National News

…𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚-𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒂𝒑𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Kezang Choden The National Assembly of Bhutan has reaffirmed the country’s commitment to equality, education, and the protection of vulnerable groups, citing key provisions from the constitution. Article 7.15 guarantees that all persons are equal before the law, ensuring equal protection and prohibiting discrimination based on …

…𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒔 By Lhendup Wangmo More than 40 Bhutanese startups gathered in Thimphu at the end of August to present a wide range of innovative products and ideas, underscoring the role of entrepreneurship in tackling unemployment and strengthening the economy. The program was organized by the Department of Employment and …

…𝒂𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒉𝒐𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒚 By Sonam ChodenAlcohol is no longer simply a cultural element of Bhutanese gatherings; it has become one of the country’s pressing social problems, affecting families, claiming lives, and imposing economic burdens. According to the Royal Bhutan Police (RBP), between 2020 and 2024, Bhutan recorded 1,527 cases of domestic violence directly …

…𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆 By Sonam ChodenAlmost two years after staffing shortages were first reported at Nanong Basic Health Unit (BHU) and Tsatsi Primary Health Care (PHC) in Pemagatshel, the facilities continue to operate with only one Health Assistant (HA), leaving the community with limited access to healthcare. In Samtse, …

…𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒆𝒄𝒐-𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒚, 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚-𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚-𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang Bhutan is taking a significant step toward sustainable tourism with the launch of the Bhutan Green Hotel Standard, announced during a recent tourism forum. The initiative promotes eco-friendly, energy-efficient, and community-based practices among hotels and tour operators, ensuring that tourism growth …

…𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊-𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔 By Yeshi DolmaAs Australia prepares for a weekend of nationwide protests, Bhutanese residents and students are monitoring developments closely, balancing daily routines with caution. The “March for Australia,” scheduled for Sunday, August 31, 2025, has been widely promoted online as a stand against “mass migration” and “political cowardice,” …

…𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔, 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 By Lhendup WangmoMental health has emerged as a growing concern in Bhutan’s civil service, with rising cases of stress, burnout and emotional strain reported among government employees. Officials and employees say long working hours, increasing workloads and public accountability are affecting personal wellbeing and workplace …

…𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒚𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌 𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 By Kezang Choden The Annual Report of the National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology (NCHM) for the fiscal year 2024-2025 highlights growing concerns over Bhutan’s glaciers, warning of negative mass balances in several river basins over the coming decades. According to the report, the mass balance of a glacier …

…𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 By Sonam ChodenThe Bhutan Information, Communications, and Media Authority (BICMA) has raised concerns over extreme punishment challenges and other risky trends on social media, particularly TikTok. Popular among Bhutanese content creators and live streamers, these trends often encourage participants to engage in physically or psychologically dangerous activities in pursuit …

…𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆 By Lhendup Wangmo Passang Tshering’s hands move with careful precision as he dips a fine brush into vibrant ochre paint. Morning light filters softly through the small window of his modest workshop in Wangdue Phodrang. The air carries the scent of pinewood and earthy pigments, …