Bhutan PM on leading the first carbon-negative nation: ‘The wellbeing of our people is at the centre of our agenda’

Posted on November 18, 2025 by Admin

Exclusive: Tshering Tobgay says his country is doing ‘a lot more than our fair share’ on climate and west must cut emissions ‘for the happiness of your people’

The wealthy western countries most responsible for the climate crisis would improve the health and happiness of their citizens by prioritising environmental conservation and sustainable economic growth, according to the prime minister of Bhutan, the world’s first carbon-negative nation.

Bhutan, a Buddhist democratic monarchy and biodiversity hotspot situated high in the eastern Himalayas, is among the world’s most ambitious climate leaders thanks to its people’s connection with nature and a strong political focus on improving gross national happiness rather than just GDP, Tshering Tobgay told the Guardian.

Nepali-speaking Bhutanese refugees in limbo after deportation from US

Posted on April 21, 2025 by Admin

Human rights experts voice alarm as refugees expelled by the US, not welcomed by Bhutan and rejected by Nepal

When Narayan Kumar Subedi received a call from his daughter in the United States three weeks ago, he expected to hear news of his two children’s life abroad, perhaps even plans for a long-awaited reunion. Instead, he was told his 36-year-old son Ashish, a Bhutanese refugee resettled in the US, was being deported.

Ashish had been caught in a domestic dispute that led to police involvement. After several days in detention without proper legal support, he was caught up in Donald Trump’s migration crackdown and deported to Bhutan.

Louisville singer born in refugee camp wins Nepal’s The Voice

Posted on February 19, 2023 by Admin

Karan Rai prepares for international tour after victory on TV singing competition

Capping off a remarkable journey that began with his birth in a refugee camp in Nepal, a man from Louisville, Kentucky, recently emerged as champion of the Nepali version of the singing competition The Voice.

Karan Rai’s dramatic rise as the south Asian nation’s latest singing sensation was chronicled Friday in the Louisville Eccentric Observer alternative weekly newspaper, which declared his story “a classic humble-beginnings epic”.

‘Felt like a bullet’: Bhutan prime minister mourns rare Covid death

Posted on January 30, 2022 by Admin

The remote Himalayan nation of around 800,000 people has recorded fewer Covid fatalities than almost any other country

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Bhutan’s success in avoiding coronavirus is almost unrivalled but a rare patient death – just the kingdom’s fourth – shows more work was needed to fight the pandemic there, its leader says.

The remote Himalayan nation of around 800,000 people, sandwiched between China and India, has recorded fewer Covid fatalities than almost anywhere else in the world.

Israel establishes ‘formal diplomatic relations’ with Bhutan

Posted on December 12, 2020 by Admin

Himalayan kingdom is latest country to recognise the Jewish state in a normalisation deal

Israel established diplomatic relations with the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan on Saturday, the Israeli foreign ministry said, in the latest of a string of normalisation deals agreed by the Jewish state.

“The circle of recognition of Israel is widening,” the Israeli foreign minister, Gabi Ashkenazi, said in a statement. “The establishment of relations with the Kingdom of Bhutan will constitute a new stage in the deepening of Israel’s relations in Asia.”