Bhutan

In this idyllic Himalayan country that measures progress by its "gross national happiness" index, the stoplight just didn't cut it. Residents here in the capital complained that Bhutan's one and only automated traffic signal was too impersonal. It got taken down. Now, a white-gloved police officer gracefully directs motorists. A lone man in charge: That's what most Bhutanese want when it comes to how their entire country is run, not merely a single intersection.

High in the Himalayas, above this peaceful valley where farmers till a patchwork of emerald-green fields, an icy lake fed by melting glaciers waits to become a "tsunami from the sky." The lake is swollen dangerously past normal levels, thanks to the global warming that is causing the glaciers to retreat at record speed. But no one knows when the tipping point will come and the lake can take no more, bursting its banks and sending torrents of water crashing into the valley below.

U.S. officials will start interviewing Bhutanese refugees next week to determine which of them can resettle in the United States starting January 2008, the State Department said Saturday. The U.S. announced last year that it would take as many as 60,000 Bhutanese refugees living in camps in Nepal over the next few years. About 15,000 will move to the U.S. next year, and 20,000 more each subsequent year, said Ellen Sauerbrey, assistant secretary of State for population, refugees and migration.

King Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicated and announced that he would hand power to his Western-educated son, who is expected to usher in a parliamentary democracy for the isolated Himalayan kingdom. The king, who assumed the throne in 1972 when he was 17, said a year ago that he would abdicate in favor of 26-year-old Crown Prince Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck in 2008 as part of the Buddhist country's transformation from an absolute monarchy.

Early in my trip to this tiny eastern Himalayan kingdom, I asked a crimson-robed monk at the ancient Kyichu Lhakhang Monastery in Paro whether I could roll his dice. I drew a lucky number, 12. The monk assured me that my wish -- to have a meaningful trip -- would be granted. He was right. My husband, John, and I had come to Bhutan to attend the annual Paro Tsechu, a five-day festival honoring Guru Rinpoche, who brought Buddhism to Bhutan, and to get an in-depth look at this culture.

Bhutan's king is circulating a draft constitution aimed at establishing a democracy that would end almost 100 years of monarchical rule, the editor of a state-run newspaper said. The constitution would provide for two houses of parliament -- a 75-member National Assembly and a 25-member National Council. King Jigme Singye Wangchuck would become head of state, but parliament could impeach him by a two-thirds vote, said Kinley Dorji, editor of the Kuensel newspaper.

The royal army of the tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan sent 6,000 soldiers through dense forests to push out Indian militants operating from its territory. The operation came after six years of talks with the rebels, who entered the largely Buddhist country 12 years ago to use it as a base from which to launch attacks against Indian forces. The government said the separatists had become "a direct threat to Bhutan's national security and sovereignty."

At least 130 rebels have been killed and 500 have surrendered as Bhutan presses its campaign to flush out Indian guerrillas holed up in the tiny Himalayan kingdom, officials said Saturday. King Jigme Singye Wangchuck and his son are personally "leading the troops" on the offensive, which began last week, a Bhutanese official said. "The king and his son are leading the troops in flushing Indian rebels out of Bhutanese soil," said the government official, who did not want to be identified.

Officials in Bhutan denied media reports that 19-year-old Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck was hurt during a military offensive against Indian rebels based in the tiny Himalayan kingdom. The prince reportedly broke off studies at Oxford University to join the campaign, and Indian and British media have reported that he was wounded in action. But Bhutan's ambassador to India said the prince was not involved in the operation that began last week. "His royal highness ...