NewsTracker Answers for week of Nov. 21, 2016

Q: One of the best-known journalists in Bhutan faces imprisonment or a fine equivalent to 10 years’ salary for sharing a story about a prominent businessman on Facebook. Where is the tiny mountain nation of Bhutan in this map of southern Asia?

Circle the area on this map


Q: Namgay Zam is on trial for defaming the businessman for sharing a Facebook post written by a woman about a property dispute between her family and the man whose son-in-law is the chief justice of Bhutan. Bhutan is a . . .

A. Absolute monarchy

B. Constitutional monarchy

C. Military dictatorship

D. Plutocracy


B. After a century of absolute monarchy, Bhutan became a two-party parliamentary democracy with elections in 2008. Bhutan’s former and present kings proposed the constitution that led to democracy. The constitution also guarantees freedom of the press, but most of the nation’s journalists told a survey it does not exist in practice.


Q: A government official said Bhutan may have to place restrictions on social media. Television and the Internet only arrived in the remote nation in 1999. Bhutan is sandwiched between China and India in what mountain range?

A. Alps

B. Andes

C. Himalayas

D. Urals


C. The Himalayan range is the world’s highest. The mountains were formed by the collision of the Indian tectonic plate and the Eurasian plate. The range runs from Pakistan on the west through India, Nepal and Bhutan into China’s Tibet Autonomous Region on the east.


Q: Like Tibet, Bhutan’s predominant religion is . . .

A. Buddhism

B. Christianity

C. Islam

D. Hinduism


A. About three quarters of Bhutan’s 750,000 people are Buddhists and another 22 percent are Hindu. Buddhism was introduced in the 7th century by Tibetan king who extended his empire into the territory that is now Bhutan.


Q: Why does Bhutan have zero greenhouse gas emissions?

A. Forest cover

B. Electric cars

C. Hydroelectric power

D. All of the above


D. Forests cover 72 percent of the country and soak up much more carbon than the nation’s people put into the atmosphere. Bhutan gets most of its energy from hydroelectric power, and more than a tenth of its cars are electric. The government aims to promote conservation as part of its plan to target Gross National Happiness. About 56 percent of all Bhutanese citizens are involved with agriculture, forestry or conservation.