As the 2018 polls approaches Bhutan’s social media scene is becoming host to deliberately created ‘fake news,’ that spins tall and sensational yarns with mainly a political twist or aim. The surprising thing is that a lot of what is posted as fake news is being accepted as the truth …

The people with eyesight seem to see so little that they often fail to recognize what is around them. Whenever I hear about people falling off the cliff or bumping into objects on the way, I just wonder why they have not been able to make full use of their …

The rescue of Bhutanese girls from Gulf countries brings to light several cross cutting issues in Bhutan. The current government has carried out a series of mass employment programs from schemes like the GEP of the labour ministry to opening new State Owned Enterprises to sending youth abroad. A consequence …

Exams are particularly stressful events. During the final hours leading up to the day of exam, you panic a lot and often get confused with the lessons you have studied. You feel completely lost. You keep studying through the late night but nothing seems to get into your head. You …

It is extremely comforting and satisfying to meet so many of you today. When I think of the future, I am particularly reassured because you are all so qualified and capable. We are gathered here – representatives of the clergy, the Prime Minister and senior officials of the government, and …

In the last 24 hours, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Maldives and Yemen have all cut ties with Qatar. It has been expelled from the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. In addition, Emirates, Etihad and FlyDubai have announced the imminent cancellation of flights to Doha. While …

As Bhutan is in its ninth year of democracy heading into the 2018 polls there is a real danger of Bhutan turning into a ‘Particracy.’ Particracy is a modern political term that defines a  form of government where one or more political parties dominate the political process, rather than citizens. In 2008, strong party differences that …

We reviewed a number of claims Trump made during his White House speech. Trump: The Paris Agreement would result in “lost jobs, lower wages, shuttered factories and vastly diminished economic production.” Trump cited a number of negative statistics about the predicted economic impact from the climate deal. Take these statistics …

An interesting development in the Parliament is on the controversy surrounding fiscal incentives. The Finance Minister, in line with the Fiscal Incentives (FI) of 2010 and 2013, had recently presented the 2016 fiscal incentives in the Parliament as a report for information along with the Budget, which was separately treated …

Any civil service pay hike has to be more than about two wolves voting to eat some sheep for dinner.   Affordability   The first and foremost issue is if the state treasury can afford it. Going by the budget figures Bhutan would have to take major loans to pay …