National News

…𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌-𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang The Badminton Asia South Asia Regional Championship 2025 opened on August 15 in Bhutan, graced by the Minister of Education and Skills, Lyonpo Yeezang D. Thapa, alongside other distinguished officials and dignitaries. The ceremony marked the start of a week-long sporting event bringing together …

…𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 By Leki Chungdon Members of the Environment and Climate Change Committee (ECCC) met with local leaders and stakeholders in Pemagatshel last week to gather feedback on the proposed Livestock Bill of Bhutan 2025. The consultation was held in preparation for the Third Reading of the Bill during …

…𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒄𝒐-𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 By Tashi Tshewang Farmers, artisans, and local producers were at the heart of discussions during the Regenerative Bhutan Forum (RBF), held at Dungkar Dzong in Paro from August 18 to 20. More than 200 participants, including policymakers, tourism experts, and community representatives from Bhutan and abroad, explored ways …

Behind the routine of government offices lies a largely invisible crisis: the mental wellbeing of those who run the machinery of the state. Increasing workloads, relentless deadlines, frequent transfers and a lack of recognition are taking a tangible toll on civil servants. This is not merely a private struggle; it is a matter of public concern, affecting productivity, governance quality …

By Kezang Choden The Parliament has introduced a parliamentary session calendar to improve communication with the media, enabling journalists to access timely and accurate information on legislative proceedings. The measure was announced at the conclusion of a three-day media symposium titled “The Role of Journalism in a Bhutanese Democracy,” part of the Parliament’s initiative to strengthen media engagement and ensure …

…𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 By LhendupWangmo Samphelling Gewog has launched a Zero Waste Hour awareness program aimed at restoring the community’s commitment to proper waste management and aligning it with practices in other villages across the gewog.The initiative saw active participation from residents, reinforcing a culture of cleanliness and environmental …

…𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Tashi TshewangThe Matsutake Mushroom Festival was celebrated in Genekha on August 15 and 16, bringing together locals and visitors for one of Bhutan’s most anticipated harvest events. Over two days, participants joined mushroom foraging, sampled traditional cuisine, enjoyed cultural performances, and visited community markets set against the scenic Genekha valley. …

…𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒑 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 By Kinzang Lhamo Norgaygang Gewog has suffered one of the most destructive rainfall events in recent memory, leaving residents facing the dual burden of damaged homes and lost livelihoods. From July 28 to 30, heavy rainfall triggered landslides that blocked farm roads and destroyed acres …

…𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang Students and residents of Pelrithang, under Gelephu Gewog, are struggling to cross a river that expands dangerously during the monsoon season. The absence of a bridge has made daily commutes to Pelrithang Higher Secondary School and surrounding villages extremely risky. During heavy rains, …

…𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏 By Kezang ChodenThe Human Rights and Foreign Relations Committee of the National Assembly is currently gathering information on inclusive schools to improve the well-being of children with disabilities across Bhutan. The Committee highlighted several urgent concerns, including the absence of a dedicated budget for inclusive education, low …