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With less then a month left in the government’s term and with the 2018 general election approaching; the Bhutan-China boundary talks and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit will both have to wait. According to a source, both the major diplomatic events will take place only sometime after the 2018 polls …

29 June 2018: His Majesty The King graced the closing ceremony of the 11th session of the Second Parliament.

If there was one major issue that decided the 2013 elections, then it was the state of economy. Well aware of this, the current PDP government right from coming into office visibly focused on several measures and initiatives to strengthen the Bhutanese economy. Addressing the nation, five years later, in …

Expresses concern over youth unemployment Lyonchhen in his State of the Nation Report (SOTN) said the government has accorded the highest priority on creating employment opportunities during the 11th Plan, resulting in the reduction of overall unemployment figures from 2.9% in 2013 to 2.4% today. However, youth unemployment which was …

By the end of summer, late August side, Bhutan’s first satellite, a CubeSat called Bhutan-1 weighing less than 2 kilograms shall be released into low earth orbit with the other CubeSats. Once released, BHUTAN-1 will become operational and can be tracked from the ground station in Ministry of Information and …

The National HIV, AIDS and STIs Control Program, Ministry of Health has detected 27 new HIV cases (15 males and 12 females) between November, 2017 to June 2018 according to a release. Among the new cases, 78% are between the ages of 20-49 and 22% above 50 years. Thirty percent …

Thimphu last saw land rates reaching a record high in late 2011 and early 2012, before an economic crisis hit in the form of the rupee crisis and the resultant curtailment of credit. Economic growth also reached a historic low of 2.1 percent in 2013. The result was a crash …

With the Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) accepting the resignation of the incumbent Cabinet Secretary, Kinzang Wangdi in early May 2018, the post of the senior-most civil servant is vacant. Kinzang Wangdi joined the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as it Bartsham-Shongphu candidate in mid-May. Normally, in the case of the …

The recent case of an alleged trafficking of three Bhutanese women by a Sri Lankan agent after colluding with a Bhutanese woman raises a lot of questions on the gradual, and yet emerging issue of human trafficking in Bhutan. The National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC), with the procedural …

11 June 2018: The onset of monsoon, when paddy seedlings must be transplanted, is the most important time of the year for Bhutanese farmers. The work is strenuous in the mountainous terrain, but it is reflective of the strong culture of interdependence in the rural community. Every helping hand is …