Phuentsholing, South Bhutan (Kuensel/ANN) – It took a team comprising an ornithologist, veterinarians and lab technicians two hours to collect and study two wild bird species fecal to confirm they were H5N1 negative.

An ornithologist from the Ugyen Wangchuck Institute of Forest and Environment, veterinarians from the livestock department and lab technicians from the satellite veterinary laboratory in Phuentsholing yesterday collected fecal samples of House Crow and White Wagtail along the banks of Amochhu river.

Veterinary Dr Chendu Dorji said the results will be further sent to the National Centre for Animal Health in Serbithang, Thimphu for further confirmation.

The investigation was conducted following the death of crows in Phuentsholing on January 19 after the report showed, it contained H5 influenza “A” but proved negative of N1 influenza.

The team also tried to look for any sick or dead wild birds but to no avail.

The members of the team bent for a closer look at every fecal they came across while walking along the bank of Amochhu.

“The big sized fecal is that of the house crow’s and the small-sized ones of the white wagtail bird’s,” the ornithologist said.

Dr Chendu Dorji said they cannot rule out the bird flu virus that was identified on January 19 are birds breeding in Bhutan.

“It’s possible they could have migrated from the border towns,” he said. “Birds migrate from one place to another and it’s difficult to find the source of infection.”

He also said not every wild birds died from the virus or H5N1.

“They also die from pollution, toxic containment food they feed on or mineral deficiency,” he explained.

“We’ll collect more samples and continue conducting the tests,” Dr Chendu Dorji said. “If 75 percent of the test results show positive the bird flu will be confirmed.”

The investigation team, so far, identified 16 wild birds in Phuentsholing dungkhag, 10 along the bank of Amochhu and six from Wangdigatshel village under Phuentsholing gewog.

The ornithologist said most common wild birds found in the vicinity were House crow, Black Kite, Indian Pond Heroine, White Wagtail and Cattle Egret.

The ornithologist said birds can be identified from their appearance and with each wearing its distinctive colours, identifying them was easy.

“Juvenile birds have different shades from the adult ones,” he said.

The team will continue with their investigation within Phuentsholing town today before they move on to the high-risk villages tomorrow.

Meanwhile, seven poultry birds were reported dead in Wangdigatshel village, about 15km from Phuentsholing.

Frantic with worry, a farmer reported that one of his adult birds had died in the morning and was immediately disposed off in a pit.

The poultry bird tested negative.

Six poultry birds from another farmer could not be tested because he had packed them into a sack and thrown them down a road in a scantily-treed forest.

But when the team went to retrieve it, the sack was found empty.

“The farmer reported poultries died three days ago,” Dr Chendu said. “This shows there is lack of awareness about bird flu.”

He said villagers in the area, like those in other parts of Phuentsholing were educated about having to burying dead birds following any suspecious death lest other birds of prey and animals feed on them.

COPYRIGHT: ASIA NEWS NETWORK

Article source: http://my.news.yahoo.com/bird-fecal-tests-negative-h5n1-054004959.html

Phuentsholing, south Bhutan (Kuensel/ANN) – After chickens, the contagious bird flu has now been detected in wild birds.

Investigations will begin tomorrow in Phuentsholing to find out if the flu would affect the wild bird population in Bhutan.

The investigation is carried out after the National Incident Command Centre (NICC) for bird flu received reports of some 18 wild birds death that died simultaneously over the last week.

First, about 15 “house crows” were found dead on January 19 near the junction of Rabten workshop and GREF camp. House crows are a species that are found in sub-tropical areas like Phuentsholing.

The satellite veterinary laboratory officer in-charge Tuku Rai said all 15 crows had decomposed and could not be used for laboratory investigation. “But we managed to find a sick crow from the same area,” Tuku Rai said. “The sample tested positive for H5 and influenza “A” virus during the filed investigation.”

But, the bird tested negative for N1 strain. Livetsock officials said there is a high chance of a different kind of bird flu virus affecting the wild crow population. “The sick crow has died but we have collected its bone marrow and brain,” Tuku Rai said. “No further crow deaths have been reported so far.”

Focal person for bird flu Dr Tashi Dorji said a “Blue Fronted Red Start” was also found dead near the regional livestock development centre in Tsimasham campus. It tested positive for H5N1.

Another pigeon that was found dead near the bird flu outbreak area at Tsimasham had also tested positive for H5N1 as well as the pigeon and a sparrow that were found dead in the Chukha hydro power colony campus.

A team comprising a wild bird specialist from the Ugyen Wangchuck Institute of Forest and Environment, veterinarians from the livestock department and an official from the satellite veterinary laboratory in Phuentsholing will investigate the deaths and study the flu’s risks to the country’s wild birds.

Dr Tashi Dorji said the investigation will monitor and find out different species of wild birds breeding in Phuentsholing,” he said. “We’ll have to collect fresh sample and find out the diseases spectrum to understand.”

The main objective of the investigation, Dr Tashi Dorji said, is to see the role of wild birds in the outbreak of bird flu in the domestic poultry population.

Another surveillance team are also doing the same investigation in Thimphu and Paro even though no deaths of wild birds have been reported so far.

All reports and samples will be sent to Bhopal, India for virus sequencing and phylogenetic studies.

With thousands of crows in Jharkhand, India reported to have died in the last two months, the NICC on January 10 had already notified all agencies in the country dealing with wild life to alert their field offices on the mortality of any wild birds.

“We urge the public to report any wild bird deaths and request poultry owners to protect their poultry birds from mixing with wild birds,” Dr Tashi Dorji said.

Article source: http://my.news.yahoo.com/bird-flu-detected-wild-birds-054004861.html

Some books are simply too good to put down. At the Woodland Park
library one book is too big to pick up.

At 133 pounds, the book, printed on one continuous page, is the
size of a football field when fully opened. A show stopper that
takes two people to turn the pages, the book is the largest in the
world and one of only 500 copies printed.

At $10,000 a copy, the book, titled “Bhutan: A Visual Odyssey
Across the Last Himalayan Kingdom” was donated anonymously to the
library in 2004 and is on display at designated times in February
and March.

“It took four of us to get it into the building,” said Rita
Randolph, the library’s communications manager. “We’ve had it
stored in Florissant for the past two years.”

The book is the story of Bhutan in photographs. “Bhutan is a
beautiful country, very colorful. There’s only a sentence on each
page so as not to distract from the photos,” Randolph said.

A project of Michael Hawley of the Media Lab at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, the book captures the character of the
country from dance festivals to its ancient architecture and
mountainous terrain of the Himalayas. As well, the book reflects
life in one of the smallest countries in the world located between
Nepal, Tibet and India. In capturing the essence of Bhutan, Hawley
and his team combined a scientific field study with
photography.

Unveiled Dec. 15, 2003, at the Explorers Club in New York City,
the book is sold as a fundraiser for Bhutanese schools and
educational programs through the nonprofit, Friendly Planet.

The exhibit kicks off in celebration of Library Lovers Month at
2:30 p.m. Feb. 1 at the Woodland Park library. Subsequent showings
are at 2:30 p.m. Tuesdays, 6 p.m. Thursdays and 10:15 a.m.
Saturdays through February and March. The book may also be shown by
appointment if scheduled one week in advance.

Article source: http://www.ourcoloradonews.com/tellercounty/news/bhutan-book-kicks-off-lovers-month/article_d39e8688-8ba9-5e33-b7f7-1dd605ef58d4.html

Thimphu (Kuensel/ANN) – Four months after the September 18 tremor in Bhutan last year dignity kits that were procured as “emergency relief” for the affected people are yet to be distributed.

On January 4 this year, the department of disaster management (DDM) formally received 2,050 dignity kits from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). But as of yesterday the kits were still lying at the lobby of Respect, Educate, Nurture and Empower Women’s (RENEW) office in Thimphu.

RENEW, as the implementing partner for UNFPA, had procured the kits on UNFPA’s request in October. RENEW officials said the kits were procured and packed in three weeks and UNFPA had been asked to inform the disaster management department to collect them.

Some officials however said that RENEW was asked to help package the bulk supplies by December. RENEW worked overtime using the help of its interns to put each dignity kit together.

There are different kits for men, women, babies and nuns. Dignity kits for men contain a gho, an innerwear, a bar of soap, towel and a condom; while the kits for women contain a kira, soap, a packet of sanitary napkins and femidom (female condom).

Each baby kit contains six pieces of cotton cloth diapers and a blanket while a nun kit has a robe, a bar of soap, a towel, an innerwear and a packet of sanitary napkin.

According to the report submitted to them, a total of 5,550 people were affected on September 18. There were 550 nuns; 500 babies; 2,000 men and 2,500 women.

DDM officials said that they never got any “indication” of the kits being ready for collection. All they were told was that it would be ready by November or December.

DDM said they appealed for international support on September 22, three days after the tremors. The appeal for help included 1,000 dignity kits, CGI sheets and tents.

RENEW and UNFPA officials say said the appeal to UNFPA for dignity kits were made only after the first assessment of the report.

In an earlier interview on why the “emergency relief” came three months later, DDM explained that they first assessed the homes damaged, and then distributed CGI sheets and tents. After the initial assessment, DDM learnt the number of people, who needed these kits.

Meanwhile the “protocol process” involved in handing – taking over the kits took some time. A total of 2,050 kits were given to the government against the 1,000 requested. The 2,050 kits are for 500 men, 500 females, 500 babies and 550 nuns.

The 5,000 kits are worth Nu 5.3M.

The kits requested by DDM had no specifications on the “content” nor had it mentioned kits for nuns and babies. The 550 kits for nuns, who were affected by the tremor, have been distributed through the Bhutan Nun’s Foundation.

The dignity kit, UNFPA officials explained is a significant part of UNFPA’s humanitarian response to preserve the “dignity” of the affected people. The aid that comes in for dignity kits has to be arranged within a short span of time.

Observers said it takes about a month’s time to get the fund, another month to tender and yet another month for the supplies to be supplied.

After the kits were handed over this month concerns have been expressed on the quality of content, further delaying distribution. Government officials felt the quality could have been better given the Nu 5.3M fund that was given.

“We arranged what we were asked to procure by UNFPA as their implementing partner,” RENEW’s executive director Chimi Wangmo said. “As it is an emergency supply, our responsibility is to coordinate the supplies as quickly as possible, which we managed in three weeks. This is not the time for DDM to speculate but to find ways and means to deliver the kit immediately.”

A May 2011 report on the evaluation of UNFPA’s provision of dignity kits in humanitarian and post crisis setting states that “response time lags dilute the usefulness of kits upon distribution.” The average lag time to distribute kits after a needs assessment is three weeks.

Dignity kits made female beneficiaries feel “remembered,” the report states, because the kits prioritised the hygiene needs of women. Each dignity kit for women has a packet of sanitary napkin, an inner wear, a full kira, a face towel, two bars of soap and femidom (female condom).

DDM officials said dzongdas of the four districts that were most affected by the quake have been informed to send their vehicles and collect the dignity kits and distribute it by this week.

Article source: http://ph.news.yahoo.com/dignity-kits-yet-reach-affected-bhutan-054003167.html

1. Sheikhs
fall in love with renminbi

2. The
US-GCC fatal attraction

3. Opportunity
beckons for Iran’s Guards

4. The
myth of an “isolated’ Iran

5. East
Asian energy dilemma over Iran

6. Prodigal
son riles Pyongyang

7. Here
be dragons

8. US
meets resistance to Iranian sanctions

9. Another
letter from America for Iran

10. Saudi
Arabia pivots toward Asia

(24 hours
to 11:59pm ET, Jan 23, 2012)

Article source: http://atimes.com/atimes/China/NA25Ad01.html

Gelephu, central Bhutan (Kuensel/ANN) – The regional officers of labour, trade and immigration decided to conduct a final inspection and repatriate foreign workers working in grocery and garment shops without work permits in Gelephu and Sarpang.

The labour and employment act requires work permit for every foreign worker working inside Bhutan.

The meeting was held following a joint inspection on March 22 last year, where of the 368 expatriates working in Sarpang and Gelephu, 237 were found working without work-permits. That time, the inspection team notified the business owners.

A second round of inspection in September last year found the number of expatriates working without work-permits down by 42.

Gelephu’s labour officer Lakey said in April 2011 an awareness program was conducted to sensitise business people on employing foreign workers.

“A majority of those without work permits were those working in trading sectors,” Gelephu’s labour officials said.

In October, the team sent yet another notification to business owners asking them to repatriate their foreign workers before November 2011.

Labour officer Kanjur Tshering said the inspection led to a gradual decrease in the number. “People are now understanding and complying with the rules,” said labour officials. “The number of expatriates working without work-permits today might be less than half of the prior figure.

Business owners who employed foreign workers in grocery and garment shops are not allowed to employ expatriates. But services sectors such as, hotels, automobile workshops and sawmills can employ foreign workers with work permits.

Trade officials said although business owners at the border town are disallowed from employing foreign workers, many had begun employing dependents of those workers, who didn’t have work permits.

“Their reason for employing workers from across the border has been the inability to find a Bhutanese equivalent employee,” labour officer Lakey said. “But we will help these businessmen find Bhutanese workers.”

Inspection records showed that a majority of the business people, who had been employing workers from across the border towns without work permits are Indian business license holders. They are however allowed to keep their direct dependents.

Some 250 shops make up the Gelephu town of which Indian business license holders run 55.

Article source: http://my.news.yahoo.com/more-half-foreign-workers-bhutan-repatriated-054003976.html

Home

Calcutta News.Net
Sunday 22nd January, 2012 (IANS)

Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley Sunday said the Himalayan nation would not allow any Indian militant groups to once again set up bases in the country.

“We shall not allow nor tolerate any Indian extremist groups to set up bases and create problem in Assam or other parts of India from Bhutan,” he told journalists here.

Thinley was in Guwahati en route to Pemagetshel in Samdrup Jhonkhar district of Bhutan. Several districts of Bhutan could only be traversed from capital Thimphu by crossing stretches in adjoining Assam.

Two of Assam’s influential militant groups, the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), besides the Kamatapur Liberation Organization (KLO) of West Bengal had well entrenched bases in Bhutan for close to a decade.

Bhutan in 2003 launched “Operation All Clear” – an offensive carried out to evict over 3,000 rebels belonging Assam and West Bengal from the Himalayan nation.

Asked to comment on reports of the presence of Maoist rebels in Bhutan, the prime minister said there were no such reports.

“We don’t have any Maoist elements in Bhutan,” Thinley said.

Have your say on this story

Article source: http://www.calcuttanews.net/story/202859126/ht/Will-not-allow-any-anti-India-groups-Bhutan-PM

Vietnam and Bhutan have agreed to establish bilateral diplomatic relations.

The agreement was concluded at the UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday by Vietnamese Ambassador to the United Nations Le Hoai Trung and his counterpart from Bhutan, Latu Oangchuk.

A document on the agreement will be sent to the UN General Secretary to be filed as an official legal document of the UN.

Under the agreement, the two parties will send ambassadors to each other’s capital cities and apply the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Article source: http://www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?id=26813&sec=1

Thimphu (Kuensel/ANN) – The 8th session of the first Parliament concluded on Saturday with the offering of tashi moenlam, a tradition that symbolises people’s allegiance and loyalty to the Druk Gyalpo.

Led by tshenyi lopon of the central monk body, Parliament members offered prayers for the health and long life of His Majesty the King, for the country’s peace and prosperity and for the well being of the Bhutanese people.

Within the 13-day, the winter session of the Parliament saw nine bills adopted, including four at the joint sitting.

Three bills of child adoption, sales tax, customs and excise amendment and public finance amendment were those that failed to reach a consensus in the previous session.

National Assembly speaker Jigme Tshultim said following the amendments of the Acts, if implementing agencies carried out proper awareness for the public and implemented the Acts properly, problems and inconveniences would not arise.

He reminded the members that although the Tobacco Control Act was passed during the 5th session of the Parliament in 2010 many were penalised within a year of its implementation.

“Therefore, the government proposed to amend about nine sections of the Act and tabled it as an ‘urgent bill’,” he said. “Although the National Council did not agree to the amendments, the matter was resolved and adopted through a joint sitting on January 19.”

It is hoped, he said, the amendments of the Acts would benefit in curtailing the black market and reducing the number of tobacco consumers in the country.

Based on several problems faced during the local government elections and to avoid problems in future to strengthen the democratic system, the assembly proposed to amend the election Act in three sections.

“The proposals for state funding of political parties along with other amendments were proposed and adopted by the National Assembly,” the speaker said, adding besides council members’ disagreement to the proposal, even the joint committee failed to come to consensus because of which there emanated no recommendations.

“It may have to be discussed in future,” he said.

During the opening session on January 4, the members of the Parliament offered oath of allegiance to His Majesty in accordance with article 2, section 5 of the Constitution.

As in the opening session of the Parliament, Her Majesty Queen Jetsun Pema Wangchuck and members of the royal family accompanied the King for the closing yesterday.

COPYRIGHT: ASIA NEWS NETWORK

Article source: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/bhutan-parliament-adopted-9-bills-13-days-054004914.html

PLATTSBURGH —
 When Dr. Richard Schnell traveled to Bhutan with a delegation of mental-health professionals, the last thing he expected to return with was a gift from a queen.

But in a country that measures its worth in gross national happiness, good deeds are often returned in kind.

Schnell’s odyssey began a year ago on a trip through Tuscany, when the retired Plattsburgh State professor overheard a conversation about an international outreach mission to Bhutan.

SEEKING NEW IDEAS

A delegation of mental-health professionals from the United States, sponsored by the National Board of Certified Counselors International, was asked by Bhutan’s king to help the landlocked Himalayan nation modernize its mental-health and addiction services.

The delegation’s mission was made possible, in large part, by one of Bhutan’s queens, who has taken a special interest in mental-health issues. She has also opened a counseling center in Bhutan called Renew, for women who suffer the psychological scars of domestic abuse.

Schnell applied for the mission and was accepted, as was his wife, Dr. Zoanne Schnell, also a retired Plattsburgh State professor and mental-health professional.

BOOK PRESENTED

When Mr. Schnell left for Bhutan, he brought several books about the mental-health field to give to his Bhutanese colleagues as gifts.

So when Queen Ashi Kesang Wangmo Wangchuck, known to her people affectionately as Queen IV, asked the director of the national hospital’s psychiatric services to recommend a book she could read to better understand counseling, Mr. Schnell was ready with a gift, a book called “Changing For Good.”

After consulting with the director regarding the proper protocol for a brief inscription, he sent the book off to Queen IV. Before delivering his gift, Mr. Schnell crossed out the word “Good” and replaced it with “Happiness,” an homage to the country’s focus on national happiness.

PACKAGE FROM QUEEN

When he arrived at the hospital for work the next morning, a gift was awaiting him from the queen. He waited the entire day, until he was done work, to open the package.

“I had no idea what it was. I waited until I was all alone later that evening to open it. I was just too excited.”

Mrs. Schnell was assigned to another part of the country, so wasn’t there to share in the thrill of the queen’s gift, as Mr. Schnell unwrapped an ornate ceremonial wedding plate depicting the royal couple above a fortress-like Bhutanese dzong.

The gift is something typically given to the dignitaries who attended the wedding.

Mr. Schnell was greatly moved by the queen’s gift, as well as the sentiment behind it.

“Her greatest gift was her kindness and her thoughtfulness,” he said.

‘WONDERFUL MEMORIES’

Now back at home in the North Country, a piece of the Mr. Schnell’s heart has definitely remained in Bhutan. Already planning to travel there again this summer to treat patients at the national hospital and teach at the university, he reflected on what he took away from the trip to Bhutan.

“I bring back a great love for the Bhutanese people. I bring back many wonderful memories, some new haiku poetry, a new appreciation for Bhutanese architecture and will begin to study Dzongkha, the native tongue.”

The Bhutanese reverence for happiness has definitely left its mark on Richard Schnell.

Article source: http://pressrepublican.com/0100_news/x1467875552/Local-man-receives-gift-from-Bhutan-queen