demand and national energy security, a biogas pilot project will be started in Samtse, Chukha, Sarpang and Tsirang from early 2011 for a period of five years. Targeting 1,600 domes­tic households, the biogas technology will convert cattle dung into clean and renew­able gas to replace firewood, kerosene and LPG. Dr […]    [read more]

Contractors appeal to PM to solve stone shortage crisis
Contractors in Trongsa have recently appealed to the Prime Minister to help solve the dire shortage of boulders and aggregates in the dzong­khag. According to the contrac­tors, the shortage became acute after Natural Resources Development Corporation Limited (NRDCL) took over mining authorities from the Department of Forests (DoF). Dawa, a contractor from Trongsa, said that […]    [read more]

Villagers cry foul of farm road alignment
The people of Samdrup Choling Dungkhag in Samdrup Jongkhar are at loggerheads with the dungkhag authorities over the construction of a 13-km farm road in the dungkhag. The people claim that the dzongkhag, dungkhag and the gewog have realigned the road without their consent. Earlier, in a meeting chaired by Samdrup Choling Dungpa, it had […]    [read more]

Tor Jap – hurling ritual cakes
“Woi!!! I have to teach the people of Jew a lesson.” This is how the Paro Penlop Tshering Penjor (r.1918-1949) reacted when he heard gunshots from his camp. According to oral sources, the sound of the gun not only ignited the interest of the governor in an ancient Tantric Buddhist ceremony of ritual cake hurling […]    [read more]

PTC teachers need professional incentives
We the PTC teach­ers serving in different parts of our country would like to extend our heartfelt grati­tude firstly to the Ministry of Education for providing us various in-country training opportunities to upgrade our qualification. Secondly, we are also grateful to the RCSC and the agencies concerned for lifting us equally to the level of […]    [read more]

Tudors win easy over Aspens
Tudors had an easy win over Aspens during the Open Sum­mer Basketball Champion­ship’s super-league round on August 25 in Thimphu. Tudors thrashed Aspens 53-28. Aspens took the lead in the first-quarter but Tudors came back strong in the next two quarters. In the fourth-quarter, Tudors took an as­tounding lead with 38 points to Aspens’ 8. […]    [read more]

136 power tillers distributed
Out of 152 power tillers received through KR-II, a Japanese grant scheme for de­veloping countries to increase food production, 136 have been allotted to farmers from different dzongkhags (see table). An official from Agriculture Machinery Centre in Paro said that the existing functional farmer’s group with clear agriculture production and development plan will be given […]    [read more]

Despotism Incognito
Words like efficiency, transparency, accountability, collaborative working and the like have become everyday-vo­cabulary in all our government offices, which if we go by the discourse we hear sounds apt in our fast changing society. But the sad reality is, beneath these high-flown ideas lies a travesty; there lurks the primordial rule of despotism. People who […]    [read more]




Bhutan News archive for 30 August 2010

Monday 30 August 2010 @ 7:03 pm

International Sources

CHINA AND INDIA: A WAR OF GIANTS - Huffingtonpost.com
The highly respected British magazine “The Economist” featured a front-page article in their 21 August issue about the possibility of a major war between China and India. I’ve been thinking about this scenario for over a …    [read more]

Immigrants Weave New Connections Through Old Looms - msnbc.com
Old wooden looms sat unused at an arts center in Cleveland for more than 20 years - until an Ohio woman started weekly weaving workshops where Bhutanese women practice English and learn American-style weaving. Rebecca …    [read more]

Growth for the sake of happiness - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
NEW YORK - I have just returned from Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom of unmatched natural beauty, cultural richness and inspiring self-reflection. From the kingdom’s uniqueness now arises a set of economic and social …    [read more]

Corrected: When getting away means staying in touch - msnbc.com
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - People used to go on holiday to unplug. Now they’re demanding to be plugged in. That secluded, desert island-type getaway may soon be as dated as the post-vacation slide show as more travelers …    [read more]

Immigrant clients at Mid-County Health Center now greeted by multicultural art exhibit - Oregonian
View full size Faith Cathcart/The Oregonian Kwa Franklin, a native of Cameroon, stands beside his painting, “Tears of Joy,” which is one of 44 pieces of art on display as part of the Multicultural Art Wall at …    [read more]

Asia’s glaciers in retreat, could signal crop failure and flooding in the future - USA Today
Asia’s glaciers are retreating, which could mean drought, plus crop losses upstream and flood conditions downstream for millions of people. A report published by the U.S. Geological Survey , in collaboration …    [read more]

A newsmaker you should know: Busy college student still finds time to volunteer - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Looking back, 21-year-old Marie Berube can trace her desire to help others back to the time when a Vietnamese family moved into her neighborhood when she was 2. She grew up with that family’s children on Troy Hill until …    [read more]

Refugees find the American dream down on the farm - Los Angeles Times
A dingy floral print peels from the walls, and sheets of plastic are taped over some of the windows. But for Harka Rai, the sagging trailer home he bought in rural Oregon is his piece of the American dream …    [read more]

Get the most out of your garage sale - San Jose Mercury News
Pockets heavy with quarters and dollar bills, I collapse on my white plastic patio chair at 2 p.m., exhausted. I’ve just learned through seven hours of hawking junk on my driveway that having a garage sale isn …    [read more]

Something for everyone at Peoplefest - Boston Globe
Manchester, N.H. has embraced its diversity, and its Peoplefest is a celebration proving so. Traditions established more than a century ago by its original settlers - the French Canadian, Scottish/Irish, Italian, Greek …    [read more]

Kuensel - Bhutan’s National Newspaper

First private Dzongkha weekly launched
A brand new newspaper with a reader-friendly language
Druk Neytshuel: The seventh newspaper hit the stand yesterday

30 August, 2010 - At a time when the quality of Dzongkha is being questioned and discussed in every possible medium comes an opportune attempt to apprise Bhutanese of their national language.    [read more]

Public-private competition?
With CDCL in the fray, contractors accuse govt. of invading their turf with an unfair advantage

Sixth Engineering Conference 30 August, 2010 -
The government is competing with the private sector in the construction sector by upgrading the construction development corporation ltd (CDCL) to a full construction company, according to contractors.    [read more]

Picture Story

30 August, 2010 - Students of Trashigang MSS uproot marijuana plants during social work on the weekend    [read more]

Looking for lucrative options
7 percent return needed to sustain 30-year cycle

NPPF30 August, 2010 - With Nu 1.1B lent to the Dungsam Cement project as loan this month, the national pension and provident fund (NPPF) is exploring several other investment options that have become essential to sustain the fund for the next 30-year cycle.    [read more]

Woman held for slander
Son-in-law falsely accused of rape of infant daughter

Defamation Case30 August, 2010 - Thimphu police have booked a 39-year old woman for defamation and sent her to court, after finding out that she tried to set up her son in law.    [read more]

Frozen in formalities
30 August, 2010 - Although formalities are normally drawn up for organised functioning of a system, it has begun to connote more with bureaucracy, red tape and paperwork today.
   [read more]

On the road to recovery
Financial institutions happy with present position; industrialists not so

Domestic Steel30 August, 2010 - Domestic steel industries, two of which came into production just when the global financial crisis hit in October 2008, say that, although the steel market is firming up, they are still on the road to recovery.    [read more]

DYT approves quarry without community clearance
Contractors say quarry will solve boulder shortage

Trashigang Ritshalu Quarry30 August, 2010 - Trashigang dzongkhag could finally have a stone quarry after the longstanding issue over an identified quarry in Yangneer was approved recently by the dzongkhag yargay tshogdu (DYT).    [read more]

Science Exhibition

30 August, 2010 - Eight secondary schools in Trashigang dzongkhag participated in a two-day Intra dzongkhag science exhibition held at Tashitse higher secondary school, Wamrong, on August 28 and 29.    [read more]

All’s calm

Picture Story30 August, 2010 - A yoga session in Thimphu conducted by two Nepali trainers yesterday    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

From dung to clean energy
To address the local energy demand and national energy security, a biogas pilot project will be started in Samtse, Chukha, Sarpang and Tsirang from early 2011 for a period of five years. Targeting 1,600 domes­tic households, the biogas technology will convert cattle dung into clean and renew­able gas to replace firewood, kerosene and LPG. Dr […]    [read more]

Contractors appeal to PM to solve stone shortage crisis
Contractors in Trongsa have recently appealed to the Prime Minister to help solve the dire shortage of boulders and aggregates in the dzong­khag. According to the contrac­tors, the shortage became acute after Natural Resources Development Corporation Limited (NRDCL) took over mining authorities from the Department of Forests (DoF). Dawa, a contractor from Trongsa, said that […]    [read more]

Villagers cry foul of farm road alignment
The people of Samdrup Choling Dungkhag in Samdrup Jongkhar are at loggerheads with the dungkhag authorities over the construction of a 13-km farm road in the dungkhag. The people claim that the dzongkhag, dungkhag and the gewog have realigned the road without their consent. Earlier, in a meeting chaired by Samdrup Choling Dungpa, it had […]    [read more]

Tor Jap – hurling ritual cakes
“Woi!!! I have to teach the people of Jew a lesson.” This is how the Paro Penlop Tshering Penjor (r.1918-1949) reacted when he heard gunshots from his camp. According to oral sources, the sound of the gun not only ignited the interest of the governor in an ancient Tantric Buddhist ceremony of ritual cake hurling […]    [read more]

PTC teachers need professional incentives
We the PTC teach­ers serving in different parts of our country would like to extend our heartfelt grati­tude firstly to the Ministry of Education for providing us various in-country training opportunities to upgrade our qualification. Secondly, we are also grateful to the RCSC and the agencies concerned for lifting us equally to the level of […]    [read more]

Tudors win easy over Aspens
Tudors had an easy win over Aspens during the Open Sum­mer Basketball Champion­ship’s super-league round on August 25 in Thimphu. Tudors thrashed Aspens 53-28. Aspens took the lead in the first-quarter but Tudors came back strong in the next two quarters. In the fourth-quarter, Tudors took an as­tounding lead with 38 points to Aspens’ 8. […]    [read more]

136 power tillers distributed
Out of 152 power tillers received through KR-II, a Japanese grant scheme for de­veloping countries to increase food production, 136 have been allotted to farmers from different dzongkhags (see table). An official from Agriculture Machinery Centre in Paro said that the existing functional farmer’s group with clear agriculture production and development plan will be given […]    [read more]

Despotism Incognito
Words like efficiency, transparency, accountability, collaborative working and the like have become everyday-vo­cabulary in all our government offices, which if we go by the discourse we hear sounds apt in our fast changing society. But the sad reality is, beneath these high-flown ideas lies a travesty; there lurks the primordial rule of despotism. People who […]    [read more]

Gangs pledge to disband
55 gang members pledged to dissociate themselves from gangs and gang violence The leaders of the two most notorious gangs in Thimphu, MB Boys and Sabji Bazaar Gang, signed a pledge of al­legiance yesterday on behalf of their members, formally disbanding the gangs for good. The pledge, which symbol­ised realisation that they have gone astray, […]    [read more]

Drukair plans to attract more Indian tourists
Drukair says India could be the single biggest tourist market for Bhutan With the aim to increase In­dian tourists visiting Bhutan by five percent this year, Dru­kair Corporation has revived its holiday package under the Royal Druk Holidays (RDH) brand. The package for Indian tourists ranges from a mini­mum of three nights four days to […]    [read more]




Bhutan News archive for 29 August 2010

Sunday 29 August 2010 @ 8:03 pm

International Sources

Immigrants Weave New Connections Through Old Looms - msnbc.com
Old wooden looms sat unused at an arts center in Cleveland for more than 20 years - until an Ohio woman started weekly weaving workshops where Bhutanese women practice English and learn American-style weaving. Rebecca …    [read more]

What to give the man who has everything? - Omaha World-Herald
Birthday wishes, of course! Warren Buffett turns 80 tomorrow, and he’s still going strong with no plans for retirement. We asked some of his friends, business associates, acquaintances and others to send …    [read more]

Corrected: When getting away means staying in touch - msnbc.com
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - People used to go on holiday to unplug. Now they’re demanding to be plugged in. That secluded, desert island-type getaway may soon be as dated as the post-vacation slide show as more travelers …    [read more]

Immigrant clients at Mid-County Health Center now greeted by multicultural art exhibit - Oregonian
View full size Faith Cathcart/The Oregonian Kwa Franklin, a native of Cameroon, stands beside his painting, “Tears of Joy,” which is one of 44 pieces of art on display as part of the Multicultural Art Wall at …    [read more]

A newsmaker you should know: Busy college student still finds time to volunteer - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Looking back, 21-year-old Marie Berube can trace her desire to help others back to the time when a Vietnamese family moved into her neighborhood when she was 2. She grew up with that family’s children on Troy Hill until …    [read more]

Asia’s glaciers in retreat, could signal crop failure and flooding in the future - USA Today
Asia’s glaciers are retreating, which could mean drought, plus crop losses upstream and flood conditions downstream for millions of people. A report published by the U.S. Geological Survey , in collaboration …    [read more]

Refugees find the American dream down on the farm - Los Angeles Times
A dingy floral print peels from the walls, and sheets of plastic are taped over some of the windows. But for Harka Rai, the sagging trailer home he bought in rural Oregon is his piece of the American dream …    [read more]

Get the most out of your garage sale - San Jose Mercury News
Pockets heavy with quarters and dollar bills, I collapse on my white plastic patio chair at 2 p.m., exhausted. I’ve just learned through seven hours of hawking junk on my driveway that having a garage sale isn …    [read more]

Something for everyone at Peoplefest - Boston Globe
Manchester, N.H. has embraced its diversity, and its Peoplefest is a celebration proving so. Traditions established more than a century ago by its original settlers - the French Canadian, Scottish/Irish, Italian, Greek …    [read more]

Sacramento schools eligible for federal refugee money - Sacramento Bee
Sacramento School districts are eligible for federal funding to help 1,801 refugee children in grades K-12 who have arrived in the county in the last three years, the California Department of Social Services …    [read more]

Kuensel - Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Controversy hots up
Bypassed villagers submit petition to opposition leader
Regardless of where it begins from, a road to Merak is guaranteed

Farm Road29 August, 2010 - For decades, a decent motor road had topped the wish list of one of the remotest gewogs in the country, Merak.    [read more]

A new trend in early retirees
Mid-career Professionals29 August, 2010 - Indicating a trend that has not been seen before, a number of mid career professionals are quitting their jobs in the civil and corporate sector for other opportunities, say pension and provident fund officials.    [read more]

Keep the customer satisfied
Training course in client management for senior level personnel from its companies

29 August, 2010 - The customer is not king in Bhutan.

Despite driglam namzha being an integral part of Bhutanese culture, customers are usually seen as a nuisance, and treated coldly by local service industry personnel.    [read more]

Cross-bred into extinction?
Purity of gene pool goes down with the hybrid process
A male hybrid golden langur with hybrid traits in Dunmang Tsachu, Zhemgang

The Golden Langur29 August, 2010 - The endangered golden langur (trachypithecus geei), which is native to Bhutan and some parts of the neighbouring Indian state of Assam, could be under threat of extinction from crossbreeding with the capped langur, according to a Bhutanese researcher.    [read more]

Growth in a Buddhist Economy
Jeffrey D. Sachs - The author is a Professor of Economics and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. He is also Special Adviser to United Nations Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals. project-syndicate.org

PERSPECTIVES29 August, 2010 - I have just returned from Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom of unmatched natural beauty, cultural richness, and inspiring self-reflection. From the kingdom’s uniqueness now arises a set of economic and social questions that are of pressing interest for the entire world.    [read more]

Breaking the bureaucratic barrier
For effective public space in a democracy

PERSPECTIVES 29 August, 2010 - In mangtso ringluk (mang = people; tso = most important; luk = system of governance) or democracy, people take the driver’s seat in decision making. People’s voice is the law of democracy and thus supreme to all. The degree of a democracy is measured by the extent of every citizen’s participation.    [read more]

No contender for award
Teacher Of The Year29 August, 2010 - While time is running out for nominations for the “Teacher of the Year Award”, education ministry officials are jittery that not a single nomination has been received.
   [read more]

How fair is compensation package?
Land-owners and officialdom do not see eye to eye

Pooling Scheme28 August, 2010 - A decade-long wait and all Tshering received was a plot of land and an amount almost 50 percent less than what was expected of his 52 decimal land, over which runs the notorious double lane expressway today.    [read more]

Forest team to investigate
Cracking down on a corrupt practice

Haa Timber Racket28 August, 2010 - A team of eight forest officials has planted themselves in Haa since August 22 to investigate the prevailing timber racket.    [read more]

Killers from across the border?
Samtse Murder28 August, 2010 - The four unidentified men, who killed Pathemo, 46, and her 69-year old mother in their house in Samtse on the morning of August 26 are suspected to be non-Bhutanese from across the border.    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Villagers cry foul of farm road alignment
The people of Samdrup Choling Dungkhag in Samdrup Jongkhar are at loggerheads with the dungkhag authorities over the construction of a 13-km farm road in the dungkhag. The people claim that the dzongkhag, dungkhag and the gewog have realigned the road without their consent. Earlier, in a meeting chaired by Samdrup Choling Dungpa, it had […]    [read more]

Tor Jap – hurling ritual cakes
“Woi!!! I have to teach the people of Jew a lesson.” This is how the Paro Penlop Tshering Penjor (r.1918-1949) reacted when he heard gunshots from his camp. According to oral sources, the sound of the gun not only ignited the interest of the governor in an ancient Tantric Buddhist ceremony of ritual cake hurling […]    [read more]

PTC teachers need professional incentives
We the PTC teach­ers serving in different parts of our country would like to extend our heartfelt grati­tude firstly to the Ministry of Education for providing us various in-country training opportunities to upgrade our qualification. Secondly, we are also grateful to the RCSC and the agencies concerned for lifting us equally to the level of […]    [read more]

Tudors win easy over Aspens
Tudors had an easy win over Aspens during the Open Sum­mer Basketball Champion­ship’s super-league round on August 25 in Thimphu. Tudors thrashed Aspens 53-28. Aspens took the lead in the first-quarter but Tudors came back strong in the next two quarters. In the fourth-quarter, Tudors took an as­tounding lead with 38 points to Aspens’ 8. […]    [read more]

136 power tillers distributed
Out of 152 power tillers received through KR-II, a Japanese grant scheme for de­veloping countries to increase food production, 136 have been allotted to farmers from different dzongkhags (see table). An official from Agriculture Machinery Centre in Paro said that the existing functional farmer’s group with clear agriculture production and development plan will be given […]    [read more]

Despotism Incognito
Words like efficiency, transparency, accountability, collaborative working and the like have become everyday-vo­cabulary in all our government offices, which if we go by the discourse we hear sounds apt in our fast changing society. But the sad reality is, beneath these high-flown ideas lies a travesty; there lurks the primordial rule of despotism. People who […]    [read more]

Gangs pledge to disband
55 gang members pledged to dissociate themselves from gangs and gang violence The leaders of the two most notorious gangs in Thimphu, MB Boys and Sabji Bazaar Gang, signed a pledge of al­legiance yesterday on behalf of their members, formally disbanding the gangs for good. The pledge, which symbol­ised realisation that they have gone astray, […]    [read more]

Drukair plans to attract more Indian tourists
Drukair says India could be the single biggest tourist market for Bhutan With the aim to increase In­dian tourists visiting Bhutan by five percent this year, Dru­kair Corporation has revived its holiday package under the Royal Druk Holidays (RDH) brand. The package for Indian tourists ranges from a mini­mum of three nights four days to […]    [read more]

Contractual grey area
Officials call for stronger clauses on termination of contracts The revised standard bid doc­ument (SBD) is at the heart of delay in government contract works, officials pointed out yesterday at the sixth annual engineering conference in Thimphu. Officials said that the revised SBD’s clauses on con­tract termination on grounds of fundamental breach of contract are […]    [read more]

Understand Bhutan better
A recent article titled China, India and Nepal: Entangled in unresolving Tibetan issue published by a news blog in Massachusetts in the US has portrayed Bhutan in an irresponsibly wrong light. The Himalayan Voice article starts with this line: “It becomes natural for the Dalai Lama to see Tibet, ‘real autonomous’, if not independent at […]    [read more]




Bhutan News archive for 28 August 2010

Saturday 28 August 2010 @ 9:03 pm

International Sources

Immigrants Weave New Connections Through Old Looms - msnbc.com
Old wooden looms sat unused at an arts center in Cleveland for more than 20 years - until an Ohio woman started weekly weaving workshops where Bhutanese women practice English and learn American-style weaving. Rebecca …    [read more]

Corrected: When getting away means staying in touch - msnbc.com
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - People used to go on holiday to unplug. Now they’re demanding to be plugged in. That secluded, desert island-type getaway may soon be as dated as the post-vacation slide show as more travelers …    [read more]

Immigrant clients at Mid-County Health Center now greeted by multicultural art exhibit - Oregonian
View full size Faith Cathcart/The Oregonian Kwa Franklin, a native of Cameroon, stands beside his painting, “Tears of Joy,” which is one of 44 pieces of art on display as part of the Multicultural Art Wall at …    [read more]

A newsmaker you should know: Busy college student still finds time to volunteer - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Looking back, 21-year-old Marie Berube can trace her desire to help others back to the time when a Vietnamese family moved into her neighborhood when she was 2. She grew up with that family’s children on Troy Hill until …    [read more]

Asia’s glaciers in retreat, could signal crop failure and flooding in the future - USA Today
Asia’s glaciers are retreating, which could mean drought, plus crop losses upstream and flood conditions downstream for millions of people. A report published by the U.S. Geological Survey , in collaboration …    [read more]

Refugees find the American dream down on the farm - Los Angeles Times
A dingy floral print peels from the walls, and sheets of plastic are taped over some of the windows. But for Harka Rai, the sagging trailer home he bought in rural Oregon is his piece of the American dream …    [read more]

Get the most out of your garage sale - San Jose Mercury News
Pockets heavy with quarters and dollar bills, I collapse on my white plastic patio chair at 2 p.m., exhausted. I’ve just learned through seven hours of hawking junk on my driveway that having a garage sale isn …    [read more]

Growth in a Buddhist economy - Today’s Zaman
From the kingdom’s uniqueness now arises a set of economic and social questions that are of pressing interest for the entire world. Bhutan’s rugged geography fostered the rise of a hardy population of farmers and …    [read more]

Something for everyone at Peoplefest - Boston Globe
Manchester, N.H. has embraced its diversity, and its Peoplefest is a celebration proving so. Traditions established more than a century ago by its original settlers - the French Canadian, Scottish/Irish, Italian, Greek …    [read more]

Sacramento schools eligible for federal refugee money - Sacramento Bee
Sacramento School districts are eligible for federal funding to help 1,801 refugee children in grades K-12 who have arrived in the county in the last three years, the California Department of Social Services …    [read more]

Kuensel - Bhutan’s National Newspaper

How fair is compensation package?
Land-owners and officialdom do not see eye to eye

Pooling Scheme28 August, 2010 - A decade-long wait and all Tshering received was a plot of land and an amount almost 50 percent less than what was expected of his 52 decimal land, over which runs the notorious double lane expressway today.    [read more]

Forest team to investigate
Cracking down on a corrupt practice

Haa Timber Racket28 August, 2010 - A team of eight forest officials has planted themselves in Haa since August 22 to investigate the prevailing timber racket.    [read more]

Killers from across the border?
Samtse Murder28 August, 2010 - The four unidentified men, who killed Pathemo, 46, and her 69-year old mother in their house in Samtse on the morning of August 26 are suspected to be non-Bhutanese from across the border.    [read more]

The sign of a sick society
28 August, 2010 - Even before the chief of police met with the Bhutanese media to share strategies to tackle the emerging gang problem, there were critics, who are of the view that the authority, especially the royal Bhutan police, is stooping down to accommodate the so called gangs.    [read more]

Putting people first
Key lesson of two-day training for top leaders
ICTing Bhutan: Govt. talks to media about the project

Chiphen Rigpel28 August, 2010 - That e-governance is first about people and then processes and technology was one of the understandings top leaders came to after attending a two-day “training” on how ICT can make Bhutan a knowledge-based society.    [read more]

Death of rabid cow sparks panic
Sporadic outbreaks have been reported elsewhere in Phuentsholing and Samtse

Khotiline, Pasakha, Chukha28 August, 2010 - Following the death of a cow with a clinical history of rabies on August 19 in Khotiline village in Pasakha, around 60 people came to Phuentsholing hospital for anti-rabies vaccination (ARV).    [read more]

Dzongrab withdraws lawsuit
Committee expresses wish to settle out of court

Chukha Sports Association Case28 August, 2010 - The former Chukha dzongkhag electoral officer, now the Thimphu dzongrab, who had filed a case against the Chukha dzongkhag sports association, is withdrawing the case, following requests from the committee members to solve the case outside the court.
   [read more]

No takers for re-tender … yet
Second deferment of submission deadline may explain why

Domestic Air Service28 August, 2010 - More than a month after the revised domestic air service contract was re-tendered, the government has still not received any proposals.    [read more]

Stakeholders analyse contents
Going through the five chapters with a fine tooth comb

Domestic Violence Bill28 August, 2010 - The domestic violence bill, which is expected to protect victims of domestic violence, was discussed yesterday among representatives from various organisations, which concern themselves with the issue.    [read more]

The cha under the cypress
A festival believed to date back to the 8th century
The troeps singing praises to their gods

Belzur, Menbi, Lhuentse28 August, 2010 - Village life is steeped in rich cultural and traditional beliefs. But in the villages of Menbi gewog in Lhuentse, the rich beliefs surrounding bonism may be diluting with each passing year.    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

PTC teachers need professional incentives
We the PTC teach­ers serving in different parts of our country would like to extend our heartfelt grati­tude firstly to the Ministry of Education for providing us various in-country training opportunities to upgrade our qualification. Secondly, we are also grateful to the RCSC and the agencies concerned for lifting us equally to the level of […]    [read more]

Tudors win easy over Aspens
Tudors had an easy win over Aspens during the Open Sum­mer Basketball Champion­ship’s super-league round on August 25 in Thimphu. Tudors thrashed Aspens 53-28. Aspens took the lead in the first-quarter but Tudors came back strong in the next two quarters. In the fourth-quarter, Tudors took an as­tounding lead with 38 points to Aspens’ 8. […]    [read more]

136 power tillers distributed
Out of 152 power tillers received through KR-II, a Japanese grant scheme for de­veloping countries to increase food production, 136 have been allotted to farmers from different dzongkhags (see table). An official from Agriculture Machinery Centre in Paro said that the existing functional farmer’s group with clear agriculture production and development plan will be given […]    [read more]

Despotism Incognito
Words like efficiency, transparency, accountability, collaborative working and the like have become everyday-vo­cabulary in all our government offices, which if we go by the discourse we hear sounds apt in our fast changing society. But the sad reality is, beneath these high-flown ideas lies a travesty; there lurks the primordial rule of despotism. People who […]    [read more]

Gangs pledge to disband
55 gang members pledged to dissociate themselves from gangs and gang violence The leaders of the two most notorious gangs in Thimphu, MB Boys and Sabji Bazaar Gang, signed a pledge of al­legiance yesterday on behalf of their members, formally disbanding the gangs for good. The pledge, which symbol­ised realisation that they have gone astray, […]    [read more]

Drukair plans to attract more Indian tourists
Drukair says India could be the single biggest tourist market for Bhutan With the aim to increase In­dian tourists visiting Bhutan by five percent this year, Dru­kair Corporation has revived its holiday package under the Royal Druk Holidays (RDH) brand. The package for Indian tourists ranges from a mini­mum of three nights four days to […]    [read more]

Contractual grey area
Officials call for stronger clauses on termination of contracts The revised standard bid doc­ument (SBD) is at the heart of delay in government contract works, officials pointed out yesterday at the sixth annual engineering conference in Thimphu. Officials said that the revised SBD’s clauses on con­tract termination on grounds of fundamental breach of contract are […]    [read more]

Understand Bhutan better
A recent article titled China, India and Nepal: Entangled in unresolving Tibetan issue published by a news blog in Massachusetts in the US has portrayed Bhutan in an irresponsibly wrong light. The Himalayan Voice article starts with this line: “It becomes natural for the Dalai Lama to see Tibet, ‘real autonomous’, if not independent at […]    [read more]

Ap Tsara
Wai! If foreigners call Bhutan a poor country with rich people, it’s mainly because of an extrava­gant number of expensive BG SUVs that beam along our narrow roads all day long, everyday, everywhere. Despite the gov­ernment’s faltering attempt at preventing the BG vehicles from running amok round the clock, they are like our stray dogs, […]    [read more]

Best of Bhutan for dancing couples
A break away from the singing shows. Bhutanese audience will soon be treated to a new dancing reality show where couples will dance to rigsar music. Organized by Norling, the couple dance competi­tion, Best of Bhutan, is only for couples in Thimphu. The show will be held nationwide if the response from the pub­lic is […]    [read more]




Bhutan News archive for 27 August 2010

Friday 27 August 2010 @ 10:03 pm

International Sources

Immigrants Weave New Connections Through Old Looms - msnbc.com
Old wooden looms sat unused at an arts center in Cleveland for more than 20 years - until an Ohio woman started weekly weaving workshops where Bhutanese women practice English and learn American-style weaving. Rebecca …    [read more]

Fewer travelers unplug while on vacation - msnbc.com
People used to go on holiday to unplug. Now they’re demanding to be plugged in. That secluded, desert island-type getaway may soon be as dated as the post-vacation slideshow as more travelers use e-mails, Facebook and …    [read more]

Immigrant clients at Mid-County Health Center now greeted by multicultural art … - Oregonian
View full size Faith Cathcart/The Oregonian Kwa Franklin, a native of Cameroon, stands beside his painting, “Tears of Joy,” which is one of 44 pieces of art on display as part of the Multicultural Art Wall at …    [read more]

A newsmaker you should know: Busy college student still finds time to volunteer - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Looking back, 21-year-old Marie Berube can trace her desire to help others back to the time when a Vietnamese family moved into her neighborhood when she was 2. She grew up with that family’s children on Troy Hill until …    [read more]

Asia’s glaciers in retreat, could signal crop failure and flooding in the future - USA Today
Asia’s glaciers are retreating, which could mean drought, plus crop losses upstream and flood conditions downstream for millions of people. A report published by the U.S. Geological Survey , in collaboration …    [read more]

Refugees find the American dream down on the farm - Los Angeles Times
A dingy floral print peels from the walls, and sheets of plastic are taped over some of the windows. But for Harka Rai, the sagging trailer home he bought in rural Oregon is his piece of the American dream …    [read more]

Get the most out of your garage sale - San Jose Mercury News
Pockets heavy with quarters and dollar bills, I collapse on my white plastic patio chair at 2 p.m., exhausted. I’ve just learned through seven hours of hawking junk on my driveway that having a garage sale isn …    [read more]

Something for everyone at Peoplefest - Boston Globe
Manchester, N.H. has embraced its diversity, and its Peoplefest is a celebration proving so. Traditions established more than a century ago by its original settlers - the French Canadian, Scottish/Irish, Italian, Greek …    [read more]

Sacramento schools eligible for federal refugee money - Sacramento Bee
Sacramento School districts are eligible for federal funding to help 1,801 refugee children in grades K-12 who have arrived in the county in the last three years, the California Department of Social Services …    [read more]

Shopkick funding shows real world mobile trend - Reuters
SAN FRANCISCO (Private Equity Week) - Shopkick, a Palo Alto, California-based startup that tries to get people to use their mobile phones to go shopping in the physical world, raised $15 million in a Series B …    [read more]

Kuensel - Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Picture story

27 August, 2010 - SAARC goodwill ambassador for HIV/AIDS & TB, Shabana Azmi, at a press conference in Thimphu yesterday    [read more]

Four men kill two women
A brutal murder in broad daylight in what seems to be an armed robbery

27 August, 2010 - Four unidentified men had killed a 46-year-old woman and her 69-year-old mother in their house in Samtse yesterday morning.    [read more]

Defense hearing on Sept. 6
Opposition concern of a precedent being set by government led to litigation

First Constitutional Case27 August, 2010 - Two justices on either side of the acting chief justice were seated high above the dimly lit traditional courtroom floor. The clerk read out the order of the day.    [read more]

Bodies recovered
UPDATE27 August, 2010 - The recovery operation for two people washed away by the Pachu on August 16 has ended.    [read more]

Minister's laptop initiative suspended
PM’s grievance cell to investigate IT firms’ complaint

Meet The Press27 August, 2010 - The order for 700 Dell and Lenovo laptops for civil servants by the information and communication ministry has been suspended, after the capital’s IT firms submitted a letter to the prime minister’s grievance cell.    [read more]

Throwaway culture
Garbage plus imagination equals art
Youngzoom On Garbage: Raising awareness on a social issue through a creative medium

Vast/TCC Exhibition27 August, 2010 - It is a rare combination: garbage and art.

While the capital city grapples with an ever increasing garbage issue, city corporation officials and artists from VAST showcased just what could be done with some of it.    [read more]

For a free flow of info
27 August, 2010 - How will a right to information act further help you to access more information, which you already have?    [read more]

Three in-service deaths a month since 2002
Surviving children comprise biggest group to receive benefit

National Pension And Provident Fund27 August, 2010 - Children of pension members, who passed away while in service, make up the largest group of beneficiaries of the civil pension plan, according to the records of the national pension and provident fund (NPPF).    [read more]

Two ‘leaders’ sign pledge
Turning Point: Gang members agree to make a change for the better in their lives

27 August, 2010 - Beginning today, Thimphu city will hear no more of MB boys or Sabjibazaar gang or, for that matter, any of the known gangs. Yesterday, the leaders of two gangs signed a pledge never to form one.    [read more]

$3M grant for 4 quake resilient schools
ADB & Japan FPR27 August, 2010 - The Asian development bank (ADB) and Japan are extending USD 3M to Bhutan to rebuild damaged schools, using earthquake-resilient materials and designs, which could potentially be replicated around the country.    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Tudors win easy over Aspens
Tudors had an easy win over Aspens during the Open Sum­mer Basketball Champion­ship’s super-league round on August 25 in Thimphu. Tudors thrashed Aspens 53-28. Aspens took the lead in the first-quarter but Tudors came back strong in the next two quarters. In the fourth-quarter, Tudors took an as­tounding lead with 38 points to Aspens’ 8. […]    [read more]

136 power tillers distributed
Out of 152 power tillers received through KR-II, a Japanese grant scheme for de­veloping countries to increase food production, 136 have been allotted to farmers from different dzongkhags (see table). An official from Agriculture Machinery Centre in Paro said that the existing functional farmer’s group with clear agriculture production and development plan will be given […]    [read more]

Despotism Incognito
Words like efficiency, transparency, accountability, collaborative working and the like have become everyday-vo­cabulary in all our government offices, which if we go by the discourse we hear sounds apt in our fast changing society. But the sad reality is, beneath these high-flown ideas lies a travesty; there lurks the primordial rule of despotism. People who […]    [read more]

Gangs pledge to disband
55 gang members pledged to dissociate themselves from gangs and gang violence The leaders of the two most notorious gangs in Thimphu, MB Boys and Sabji Bazaar Gang, signed a pledge of al­legiance yesterday on behalf of their members, formally disbanding the gangs for good. The pledge, which symbol­ised realisation that they have gone astray, […]    [read more]

Drukair plans to attract more Indian tourists
Drukair says India could be the single biggest tourist market for Bhutan With the aim to increase In­dian tourists visiting Bhutan by five percent this year, Dru­kair Corporation has revived its holiday package under the Royal Druk Holidays (RDH) brand. The package for Indian tourists ranges from a mini­mum of three nights four days to […]    [read more]

Contractual grey area
Officials call for stronger clauses on termination of contracts The revised standard bid doc­ument (SBD) is at the heart of delay in government contract works, officials pointed out yesterday at the sixth annual engineering conference in Thimphu. Officials said that the revised SBD’s clauses on con­tract termination on grounds of fundamental breach of contract are […]    [read more]

Understand Bhutan better
A recent article titled China, India and Nepal: Entangled in unresolving Tibetan issue published by a news blog in Massachusetts in the US has portrayed Bhutan in an irresponsibly wrong light. The Himalayan Voice article starts with this line: “It becomes natural for the Dalai Lama to see Tibet, ‘real autonomous’, if not independent at […]    [read more]

Ap Tsara
Wai! If foreigners call Bhutan a poor country with rich people, it’s mainly because of an extrava­gant number of expensive BG SUVs that beam along our narrow roads all day long, everyday, everywhere. Despite the gov­ernment’s faltering attempt at preventing the BG vehicles from running amok round the clock, they are like our stray dogs, […]    [read more]

Best of Bhutan for dancing couples
A break away from the singing shows. Bhutanese audience will soon be treated to a new dancing reality show where couples will dance to rigsar music. Organized by Norling, the couple dance competi­tion, Best of Bhutan, is only for couples in Thimphu. The show will be held nationwide if the response from the pub­lic is […]    [read more]


   [read more]




Bhutan News archive for 26 August 2010

Thursday 26 August 2010 @ 12:02 am

International Sources

Immigrants Weave New Connections Through Old Looms - msnbc.com
Old wooden looms sat unused at an arts center in Cleveland for more than 20 years - until an Ohio woman started weekly weaving workshops where Bhutanese women practice English and learn American-style weaving. Rebecca …    [read more]

Refugees find the American dream down on the farm - Los Angeles Times
A dingy floral print peels from the walls, and sheets of plastic are taped over some of the windows. But for Harka Rai, the sagging trailer home he bought in rural Oregon is his piece of the American dream …    [read more]

Something for everyone at Peoplefest - Boston Globe
Manchester, N.H. has embraced its diversity, and its Peoplefest is a celebration proving so. Traditions established more than a century ago by its original settlers - the French Canadian, Scottish/Irish, Italian, Greek …    [read more]

Get the most out of your garage sale - San Jose Mercury News
Pockets heavy with quarters and dollar bills, I collapse on my white plastic patio chair at 2 p.m., exhausted. I’ve just learned through seven hours of hawking junk on my driveway that having a garage sale isn …    [read more]

Sacramento schools eligible for federal refugee money - Sacramento Bee
Sacramento School districts are eligible for federal funding to help 1,801 refugee children in grades K-12 who have arrived in the county in the last three years, the California Department of Social Services …    [read more]

Shopkick funding shows real world mobile trend - Reuters
SAN FRANCISCO (Private Equity Week) - Shopkick, a Palo Alto, California-based startup that tries to get people to use their mobile phones to go shopping in the physical world, raised $15 million in a Series B …    [read more]

Líder hispano Mario Obledo muere en Sacramento - Houston Chronicle
Mario Obledo, el presidente de la Coalición Nacional de Organizaciones Hispanas, ha muerto, informaron sus familiares. Tenía 78 años. La esposa de Obledo, Keda Alcalá-Obledo, dijo que el activista …    [read more]

China Tightens Grip on Tibet’s Business Class - Time
Weeks after a prominent Tibetan arts dealer was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges his supporters say were trumped up after he crossed powerful local officials, a second Tibetan businessman has been …    [read more]

CBS in joint venture to launch India TV channels - Forbes
MUMBAI, India — A unit of CBS Corp. said Wednesday it has formed a joint venture with billionaire Anil Ambani’s Reliance Broadcast Network to launch television channels in India, joining a host of foreign …    [read more]

Kuensel - Bhutan’s National Newspaper

131 learning stations in 5 years
Location to be determined by the number of children in each gewog and availability of electricity
‘Windows’: The only playground learning centre is used for about five hours a day

25 August, 2010 - Children across the nation will soon have access to computers, as soon as the goverment opens the 131 learning stations nationwide within the next five years.    [read more]

Deferred for lack of candidates
Some gewogs did not have a single entry

Functional Literacy & Skills Test 25 August, 2010 - The election commission of Bhutan (ECB) has postponed the dates of registration for the ‘functional literacy and possession of skills test’ by about a month after not receiving enough candidates.    [read more]

Picture Story

25 August, 2010 - A dancer performs at the three-day Phenday Choedpa tshechu in Hongtsho, Thimphu, which ended yesterday    [read more]

Agents asked to measure up
Foreign Workers 25 August, 2010 - The last meeting among Bhutanese contractors, sometime in the beginning of the month, saw a strong resonance among contractors to remove foreign workers recruitment agents.
   [read more]

Support for Nunneries
Lyonchhoen welcomes Her Eminence Yumiko Nakashima yesterday

25 August, 2010 - Her eminence Yumiko Nakashima has proposed supporting the nunneries in Bhutan, with a hope of bringing all Buddhist societies together.    [read more]

The lack of local leaders
25 August, 2010 - It is not still clear if the already delayed local government elections will be held this year. But what is clear is that there are going to be hurdles. And we are not talking about delimitation or the conduct of elections.    [read more]

Behind closed doors
PM expresses sympathy and solidarity with flood victims in Pakistan and India
The SAARC finance ministers with the prime minister

4th Finance Ministers’ Meeting 25 August, 2010 - The fourth meeting of the SAARC finance ministers in Thimphu yesterday began with observing a minute of silence in memory of those, who lost their lives and livelihoods in the recent natural disasters in Pakistan and India.    [read more]

To Taktsi at last next year
Degree students will move to new site by July 2011; the rest will follow in stages

Institute Of Language And Cultural Studies 25 August, 2010 - After almost two decades of planning, the institute of language and cultural studies (ILCS) in Semtokha, Thimphu will be relocated to Taktsi next year.    [read more]

A burden being urban
Villagers pay the price of being cheek by jowl with the town
Urban Legend: The village of gods

Lhayulka Village 25 August, 2010 - Lhayulkha village, located behind the main Haa town, has a picturesque setting, with secondary roads running through the village with footpaths and street lamps.    [read more]

Picture story

24 August, 2010 - Slip Down Hold Up: A heavy mudslide near Barshong in Trashigang blocked the Trashigang-Samdrupjongkhar highway last morning. The block, caused by the incessant rain the previous night, took about an hour to clear    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Road show to attract foreign investors
Ministry of Economic Affairs is planning to conduct road shows abroad to promote Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Economic Develop­ment Policy (EDP) to attract investors. Economic Affairs Minister Khandu Wangchuk, during a press briefing this month, said that a team from the ministry would soon visit countries like India, Bangladesh, Sin­gapore and Thailand to make […]    [read more]

Meet the champions
Yeedzin FC were crowned the A Division Champions 2010 after beating Druk Star 5-0 in the closing match of the cham­pionship on August 17. The club was awarded Nu 250,000 along with a roll­ing trophy and the chance to represent Bhutan at the AFC President Cup next year. Yeedzin won the league with a game […]    [read more]

Race on for Miss Bhutan title
The race for Miss Bhutan 2010 has begun in earnest with the grooming sessions already started from this week. The 18 finalists have been put up in three apartments in Langjophakha, Thimphu, where four girls share a room and popular actor Aum Lha­mo is their resident mother. To motivate the girls, the three apartments have […]    [read more]

Happiness for bardo beings
The other day, I was reading something on Gross National Hap­piness. How happy are we? Exactly what constitutes happiness? His Majesty King Jigme Singye Wangchuck didn’t come out with a mantra that will make you happy. As a child, I have heard the story of a soldier who stole a tinder box from a witch. […]    [read more]

Second Gold for Bhutan
Ugyen Wangchuk, who has earned a name for himself in the world of martial arts both within and outside the coun­try, has brought home another gold medal during All India Karate Independence Cup held in Kurukshetra, Haryana, in India. This is his second gold medal in the same champi­onship. He won the gold in 2008. […]    [read more]

Chongshing gets first farm road
The people of Chongsh­ing Gewog in Pemagat­shel can now look forward to a better life with the construction of a 19.615-km farm road having begun last week. The farm road connects the gewog centre at Thongsa village with Denchi, the proposed new dzongkhag headquarters. The road will meet the on-going Khar-Yurung feeder road at Mandi […]    [read more]

Bhutan’s tobacco ban: A visitor’s perspective
Bhutan has distin­guished itself inter­nationally through the 2004 ban on the sale of tobacco. Past difficulties in enforcing the ban have led to the passing of the new To­bacco Control Bill to provide serious penalties for the sale of tobacco. However, this led to fresh criticism of the ban as unworkable and ineffective. From a […]    [read more]

Himalayan countries discuss roadmap to adapt to climate change
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal on August 18 started a three-day high-level technical consultative meet­ing in Kathmandu, Nepal. Called ‘Sacred Himalayas for Water, Livelihoods, and Bio-cultural Heritage’, the expected outcome of the meeting will create a road­map leading to the proposed ‘Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas in Bhutan 2011’. Dr Jagadish Chandra Pokharel, Vice […]    [read more]

Review of Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty, the latest film in town, is not the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty as the title suggests but the story of an ordinary boy who believes that he will meet his dream girl one day. The film starts with an old woman telling a story to some small children. She tells the children […]    [read more]

Community forest bears fruits
Tashi Wangchuk, 32, and his family from huentse lived with his in-laws for a decade in perfect harmony. However, with time, the size of the family grew and he realized that he needed to build a house for his own family. But with no easy access to timbers and credit facilities, his hope remained dim. […]    [read more]




Bhutan News archive for 25 August 2010

Wednesday 25 August 2010 @ 1:02 am

International Sources

Immigrants Weave New Connections Through Old Looms - msnbc.com
Old wooden looms sat unused at an arts center in Cleveland for more than 20 years - until an Ohio woman started weekly weaving workshops where Bhutanese women practice English and learn American-style weaving. Rebecca …    [read more]

Something for everyone at Peoplefest - Boston Globe
Manchester, N.H. has embraced its diversity, and its Peoplefest is a celebration proving so. Traditions established more than a century ago by its original settlers - the French Canadian, Scottish/Irish, Italian, Greek …    [read more]

Get the most out of your garage sale - San Jose Mercury News
Pockets heavy with quarters and dollar bills, I collapse on my white plastic patio chair at 2 p.m., exhausted. I’ve just learned through seven hours of hawking junk on my driveway that having a garage sale isn …    [read more]

Sacramento schools eligible for federal refugee money - Sacramento Bee
Sacramento School districts are eligible for federal funding to help 1,801 refugee children in grades K-12 who have arrived in the county in the last three years, the California Department of Social Services …    [read more]

Filmmaker to tape Norbu’s walk for Tibet - Herald Times
A filmmaker will document Bloomington resident Jigme Norbu’s walk from Indianapolis to Toronto. This isn’t the first walk Norbu — son of the late Indiana University professor Thubten Norbu, and nephew of …    [read more]

Shopkick funding shows real world mobile trend - Reuters
SAN FRANCISCO (Private Equity Week) - Shopkick, a Palo Alto, California-based startup that tries to get people to use their mobile phones to go shopping in the physical world, raised $15 million in a Series B …    [read more]

Líder hispano Mario Obledo muere en Sacramento - Houston Chronicle
Mario Obledo, el presidente de la Coalición Nacional de Organizaciones Hispanas, ha muerto, informaron sus familiares. Tenía 78 años. La esposa de Obledo, Keda Alcalá-Obledo, dijo que el activista …    [read more]

CBS and Anil Ambani’s Reliance Broadcast Network launch TV channels in India - Minneapolis Star Tribune
MUMBAI, India - A unit of CBS Corp. said Wednesday it has formed a joint venture with billionaire Anil Ambani’s Reliance Broadcast Network to launch television channels in India, joining a host of foreign …    [read more]

China Tightens Grip on Tibet’s Business Class - Time
Weeks after a prominent Tibetan arts dealer was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges his supporters say were trumped up after he crossed powerful local officials, a second Tibetan businessman has been …    [read more]

Kuensel - Bhutan’s National Newspaper

The Buddha has landed
Drukair’s first rival completes its first flight on the Paro-Kathmadu sector

24 August, 2010 - Bhutan’s airspace just got a little bit busier. Buddha air successfully conducted its first commercial flight between the Paro and Kathmandu yesterday.    [read more]

From highway to ‘dry’ way
Road widening work disrupts water supply pipes

Gomchu, Khaling 24 August, 2010 - Villagers of Gomchu under Khaling gewog in Trashigang are back to drinking water from seasonal brooks and springs rather than from piped supply lines.
   [read more]

Regional recovery from last recession
Laying groundwork for ministerial meet today

4th Finance Secretaries’s Meeting 24 August, 2010 - Finance secretaries of seven South Asian association for regional cooperation (SAARC) nations are in the capital to discuss their economic condition for the past year and build the regional economic conditions.
   [read more]

Neither abandoned nor handed over
RSDP manager blames delay on lack of gewog support for project

Joenkhar CPS Hostel 24 August, 2010 - The rural skills development project (RSDP) manager refuted charges against him of abandoning the construction of a girl’s hostel in Joenkhar community primary school in Sakteng, Trashigang, as factually incorrect.    [read more]

The quality control clause
Chiphen Rigpel 24 August, 2010 - Indian distributors of electronic devices have to commit to buy back the dysfunctional ones that Bhutan would use for Chiphen Rigpel.    [read more]

OL sues govt.
Bhutan’s first constitutional case will be heard by the high court

Taxation Policy 24 August, 2010 - If the high court accepts the case, Bhutan’s first constitutional case will be over the government’s taxation policy, which the opposition leader has questioned and now litigated against.    [read more]

Woman vendor detained
12-year old girl returned to guardian

Child Trafficking 24 August, 2010 - Thimphu police have detained a woman, a vendor at the Lungtenzampa bus terminal, for allegedly trafficking a 12-year old girl to Nepal last year.    [read more]

Landslide at dzong viewpoint
24 August, 2010 - Hundreds of travellers on the lateral highway got stranded at Trongsa after a massive landslide blocked the road yesterday, near the dzong viewpoint.    [read more]

A trial of democracy?
24 August, 2010 - It appears the ruling government might be dragged to court, with the opposition leader having filed a case in the high court on the government’s revision of sales and customs duty.    [read more]

Gone phut before once put to use
Dialysis machines 24 August, 2010 - The regional referral hospital in Mongar boasts two dialysis machines; but the machines, worth over four million ngultrums, installed about six years ago, are still not put to use, because of a lack of technicians, according to hospital officials.    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Meet the champions
Yeedzin FC were crowned the A Division Champions 2010 after beating Druk Star 5-0 in the closing match of the cham­pionship on August 17. The club was awarded Nu 250,000 along with a roll­ing trophy and the chance to represent Bhutan at the AFC President Cup next year. Yeedzin won the league with a game […]    [read more]

Race on for Miss Bhutan title
The race for Miss Bhutan 2010 has begun in earnest with the grooming sessions already started from this week. The 18 finalists have been put up in three apartments in Langjophakha, Thimphu, where four girls share a room and popular actor Aum Lha­mo is their resident mother. To motivate the girls, the three apartments have […]    [read more]

Happiness for bardo beings
The other day, I was reading something on Gross National Hap­piness. How happy are we? Exactly what constitutes happiness? His Majesty King Jigme Singye Wangchuck didn’t come out with a mantra that will make you happy. As a child, I have heard the story of a soldier who stole a tinder box from a witch. […]    [read more]

Second Gold for Bhutan
Ugyen Wangchuk, who has earned a name for himself in the world of martial arts both within and outside the coun­try, has brought home another gold medal during All India Karate Independence Cup held in Kurukshetra, Haryana, in India. This is his second gold medal in the same champi­onship. He won the gold in 2008. […]    [read more]

Chongshing gets first farm road
The people of Chongsh­ing Gewog in Pemagat­shel can now look forward to a better life with the construction of a 19.615-km farm road having begun last week. The farm road connects the gewog centre at Thongsa village with Denchi, the proposed new dzongkhag headquarters. The road will meet the on-going Khar-Yurung feeder road at Mandi […]    [read more]

Bhutan’s tobacco ban: A visitor’s perspective
Bhutan has distin­guished itself inter­nationally through the 2004 ban on the sale of tobacco. Past difficulties in enforcing the ban have led to the passing of the new To­bacco Control Bill to provide serious penalties for the sale of tobacco. However, this led to fresh criticism of the ban as unworkable and ineffective. From a […]    [read more]

Himalayan countries discuss roadmap to adapt to climate change
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal on August 18 started a three-day high-level technical consultative meet­ing in Kathmandu, Nepal. Called ‘Sacred Himalayas for Water, Livelihoods, and Bio-cultural Heritage’, the expected outcome of the meeting will create a road­map leading to the proposed ‘Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas in Bhutan 2011’. Dr Jagadish Chandra Pokharel, Vice […]    [read more]

Review of Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty, the latest film in town, is not the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty as the title suggests but the story of an ordinary boy who believes that he will meet his dream girl one day. The film starts with an old woman telling a story to some small children. She tells the children […]    [read more]

Community forest bears fruits
Tashi Wangchuk, 32, and his family from huentse lived with his in-laws for a decade in perfect harmony. However, with time, the size of the family grew and he realized that he needed to build a house for his own family. But with no easy access to timbers and credit facilities, his hope remained dim. […]    [read more]

Demonizing the Buddha
Our reporter Jigme Wangchuk goes to Paro to find out whether there is truth in a ghostly story surrounding a possessed television set If there was a modern Bhutan ghost story, it must be the one woven around a television set on a ridge above Tsento village in Paro believed to be possessed. Tsento villagers […]    [read more]




Bhutan News archive for 24 August 2010

Tuesday 24 August 2010 @ 2:02 am

International Sources

School districts eligible for funding to aid refugees - Sacramento Bee
Sacramento schools are eligible for federal funding to help 1,801 refugee children in grades K-12 who have arrived in the county in the last three years, the California Department of Social Services announced …    [read more]

Immigrants Weave New Connections Through Old Looms - msnbc.com
Old wooden looms sat unused at an arts center in Cleveland for more than 20 years - until an Ohio woman started weekly weaving workshops where Bhutanese women practice English and learn American-style weaving. Rebecca …    [read more]

Sacramento schools eligible for federal refugee money - Sacramento Bee
Sacramento School districts are eligible for federal funding to help 1,801 refugee children in grades K-12 who have arrived in the county in the last three years, the California Department of Social Services …    [read more]

Shopkick funding shows real world mobile trend - Reuters
SAN FRANCISCO (Private Equity Week) - Shopkick, a Palo Alto, California-based startup that tries to get people to use their mobile phones to go shopping in the physical world, raised $15 million in a Series B …    [read more]

Get the most out of your garage sale - San Jose Mercury News
Pockets heavy with quarters and dollar bills, I collapse on my white plastic patio chair at 2 p.m., exhausted. I’ve just learned through seven hours of hawking junk on my driveway that having a garage sale isn …    [read more]

Líder hispano Mario Obledo muere en Sacramento - Houston Chronicle
Mario Obledo, el presidente de la Coalición Nacional de Organizaciones Hispanas, ha muerto, informaron sus familiares. Tenía 78 años. La esposa de Obledo, Keda Alcalá-Obledo, dijo que el activista …    [read more]

Manage Disaster, SDF, SAFTA agenda of SAARC - PR Inside
2010-08-24 07:16:17 - Finance Minister SAARC nations will be attending a three day conference in Thimpu from Tuesday. The conference will draw consensus for the newly operational SAARC Development Fund (SDF), and second …    [read more]

China Tightens Grip on Tibet’s Business Class - Time
Weeks after a prominent Tibetan arts dealer was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges his supporters say were trumped up after he crossed powerful local officials, a second Tibetan businessman has been …    [read more]

CBS in joint venture to launch India TV channels - Forbes
MUMBAI, India — A unit of CBS Corp. said Wednesday it has formed a joint venture with billionaire Anil Ambani’s Reliance Broadcast Network to launch television channels in India, joining a host of foreign …    [read more]

Kuensel - Bhutan’s National Newspaper

From today, fliers have a choice
After 29 years, Drukair’s monopoly ends (but only for Paro-K’mandu for now)
To operate four times a week with plans to go daily

Buddha Air 23 August, 2010 - When one of Nepal’s private airlines, Buddha air touches down at Paro airport today, the country’s 29 year old commercial aviation industry will be welcoming its first foreign airline that will operate commercial air services to Bhutan.
   [read more]

Collusion alleged
Businessmen and officials work hand in glove, say residents
About 95 percent of the rural timer land up in sawmills

Illegal Timber Business 23 August, 2010 - The residents of Haa, where illegal timber business is rampant, allege dzongkhag and forest officials are colluding with local businessmen in transporting the illegal timber.
   [read more]

Semso
23 August, 2010 - The Gyalpoi Zimpoen’s office delivered semso to the family of Late Leki Wangchuk who was killed by a falling boulder on the night of August 21. Leki Wangchuk, 30, a native of Gelephu Sershong under Sarpang Dzongkhag was working in the Punatsangchu Hydroelectric Project. He is survived by his wife and two children.    [read more]

Project abandoned
Incomplete Joenkhar school hostel left without being handed over

23 August, 2010 - The rural skills development project (RSDP) has abandoned the construction of a girl’s hostel in Joenkhar community primary school in Sakteng gewog, Trashigang, that started in early 2009 and was supposed to be completed by the start of the this academic session.    [read more]

Picture Story

23 August, 2010 - His Holiness the Je Khenpo Trulku Jigme Choeda confered dhar to four newly appointed Lam Netens of Trashigang, Chhukha, Gelephu and Tashiyangtse dzongkhags in Tashichoedzong yesterday morning.

(From left) Lam Jigme Chopel of Trashigang, Lam Ugyen Dorji of Chukha, Lam Lotay Singay of Gelephu, Lam Yeshi Tenzin of Trashiyangste.
   [read more]

Bridging the gap
23 August, 2010 - As in the case of other aspects of transition to modernity between one nation and another, and within a nation, the transformation in terms of ICT has been marked by unequal distribution.
   [read more]

RENEW tracks down errant father
Wilful Negligence 23 August, 2010 - It reads like a scene from a Bollywood flick, where an urban knave visits a village, woos an innocent maiden, painting a comfortable town life before disappearing on the announcement of her conception.    [read more]

Where will the axe fall?
Fund shortage means some investment plans may fall by the wayside

Bhutan Power Corporation Limited 23 August, 2010 - Some of its investments plans to improve and upgrade power supply and services will have to go, but which ones are to be struck off the list is the dilemma confronting the Bhutan Power corporation limited (BPCL), the country’s power supply and distribution company.    [read more]

Picture Story

23 August, 2010 - Prime minister, Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley, at the construction site of the Institute of Language and Cultural Studies (ILCS) in Taktse, Trongsa, on August 20.

The prime minister was accompanied by the education
minister, Lyonpo Thakur S Powdyel, vice chancellor of royal university of Bhutan Dasho Pema Thinley, GNH secretary Karma Tshiteem and several parliamentarians.

The Takse campus is spread over a 69-acre area about 25 km from Trongsa town.
   [read more]

Sherubste takes rolling trophy

Imtrat Rolling Trophy 23 August, 2010 - Sherubtse College beat the Yonphula Army team in two straight but intense matches yesterday to win the annual Imtrat volleyball competition rolling trophy.
   [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Happiness for bardo beings
The other day, I was reading something on Gross National Hap­piness. How happy are we? Exactly what constitutes happiness? His Majesty King Jigme Singye Wangchuck didn’t come out with a mantra that will make you happy. As a child, I have heard the story of a soldier who stole a tinder box from a witch. […]    [read more]

Second Gold for Bhutan
Ugyen Wangchuk, who has earned a name for himself in the world of martial arts both within and outside the coun­try, has brought home another gold medal during All India Karate Independence Cup held in Kurukshetra, Haryana, in India. This is his second gold medal in the same champi­onship. He won the gold in 2008. […]    [read more]

Chongshing gets first farm road
The people of Chongsh­ing Gewog in Pemagat­shel can now look forward to a better life with the construction of a 19.615-km farm road having begun last week. The farm road connects the gewog centre at Thongsa village with Denchi, the proposed new dzongkhag headquarters. The road will meet the on-going Khar-Yurung feeder road at Mandi […]    [read more]

Bhutan’s tobacco ban: A visitor’s perspective
Bhutan has distin­guished itself inter­nationally through the 2004 ban on the sale of tobacco. Past difficulties in enforcing the ban have led to the passing of the new To­bacco Control Bill to provide serious penalties for the sale of tobacco. However, this led to fresh criticism of the ban as unworkable and ineffective. From a […]    [read more]

Himalayan countries discuss roadmap to adapt to climate change
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal on August 18 started a three-day high-level technical consultative meet­ing in Kathmandu, Nepal. Called ‘Sacred Himalayas for Water, Livelihoods, and Bio-cultural Heritage’, the expected outcome of the meeting will create a road­map leading to the proposed ‘Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas in Bhutan 2011’. Dr Jagadish Chandra Pokharel, Vice […]    [read more]

Review of Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty, the latest film in town, is not the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty as the title suggests but the story of an ordinary boy who believes that he will meet his dream girl one day. The film starts with an old woman telling a story to some small children. She tells the children […]    [read more]

Community forest bears fruits
Tashi Wangchuk, 32, and his family from huentse lived with his in-laws for a decade in perfect harmony. However, with time, the size of the family grew and he realized that he needed to build a house for his own family. But with no easy access to timbers and credit facilities, his hope remained dim. […]    [read more]

Demonizing the Buddha
Our reporter Jigme Wangchuk goes to Paro to find out whether there is truth in a ghostly story surrounding a possessed television set If there was a modern Bhutan ghost story, it must be the one woven around a television set on a ridge above Tsento village in Paro believed to be possessed. Tsento villagers […]    [read more]

Doctors and healers need to coexist
Sir, Recently, the death of a four-year-old girl in Mongar, probably due to treatment a traditional healer had given her, has provoked debate and anxiety in the society. While some people, especially modern medical practitioners, blame traditional healers of killing people with their unso­phisticated ways of treatment, one cannot ignore the fact that we have […]    [read more]

Discussing public space
Journalists, civil society employees and the members of UN Solution Exchange on August 18 took part in a dis­cussion on public space. The discussion was part of a visioning workshop orga­nized by Solution Exchange Bhutan to promote public space for democratic dis­course. Public spaces play a central role in the formation of demo­cratic culture in […]    [read more]