National News

The transition from a least developed country to a middle-income status is a milestone that carries both promise and responsibility. While the formal markers of economic progress- higher gross domestic product, improved infrastructure, and greater access to services- signal achievement, the true test of development lies in how effectively a nation engages its young population. A growing cohort of educated …

…𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚-𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒔. By Sonam Choden & Lhendup WangmoBhutan is taking deliberate steps to prepare its education system and workforce for an era defined by artificial intelligence (AI) and technological transformation. From classrooms to urban planning, the country is redefining …

…𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒄𝒌 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒚𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒍𝒂𝒑𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒉𝒚𝒈𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 By Kinzang LhamoNearly one in every three ready-to-eat food samples tested across the Kingdom’s major towns was found contaminated with harmful bacteria, according to the third-quarter bulletin released by the Royal Centre for Disease Control (RCDC). The findings highlight persistent hygiene lapses in …

…𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒑 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 By Sonam Choden Despite continuous monitoring and years of public health investment, urban water systems are showing troubling signs of contamination. The Royal Centre for Disease Control’s (RCDC) Third Quarterly Bulletin 2025 reveals that nearly three-quarters of urban drinking water …

…𝑨𝑫𝑩 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒋𝒐𝒃 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚-𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 By Kezang ChodenBhutan is experiencing a major economic transition following its graduation from least developed country status in December 2023. According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the country now faces a critical need to strengthen inclusive and sustainable growth while adjusting to structural changes …

…𝒄𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒄𝒕 2023 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒕 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 By Yeshi Dolma In a case that highlights the growing legal accountability for reckless driving in Bhutan, the Civil Bench of the Thimphu Dzongkhag Court has ordered additional compensation to the family of a young man killed in a speeding accident. The judgment, delivered on August 28, …

…𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕-𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒅 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 By Kezang ChodenBhutan is set to emerge as the fastest-growing economy in South Asia, with the World Bank projecting growth to rise from 7.0 percent in 2025 to 7.3 percent in 2026. The strong performance is attributed to increased hydropower …

…𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔-𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒇𝒕 𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒅 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 By Lhendup Wangmo Fewer young people are learning the centuries-old craft of Dapa-making, putting the survival of this traditional Bhutanese art at risk. Artisans in eastern Bhutan are struggling to maintain production amid rising material costs, seasonal work, and limited interest from apprentices, …

…𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒑 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒖𝒎 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔, 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒖𝒆𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅. By Kinzang Lhamo Bhutan, long celebrated as a global environmental leader, experienced a sharp rise in fossil fuel imports in 2024 despite generating record amounts of clean electricity, official data show. The Annual Environmental Accounts Statistics …

Thukten Wangchuk, Paro In recent years, the landscape of public discourse has undergone a profound transformation, reshaping the way citizens interact with governance, institutions, and each other. Social media platforms, once primarily spaces for social connection and entertainment, have become powerful instruments for civic engagement. They are no longer just digital meeting places; they are arenas where individuals can scrutinize …