People still queued up although the programme ended seven hours, 613 individuals and 60 vials of Moderna vaccines later By Tashi Namgyal The flu clinic at the RBP helipad in Thimphu was overwhelmed with more than 600 people who came to receive their second dose of covid-19 vaccineyesterday. Although the plan was to vaccinate only around 60 people who volunteered …

By Tashi Dendup He dreamt of becoming a footballer even as a kid and, despite all the odds staked against him, he continued to pursue his dream that would eventually become his ultimate goal in life. Meet Tenzin Dorji, 24, a Bhutanese international footballer who plays as a central defender for the National football team and currently plays for Druk …

Residents of Phuentsholing and Samtse are hopeful that the second jab would mean the end to their prolonged suffering By Sonam Choki While the lockdown in Samtse has been partially lifted following no fresh cases for several days, the residents of Phuentsholing are clinging to their last strands of hope of getting vaccinated at the earliest and finally getting freed …

By Tandin Dhendup The recent Annual Audit Report published by the Royal Audit Authority (RAA) has revealed some glaring incidences of corruption and misappropriation of funds in the country. While close to Nu 4 Billion were reported in irregularities in 2020, the RAA report revealed glaring loopholes especially in the road and construction sector where significant anomalies were cited in …

By Chimi Wangmo Samtse, one of the worst coronavirus-hit districts in the country, is seeing a glimmer of hope in the past few days. With no positive cases from the community since Thursday last week, the lockdown in Samtse Throm has been relaxed from Friday this week. The district has been under lockdown since Monday last week after a woman …

Prime Minister responds in equal measures By Tandin Wangchuk In the wake of the government proposing a ‘mix-and-match’ vaccine approach for the second jab, the Opposition Party, Druk Phuensum Tshogpa, has asked the government to clarify on this approach given that the WHO has still not approved of this method of inoculation. DPT said the Government should clarify the doubts …

Staff Reporter In a worrying development with the onset of the summer monsoons, a 45-year-old official from the Department of Forestry died after falling into the Phochhu while he was patrolling the river in a boat in Punakha. Police said the incident occurred at around noon on Friday below Tsekha village under Toedwang Gewog in Punakha. Sources said the deceased …

By Phurpa Wangmo In 2020, UNICEF together with its partners and donors continued to accelerate its efforts to sustain the progress made thus far and support the Government’s preparedness and response to COVID-19 to ensure that no child gets left behind in the country’s response efforts. By November last year, 9,258 babies were delivered at health facilities and 10,396 pregnant …

In Bhutan, SNV’s efforts to support women masons reveal that they are faced multiple challenges over the past decade By Tandin Wangchuk It is often stated that well-intentioned approaches to promote rural women’s entrepreneurship in the WASH sector can inadvertently marginalise them if these fail to recognise and act on gendered barriers to women’s economic empowerment. SNV and partners are …

By Chimi Wangmo One of the strong areas of co-operation in the Bhutan-India friendship chapter is undeniably providing quality healthcare. From entirely funding Bhutan’s first five year plan to building the first roads and hospitals in the country, the government of India has always been a steadfast development partner for Bhutan’s socio-economic growth and one area that has received particular …