…𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒆𝒄𝒐-𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒚, 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚-𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚-𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang Bhutan is taking a significant step toward sustainable tourism with the launch of the Bhutan Green Hotel Standard, announced during a recent tourism forum. The initiative promotes eco-friendly, energy-efficient, and community-based practices among hotels and tour operators, ensuring that tourism growth …

Alcohol in Bhutan is no longer just a cultural companion at festivals or household gatherings. It has become a pervasive public health and social challenge that quietly chips away at the nation’s wellbeing. From domestic violence and motor accidents to long-term illnesses and mental health disorders, alcohol leaves behind a trail of preventable tragedies. What is more concerning is the …

…𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊-𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔 By Yeshi DolmaAs Australia prepares for a weekend of nationwide protests, Bhutanese residents and students are monitoring developments closely, balancing daily routines with caution. The “March for Australia,” scheduled for Sunday, August 31, 2025, has been widely promoted online as a stand against “mass migration” and “political cowardice,” …

…𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 By Tashi Tshewang The Bhutan Bodybuilding Association successfully represented the nation at the 19th South East Asian and 57th Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championship 2025, held from August 18 to 25 in Bangkok, Thailand. Four athletes- Sonam Phuntsho, Dawa Tashi, Chencho Drukpa, and Ugyen Pema- carried Bhutan’s flag …

…𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔, 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 By Lhendup WangmoMental health has emerged as a growing concern in Bhutan’s civil service, with rising cases of stress, burnout and emotional strain reported among government employees. Officials and employees say long working hours, increasing workloads and public accountability are affecting personal wellbeing and workplace …

…𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒚𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌 𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 By Kezang Choden The Annual Report of the National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology (NCHM) for the fiscal year 2024-2025 highlights growing concerns over Bhutan’s glaciers, warning of negative mass balances in several river basins over the coming decades. According to the report, the mass balance of a glacier …

…𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 By Sonam ChodenThe Bhutan Information, Communications, and Media Authority (BICMA) has raised concerns over extreme punishment challenges and other risky trends on social media, particularly TikTok. Popular among Bhutanese content creators and live streamers, these trends often encourage participants to engage in physically or psychologically dangerous activities in pursuit …

…𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆 By Lhendup Wangmo Passang Tshering’s hands move with careful precision as he dips a fine brush into vibrant ochre paint. Morning light filters softly through the small window of his modest workshop in Wangdue Phodrang. The air carries the scent of pinewood and earthy pigments, …

…𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒐𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍 By Kinzang Lhamo A major conservation initiative is underway in Wangsingla, Trashigang, aimed at restoring the habitat of the red panda, one of Bhutan’s most endangered and charismatic species. The Trashigang Divisional Forest Office (DFO), in collaboration with local communities and WWF-Bhutan, is leading restoration …

Tshering, Thimphu Climate change is no longer a distant threat; it is a present reality that is already reshaping lives, landscapes and livelihoods across the world. Nowhere is this more visible than in fragile ecosystems such as the Himalayas. The very mountains that have long sustained civilizations are now under severe strain, as the warming atmosphere accelerates the retreat of …