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…𝑨𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚, 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒆 By Sonam Choki & Sonam DekiIn a notable departure from the traditional trajectory of global education, two 16-year-old Australian students, Owen Chester Ringrose and Archie Rae Chandler-Lee, are breaking new ground by choosing Bhutan as their destination for academic pursuits. This choice redirects their focus to …

… 𝑬𝑪𝑩’𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 By Sonam Deki As the custodian of the electoral process, the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB) is ensuring that the National Assembly (NA) Elections, 2023-2024, will be conducted with utmost integrity, transparency, and fairness. The ECB has demonstrated its full preparedness through extensive awareness programs and training initiatives. “The …

…𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒂𝒑𝒔𝒆𝒔, 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 Sonam DekiIn a bid to enhance the efficiency and integrity of the licensing process, the Bhutan Construction and Transport Authority (BCTA) has undertaken a comprehensive internal review, leading to the revocation of 1603 licenses in Phuentsholing. The review revealed various instances of procedural lapses and failure …

…20 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝑵𝒖. 63,634 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑩𝑭𝑫𝑨 By Phurpa Wangmo The Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (CCAA) with the help of Bhutan Food and Drug Authority (BFDA), Samtse Dzongkhag, and Bhutan Standards Bureau (BSB) conducted an extensive market surveillance operation spanning over …

…𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 20 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 By Phurpa Wangmo In the capital, a growing number of commuters are expressing dissatisfaction with taxi drivers who allegedly charge excessive fares, particularly targeting new passengers. The issue has prompted commuters to …

…𝑳𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 2018, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒘. 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕, 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎, 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒔. Sonam DekiIn a startling revelation, it has been reported that roughly 5,000 printed driver’s licenses are currently unclaimed in Thimphu alone. …

…𝒗𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒛𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒔, 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒔, 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 2023 𝑬𝒍 𝑵𝒊𝒏̃𝒐 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆. Susmika SubbaIn a concerted effort to navigate the rising challenges posed by its unique geographical location, Bhutan is proactively addressing environmental risks and climate change impacts. The 2024 Regional Human Development Report …

…𝑨𝒏𝒏𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 2022-2023 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒔 126,501 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒗𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑱𝒖𝒏𝒆 30, 2023 Sonam DekiThe Police Traffic Division has documented a total of 921 reported accident cases in the country for the current year, out of which 189 have occurred in Thimphu. It’s worth noting that this figure encompasses both minor and major incidents that have been officially …

Editorial Team As Bhutan prepares for the upcoming elections, political parties are laying bare their strengths and acknowledging the challenges they face in their bid for public support. Each party brings a unique narrative, highlighting distinct qualities that they believe set them apart. Druk Thuendrel TshogpaThe spokesperson for Druk Thuendrel Tshogpa stated, “DTT’s greatest strength lies in our team, composed …

…𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚-𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 ‘𝑷𝒂𝒚𝒅𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑭𝒂𝒓𝒎’ 𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒑 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 Phurpa WangmoPaydung village in Kangpara Gewog, located in Trashigang, is gearing up for its winter harvest by the end of November. Six farmers, collaborating under the initiative “Paydung Integrated Farm,” have cultivated crops on a 4.56-acre expanse, marking the village’s first-ever winter crop production. “The ‘Paydung Integrated Farm’ …