National News

By Puran Gurung/ Thimphu In light of various economic growth rate figures reflected by the government and other relevant agencies, the opposition party claim that the economy of the country has regressed by 10.08 percent in 2020. The Opposition Leader, Dorji Wangdi points that the economic growth figure of 2021 is not ready. Talking about economic growth of 2020, the …

By Puran Gurung In the rebuttal, the Royal Bhutan Police on the ongoing defamation case it lodged against a private businessman, Penjore Penjore submitted to the court that matters of public interest should be reported to the concerned authority and not post on Facebook. Reiterating the first hearing, the Royal Bhutan Police prosecutor argued that Penjore Penjore Facebook post may …

Articulating the drayang businesses compromising norms and values, the government through an executive order ceases operations of all the drayangs in the country with immediate effect. This was done through a series of reviews and consultations for over a year, and the decision comes after research, meetings, and intense consultations with various stakeholders – it came to the validation ‘drayang …

Citing the government’s stand on strict quarantine measures, any variant that may come as long as the incubation period doesn’t vary, no virus can affect the country, says the Prime Minister. This is regarding the increasing cases of Omicron, a variant of concern declared by the World Health Organization and the concerns on preparedness for the new variant Omicron if …

In his rebuttal, Penjore Penjore submitted to the court that the two charges that were dropped – official misconduct and failure to report crime is the main issue. Penjore Penjore also submitted for compensation for arresting and detaining him for 16 days in his rebuttal. This is regarding the ongoing defamation cases between a businessman Penjore Penjore and the Office …

For the Khamdang-Ramjar bye election, the ruling party Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa will give the ticket to the former candidate while the opposition party, Druk Phuensum Tshogpa by default had to field a new candidate. The Election Commission of Bhutan set the poll date for Khamdang-Ramjar bye-elections on February 03, 2022. This time around, Druk Phuensum Tshogpa is fielding a 34-year …

Health Ministry made the pledge during World Toilet Day in 2020 By Phurpa Wangmo Coinciding with the observation of World Toilet Day 2021, three more dzongkhags and 26 additional gewogs achieved 100% improved sanitation coverage in 2021 and have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF). With 129 gewogs and eight dzongkhags achieving ODF status, Bhutan has reached the 62 percent …

By Chimi Wangmo Around forty participants from various ministries and focal agencies attended a three-day advocacy workshop on a theme “Achieving leadership in the codex process” at Punakha this week. The participants include representatives from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Khesar Gyalpo University …

WFP study on the impact and plan of action for potential earthquakes is the first ever model in Bhutan for humanitarian planning By Tashi Namgyal The Himalayan region has amongst the highest earthquake risk globally, with recent moderate-sized events resulting in tens of thousands of casualties. Despite this, understanding of earthquake risk in the region is limited, particularly in Bhutan, …

While the two parliament houses remain on a deadlock, exporters shout-out for their provisional rights over the mining sector By Tashi Namgyal By the look of things, the much disputed Mines and Minerals Bill 2020 will have to take a hefty ride down the tunnel to be resolved for good. While the National Assembly (NA) favors a private-sector induced mining …