National News

By Namgay Pelzang (Peza)Freelance Writer, Perth, Western Australia As the white dragon bird landed on Australian soil carrying its historic Bhutan flag,10th October 2024 marked an unprecedented historic era!With copious affirmations, the hearts of the Bhutanese diaspora overflowed, filling the comments with joyful emojis and sacred prayer symbols.With plentiful accolades from the Senator for Western Australia, the parliamentary house was …

…𝑭𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝑩𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝑭𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒔, 𝑩𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝑩𝑭𝑩 𝑪𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒄 By Rinzin Norbu The Basketball Federation of Bhutan (BFB) hosted an inspiring Youth Basketball Clinic this weekend, aimed at fostering young talent and nurturing the next generation of basketball players. The two-day event brought together students aged 6 to 19, offering a unique opportunity to learn …

…𝑨𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒓’𝒔 𝑽𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕 𝑯𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝑮𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑼.𝑺.-𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝑻𝒊𝒆𝒔 By Nedup Dorji and Rinzin Norbu Eric Garcetti, the United States Ambassador to India, recently engaged with Bhutan’s young baseball and softball players, leaving an inspiring impression during his visit to the Bhutan Baseball & Softball Association (BBSA). The event, held on the grounds of Dechencholing Higher Secondary School with the support of …

…𝑯𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝑳𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝑫𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 76 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏; 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝑼𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑨𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒈-𝑻𝒆𝒓𝒎 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒔 By Rinzin Norbu, The first National Blood Lead Level (BLL) Survey in Bhutan has revealed alarming levels of lead exposure among children, with three out of every four children tested displaying blood lead levels that pose significant health risks. Conducted by …

…𝑨 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒂𝒔𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑫𝒛𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒌𝒉𝒂 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 By Kezang Choden In a significant move to bolster Dzongkha literacy among students, Tsangkha Middle Secondary School, in collaboration with the Tsangkha Gewog in Dagana organized a comprehensive one-day training session on Dzongkha formal letter writing This initiative aims to equip students with essential writing skills necessary for their …

…𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒚𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 By Lhendup WangmoFor Bhutanese commuters, the journey across Indian highways, especially the stretches from Phuentsholing to Samdrup Jongkhar, has become more challenging and costly. Recently, toll fees have increased significantly, with charges now reaching Nu 700 at each toll gate, adding up to a steep Nu 4,800 …

…𝑺𝒄𝒂𝒎 𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝑺𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑴𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝑳𝒐𝒔𝒕 By Kezang ChodenScam cases are on the rise across Bhutan, with more individuals falling victim to a variety of fraudulent schemes, often finding it impossible to recover their lost funds. According to recent data from the Royal Bhutan Police (RBP), 124 scam cases have been registered this year, involving a total of Nu 18.2M …

…𝑻𝒂𝒙𝒊 𝑫𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒏 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒚𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝑬𝑽 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒔 𝑳𝒂𝒈 By Kezang ChodenBhutan’s ambitious drive towards a green transportation system is encountering challenges, as maintenance issues and loan defaults emerge in the country’s Electric Vehicle (EV) taxi program. The initiative, part of the “Bhutan Sustainable Low-Emission Urban Transport System” project funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), has aimed …

…𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑷𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒏 𝑨𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝑹𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 By Lhendup WangmoIn a significant effort to enhance rural financial accessibility, the Economic Stimulus Plan (ESP) Secretariat, in collaboration with Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) and the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA), recently conducted a three-day training program to empower Community Centre (CC) Operators. The program aimed to address ongoing …

…𝑳𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝑬𝒎𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝑶𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝑬𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝑵𝒖 70,000 𝒊𝒏 𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒉 By Kezang Choden In a significant step towards promoting sustainable agriculture and boosting local incomes, the organic vegetable market in Samtse Town, which opened its doors last month has already proven to be a success. In its first month of operation, the market earned an impressive …