OPINION

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 …

By Dr. Dorjee Kinlay Unsustainable Food Imports:  The pandemic has clearly demonstrated the need for food self-sufficiency in Bhutan. Our monarchs have repeatedly stressed the importance of food self-sufficiency for a small, landlocked country. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forests has done well in adapting appropriate agricultural technolgies to date. …

NEW HAVEN – Plenty has been said, and rightfully so, about the violent insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6. Politicians are grappling with issues of legal and moral accountability. But the horrific events also touch on a critical contradiction of modern societies: the internet’s role as an instrument …

The situation is threatening the longevity of marriage By KENCHO WANGDI (BONZ) Like most couple quarrels, it started innocently enough, amiable even, with laughter from both sides, laughter that suddenly froze and the words came out sharp and flat and stinging. And so it was that last Friday a friend …

NEW YORK – Anyone who was surprised by the mayhem in Washington, DC has not been paying attention for the last four years. The grotesque scenes around the Capitol on January 6 were indeed shocking: wild-eyed thugs with neo-Nazi flags and Trump banners smashing their way into the House of …

LONDON – In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was common to divide countries and their responses according to their political systems, with many attributing China’s success in controlling the virus to its authoritarianism. As of late 2020, however, it is clear that the real dividing line is …

WASHINGTON, DC – The world has received the best possible gift for the coming year. The development of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines in such a short time is something close to a medical miracle and portends an end to the crisis that dominated 2020. But the pace at which …

A LOT has been said, is being said, about how Buddhists perceive LGBTQ and smoking. The debate was reignited after Bhutan temporarily lifted its infamous smoke ban during the Covid-19 national lockdown. With Bhutan becoming the newest country to decriminalize homosexuality, the debate has expanded. The conclusion from the Western …

Economy This year the economy is projected to nosedive to between negative 2 to 6 percent growth rate. It makes the worst performance in our economic history. The shrinking fiscal space because of a hefty ‘debt burden’ of Nu.28 billion in the last two years will be a stumbling block …

LONDON – Recent announcements of demonstrated efficacy in COVID-19 vaccine trials have brought hope that a return to normality is in sight. The preliminary data for Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna’s novel mRNA vaccines are highly encouraging, suggesting that their approval for emergency use is forthcoming. And more recent news of effectiveness (albeit …