To the Point
Bhutan, the United Nations, and Gross National Happiness
The UN now has "Happiness" on the global agenda, a major achievement for the small Himalayan country of Bhutan. Which are the "Happiest" countries? Who decides?
By Warren Olney • • 51m ListenThe United Nations now has "Happiness" on the global agenda — a major achievement for of Bhutan — a Himalayan country of less than a million people. Which are the "Happiest" countries and who decides? What are the obstacles to reaching the UN's new goal? Also, clashes at the Syrian border leave Turkey concerned, and suspected white killers and black victims.
Banner image: Bhutanese school children wave the national flag as they wait for the arrival of the royal couple in Thimphu on October 14, 2011.Photo by Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images
In this episode
3 storiesClashes at the Syrian Border Leave Turkey Concerned
Syria's bloody conflict crossed two borders today. Government forces killed a cameraman in Lebanon today and wounded at least six people at a refugee camp in Turkey. What are the prospects for Kofi Annan's UN-brokered cease-fire, scheduled to start tomorrow? Alan Cowell is senior correspondent for the New York Times .
Read the story8 minGross National… Happiness?
"Happiness" is a right enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. Is it a better measure of human "progress" than "Gross National Product?" The king of the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan proposed the idea 40 years ago, and last week, his grandson -- the current king -- led a UN conference on " Happiness and Well-Being ."
Read the story38 minTulsa, Trayvon and the Climate of Race Relations
Bond was set today for two white men suspected of killing three black people and wounding two others in Tulsa, Oklahoma: $9.16 million apiece. The city's black community was terrorized by apparently random shootings last Friday night, an incident that comes on the heels of national concern about the killing of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida.
Read the story6 min
