On 13 December 2023 Bhutan is due to exit from the category of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) as we have met two out of the three thresh-holds viz. Per Capita Income and Human Asset Index (HAI). The HAI is a composite of health and education indicators.  The third threshold is …

Usually the Ruling Party, Opposition Party and the National Council can be trusted to have three different views on the same issue, but this was not the case when it came to discussions on the Civil Society Organizations Amendment Bill in the last two sessions. There were concerns raised on …

TOKYO – The assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo is as sad as it is shocking. Gun violence is exceedingly rare in Japan, and it seems clear already that both the Nara local police and the Security Police (secret service) were ill-prepared to protect him. For Japanese of …

A dog food feeding organization named “Zeus for stray and homeless dog food” has named and accused me openly of being responsible for the death of a puppy at Sangaygang. Zeus says my Facebook post on 5 July 2022 about a group of aggressive dogs in Sangaygang attacking me has …

There is an old adage that barking dogs seldom bite, but this saying may not hold in Bhutan where statistics show close to 7,000 bites in a year which means every year one in every 100 Bhutanese gets bitten. The issue of dog attacks in Bhutan are caused by two …

NEW DELHI – The recent virtual BRICS summit, which brought together the heads of state and government of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, was interesting as much for what did not happen as for what did. The two-day gathering was marked by some constructive discussion but also platitudes and …

One common opinion in the past about the impact of any global financial crisis or economic recession is that it will not impact Bhutan much given the closed nature of our economy, and how we are not a part of the global supply chain. This view even holds today among …

NEW HAVEN – I should have listened to Alan Greenspan – at least when it comes to currency forecasting. The former chair of the Federal Reserve once told me it was a fool’s game, with the odds of getting currency calls right worse than a successful bet on a coin …

In all the Tourism Bill and SDF debate we are missing the forest for the trees. If one takes a careful look, the tourism transformation or reforms are aimed at many multiple issues which we are facing, which will all get worse in the future if not handled now. While …

WASHINGTON, DC – Inflation has become a hot-button political issue worldwide. In the United States, the consumer price index increased at an annual rate of 8.6% in May, and EU inflation is not far behind. The root cause of the problem is that too much money is chasing too few goods. Consumers saved more than usual …