OPINION

LONDON – As preparations for this year’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow intensify, attention is focused on efforts to prevent a future catastrophe. But real-time climate catastrophes already are playing out in the lives of millions of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. What will COP26 offer them? Stick …

CHICAGO – Digital payments are attracting growing interest, and eye-popping numbers abound, as demonstrated by the US payment processor Stripe’s recent $95 billion valuation. Why all the excitement, and why now? At one level, the reason is straightforward: digital payments allow buyers to pay sellers without physical currency changing hands. Though the …

Bangladesh – among Bhutan’s closest and friendliest neighbors has every reason to celebrate not one but two landmark events: the Golden Jubilee of Independence and Centenary Birth Anniversary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the architect of Bangladesh’s freedom struggle. The Father of the Nation would have been proud to see that …

LONDON – The first vaccine deliveries by the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) facility to Ghana, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast brought a glimmer of hope to African countries keen to start immunizing their populations against the disease. But while COVAX is ramping up deliveries, its mission to provide rapid, fair, and equitable access to …

By Usha Drukpa The World Bank (WB) launched a new report on 4th March titled Better Jobs and Brighter Futures: Investing in Childcare to Build Human Capital. The report provides evidence that the childcare matters for building human capital, especially that of women’s employment and productivity. It points out to the …

The Check-Post Management System (CPMS) is found to be handy, effective and useful, especially in contact tracing during the outbreak of COVID-19 in the community due to access to instantaneous information on the movement of people. Royal Bhutan Police (RBP) along with the Department of Information Technology & Telecom (DITT) …

STANFORD/BOSTON/PARIS – The arrival of COVID-19 vaccines is giving the world hope of ending the pandemic, but many countries remain consumed by the virus’s spread. So, as we wait for widespread availability and distribution of the vaccines, preventive health measures such as social distancing, mask-wearing, and hand-washing will remain critical …

NEW YORK – Joe Biden has been president of the United States for just a few weeks, but the central elements of his approach to the world are already clear: rebuilding at home, working with allies, embracing diplomacy, participating in international institutions, and advocating for democracy. All this puts him …

HONG KONG – Since the Chinese authorities suddenly halted fintech conglomerate Ant Group’s planned initial public offering in autumn 2020, its parent company, e-commerce king Alibaba, has been facing harsh regulatory scrutiny. On Christmas Eve, China’s antitrust authority announced that it was investigating the firm’s exclusive business practices. And Alibaba’s founder, Jack Ma, recently …

With the Year of the (Metal / Iron) Ox upon us, we take one last look at Asia’s winners and losers in the year that was.  In the departing Year of the Rat, who was up and who was down? For Bhutan and elsewhere, there can certainly be no ignoring …