National News

Global recognition of the nation’s tourism model highlights its unique approach, but behind the accolades lies a pressing challenge: many hotels, tour operators, and local communities are struggling to benefit from the sector’s growth. While awards underline international appreciation, the reality on the ground shows uneven distribution of economic gains, threatening the sustainability of the tourism industry. The hotel industry …

…𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆-𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒆𝒔 By Yeshi DolmaIn the nation, children who grow up without consistent care-giving face long-term challenges that can affect their development, behavior, and mental health. Experts warn that early neglect and trauma can shape life trajectories, leading to delayed speech, substance use, aggression, and cycles of mental …

…𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒌𝒔, 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒕 𝒖𝒔𝒆 By Leki Chungdon The ongoing initiative to empower communities in eastern Bhutan with digital literacy and cybersecurity awareness has reached Lhuntse Dzongkhag, marking the fifth successful stop under the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) Foundation–funded project “Enhancing Digital Literacy and Cybersecurity Awareness in …

…𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌-𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚 By Kinzang Lhamo Incessant heavy rainfall across Bhutan on October 4-5 triggered flash floods, landslides, and bridge washouts, damaging critical infrastructure and isolating communities across several districts. The disaster struck just days after the Royal Government of Bhutan, …

…𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉-𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Kezang ChodenBhutan has captured the world’s attention, ranking fourth in the Condé Nast Traveller UK Readers’ Choice Awards 2025. Readers from across the United Kingdom recognized the nation for its authentic experiences, sustainable tourism, and rich cultural heritage, placing it just behind Italy, Qatar, and Japan. The …

…𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒂𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 Contributed by : Tsewang Rinchen, Managing Director, Original Bhutan Travels For the first time, Bhutan’s temples, dzongs, and natural landscapes are being captured from a bird’s-eye view by a team of internationally acclaimed photographers, offering a fresh perspective for global audiences. The project, a …

…𝑺𝒐𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒍𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang The breathtaking landscapes of Soe will come alive on October 14 and 15, 2025, as the 11th Jomolhari Mountain Festival takes place at Dangochang, beneath the majestic Jhomolhari peak. The festival is a vibrant celebration of the rich culture of highland …

…𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝑴𝒂𝒋𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒚 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍-𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang Her Majesty The Gyaltsuen Jetsun Pema Wangchuck graced the inaugural session of the Third PEMA Symposium on Mental Health, held at Zhichenkhar, Thimphu, from October 6-8. The three-day event focuses on strengthening support systems for the mental well-being of children …

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑫𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅 (𝑶𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒓 11𝒕𝒉) Wangchuk Dema, Thimphu Many people imagine teenage pregnancy as a story of two high school sweethearts caught in a moment of youthful passion and a mutual, innocent mistake. This narrative may sound harmless, even sweet. However, besides the fact that such cases of teenage pregnancy …

…𝑨𝑫𝑩 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉-𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 By Sonam ChodenAs Bhutan graduates from Least Developed Country (LDC) status, its young population faces a pivotal choice: seek opportunities abroad or build a future at home. A recent Asian Development Bank study, Youth, Labor Market Dynamics, and the Role of Entrepreneurship …