National News

…𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒖 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒏 2025 𝒑𝒖𝒕𝒔 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒂𝒑 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒎. By Tashi Tshewang On September 27, 2025, with the successful launch of its first internationally certified Thimphu Marathon. The event drew around 2,000 runners, including over 155 international participants from countries such as Denmark, the USA, Singapore, India, China, and Japan. Athletes competed across the Marathon …

…𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆-𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 By Sonam Choki The establishment of the Mini Dry Port (MDP) in Phuentsholing and Alley, Pasakha custom station under Chukha Dzongkhag, coupled with the introduction of the electronic Customs Management System (eCMS), has transformed Bhutan’s border trade operations. What once involved long …

…𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒈𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒊𝒓𝒂 By Kezang Choden The residents of Sershong Gewog under Sarpang Dzongkhag have come up with an initiative to promote Bhutanese culture while creating new economic opportunities. They are offering traditional Bhutanese dresses to tourists at a reasonable charge, allowing visitors to dress up and experience the elegance …

…𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 1,000 𝑴𝑾 𝒃𝒚 2029 𝒂𝒏𝒅 5,000 𝑴𝑾 𝒃𝒚 2040 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒓𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 By KinzangLhamo & SonamChodenBhutan is fast emerging as a regional leader in renewable energy, with an ambitious push to expand solar power across the country. The Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB), through the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MoENR), …

…𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒂𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒕𝒚, 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 By Sonam ChodenBhutan is leveraging digital technologies to transform healthcare regulation, aiming to ensure patients receive safe, high-quality care while preserving the country’s unique dual healthcare system. Represented by Dr. Ugyen Tshewang, Director of the Bhutan Qualifications and Professionals Certification …

…𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang In the remote villages along the Jomori River in eastern Bhutan, efforts to protect the critically endangered White-bellied Heron, one of the rarest birds in the world, are gaining momentum. Despite two previous surveys along the river failing to record any sightings, the …

Thinley DorjiPhuentsholing In a nation where every public fund carries immense responsibility, allegations of favoritism in the Economy Stimulus Plan (ESP) strike at the core of public trust. Recent claims suggesting that certain recipients may have connections to political circles have sparked unease and debate across the country. While the Prime Minister has called for an independent investigation and the …

…𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒓𝒖𝒑𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔 By Kezang ChodenTsirang Dzongkhag has been facing a prolonged shortage of fuel and LPG cylinders, creating widespread difficulties for both government institutions and residents. The shortage has reached a point where local leaders and citizens are calling on the government for urgent intervention. The persistent scarcity at …

…𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒑𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 By Leki Chungdon Farmers in Jangcholing village, Samtse Gewog, have for decades relied on hollow log hives for beekeeping. The shift to modern wooden beehives is now changing the practice, improving honey yields and providing households with an additional source of income. Ran Bdr Gurung is among the growing number …

…𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒅𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 By Sonam Choden Medication myths continue to influence health behaviors and treatment outcomes across Bhutan, despite improvements in healthcare infrastructure and access. Misconceptions about medicines affect how people seek care, follow prescriptions, and manage chronic illnesses. One common myth is that medicines from well-known companies are inherently more …