Simon Denyer

BEIJING — The United States is not the only country wrestling with a controversy about free speech and respect for the national anthem. But in China, it’s the fans, not players, who are causing controversy. Hong Kong’s soccer fans have been booing…

BEIJING — For weeks, China’s Foreign Ministry had been vehement in its denunciations of India and insistence that New Delhi unconditionally withdraw troops that had trespassed into Chinese territory. Don't underestimate us, China repeatedly insisted,…

BEIJING — India and China have withdrawn troops from a disputed Himalayan region on their border, foreign ministries from the two countries announced Monday, defusing a tense standoff that had threatened to provoke armed conflict between the…

NEW DELHI — As nuclear posturing between North Korea and the United States rivets the world, a quieter conflict between India and China is playing out on a remote Himalayan ridge — with stakes just as high. For the past two months, Indian and Chinese…

The pursuit of happiness is all the rage these days. The United Nations had adopted happiness as an unofficial Millennium Development Goal; France and Britain are incorporating measures of happiness and well-being into their national accounts; and…

Some fidget, a few eyes wander here and there, but for a minute or two, hundreds of primary schoolchildren are quiet, learning to meditate together at morning assembly — palms upturned and thumbs together in the style of Buddha. This is Gross…

PUNAKHA, Bhutan — Bhutan’s “Dragon King,” its charming, American- and British-educated and immensely popular monarch, married his longtime girlfriend on Thursday, in a small, private ceremony mixing Buddhist spirituality and medieval tradition, in…

THIMPHU (Reuters) - He was supposed to look on regally from on high as warriors, monks and masked dancers celebrated his coronation, but Bhutan’s new Dragon King instead showed royal star quality by descending to mingle with the crowds on Friday. The…

THIMPHU (Reuters) - With mediaeval tradition and Buddhist spirituality, a 28-year-old with an Oxford education assumed the Raven Crown of Bhutan on Thursday, to guide the world’s newest democracy as it emerges into the modern world. As the chief…

THIMPHU (Reuters) - In the Chamber of the Golden Throne, a 28-year-old with an Oxford education will assume the Raven Crown of Bhutan Thursday, to guide the world’s newest democracy as it emerges into the modern world. In a sense Jigme Khesar Namgyel…

THIMPHU (Reuters) - He was first feted as “Prince Charming” and has now been acclaimed the “People’s King.” Bhutan’s 28-year-old Oxford-educated monarch has already won hearts at home and abroad. On Thursday, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck takes on a…

THIMPHU (Reuters) - High in the Himalayas, in an ancient ceremony, a young, handsome king will be anointed this week, wearing the Raven Crown of Bhutan and taking his place at the head of the world’s youngest democracy. With his formal coronation…

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - For centuries they enjoyed absolute power in their mountain fastnesses, revered by their subjects as incarnations of gods or Buddha, but one by one the monarchies of the Himalayas are falling. Pressure has come from China to the…

Simon Denyer is the India bureau chief for Reuters, with responsibility for Bhutan and Nepal as well. He visited Bhutan last May when it had a dry run of its first real democratic elections, and last month for the real thing. In the following story,…

HONGTSHO, Bhutan (Reuters) - In a remote corner of the Himalayas, a small Tibetan refugee community felt helpless as it watched protests erupt all over the world against Chinese rule in their homeland. For in the tiny Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan,…

THIMPU (Reuters) - When its big brother Tibet was invaded by China in 1950, the lesson was not lost on the rulers of the tiny hermit kingdom of Bhutan. Isolation did not pay, and a gradual process of opening up and modernisation culminated on Monday…

PUNAKHA, Bhutan (Reuters) - The people of Bhutan face some subtle choices in their first parliamentary elections on Monday, choices that underline the changes democracy is bringing to this traditional Himalayan kingdom. The biggest decision of all…

THIMPU (Reuters) -The tiny and deeply traditional Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan takes a slightly nervous step into the modern world on Monday when it holds the first parliamentary elections in its history. Its northern neighbor Tibet may be writhing in…