ADB grant for southern roads

December 15 – The building of the 790 km southern highway, from Sipsoo in the west to Daifam (Jomotsangkha) in the east, took a step forward yesterday with the Asian development bank (ADB) committing USD 38.76 million, its largest grant assistance to Bhutan so far. The grant to road network project (RNP-II) will be used to upgrade and build segments of the highway and a feeder road, which together total a length of 183 km. The total cost of the project is USD 54.32m, with the government to... Read more

Thimphu among top 15 vulnerable cities

December 15 – Thimphu is amongst 15 cities of the world most vulnerable to the impact of climate change, according to a report released in Copenhagen at the climate summit. The book ‘Climate Change and the Urban Poor’ was released by the international institute for environment and development (IIED), an international research organisation based in the United Kingdom. The 15 cities in 15 different countries — three in Asia and the rest in Africa — are all least developed countries (LDCs)... Read more

1 b dollar bid for Education City

December 15 – A Kolkata-based company Infinity infotech parks limited has proposed to invest a billion dollars or Nu 47 billion in creating an ‘Education/Knowledge City’ in Bhutan. The project, by far the largest FDI investment proposal, aims to bring in the branches of around 15 to 30 top universities, along with 40,000 foreign students, into a 1000-acre education city. The Infinity groups representative in Bhutan, Palden Tshering, the head of Chundu enterprises said, “The FDI project... Read more

It’s the thinking that counts

December 15 – A professor of liberal arts emeritus at St Mary’s college in the USA, Dr Henry Rosemont Jr., who is trained in analytical philosophy, logic and linguistics, participated in the recent educating for GNH workshop. Also a professor of religious studies at the Brown University, he spoke to Kuensel on December 12 on the importance of instilling analytical and critical thinking skills in the education system. An excerpt from an interview with the professor: Critical and analytical... Read more

World Bank to open country office

December 11 – The first World Bank (WB) representative to Bhutan, Mark F LaPrairie, presented credentials to the minister of foreign affairs, Lyonpo Ugyen Tshering, on December 4, 2009 at the Gyalyong Tshokhang. The presentation of a letter of credentials was accompanied by zhugdrel and marchang ceremonies. The World Bank will open a country office in Bhutan early 2010. The office will support implementation of WB-financed activities and development of the next ‘country assistance strategy’... Read more

GNH workshop

December 8: We spent some years shying away from the responsibility of presenting Gross National Happiness (GNH) in acceptable terms and translating it sufficiently into practical actions. Speaking at the opening of the workshop on Educating for GNH, the Prime Minister Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley said this option does not exist anymore. The workshop will look at how to put GNH into practice and how to infuse our education system with the values of GNH. Some 68 international educators and experts,... Read more

Last chance to check climate change

December 8 – Setting targets for controlling global-warming emissions and agreeing on how much rich countries should pay for poor nations’ clean energy technology and other projects to counter a changing climate are two key building blocks of a framework that is expected to take shape in the 2-week Copenhagen conference, which began yesterday. The world looks to Copenhagen “to witness what I believe will be an historic turning point in the fight against climate change,” says Yvo de Boer... Read more

Bhutan in global choir against AIDS

December 8 – Despite some technical glitches, Bhutan yesterday joined a global choir of 196 countries to sing the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” at 8:00 pm as a sign of unity to fight against AIDS in Africa. The singing was broadcast live in London, where singers in each of the 196 countries were seen and heard simultaneously on multiple screens. The event, organised by the Happy Valley Youth Group, pulled in about 36 local artists at the Taj Tashi to sing the song. Sangay Rinchen, one... Read more

A book on a special relationship

December 4 – The close cooperation between Switzerland and Bhutan for the cause of socio-economic development in this country has been documented in a book titled “Far Apart and Close Together”, which will be distributed to the secondary schools. Yesterday, on the occasion of strengthening cooperation between the sister organisations, the society Switzerland-Bhutan (SSB) and Bhutan-Swiss friendship association, the SSB, through the support of private Swiss donors, donated 500 copies of... Read more

BhutanInfo website launched

December 4 – With the launch of BhutanInfo yesterday, the first comprehensive information centre for Bhutan’s socio economic development goals at various levels is now only a click away. BhutanInfo, which is available in both desktop and online version at www.bhutanInfo.gov.bt, is a customised version of DevInfo (development information), a tool to monitor millennium development goals (MDGs) adopted by the UN systems. DevInfo organises, stores and presents data in a uniform way to facilitate... Read more

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