National News

…𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒄𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 By Tshering peljorBhutan is positioning itself at the forefront of the global fight against childhood lead poisoning, combining high-level international advocacy with concrete domestic steps to strengthen testing, regulation, and public awareness.At a high-level event during the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York, Prime …

…𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 By Kezang ChodenBhutan, the world’s only carbon-negative country and a global leader in environmental protection, has launched its first dedicated national air quality monitoring platform, AQ Watch-Bhutan, as concerns grow over rising pollution from domestic and transboundary sources. Despite its low-carbon status, air quality in Bhutan has …

…𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒄𝒐-𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒗𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔 By Tshering PenjorLumang Gewog in Trashigang Dzongkhag is witnessing a significant rural development intervention with the construction of 31 houses for vulnerable households under a holistic support initiative implemented by the Tarayana Foundation, with funding assistance from the Government of India through the Royal Government.Lumang was …

…𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑨𝑫𝑩 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒑 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚 By Kezang ChodenBhutan’s agriculture sector continues to face a persistent imbalance, where strong natural endowments coexist with low domestic food production and rising dependence on imports. In response, the government’s 13th Five-Year Plan outlines a dual strategy to revitalise traditional crops critical to food …

… 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 By Yeshi Dolma A man recalls receiving a phone call from a Bhutanese-named individual claiming to be a fellow Bhutanese working in Dubai. The caller persuaded him to invest 200 US dollars, promising the amount would double within a month. Reassured by the shared identity …

… 𝒕𝒆𝒏-𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒓𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒔 By Kezang Choden Bhutan has officially approved its first National Agroforestry Strategy and Action Plan for 2026-2035, marking a significant step in the country’s efforts to promote sustainable land use through the integration of trees, crops, and livestock. The strategy, led by the …

…. 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 Tshering Penjor The construction of the Royal Centre for Infectious Diseases (RCID) in Gidakom, valued at approximately Nu 2 billion, has reached 80.98 percent completion. Funded through grant assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the project is designed to strengthen the country’s healthcare capacity while generating economic and …

… 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝒃𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒘 By Kezang Choden Bhutan recorded a strong increase in tourist arrivals in January 2026, reflecting steady recovery and growing interest in the country as a travel destination, while new figures also highlight a persistent gender gap in the country’s tour guiding sector. According …

… 𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒃𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒋𝒐𝒃𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 By Kezang Choden After completing the Basic Entrepreneurship Course on New Business Creation for the Domestic Resource Service Group and unemployed youth in 2023, Tshering Peldon, a mother of five, has emerged as a strong community advocate. The training was organized …

By Tashi Tshewang, Thimphu Do we truly deserve to call ourselves concerned citizens when our actions or silence contradict the very principles our King has entrusted us to uphold? This is not a question of loyalty alone or of respect in formality. It is a question of conscience, integrity, and the kind of society we aspire to be. His Majesty …