Virginia, USA—A few months after my year-end 2019 trip to Bhutan to visit friends, I found myself on a plane from Bangkok to Tokyo and then on to the United States this past February. I was en route from Southeast Asia — where I am based with the Milken Institute — …
Read More »A Biden Victory Could Reset Transatlantic Relations
NEW YORK – In his opening address to the European Council on Foreign Relations’ (ECFR) annual meeting, German Foreign Affairs Minister Heiko Maas claimed that regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election this November, Europeans “will have to think about how to better contain the conflicts in Europe’s vicinity, even …
Read More »Firm Priorities for Fragile States
LONDON/MONROVIA/KIGALI – No country has been spared the impact of COVID-19. But some – the world’s most “fragile states” – face a particularly difficult set of challenges. Before the pandemic arrived, Yemen, Sudan, Haiti, Sierra Leone, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Venezuela, and other struggling countries were already beset by poverty, conflict, corruption, …
Read More »America’s Cops Must Stop Attacking Journalists
WASHINGTON, DC – It is no surprise that journalists would go out to the streets to cover the largest and most widespread protests the United States has experienced in more than 50 years. What has been surprising is that journalists would meet with violence and retaliation at the hands of …
Read More »America’s Mis-Police State
MILWAUKEE – George Floyd’s death at the hands – and under the knee – of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has triggered a wave of peaceful protests and violent rioting in most major cities across the United States. Caught on video for the world to see, the incident has driven …
Read More »Globalizing the Fight Against the Pandemic
SAN JOSÉ – The COVID-19 pandemic began less than six months ago, but we have already learned a great deal about the disease. Scientists around the world are looking at new and improved methods of detecting the novel coronavirus as early as possible. And in addition to these lines of …
Read More »How Germany Contained the Coronavirus
BERLIN – Germany is often referred to as a positive example of how to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. We were successful in preventing the overburdening of our health system. The curve of infections is clearly flattening. And the proportion of severe cases and fatalities is lower in Germany than in …
Read More »De-Suung Training: The Test of Time
Since its inception in February 2011, 4,457 (3,236 Male and 1,221 Female) DeSuups had already been trained at Tencholing, Wangduephodrang when the 37th Batch completed their training in February 2020. These men and women from diverse backgrounds, are spread across the country and have been serving their fellow citizens diligently. …
Read More »Preventing a Media Mental Health Crisis
LONDON – Nothing highlights the importance of reliable news quite like a crisis. And yet, as the COVID-19 pandemic puts journalists under intensifying pressure to deliver that news, it is also upending their industry and transforming their working conditions. The stress this is placing on their mental health should not …
Read More »How South Korea Stopped COVID-19 Early
SEOUL – South Korea experienced one of the world’s largest initial outbreaks of COVID-19 outside China. But, unlike the United States and many European countries, we have been able to contain and drastically reduce the spread of the virus, at least so far – and without imposing a nationwide lockdown. …
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The Bhutanese Leading the way.