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…𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang The Royal Highland Festival 2025 will be held on 23–24 October in Laya, Gasa, under the theme “Celebrating Highland Resilience and Prosperity.” Coordinated by His Majesty’s Secretariat and Gasa Dzongkhag, the annual festival is expected to attract thousands of visitors, bringing together highland communities, cultural performers, …

…𝑵𝑬𝑨 2024 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Kinzang LhamoDespite improvements in internet connectivity, the country’s rural schools continue to lag behind their urban counterparts in digital learning opportunities, according to the National Education Assessment (NEA) 2024. While urban schools enjoy faster and more reliable internet, rural schools face frequent …

…𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 By Leki ChungdonKangpara Gewog in Trashigang has taken a pioneering step toward sustainable resource use with the formation of the Kangpara Nyera Ama Community-based Capture Fishery Management Group (CCFMG), the first such initiative in eastern Bhutan. The initiative follows a consultative meeting held in June, where local residents, stakeholders, and technical …

…𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 By Leki Chungdon Frequent electricity cut-offs have caused significant disruption to local businesses in Norbugang Gewog, Samtse Dzongkhag, leaving owners frustrated and operations paralyzed. According to business owners, the unexpected outages make it impossible to operate essential kitchen equipment, preserve perishable goods, or serve customers. One owner …

…𝐍𝐄𝐀 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐈𝐈𝐈 𝐃𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐤𝐡𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠. By Kinzang LhamoDzongkha reading literacy among grade III students has shown little improvement over the past three years, according to the National Education Assessment (NEA) 2024 report, raising concerns about the future of the national language …

…𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒖𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆, 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒄 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 By Sonam Choden Illegal dumping of waste remains a pressing challenge in Thimphu despite years of municipal interventions and the installation of CCTV cameras under the “Clean Thimphu, Clean Paro” initiative in 2025. Plastic wrappers and household garbage continue to line riverbanks, roadside verges and …

By Sonam Choden On September 27, 2025, Bhutan took its place on one of fashion’s most influential stages. For the first time, the country presented a collection at Milan Fashion Week, marking a milestone that reached far beyond style. The capsule collection, Made in Italy Meets the Kingdom of Bhutan, was co-created by Bhutanese artisans, local designers, and Italian designer …

…𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔 By Kezang Choden After successfully completing his nationwide Say No to Divorce journey, which concluded in Lingzhi Gewog, Gasa Dzongkhag, social activist Tashi Dhendup, popularly known as Acho Tashi, has embarked on a new mission with his wife, Tshering Pelden. On September 13, 2025, the …

…𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒖 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒏 2025 𝒑𝒖𝒕𝒔 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒂𝒑 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒎. By Tashi Tshewang On September 27, 2025, with the successful launch of its first internationally certified Thimphu Marathon. The event drew around 2,000 runners, including over 155 international participants from countries such as Denmark, the USA, Singapore, India, China, and Japan. Athletes competed across the Marathon …

…𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆-𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 By Sonam Choki The establishment of the Mini Dry Port (MDP) in Phuentsholing and Alley, Pasakha custom station under Chukha Dzongkhag, coupled with the introduction of the electronic Customs Management System (eCMS), has transformed Bhutan’s border trade operations. What once involved long …