… 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒆-𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒔 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕-𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒆 By Kezang Choden International tourist arrivals grew by 4 percent in 2025, marking a strong year for global tourism as destinations across regions posted solid results. According to the first World Tourism Barometer of the year, an estimated 1.52 billion international tourists travelled worldwide …

… 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒋𝒐𝒃𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 By Yeshi Dolma When villagers in Tsamang gewog speak about dust on their crops, blasting noises echoing across the valley, or newly widened roads cutting through forested slopes, they are describing the early tremors of one of the country’s largest infrastructure undertakings in decades. On …

…. 𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔, 𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑳𝑪𝑺𝑪 𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang The Bhutan Higher Secondary Education Certificate (BHSEC) Class XII Examination 2025 results were declared on January 22, with 9,273 students from 81 higher secondary schools across the country appearing for the examinations. The results reflect strong academic performance nationwide, with Arts students registering …

…𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang Bhutan recorded an overall pass percentage of 76.98 percent in the Class VIII Board Examination 2025, with 12,039 students passing out of 12,143 registered candidates from 168 schools across the country, according to the recently declared results. The candidates represented 155 government schools and 13 private schools, spanning higher, middle, and lower secondary …

…𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang Pink onion cultivation is emerging as a promising high value vegetable enterprise in Nanong Gewog under Pemagatshel Dzongkhag, with farmers expecting a total production of around 27 metric tons this season following targeted institutional support. The initiative has provided quality pink onion seeds to …

Tashi Penjor, Thimphu The rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has created significant confusion for both consumers and vendors. While the policy aims to modernize the tax system, expand the revenue base, and streamline economic transactions, the current implementation has revealed gaps in planning and communication. The experience highlights how even well-intended reforms can face challenges if stakeholders …

…𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒈𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒚𝑺𝒂𝒌𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 By Tashi Tshewang The Annual Dham (Nye) Puja of Sektena Chiwog was observed in Sektena from January 14 to 15, coinciding with the celebration of MagaySakrati, the Hindu New Year. The two-day religious event brought together devotees from Dumtoe and Denchukha gewogs under Samtse Dzongkhag, along with …

…𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈-𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒕𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang Chhukha dzongkhag and affected local communities have expressed strong and unanimous support for the 570 MW Wangchhu Hydropower Project, reaffirming Bhutan’s commitment to renewable energy expansion and long-term energy security. The endorsement came during a public consultation held on January 12 in Jigmechhu, where communities from Bongo and …

…𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒚 𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒎 By Kezang ChodenThe Bhutan Integrated Tourism Master Plan 2025-2034 lays out a comprehensive roadmap to transform the country’s tourism sector into a sustainable driver of national development. Building on Bhutan’s long-standing High Value, Low Volume policy, the plan seeks to position the country …

…𝑹𝑺𝑷𝑵 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 16 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅’𝒔 𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒊𝒓𝒅𝒔 By Kezang Choden According to the 2025 Annual Report of the Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN), Bhutan’s population of the endangered White-bellied Heron has increased to 29 individuals, marking a 16 percent rise from 25 …