The earliest pictures capturing the art and beauty of Indian monuments

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DAG William Henry Pigou Mysore, Idol car at the temple of Chamondee (Chamundi Temple) Silver albumen print from waxed paper negative mounted on card, 1856DAG

A new show in the Indian capital Delhi showcases a rich collection of early photographs of monuments in the country.

The photographs from the 1850s and 1860s capture a period of experimentation when new technology met uncharted territory.

British India was the first country outside Europe to establish professional photographic studios, and many of these early photographers were celebrated internationally. (Photography was launched in 1839.)

They blended and transformed pictorial conventions, introduced new artistic traditions, and shaped the visual tastes of diverse audiences, ranging from scholars to tourists.

While the works of leading British photographers often reflect a colonial perspective, those by their Indian contemporaries reveal overlooked interactions with this narrative.

The pictures at the show called Histories in the Making have been gathered from the archives of DAG, a leading art firm. They highlight photography’s crucial role in shaping an understanding of India’s history.

They also contributed to the development of field sciences, fostered networks of knowledge, and connected the histories of politics, fieldwork, and academic disciplines like archaeology.

“These images capture a moment in history when the British Empire was consolidating its power in India, and the documentation of the subcontinent’s monuments served both as a means of asserting control and as a way to showcase the empire’s achievements to audiences back in Europe,” says Ashish Anand, CEO of DAG.

dag William Johnson and William Henderson Caves of Elephanta – 5. The Northern Aisle Silver albumen print from wet collodion negative mounted on card, 1855–62dag

This is a a picture of Caves of Elephanta taken by William Johnson and William Henderson.

The Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage site, are a group of temples primarily dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva in the state of Maharashtra.

William Johnson began his photographic career in Bombay (now Mumbai) around 1852, initially working as a daguerreotypist – the daguerreotype was an early photographic process that produced a single image on a metal plate.

In the mid-1850s, Johnson partnered with William Henderson, a commercial studio owner in Bombay, to establish the firm Johnson & Henderson.

Together, they produced The Indian Amateur’s Photographic Album, a monthly series published from 1856 to 1858.

dag Linnaeus Tripe The Great Pagoda, View of the Sacred Tank in the Great Pagoda (Minakshi Sundareshvara Temple, Madurai) Silver albumen print from waxed paper negative mounted on paper, 1858 dag

Linnaeus Tripe arrived in India in 1839 at the age of 17, joining the Madras regiment of the East India Company.

He began practicing photography and in December 1854, captured images in the towns of Halebidu, Belur, and Shravanabelagola.

Sixty-eight of these photographs, primarily of temples, were exhibited in 1855 at an exhibition in Madras (now a major city called Chennai), earning him a first-class medal for the “best series of photographic views on paper”.

In 1857, Tripe became the photographer for the Madras Presidency – a former province of British India – and photographed sites at Srirangam, Tiruchirapalli, Madurai, Pudukkottai, and Thanjavur.

Over 50 of these photographs were displayed at the Photographic Society of Madras exhibition the following year, where they were widely praised as the best exhibits.

dag John Murray Khas Mahal, Agra Fort Waxed paper negative, c. 1858–62dag

John Murray, a surgeon in the Bengal Indian Medical Service, began photographing in India in the late 1840s.

Appointed civil surgeon in the city of Agra in 1848, he spent the next 20 years producing a series of studies on Mughal architecture in Agra and the neighbouring cities of Sikandra, and Delhi.

In 1864, he created a comprehensive set of pictures documenting the iconic Taj Mahal.

Throughout his career, Murray used paper negatives and the calotype process – a technique of creating “positive” prints from one negative – to produce his images.

dag Thomas Biggs Plate LXXII. Iwullee, East Front of the Temple (Durga Temple, Aihole, Bijapur) Silver albumen print from waxed paper negative mounted on paper, 1855dag

Thomas Biggs arrived in India in 1842 and joined the Bombay Artillery as a captain in the British East India Company.

He soon took up photography and became a founding member of the Photographic Society of Bombay in 1854.

After exhibiting his work at the Society’s first exhibition in January 1855, he was appointed as the government photographer for the Bombay Presidency, tasked with documenting architectural and archaeological sites.

He photographed Bijapur, Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal, Dharwad, and Mysore before being recalled to military service in December 1855.

Biggs experimented with the calotype process, producing “positive” prints from one negative.

dag Felice Beato The Clock Tower opposite the Baillie Guard or Residency (Ruined British Residency, Lucknow) Silver albumen print from glass negative mounted on paper, 1858dag

Felice Beato, one of the most renowned war and travel photographers of the 19th Century, arrived in India in 1858 to document the aftermath of the 1857 mutiny.

Indian soldiers, known as sepoys, had set off a rebellion against the British rule, often referred to as the first war of independence.

Although the mutiny was nearly over when Beato arrived, he photographed its aftermath with a focus on capturing the immediacy of events.

He extensively documented cities deeply affected by the uprising, including Lucknow, Delhi, and Kanpur, with notable images of Sikandar Bagh, Kashmiri Gate, and the barracks of Kanpur. His chilling photograph of the hanging of sepoys, stands out for its stark depiction.

As a commercial photographer, Beato aimed to sell his work widely, spending over two years in India photographing iconic sites. In 1860, Beato left India for China to photograph the Second Opium War.

dag Andrew Charles Brisbane Neill Plate LXVIII. Beejanuggur, Sculptured Granite Wall (Hampi) Silver albumen print from waxed paper negative mounted on card, 1856dag

Andrew Neill, a Scottish doctor in the Indian Medical Service in Madras, was also a photographer who documented ancient monuments for the Bombay Presidency.

His calotypes were featured in the 1855 exhibition of the Photographic Society of Madras and in March 1857, and 20 of his architectural views of Mysore and Bellary were shown by the Photographic Society of Bengal.

Neill also documented Lucknow after the 1857 revolt.

dag Edmund David Lyon Ramisseram Pagoda (Long Side Aisle) (Ramalingeswara temple, Rameswaram) Silver albumen print mounted on card, 1867–68dag

Edmund Lyon, who served in the British Army from 1845 to 1854 and briefly as governor of Dublin District Military Prison, arrived in India in 1865 and established a photographic studio in the southern city of Ooty.

Working as a commercial photographer until 1869, Lyon gained significant recognition, particularly for his photographs of the Nilgiris mountain range, which were showcased at the 1867 Paris Exposition.

Accompanied by his wife, Anne Grace, Lyon also captured southern India’s archaeological sites and architectural antiquities.

His work resulted in a remarkable collection of 300 photographs documenting sites in Trichinopoly, Madurai, Tanjore, Halebid, Bellary, and Vijayanagara

dag Samuel Bourne Ice cave, Source of the Buspa Silver albumen print from wet collodion negative (glass plate), c. 1860–70dag

Samuel Bourne’s stunning images of India, especially from his Himalayan expeditions between 1863 and 1866, stand among the finest examples of 19th-Century travel photography. A former bank clerk, Bourne left his job in 1857 to pursue photography full-time.

Arriving in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1863, he soon moved to Shimla, where he partnered with William Howard to establish the Howard & Bourne studio.

Later that year, Charles Shepherd joined them, forming ‘Howard, Bourne & Shepherd’. When Howard left, the studio became ‘Bourne & Shepherd,’ a name that would become iconic.

Bourne embarked on three major Himalayan expeditions, covering vast regions including Kashmir and the challenging terrain of Spiti. His 1866 photographs of the Manirung Pass, at over 18,600ft (5,669m), gained international acclaim.

In 1870, Bourne returned to England, selling his shares, though Bourne & Shepherd continued to operate in Calcutta and Simla. The studio, which later documented the spectacular Delhi Durbar – the ‘Court of India’ of 1911, an event that saw 20,000 soldiers marching or riding past the silk-robed Emperor and Empress – had a remarkable 176-year legacy before closing in 2016.

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Thailand wages war against invasive blackchin tilapia

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It has been described as the “most invasive species” to ever hit Thailand – one which risks enormous damage to the environment, according to officials.

Attempts to control it have seen crowds wading out into lakes, and genetic modification.

And yet the blackchin tialapia continues to spread through Thailand’s waterways, so far impacting 17 provinces.

An investigation in parliament has aimed to uncover the cause and its proponent, with Bangkok MP Nattacha Boonchaiinsawat declaring: “We will not pass a devastated ecosystem to the next generation.”

So can Thai authorities win the battle – and how exactly did this West African fish end up causing havoc half a world away?

Thailand had experienced outbreaks of blackchin tilapia in the past, but none has been as widespread as this most recent episode.

Mr Nattacha estimates that this particular outbreak is going to cost Thai economy at least 10 billion baht ($293m; £223m).

The core problem is that the blackchin tilapia prey on small fish, shrimp, and snail larvae, which are among Thailand’s important aquaculture products.

So for months now, the government has encouraged people to catch blackchin tilapia, which have found their way in rivers and swamps. The fish thrive in brackish water, but can also survive in fresh and salt water.

The Thai government has also doubled the amount that it will pay people who catch the fish, to 15 baht ($0.42; £0.33) per kilogram. The result? In Bangkok’s suburbs, crowds have waded in knee-deep waters hoping to catch blackchin tilapia with their plastic basins.

Authorities have also released the blackchin tilapia’s predators – Asian seabass and long-whiskered catfish – to hunt them down.

However, they are battling a species which reproduces at speed: females are able to produce 500 fingerlings at a time.

And so authorities have also gone to the extent of developing genetically-modified blackchin tilapia that would produce sterile offspring, planning to release them as early as the end of this year, in the hopes of stopping their population from exploding further.

But Mr Nattacha told BBC Thai the government needed to do even more.

“Who will win?” he wondered. “We need the people to follow the case closely, otherwise this matter will be quiet, and we will pass on this kind of environment to the next generation.”

So how exactly did this fish – easily identifiable thanks to the black spots on their chins and cheeks – come to be in Thailand?

One theory that parliament has looked into is that an experiment by food behemoth Charoen Pokphand Food (CPF) 14 years ago had caused the spread.

The company, which produces animal feed and runs shrimp and livestock farms, imported 2,000 from Ghana in late 2010. It said all the fish died and were buried properly.

Two years later, outbreaks of blackchin tilapia were reported in Thailand, including the area of a CPF laboratory, according to local broadcaster Thai PBS.

But CPF – the agribusiness arm of one of Thailand’s largest conglomerate, Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group) – has rejected the allegations. It has also threatened to sue those spreading what it calls “misinformation” on the matter.

It is co-operating with state agencies fighting the spread of the alien species.

“Although the company is confident that it is not the cause of the outbreak, it is not indifferent and is ready to cooperate with the government to alleviate the suffering of the people,” said Premsak Wanuchsoontorn, CPF’s aquaculture and research development officer.

However, CPF officials have attended parliament hearings in person only once. They have previously given their explanation to lawmakers in writing.

The director-general of Thailand’s Department of Fisheries, Bancha Sukkaew, notes only one private company had sought permission to import blackchin tilapia.

He told the BBC that there was a possibility that some escaped from the laboratory.

However, he is also not discounting the possibility that the invasive fish species could have been smuggled into Thailand.

In the end, though, how they came to be in Thai waterways is the past – the problem is the future, and getting the outbreak under control. But is it possible?

Experts told BBC Thai that the battle against the blackchin tilapia could be a losing one.

“I don’t see the possibility of eradicating it,” said Dr Suwit Wuthisuthimethavee, an expert in aquatic animal genetics at Walailak University.

“Because we cannot limit its range. When it is in nature, it reproduces continuously, has a fast reproductive cycle,” Dr Suwit added.

Nonn Panitvong, an expert in freshwater ecosystems, agreed.

“The problem with alien species is that once they are established, they are very difficult to eradicate,” he said.

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Bangladesh disappeared: Aynaghor survivors speak out

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EPA United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) leader Michael Chakma, who was released from the secret detention center locally know as 'Aynaghor' after five years, speaks during an event organized to mark International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, at central Shaheed Minar in DhakaEPA

The man who walked out into the rain in Dhaka hadn’t seen the sun in more than five years.

Even on a cloudy day, his eyes struggled to adjust after half a decade locked in a dimly lit room, where his days had been spent listening to the whirr of industrial fans and the screams of the tortured.

Standing on the street, he struggled to remember his sister’s telephone number.

More than 200km away, that same sister was reading about the men emerging from a reported detention facility in Bangladesh’s infamous military intelligence headquarters, known as Aynaghor, or “House of Mirrors”.

They were men who had allegedly been “disappeared” under the increasingly autocratic rule of Sheikh Hasina – largely critics of the government who were there one day, and gone the next.

But Sheikh Hasina had now fled the country, unseated by student-led protests, and these men were being released.

In a remote corner of Bangladesh, the young woman staring at her computer wondered if her brother – whose funeral they had held just two years ago, after every avenue to uncover his whereabouts proved fruitless – might be among them?

Getty Images Relatives hold portraits of forcibly disappeared people, as they form a human chain to mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, in DhakaGetty Images

The day Michael Chakma was forcefully bundled into a car and blindfolded by a group of burly men in April 2019 in Dhaka, he thought it was the end.

He had come to authorities’ attention after years of campaigning for the rights of the people of Bangladesh’s south-eastern Chittagong Hill region – a Buddhist group which makes up just 2% of Bangladesh’s 170m-strong, mostly Muslim population.

He had, according to rights group Amnesty International, been staunchly vocal against abuses committed by the military in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and has campaigned for an end to military rule in the region.

A day after he was abducted, he was thrown into a cell inside the House of Mirrors, a building hidden inside the compound the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) used in the capital Dhaka.

It was here they gathered local and foreign intelligence, but it would become known as somewhere far more sinister.

The small cell he was kept in, he said, had no windows and no sunlight, only two roaring exhaust fans.

After a while “you lose the sense of time and day”, he recalls.

“I used to hear the cries of other prisoners, though I could not see them, their howling was terrifying.”

The cries, as he would come to know himself, came from his fellow inmates – many of whom were also being interrogated.

“They would tie me to a chair and rotate it very fast. Often, they threatened to electrocute me. They asked why I was criticising Ms Hasina,” Mr Chakma says.

A graphic showing the location of the complex

Outside the detention facility, for Minti Chakma the shock of her brother’s disappearance was being replaced with panic.

“We went to several police stations to enquire, but they said they had no information on him and he was not in their custody,” she recalls. “Months passed and we started getting panicky. My father was also getting unwell.”

A massive campaign was launched to find Michael, and Minti filed a writ petition in the High Court in 2020.

Nothing brought any answers.

“The whole family went through a lot of trauma and agony. It was terrible not knowing the whereabouts of my brother,” she says.

Then in August 2020, Michael’s father died during Covid. Some 18 months later, the family decided that Michael must have died as well.

“We gave up hope,” Minti says, simply. “So as per our Buddhist tradition we decided to do hold his funeral so that the soul can be freed from his body. With a heavy heart we did that. We all cried a lot.”

Getty Images Sheikh Hasina holding a finger to her faceGetty Images

Rights groups in Bangladesh say they have documented about 600 cases of alleged enforced disappearances since 2009, the year Sheikh Hasina was elected.

In the years that followed, Sheikh Hasina’s government would be accused of targeting their critics and dissenters in an attempt to stifle any dissent which posed a threat to their rule – an accusation she and the government always denied.

Some of the so-called disappeared were eventually released or produced in court, others were found dead. Human Rights Watch says nearly 100 people remain missing.

Rumours of secret prisons run by various Bangladeshi security agencies circulated among families and friends. Minti watched videos detailing the disappearances, praying her brother was in custody somewhere.

But the existence of such a facility in the capital was only revealed following an investigation by Netra News in May 2022.

The report found it was inside the Dhaka military encampment, right in the heart of the city. It also managed to get hold of first-hand accounts from inside the building – many of which tally with Michael’s description of being held in a cell without sunlight.

The descriptions also echo those of Maroof Zaman, a former Bangladeshi ambassador to Qatar and Vietnam, who was first detained in the House of Mirrors in December 2017.

Former Bangladeshi diplomat Maroof Zaman who was abducted by Bangladeshi forces holding a book

His interview with the BBC is one of the few times he has spoken of his 15-month ordeal: as part of his release, he agreed with officials not to speak publicly.

Like others who have spoken of what happened behind the complex’s walls, he was fearful of what might happen if he did. The detainee who spoke openly to Netra News in 2022 only did so because he was no longer in Bangladesh.

Maroof Zaman has only felt safe to speak out since Sheikh Hasina fled – and her government collapsed – on 5 August.

He describes how he too was held in a room without sunlight, while two noisy exhaust fans drowned out any sound coming from outside.

The focus of his interrogations were on the articles he had written alleging corruption at the heart of government. Why, the men wanted to know, was he writing articles alleging “unequal agreements” signed with India by Ms Hasina, that favoured Delhi.

“For the first four-and-a-half months, it was like a death zone,” he says. “I was constantly beaten, kicked and threatened at gunpoint. It was unbearable, I thought only death will free me from this torture.”

But unlike Michael, he was moved to a different building.

“For the first time in months I heard the sound of the birds. Oh, it was so good, I cannot describe that feeling,” Maroof recounted.

He was eventually released following a campaign by his daughters and supporters in late March 2019 – a month before Michael found himself thrown into a cell.

Getty Images A forcibly disappeared person's mother cries, during a human chain to mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, in DhakaGetty Images

Few believe that enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings could have been carried out without the knowledge of the top leadership.

But while people like Mr Chakma were languishing in secret jails for years, Ms Hasina, her ministers and her international affairs advisor Gowher Rizvi were flatly rejecting allegations of abductions.

Ms Hasina’s son, Sajeed Wazed Joy, has continued to reject the allegations, instead turning the blame on “some of our law enforcement leadership [who] acted beyond the law”.

“I absolutely agree that it’s completely illegal. I believe that those orders did not come from the top. I had no knowledge of this. I am shocked to hear it myself,” he told the BBC.

There are those who raise their eyebrows at the denial.

Alongside Michael, far higher profile people emerged from the House of Mirrors – including two senior members of the Islamist political party Jamaat-e-Islami, a retired brigadier, Abdullahi Aman Azmi and Barrist Ahmed Bin Quasem. Both had spent about eight years in secret incarceration.

What is clear is that the re-emergence of people like the politicians, and Michael, shows “the urgency for the new authorities in Bangladesh to order and ensure that the security forces to disclose all places of detention and account for those who have been missing”, according to Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the UN Human Rights office in Geneva.

Bangladesh’s interim government agreed: earlier this week, it established a five-member commission to investigate cases of enforced disappearances by security agencies during Ms Hasina’s rule since 2009.

And those who have survived the ordeal want justice.

“We want the perpetrators to be punished. All the victims and their families should be compensated,” Maroof Zaman said.

Back on the street outside the House of Mirrors – just two days after Sheikh Hasina fled to India – Michael was struggling to decide what to do. He had only been told about his release 15 minutes before. It was a lot to take in.

“I forgot the last two digits of my sister’s phone number,” he says. “I struggled a lot to remember that, but I couldn’t. Then I called a relative who informed them.”

But Minti already knew: she had seen the news on Facebook.

“I was ecstatic,” she recalls through tears two weeks later. “Next day, he called me, I saw him on that video phone call after five years. We were all crying. I couldn’t recognise him.”

Last week, she saw him in person for the first time in five years: weaker, traumatised – but alive.

“His voice sounds different,” she says.

Michael, meanwhile, is dealing with the long term health implications of being held in the dark for so long.

“I cannot look at contacts or phone numbers properly, it’s a blurred vision. I am getting treatment, and the doctor is giving me spectacles.”

More than that, there is coming to terms with what he has missed. He was told of his father’s death a few days after his release.

And yet, amid the pain, he is hopeful – even happy.

“It’s more than a new lease of life, a resurrection. It feels like I was dead and have come back to life again. I cannot describe this feeling.”

  • Additional reporting by Moazzem Hussain, BBC

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Commentary: Luxury mooncakes and the battle of the alpha consumers

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So many things in Singapore embrace newness over durability. Of course, sometimes things and places reach their natural end and need renewal and replacement, but I think that we do sometimes take things to their extremes. From replacing perfectly functioning cars, to quick-fix fast fashion, to relentless renovation. Is this a case of just buying and not thinking?

And does this drive for one-upmanship also mean we lose people, places and things that are not as “fancy” but nonetheless valuable to the fabric of society? In a few years, I dread to think there will be no more bakeries making simple, cost-effective mooncakes and other pastries, because we no longer want to eat them.

QUIET LUXURY WON’T SOLVE THINGS

Some news outlets are reporting that conspicuous consumption is now becoming less prevalent. Luxury brands known for their ostentatious labelling are reporting difficult sales in key markets around the world. The buzzword amongst Gen Z now appears to be “quiet luxury”, made popular by TV shows like Succession.

Quiet luxury eschews the showiness of brands with an apparent focus on simple designs and understated colours. One might think that embracing a trend like quiet luxury suggests that we have matured as a society and are striving towards “stealth-wealth”.

I do not think this is the case, because while the showiness becomes more muted, the hierarchies of visibility I mentioned previously simply become hierarchies of invisibility – that is, hierarchies still exist and one-upmanship continues unabated, albeit in the shadows. The desire to acquire new things for the sake of newness persists.

Instead, perhaps what we need is to question the desire to make everything newer and whether we are seeking luxury for the sake of luxury. Are we, as the saying goes, spending money that we don’t have to buy things we don’t want to impress the people we don’t like?

This is the greatest challenge in a world saturated by advertising, media and messages that revolve around the acquisition and performative consumption of goods and brands, which in itself becomes a strain on the earth’s already limited resources.

The mooncake race is simply symptomatic and symbolic of this wider issue, one that has important consequences for the individual, society and the environment.

Terence Heng is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Liverpool. His new co-edited book, Death and the Afterlife: Multidisciplinary Perspectives in a Global City (Routledge 2024) documents, maps and theorises Chinese death practices in Singapore.

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The Singapore watch brand founder producing award-winning watches

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“Starting a [high-end] Chinese brand was obviously a very counterintuitive brand back then, because everyone wanted to produce watches in China but label it as Swiss. I was producing watches in China and labelling them as Chinese. Everyone thought I was crazy,” he shared. Getting investors on board wasn’t an option, as the business model didn’t seem viable. In any case, Chee wanted to chart his own direction.

“As a total outsider to the watch industry, and indeed to business as a whole, I had completely no industry knowledge or business expertise when I first began. I had to learn practically every area of business from scratch, on my own, and it certainly wasn’t easy, but it was a challenge that I truly appreciated.

“Apart from that, not having any investors or base of capital apart from my own savings and taking personal loans, I was continually stressed financially for the better part of a decade, but this allowed me to learn how to manage cash flow well. It was very difficult with an undertaking as ambitious as building a high horology brand from scratch from a continent away from Switzerland where all the suppliers are located. But this has made me more resourceful, and has made the resulting accomplishments more satisfying,” he said.

Likening his entrepreneurial journey to that of Singapore’s own historical narrative, he offered: “I personally think that the Singapore story is one of entrepreneurism – a small upstart nation with no inherited resources charged with the immediate, existential imperative of building her future from scratch, surrounded by unfriendly behemoths, and using all her resourcefulness, hard work and determination to achieve the seemingly impossible.

“Like my homeland, I started my journey with almost no resources apart from myself, and I continuously compete with billion-dollar brands with centuries of history and accumulated knowledge, and legions of staff. The way I’ve succeeded is to complement instead of compete head-on with them, and to build a symbiotic relationship with the large brands.”

BRANCHING OUT

Today, those early struggles have borne fruit. His first brand, Celadon, now has two lines: The Haute Horlogerie line (Celadon HH) and a more entry-level collection, Celadon CL. Chee’s intention is for the latter to serve as a jumping-off point for enthusiasts looking to collect high-quality Chinese watches.

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Breaking barriers: How a nurse rose through the ranks to become Alexandra Hospital’s new deputy CEO

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Reflecting on her appointment as the hospital’s deputy CEO, Ms Lee said she felt her appointment was a signal of trust from the hospital that she could take on bigger responsibilities and have a larger impact.  

Her nursing background also brings diversity and balance to the team, she added. 

We can actually be … more all-rounded in the decisions that we make because we are all innately more intuitive towards a specific group,” Ms Lee said.

“For instance, doctors will definitely gravitate towards knowing doctors’ needs a lot more than everyone else, while I obviously will be more in tune with nursing needs. So, we really need a diverse group to form the leadership team.”

RAMPING UP HOSPITAL CAPACITY

Her appointment comes as the 300-bed Alexandra Hospital prepares to serve more patients. By 2028, the hospital will be redeveloped into a 1,300-bed integrated general hospital. 

Although the hospital is already stepping up on recruitment, Ms Lee said it has to be more agile, given the manpower crunch and increasing healthcare needs. 

“If we continue to do things the same way, we will never have enough nurses. We know that the outcome is just going to be very dismal, but we have a runway so that nurses can rethink how they want to practise,” she said. 

Alexandra Hospital has 700 nurses now in a 1,650-strong workforce. It will have to boost its headcount by 82 per cent to meet the increased bed capacity in four years.

To boost capabilities, the hospital has been rotating nurses between disciplines so that they can gain more experience in different fields. 

“If we just let nurses continue to hone their skills within a specific discipline, it will take time for them to grow. We find that given the opportunities that’s on offer today for nurses, which is a lot, most people don’t know what they don’t know unless they have a chance to experience it,” she said.

“So, we are very intentional about rotating our nurses so that they have a flavour of different disciplines, even practising in different settings, so that they can also reflect and learn … where their passion lies.”

Nurses who decide to deepen their expertise in a certain area can then undergo relevant courses.

The hospital has also been sending its nurses to work outside the hospital, said Ms Lee. 

She added that Queenstown – where the hospital is located – has seen a rapid transformation with the proportion of residents aged 65 and above rising from 20 per cent to over 30 per cent in under five years.

“If we are truly person-centred in our care, we must see the person as a whole, not just the condition, not just the body organ, and think about what this means when the patient is out of the hospital space,” she said. 

“Because the hospital … is a very artificial environment that is catered to look after acute medical needs.

“So, this is how we have been rotating our nurses, giving them opportunities to go out into the community, so that they are more discerning as nurses, and they can actually take more ownership to redesign their practice.”

When the redevelopment is completed, a new, integrated model of care will also be implemented on a full-scale basis.

Under this model, patients can remain in the same bed after their conditions improve, instead of transferring to a community hospital. They will receive acute and subsequently step-down care tailored to their needs from the same clinical team in the same location.

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‘I’m just so grateful’: Singapore’s Yip Pin Xiu thankful for support after second gold at Paris Paralympics

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SINGAPORE: After securing a gold in her opening event at the Paris Paralympics, Yip Pin Xiu told herself that regardless of whatever happened in the women’s 50m backstroke S2 final, she could rest in the assurance that she had done her best.

And with that ease of mind, the defending champion clocked a time of 1:05.99 to clinch her second gold of the Games.

At the La Defense Arena, Mexico’s Haidee Aceves took silver (1:08.96) while Spain’s Teresa Perales (1:10.95) finished with bronze.

“After the 100m, I really was trying not to put too much pressure on myself,” she told CNA.

“I was telling myself that regardless of what happens with the results, (I’ve) already done my best and everything … That’s the mindset I had coming in.”

Yip’s latest medal means she has won golds at both the 50m and 100m backstroke S2 events for three consecutive Paralympics.

The 32-year-old is Singapore’s most decorated Paralympian and the current world record holder for both events.

“A lot of people to thank, (those) that have shown me support along the way. I’m just grateful for the amount of support that we got from Singaporeans after the first race,” said Yip.

“Thank you so much for all of those messages coming in … I’m just so grateful. All of you have played a part in one way or another in this victory.”

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Singapore swimmer Yip Pin Xiu wins second gold at Paris Paralympics 

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Singapore’s most decorated Paralympian, she is the current world record holder in the event.

Yip is also the world record holder in the 100m backstroke S2, and last Friday won gold in the event, her third in as many Paralympics.

She now has seven Games golds to her name and is the only Singaporean to have won a Paralympics gold medal.

Catch Team Singapore at the Paralympic Games Paris 2024 live and on-demand on mewatch for free at mewatch.sg/paris2024.

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China and Philippines trade blame as ships collide

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China and the Philippines have accused each other of ramming coast guard vessels in a disputed area of the South China Sea.

The Philippines has claimed a Chinese ship “directly and intentionally rammed” into its vessel, while Beijing has accused the Philippines of “deliberately” crashing into a Chinese ship.

Saturday’s collision near the Sabina Shoal is the latest in a long-running – and escalating – row between the two countries over various islands and zones in the South China Sea.

Within the past two weeks, there have been at least three other incidents in the same area involving ships belonging to the two countries.

The Sabina Shoal, claimed by China as Xianbin Jiao and as Escoda Shoal by the Philippines, is located some 75 nautical miles from the Philippines’ west coast and 630 nautical miles from China.

The South China Sea is a major shipping route through which $3 trillion worth of trade passes through a year. Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Following the latest clash, China’s coast guard called on the Philippines to withdraw from the Sabina Shoal while pledging to “resolutely thwart all acts of provocation, nuisance and infringement”.

The Philippines coast guard said it would not move its vessel – the Teresa Magbanua – “despite the harassment, the bullying activities and escalatory action of the Chinese coast guard”.

There were no casualties following the crash but Philippines Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela said that the 97-meter (318-feet) Teresa Magbanua had sustained some damage after being hit “several times” by the Chinese ship.

The US ambassador to the Phillipines, MaryKay L Carlson, criticised what she called China’s dangerous actions in the region.

“The US condemns the multiple dangerous violations of international law by the [People’s Republic of China], including today’s intentional ramming of the BRP Teresa Magbanua while it was conducting lawful operations within the[Philippines] EEZ.” she wrote in a post to X.

“We stand with the Philippines in upholding international law.”

China has repeatedly blamed the Philippines and its ally the US for the escalating tensions. Last week, a defence ministry spokesperson said Washington was “emboldening” Manila to make “reckless provocations”.

Observers worry the dispute could eventually spark a larger confrontation in the South China Sea.

A previous attempt by the Philippines to get the United Nations to arbitrate ended with the decision that China had no lawful claims within its so-called nine dash line, the boundary it uses to claim a large swathe of the South China Sea. Beijing has refused to recognise the ruling.

But in recent weeks both countries have made an attempt to de-escalate the immediate conflicts out at sea.

Last month they agreed to allow the Philippines to restock the outpost in the Second Thomas Shoal with food, supplies and personnel. Since then this has taken place with no reported clashes.

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