By Dr QU Dongyu,Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations This year’s World Food Day marks 80 years since the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), whose mandate from the outset has been to ensure humanity’s freedom from want.Today, around 8.2 percent of people face chronic undernourishment. That compares to roughly …

…𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒔 By Kinzang Lhamo Gambling-related offences in the country have fluctuated over the past four years, with a total of 76 cases recorded between 2022 and October 13, 2025. While there was a noticeable decline in 2024, gambling remains a recurring offence, particularly card gambling, which continues to dominate …

…𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅 2-5 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔, 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔-𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 By Lhendup Wangmo The Autsho Early Childhood Care and Development Centre has opened a new classroom space dedicated to hands-on arts and craft activities, including bead threading and colorful textile work. These “tiny fingers and colorful threads” are not just play; they are teaching children to appreciate …

…𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌𝒔 By Kezang Choden According to the World Bank, Early Warning Systems (EWS) are designed to predict and provide timely information about potential hazards, helping communities and organizations take preventive measures to reduce their impact. EWS are built on four key components- risk knowledge and analysis, monitoring and forecasting, dissemination …

…𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang A survey has been conducted to plan farm roads in three locations under Dorithasa Chiwog, led by Tshogpa Passing Dorji and Engineer Chamling Rai, with active participation from the local community. The initiative aims to improve rural connectivity and support agricultural …

…𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒈𝒂𝒑𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒊𝒓-𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆. By Sonam Choden A recent Regional Workshop on Air Pollution, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI), and Health, organised by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), highlighted that air quality concerns are intensifying, particularly in urban centres such as Thimphu, …

𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝑫𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝑩𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝑨𝑹𝑫𝑪 𝑾𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒓 By Leki Chungdon As the crisp autumn air settles over the east, the staff of the Agriculture Research and Development Centre (ARDC) at Wengkhar village, Mongar Gewog, Mongar Dzongkhag, in collaboration with officials from the Commercial Agriculture and Resilient Livelihoods Enhancement Programme (CARLEP), have begun the seasonal practice of drying persimmons. This cherished …

…𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒅𝒐𝒎, 𝒚𝒂𝒌 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅, 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. By Kezang ChodenIn the high mountains of Bhutan, yak pastoralism remains one of the most enduring and sustainable ways of life, rooted in the harmony between people, animals, and nature. According to the International Centre for Integrated …

…𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎𝒔 By Yeshi DolmaFor years, bullying was a silent shadow in school corridors, a problem too common to ignore, yet too complex to solve. Today, that shadow is lifting. Teachers, counsellors, and students across the country say bullying is finally declining, not because of punishment, but because …

Global recognition of the nation’s tourism model highlights its unique approach, but behind the accolades lies a pressing challenge: many hotels, tour operators, and local communities are struggling to benefit from the sector’s growth. While awards underline international appreciation, the reality on the ground shows uneven distribution of economic gains, threatening the sustainability of the tourism industry. The hotel industry …