The 2008 judgment of the Thimphu High Court in the defamation case involving the former Director of Revenue and Customs, Sangay Zam, Finance Minster, Lyonpo Wangdi Norbu, and Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba, on the one hand, and the former authorised agent of PlayWin online lottery, Sangay Dorji, raises some interesting questions …
Read More »COVID-19 Vaccines and US National Interest
CAMBRIDGE – A century ago, an influenza pandemic killed more people than died in World War I. Today, the COVID-19 pandemic has killed more Americans than died in all US wars since 1945. A big difference, however, is that science did not have a vaccine for the influenza virus back …
Read More »ACC’s incomplete and shoddy investigation in the Gypsum case
It was always evident that the ACC’s investigation of corruption allegations around Gypsum would be its most difficult case, and this paper said as much when they started their investigation. The reason being that this was ACC’s first attempt at a cross border investigation and all the main information, wrong …
Read More »The Post-Pandemic Whiplash Awaiting the World’s Poor
THACA – The world is currently transfixed by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping through many regions, especially Asia, Africa, and South America. But, focused as we are on the public-health crisis, we risk overlooking pandemic-related economic problems that could plague developing countries long after the wave has …
Read More »Ten scientific reasons in support of airborne transmission of COVID-19
Ten streams of evidence collectively support the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted primarily by the airborne route. First, superspreading events account for substantial SARS-CoV-2 transmission; indeed, such events may be the pandemic’s primary drivers. Detailed analyses of human behaviours and interactions, room sizes, ventilation, and other variables in choir concerts, …
Read More »The lessons for Bhutan from India’s COVID-19 crisis
India averted major deaths or health system burdening in the 2020 wave of COVID-19. But today, and as per official records, India clocks more than 4,000 deaths and 4,00,000 new infections every day due to COVID-19. The unfolding humanitarian crisis has brought India to its knees. Modelling by the Institute …
Read More »Next Steps for a People’s Vaccine
NEW DELHI – The Biden administration’s decision to stop opposing a proposed COVID-19 waiver of certain intellectual-property rights under World Trade Organization rules is a welcome move. The US Trade Representative acknowledges that “the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures.” While affirming that it “believes strongly in intellectual property protections,” …
Read More »Biden’s First Hundred Days
WASHINGTON, DC – Joe Biden has been president of the United States for one hundred days, less than 7% of the time he was elected to serve. Still, it is not too soon to draw some tentative conclusions about the nature of his presidency. Biden’s principal accomplishment to date is …
Read More »16-Point Practical Suggestions to Tackle Thimphu’s Water Problem
Let me begin by making it clear that no individual or organization should feel offended by this post, as it is only intended to start a practical conversation and actions to solve this perennial water problem in our capital city. The people in my neighbourhood and my family went to …
Read More »The G7 Must Act to Vaccinate the World
LONDON – “Nobody is safe until everyone is safe” is the defining mantra of the COVID-19 era. It captures a fundamental truth. Faced with a virus that recognizes no borders, no country is an island – and there is no substitute for international solidarity. The June G7 summit in the …
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The Bhutanese Leading the way.