Chinese solar firms go further afield where US tariffs don’t reach
Some of the biggest solar factories in Vietnam owned by Chinese people are reducing manufacturing and firing employees as a result of the rising US industry tariff burdens on it and three other Southeast Asian nations. However, in nearby Indonesia and Laos, a slew of new Chinese-owned thermal plants areContinue Reading
‘Give us back our gods’: Inside Nepal’s Museum of Stolen Art
Sanjaya Dhakal / BBC NepaliA mysterious building with a peculiar title, the Museum of Stolen Art, stands along a small city in Bhaktapur area, Nepal.
Inside it are areas filled with statues of Nepal’s spiritual gods and goddesses.
Among them is the Saraswati artwork. The Hindu goddess of wisdom, perched atop a flower, holds a book, meditation stones, and a traditional device known as a goddess in her four arms.
The memorial is a fake, like all the other carvings in the room.
One of 45 duplicates in the museum, which will have a dedicated location in Panauti, is scheduled to open to the public in 2026.
Rabindra Puri, a naturalist from Nepal, is directing a campaign to retrieve lots of Nepal’s stolen artifacts, many of which are dispersed across museums, auction houses, or private choices in countries like the US, UK, and France.
He has hired a half-dozen artisans to make replicas of these figures over the past five decades, each requiring between three and a year to complete. The museum has not been given any money by the authorities.
His goal is to get these stolen objects back in exchange for the duplicates he has made.
In Nepal, like statues remain in churches all across the country and are regarded as part of the region’s “living society”, more than mere masterpieces, says Sanjay Adhikari, the director of the Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign.
Visitors worship many of them daily, with some devoted to giving foods and flowers to the gods.
” An old woman told me she used to worship Saraswati daily”, says Mr Puri. She felt more unhappy when she learned that the idol had been stolen than when her husband passed away.
These statues are often guarded, leaving them wide open for thieves, which is why it is also popular for followers to contact them for blessings.
Sanjaya Dhakal / BBC NepaliNepal has categorised more than 400 documents missing from churches and monasteries across the country, but the amount is very likely to be an overlook, says Saubhagya Pradhananga, who heads the standard Department of Archaeology.
As Nepal’s isolated state opened up to the outside world, lots of documents were looted from Nepal between the 1960s and the 1980s.
Some of the country’s most effective executives from the time were thought to be responsible for some of these thefts, with many claiming to have smuggled them abroad to craft collectors and pocketed the profits.
Nepalis were generally unaware of their lost art and where it had vanished for decades, but that has changed, particularly since the establishment of the National Heritage Recovery Campaign in 2021, a motion led by citizen activists to regain lost treasures.
According to activists, many of these gods are currently housed in museums, auction houses, or private archives in Western nations like the US, UK, and France.
Additionally, they cooperate with unusual governments to persuade local authorities to return the items.
Shocked to discover it in an American gallery
But there are many barriers. The Taleju Necklace, dating up to the 17th century, is a case in point.
The enormous gold-plated necklace with precious stones vanished from the Temple of Taleju, Nepal’s queen known as the chief safe deity, in 1970.
The temple’s removal on the ninth day of the Dashain Festival, which is only once a year, was all the more surprising.
Some in Nepal had no notion where it might have gone until three years ago, when it was seen in an unlikely location- the Art Institute of Chicago. It’s also unclear how it might have been stolen.
Dr. Sweta Gyanu Baniya, a Nepali intellectual based in the US, reported that when she saw the necklace, she fell to her knees and began crying.
” It’s not just a jewellery, it’s a part of our queen who we devotion. I felt like it should n’t be here. It’s spiritual”, she told the US school Virginia Tech.
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The Chief Priest of the Temple of Taleju, Uddhav Karmacharya, says,” We were shocked after so many times that it was on display in an American museum.
According to him,” The day it is repatriated will be the most important moment in my life,” he has submitted records proving its origin to the Nepali government.
The Alsdorf Foundation, a secret US base, gave the necklace, according to the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition confirmed to the BBC that it has spoken with the government of Nepal and is awaiting more information.
But Pradhananga said Nepal’s Department of Archaeology had provided enough information, including archive files. Additionally, King Pratap Malla wrote that the necklace was made especially for the Goddess of Taleju.
It’s these “tactics of wait” that usually “wear down politicians”, says one advocate, Kanak Mani Dixit.
They “like to use the term provenance” when they request proof from us. Instead of Nepal themselves, the burden is placed on us to show that it belongs to them.
But nevertheless, some progress has been made, and about 200 documents have been returned to Nepal since 1986 – though most exchanges took position in the past century.
Nearly 40 years after it vanished from a sanctuary, Laxmi Narayan, a divine hero of Hindu deities, has returned to Nepal from the Dallas Museum of Art.
80 deported documents are now housed in a specific museum at the National Museum of Nepal, pending repair before being returned to their proper locations. Since 2022, there have been six idol returns to the area.
Sanjaya Dhakal / BBC NepaliThe Laxmi Narayan hero has been brought back to the temple where it was actually taken, and it is still revered every day, just like it was when the original idol was created in the 10th century.
However, some worshippers are now much more suspicious, so putting these deities in iron cages to prevent them from disappearing is a wise decision.
But, Mr. Puri hopes that his museum’s cabinets will finally be completely wiped clean.
” Only return our gods,” I urge galleries and anyone else holding the stolen artifacts. he says. ” You can have your art”.
Chandrayaan, Mangalyaan: Why it costs India so little to reach the Moon and Mars
IsroIndia recently announced a host of ambitious space projects and approved 227bn rupees ($ 2.7bn, £2.1bn ) for them.
The programs include the construction of India’s traditional space station, sending an spacecraft to Venus, and creating a fresh, reusable, heavy-lifting rocket to launch satellites.
Although it is the largest allocation of funds to area projects ever made in India, they are not spectacular and have once again highlighted the cost-effectiveness of the country’s space program.
Experts around the world have marvelled at how little Indian Space Research Organisation’s (Isro) Moon, Mars and solar missions have cost. India spent $74m on the Mars orbiter Mangalyaan and $75m on last year’s historic Chandrayaan-3 – less than the $100m spent on the sci-fi thriller Gravity.
Nasa’s Maven orbiter had cost $582m and Russia’s Luna-25, which crashed on to the Moon’s surface two days before Chandrayaan-3’s landing, had cost 12.6bn roubles ($133m).
Despite the low cost, scientists say India is punching much above its weight by aiming to do valuable work.
Chandrayaan-1 was the first to confirm the presence of water in lunar soil and Mangalyaan carried a payload to study methane in the atmosphere of Mars. Images and data sent by Chandrayaan-3 are being looked at with great interest by space enthusiasts around the world.
How does India manage to keep the prices so small?
Screenshot from DoordarshanSisir Kumar Das, a retired civil servant who oversaw Isro’s funds for more than 20 years, claims that the prudence dates back to the 1960s, when scientists second presented a space program to the state.
India was struggling to serve its inhabitants and maintain adequate hospitals and schools, and it had only been granted independence from British colonial rule in 1947.
Vikram Sarabhai, the founder of Isro and scientist, had to persuade the state that a space program was not just a powerful comfort that had no place in a poor nation like India. He explained to the BBC that spacecraft could improve the way India serves its members.
But India’s space programme has always had to work with a tight budget in a country with conflicting needs and demands. Photographs from the 1960s and 70s show scientists carrying rockets and satellites on cycles or even a bullock cart.
Years later and after several successful interstellar missions, Isro’s funds remains modest. This year, India’s budgetary allocation for its space programme is 130bn rupees ($ 1.55bn )- Nasa’s budget for the year is$ 25bn.
According to Mr. Das, the key factor in why Isro’s operations are so inexpensive is that all of its equipment is made in India and its technology is developed locally.
In 1974, after Delhi conducted its first nuclear test and the West imposed an sanctions, banning transfer of technology to India, the limits were “turned into a blessing in disguise” for the space program, he adds.
” Our scientists seized it as a motivating factor for the development of their own technologies.” All the tools they needed was produced locally, and labor costs and pay were noticeably lower in this country than in the US or Europe.
IsroAccording to research author Pallava Bagla, Nasa outsources dish production to private businesses and also takes out plan for its operations, which add to their costs, in contrast to Isro.
” Also, unlike Nasa, India does n’t do engineering models which are used for testing a project before the actual launch. We only have one unit available, and it’s designed to travel. It’s difficult, there are possibilities of accident, but that’s the risk we take. And we are able to get it because it’s a state programme”.
Mylswamy Annadurai, commander of India’s first and second Moon operations and Mars vision, told the BBC that Isro employs much fewer people and pays lower wages, which makes American jobs dynamic.
He claims that because they were so excited about what they did, he “led small, dedicated team of less than 10 and people frequently worked extended periods without any extra pay.”
The small budget for the jobs, he said, often sent them back to the drawing board, allowed them to consider out of the field and led to new innovations.
” For Chandrayaan-1, the allocated resources was$ 89m and that was fine for the initial design. However, it was later decided that the aircraft would need to transport a Moon effect probe, which may add 35 kg.
Scientists had two options: carrying the mission with a heavier spacecraft, which may cost more, or removing some of the equipment to lighten the load.
Getty Images” We chose the second choice. We decreased the number of tension vehicles and batteries from two to one, and the number of jets from 16 to eight.
Reducing the number of capacitors, Mr Annadurai says, meant the release had to take place before the end of 2008.
The aircraft may have two years while orbiting the Moon without experiencing a protracted solar eclipse, which would have an effect on its potential to recharge. Therefore, in order to satisfy the release date, we had to stick to a strict job schedule.
Mangalyaan value but small, Mr Annadurai says, “because we used most of the equipment we had previously designed for Chandrayaan-2 after the next Moon vision got delayed”.
Mr. Bagla calls India’s affordable area program” an incredible feat” because it comes at such a low cost. But as India scales off, the cost may fall.
At the moment, he says, India uses small rocket launchers because they do n’t have anything stronger. But that means India’s spaceship take much longer to reach their destination.
But, when Chandrayaan-3 was launched, it orbited the Earth many times before it was sling-shot into the solar circle, where it went around the Moon a few times before takeoff. On the other hand, Russia’s Luna-25 escaped the Earth’s gravity fast riding a strong Rocket jet.
” We used Mother Earth’s inertia to push us to the Moon. We needed months of meticulous planning. This is something that Isro has mastered and effectively accomplished.
But, Mr Bagla says, India has announced plans to send a manned mission to the Moon by 2040 and it would need a more powerful rocket to fly the astronauts there quicker.
The government recently said work on this new rocket had already been approved and it would be ready by 2032. This Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) will be able to carry more weight but also cost more.
Additionally, according to Mr. Bagla, it’s possible that the cost of opening up the space industry will be so minimal once that happens.
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Govt must avoid conflict zones
PUBLISHED: 4 Nov 2024 at 07: 10
The Ministry of Labour has been asked by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs to change its labor trade policy from war-torn nations like Israel to more quiet people.
Following the rocket attack by Hezbollah last week that left four Thai workers dead and one injured, council member Chonticha Jangrew made the statement.
She suggested that the department change its strategy to trade workers from Israel and firefight nations, condolences to the families of the dead and injured.
She urged the government to take advantage of the opportunity to diversify its labor export markets and promote safe, high-demand nations while providing workers with appropriate coaching.
The MP recommended that the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Labour Ministry speak in depth about condition assessments and the Thai government’s policies for reducing harm.
Ms. Chonticha said the committee did suggest ways to assist the Thai employees, including a back evacuation plan and financial aid, because some Thai employees have chosen to remain in the warzone for economic reasons.
However, in Uthai Thani, communities have raised concerns about the safety of their loved ones who are still working in Israel.
Sangwan Pokaew, 66, opened her home in Thap Than state’s tambon Taluk Du to allowed people who came to hear good news about her nephew, Nutthapong Junpod.
Ms Sangwan said Mr Nutthapong, 32, is working on a plantation in Israel.
He has communicated with the home, telling them he is protected and that he will go back to his country if the conflict worsens more, she said.
The Mental Health Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team, according to Dr. Kittisak Aksornwong, director of the Department of Mental Health, will be on hand to assist people who are concerned about the security of Israeli employees.
According to Dr. Kittisak, near support will be offered to the families of the deceased workers.
The staff on Sunday visited the home of Akkapon Wannasai, a Thai employee killed in the rocket harm, in Udon Thani.
The crew went to Akkapon’s home and offered them consultation.
Govt seeks to avoid conflict zones for Thai workers overseas
PUBLISHED: 4 Nov 2024 at 07: 10
The Ministry of Labour has been asked by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs to change its labor trade policy from war-torn nations like Israel to more quiet people.
Following next year’s Hezbollah rocket assault on Israel that left four Thai staff dead and one injured, Chonticha Jangrew, a council member, made the statement.
She suggested that the department change its strategy to trade workers from Israel and firefight nations, condolences to the families of the dead and injured.
She urged the government to take advantage of the opportunity to diversify its labor export markets and promote safe, high-demand nations while providing workers with appropriate coaching.
The MP recommended that the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Labour Ministry speak in depth about condition assessments and the Thai government’s policies for reducing harm.
Ms. Chonticha said the committee did suggest ways to assist Thai workers, including a back evacuation plan and financial help, because some Thai workers have chosen to remain in the warzone for economic reasons.
However, in Uthai Thani, communities have raised concerns about the safety of their loved ones who are still working in Israel.
Sangwan Pokaew, 66, opened her home in Thap Than state’s tambon Taluk Du to allowed people who came to hear good news about her nephew, Nutthapong Junpod.
Ms Sangwan said Mr Nutthapong, 32, is working on a plantation in Israel.
She said he has spoken with the home and that he is confident that he is protected and that he will step back in if the conflict develops further.
The Department of Mental Health’s Director, Dr. Kittisak Aksornwong, said the Mental Health Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team will be on hand to assist people who are concerned about Israeli staff ‘ protection.
According to Dr. Kittisak, close assistance will be offered to the workers ‘ people.
The staff on Sunday visited the home of Akkapon Wannasai, a Thai employee killed in the rocket harm, in Udon Thani.
The crew went to Akkapon’s home and offered them consultation.
Work It Podcast: Start-ups vs large corporations – which is the better career move?
Therefore, this means someone who is thinking in the best interest of the business, of the group, happy to share the brilliance and the wins with the staff, than simply being focused on himself, for example.
Gerald Tan:
I think even going beyond just being a team player, straight? Because you’re not only looking at whether a person is capable of doing the work, you’re looking at it if you’re going to use some priceless source on them. You want to know why you’re doing this for me, too. You could work for another larger company in a matter of seconds. Why would you choose to spend your time in training you, and then have you left afterwards?  ,
But, I think a lot of times, from a start-up owner’s perspective, what they want for the group is to see not just a guy who’s willing to do more, but you’re also able to articulate why you want to be portion of this group.  ,
Singapore keen on Thai workers
PUBLISHED: 4 Nov 2024 at 06: 37
The Labour Ministry wants to attract more Thai personnel to Singapore, particularly those working in shipyards.
Phiphat Ratchaiyuth, the secretary of labor, reported on Sunday that he and Boonsong Thapchaiyuth, the ministry’s continuous minister, traveled to Singapore over the weekend to meet with representatives from the Labour Office in Singapore, business leaders, and Ureerat Chareontoh, the Thai ambassador to Singapore, at the Thai ambassador.
Mr Phiphat said almost 4, 000 Thais function in Singapore, most of whom are in development, manufacturing workers, welders, flight attendants, labourers, electrical parts production workers, pipe assemblers, and public workers. He said that” Thais is come to work in Singapore because they will help them advance their abilities and earn money to support their families.”
The ministry’s other important policy is to export Thai employees, as it aims to promote Thai personnel ‘ skills abroad and bring in income there. He claimed that the conversation with Singaporean officials and business owners may contribute to the expansion of the country’s labor business.
He stated that Singapore is looking for skilled construction workers, experienced fabricators in the shipbuilding industry, and experienced electronic parts workers. There is a strong need for more construction workers, he said, to help the growth of different projects, particularly the port sector.
Jobs in the factory market include building, repairing, and maintaining ships, Thais is taking jobs as public labourers, welders, painters and deliver platers without having to pass a test before starting work, he said.
Thailand has a great chance of exporting more staff. The minister said that those interested in finding out more may contact the Department of Employment in their province.
Becoming a new mum for the first time, I felt both grief and joy when caring for my baby
Although my child is the best gift I will never regret, the first few days of his care as a new mother were harsh.  ,
His cries and howls were quiet and powerful right away when he was born. He even struggled with sleeping, which meant I struggled with him. It was a Sisyphean work to put him to sleep.  ,
My husband and I had alternately spend time singing, swinging, and shushing him until the period was over because he would light up the moment we put him in bed.
Google and well-meaning feedback told us: You suddenly have a child, you may feel grateful! The time of the newborn baby passes but quickly! Blink and you’ll lose it!  ,
But all I can recall is constantly winking and experience stuck.  ,
Being a fresh mother affected my entire being. No amount of reading, listening to audiobooks, or visiting sites could have predicted the sudden change.  ,
As I learned to adapt, often horror had complete me. Does caring for our child always be this way, I wondered to myself and loud to my husband. Did we come up with a schedule that works for us? Will we ever regain our sense of self?
To these persistent questions, my husband did hold me nearer and assure me that well, even if it’s tricky, we may figure things out. Even if our parenting style is different from what we’ve been used to, we may find our music as new parents.  ,
EMBRACE THE GRIEF- IT ELPS YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE IN THE NEW Winter OF Marriage
The feeling that first struck me when I began acknowledging this grief was guilt. I felt guilty for missing my pre-baby career when my brother, whom I love passionately, was in front of me.
Anxiety and realization of my role as a family contributed to this guilt-grief. My brother and the man he grew up to become would now have a direct impact on the decisions my husband and I made. Coming to terms with that was yet another method impact.
But while terrifying, the realisation even empowered me. I could n’t just sit back and feel nostalgic about missing my old life. Although I’m frustrated and looking for freedom, I must be there for my child. I have to become a responsible family.
City plan upsets consumer group
Tiny participation for common sessions
The National Human Rights Commission ( NHRC ) will receive a petition from the Thailand Consumer Council (TCC ) on Wednesday, citing shortcomings in the way public hearings are conducted and infringe on people’s rights.
Itboon Onwongsa, assistant secretary-general of the TCC, said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s third revised version of the town plan also lacks common awareness and commitment.
” That was against people’s right”, he told members in a conference on the” Justice City” held by the TCC on Saturday.
We have closely examined the Bangkok area plan’s design, and we have discovered numerous issues that still need to be resolved, such as traffic congestion and flood. Everyone has the right to voice their opinions about the new plan in Bangkok, according to him, and there are more than 5 million persons there.
According to the law, public hearings and open engagement are required for the area plan’s preparation. However, the BMA has failed to adequately explain the effects of its area program, and its public hearings were sparsely attended.
The TCC requested more individuals attend its trials in a letter to the BMA, but the BMA did not respond. As a result, TCC may question the National Human Rights Commission to act.
Supattra Nakaphiw, a part of NHRC, said she immediately agreed with the complaint that the review of the Bangkok area pan perhaps offend people’s rights, such as the right to information, the right to participation, the right to a healthy environment, and the right to property, specifically the right to housing.
We will examine whether the Bangkok City Plan’s formulation violates women’s rights. If we find there is a infraction, we will send it to BMA to get options”, she said.
Pornprom Okuchi, associate director of the Subcommittee on Real Estate and Housing under the TCC, said 21, 776 people took part in the BMA’s public sessions from 2017 until the present, out of Bangkok inhabitants of 5.4 million people.
” That’s less than one per share. According to him, this is unethical information for public hearings on important city planning projects, including the revised city plan, which will add 148 new roads and 200 new canals.
Atavit Suwanpakdee, president of an expert panel to the Industry Minister, said he has been keeping an eye on the BMA’s town plan. He discovered that the most recent edition of the Khu Bon Water Plan has not yet been included in it.
He claimed that despite the government’s claim that the Khu Bon was a liquid engagement place in Bangkok’s northeast region capable of holding up to 870, 000 million square meters of water, it had vanished.
In spite of the fact that 130-rai of land was designated in 2022 as a kaem ling ( monkey cheek ), several housing estates were constructed by private companies.
” The water retention program has been prepared for property eviction, but the place has been allocated to housing projects. I’ll be interested to find out if the program is actually included in the town plan. If no, I will post this subject to the National Anti-Corruption Commission”, he said.
A member of the Klong Toey district’s population, Thaweethong Latthong, claimed that the community had given up four significant temples to create Bangkok Port and relocated four significant ones from the area.
By requesting that the 26 Klong Toey areas receive 20 % of the port area immediately, we would like to take part in the 4th Bangkok City Plan’s draft.
We would like to have some of the area for our folks so we will have safe places to visit home, he said,” since we learned that a percentage of the interface will be allocated for an entertainment complex job.”
Soft power plans for Bangkok’s Chatuchak market
Chatuchak to find optimistic upgrade
PUBLISHED: 4 Nov 2024 at 05: 14
Within the next two decades, the National Committee on Soft Power Development has pledged to make Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok Thailand’s soft power hotspot.
Surapong Suebwonglee, the head of the national council and the vice president of the Prime Minister’s policy expert table, reported on Sunday that the federal committee’s annual meeting reported an increase in the budget for soft power from 635 million baht in the 2024 fiscal year to 2.3 billion baht for the 2025 fiscal year, which runs from October 1 this year to November 30th, 2025.
He claimed that the conference had considered the Chatuchak Market’s growth.
” Now, during vacation, at least 80, 000 travelers visit Chatuchak Market per day. During peak times, there may be as many as 300, 000 visitors per time, which shows very great commerce potential”, he said.
As a soft energy hub, Chatuchak Market does have place for books, films, design, hospitality, songs, gaming, festivals, art and culture, fashion and craftsmanship and sports to display itself, he said.
” Currently, the market has many stalls that fit in Thailand’s soft power needs, such as books, fashion, and art, so it is an appropriate place for such development to be further expanded and to make Chatuchak Market the hub of Thailand’s soft power”, Dr Surapong said.
He stated that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will first conduct an analysis to assess the potential of the market.
Additionally, the committee approved the establishment of a Chatuchak Market Development Subcommittee led by Dr. Surapong and a vice chairman of Bangkok.
The governor of SRT, the director of the Office of Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion, and industry experts will also be members of the subcommittee, according to Dr. Surapong, because Chatuchak Market is located on land owned by the State Railway of Thailand.
” The potential of Chatuchak Market will be developed and the work will be finished in two years,” the company said.
He said Chatuchak Market will be made more convenient so that tourists from all over the world must stop by during their travels to Bangkok.
Sanon Wangsrangboon, the deputy governor of Bangkok, reported that Chatuchak Market has a total area of 68 rai and about 15, 000 stalls. The place has a high potential to be further developed to promote Thailand’s soft power, he said.
We want Chatuchak Market to have the opportunity to display our soft power in every way. We can start with what the market already has: fashion, art, handicrafts, food and music. This can be the first area that we develop”, said Mr Sanon.