Austria funds flood relief

October 23: The Austrian coordination office for development is contributing 500,000 euros (about Nu 34m) to mitigate the disaster caused by the May 2009 floods. The grant agreement will be signed today. The assistance shall focus on providing cash grant compensation for damage to agricultural properties and livestock caused by the floods in 12 dzongkhags. It will also be used to support the renovation of 32 irrigation channels and two water supply schemes. The resident coordinator of the Austrian... Read more

HM graces Shercol convocation

October 23: His Majesty the King awarded degree certificates to over 420 graduates of 2006 and 2007 in Sherubtse college yesterday during its 12th convocation ceremony. His Majesty said that the biggest achievement of the graduates is that they can now stand on their own feet. His Majesty reminded the graduates that the wealth of our country is its citizens. “You and I – we have our youth in common. We have a blank page to write our own future, to carve our own destiny. Let us make the best... Read more

Quake costs 10th Plan

October 23: The September 21 earthquake has cost the government Nu 2.5 billion and could delay programmes in the 10th Plan, which is already short by Nu 4.8b for the second year (2009-2010) of the plan period. The government needs Nu 2,192m for early recovery, reconstruction and disaster risk reduction, according to the final cost assessment report released yesterday. The amount is almost 70 percent of the annual net revenue of Tala, the country’s biggest hydropower project. Prime Minister Lyonchhoen... Read more

Bhutan’s internal migration rate highest in South Asia

October 22: At six percent, Bhutan’s internal migration rate is the highest in South Asia, according to UNDP’s human development report (HDR) launched yesterday in Thimphu. The main factor that triggers this movement is education and employment, said the works and human settlement minister Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba. “Success in education is the most important reason. Migrants come in search of a better life and hence are highly motivated, hardworking and adaptive and provide labour for economic development... Read more

210 eye operations completed

October 21: Born with cataracts on her both eyes, one-year-old Tshering Wangmo from Lhuentse would have gone blind without an immediate surgery to remove the cataract. She was saved this week when doctors removed the cataract, cloudiness in the normally transparent lens of the eye. 209 other patients were treated during an eye surgery camp in Thimphu and Phuentsholing this week. A group of Bhutanese eye specialists, led by Dr Sanduk Ruit, the medical director of Tilganga eye centre in Nepal, carried... Read more

First keyhole surgery on a Bhutanese

October 21: A 45-year-old Bhutanese became the first patient to be successfully operated for aneurysm through keyhole surgery without anesthesia at the AMRI hospitals in Kolkata, India. Aneurysm is an acquired disease, caused by an infection, where the aorta, the major blood vessel that feeds blood to the body, is weakened. When this happens, blood usually enters the wall of the aorta, causing its walls to separate and precipitating a medical emergency. Because the aorta is the body’s main supplier... Read more

From university to ministry

October 18: The World Bank’s private sector development project, the generic skills training component, will now be under the ministry of labour and human resources (MoLHR). This was finalised after a memorandum of understanding was signed between MoLHR and the royal university of Bhutan (RUB) on October 14. This will foster government’s effort towards equipping Bhutanese youth with market relevant skills in order to enhance their employability in the labour market, according to a press release... Read more

Bhutan inches ahead in quality of life

October 18: Bhutan is ranked 132nd among 182 countries, a notch up from last year, in the middle human development category, according to the UNDP human development report, 2009. With a human development index (HDI) of 0.619, Bhutan has moved up in the ranking from 133rd in 2006, 134th in 2005, and 136th in 2004. The increase indicates an improvement in the living conditions of its people and represents progress on factors of wellbeing such as life expectancy, literacy, school enrollment and gross... Read more

AFC U-16 Championship seven goals to Bhutan

October 18: Bhutan suffered their second humiliating defeat yesterday when they lost 0-7 to host Yemen in the third game of the group C AFC U-16 championship 2010 qualifying competition. Goals from hat-trick man Hussein Sadam (10th, 76th and 90th minutes), Abdulwahab Al-Worafi (19th and 71st), Khaled Al Shabi (47th) and Wasim Al Maqtari (53rd) meant Bhutan has conceded 19 goals in just three games. In the opening match against Syria, the national U -16 team was thrashed 10-0, with the Syrians scoring... Read more

Japan provides emergency relief goods

October 16: The government of Japan, through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has decided to provide emergency relief goods worth 10 million Japanese yen to the government of Bhutan towards earthquake relief works. The goods constitute tents, blankets, sleeping pads, and plastic sheets. A press release from Embassy of Japan inNew Delhi said the assistance is provided to render humanitarian assistance to the people of Bhutan who suffered serious damage from the September 21 earthquake. source:... Read more

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