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☆ Australian school named world’s best new building of 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-08 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Singapore CNN —A humble suburban school in Australia has fended off competition from skyscrapers, museums and airport terminals to be named World Building of the Year 2024. Brett BoardmanA school had long been on the south Sydney site, though the old 1970s building was no longer fit for purpose, according to fjcstudio, the design firm behind the project. The World Building of the Year was selected from the winners of each category, as chosen by a panel of 175 festival delegates. Friday’s result marks the second consecutive year that the WAF judges opted for an educational building, with a serene boarding school in China taking last year’s title. Darlington Public School is also the second Sydney building to win in the past three years, after Quay Quarter Tower — dubbed the world’s first “upcycled” skyscraper for retaining two-thirds of an old high-rise on the site — won in 2022.

Persons: Singapore CNN —, Brett Boardman, fjcstudio, Alessandro Rossi, “, ”, — Organizations: Singapore CNN, Darlington Public School, Housing, Darlington Public, National Star Observatory of Locations: Singapore, Australia, Sydney, Chippendale, fjcstudio, WAF, ” Sydney, National Star Observatory of Cyprus, Polish, Turkey, China, Copenhagen, Denmark

Matthew is serving a 7-year prison sentence in Singapore's Changi Prison for trafficking meth. Officials from the Singapore Prison Service say they encourage guards to think of themselves as “Captains of Life,” helping rehabilitate the prison population. Officials did not allow CNN to visit Institution A1, where more than 40 death row inmates await the same fate. Before each execution, authorities organize a professional photo shoot in which inmates trade their prison uniforms for civilian clothes. Hong Kong’s population is around 25% larger than Singapore’s, and it does not impose the death penalty for drug offenses.

Persons: Matthew, “, ”, Tom Booth, ” Shanmugam, Shanmugam, Rebecca Wright, ” Matthew, Steve Jobs, Nelson Mandela, Reuben Leong, –, Halinda binte Ismail, Halinda, Muhammed Izwan bin, ” Halinda, ’, Kirsten Han, Nazira, you’ve Organizations: Singapore CNN —, CNN, Changi, Singapore, Singapore’s, Home Affairs and Law, Visitors, Action Party, Home Affairs Ministry, Home Affairs, CNN Singapore, United Nations Office, Drugs, CNN Authorities, Singapore Prison Service Locations: Singapore, Canada, Portugal, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Asia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Scandinavian, mealtimes, United States, Australia, European, Hong Kong, British, –

☆ ‘Hotel in nature’: Inside the world’s best new skyscraper
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-06 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

This is Singapore’s Pan Pacific Orchard, which has just been named the world’s best new tall building by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). Video Ad Feedback Watch: Take a look inside Pan Pacific Orchard. In some areas, Singapore’s strict building codes even require property developers to include large amounts of greenery when constructing new towers. Combined, the green spaces at Pan Pacific Orchard amount to around three times more than this legal minimum. “Pan Pacific Orchard represents the best in responsible vertical urbanism today,” said CTBUH’s CEO, Javier Quintana de Uña, in a statement.

Persons: Darren Soh, ”, Hong Wei, Phua, Singapore’s, Lee Kuan Yew, Marc Tan, Mun Summ Wong, 3XN, Javier Quintana de Uña Organizations: Singapore CNN, CNN, UOL Group, Pan, ”, Vanderbilt Locations: Singapore, Pacific, WOHA, Orchard, ”, Pacific Orchard, New York City

Singapore CNN —China’s support to Russia will extend the war in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday, as he called on countries across the Asia-Pacific to join an upcoming peace summit he accused Russia of trying to thwart. It comes ahead of the international peace conference on Ukraine slated to be held June 15-16 in Switzerland. “With China’s support to Russia the war will last longer. When asked later about China’s statement it would not attend the peace summit, the Ukrainian leader accused Russia of using Chinese diplomats to disrupt it. “Time is running out” including for Ukrainian children taken by Russia, Zelensky told a packed hall during an address on the closing day of the three-day security meeting.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, China –, ” Zelensky, “, Putin, of National Defense Dong, ” Dong, Lloyd Austin, Dong, Russia ”, Vladimir Putin, ”, Austin, Prabowo Subianto, José Ramos, Pat Ryder, Joe Biden Organizations: Singapore CNN —, of National Defense, CNN, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Criminal, Ministry of Foreign, US Defense, Horta, Ukraine, Pentagon, Twitter Locations: Singapore, Russia, Ukraine, Asia, Pacific, China, Switzerland, Beijing, Kharkiv, The Hague, United States, Timor

Zelensky’s surprise attendance at the gathering is a stark illustration of Kyiv’s determination to keep the international community engaged in Ukraine’s defense – and its vision for peace – more than two years into Russia’s devastating invasion. A CNN team at the summit witnessed Zelensky and his delegation arriving. His attendance at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore provides a rare opportunity for Zelensky to potentially meet with defense chiefs from across the Asia-Pacific, including China which has deepened its relations with Moscow since the war. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and defense heads from US allies Australia, Japan, and South Korea, as well as China’s Defense Minster Dong Jun are expected to be in attendance for the three-day gathering. Announcing his arrival at the summit, Zelensky said in a statement on X that he would hold “a number of meetings,” in particular with Austin, Singapore’s president and prime minister, Timor-Leste’s president and Singaporean investors.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenksy, Zelensky, Lloyd Austin, Dong Jun, ”, Austin, Rustem Umerov, “, Roman Pilipey, Zelenksy, Ukraine’s, Dong, Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy, –, It’s, Sergey Lavrov, Joe Biden, Biden, Donald Trump, CNN’s Ivan Watson, Xiaofei Xu, Alex Stambaugh, Natasha Bertrand, Sharon Braithwaite Organizations: Singapore CNN —, CNN, US, Austin, Ukrainian Defense, Getty, NATO, Russia, Northern, Firefighters, Reuters, Ministry, RIA Novosti, Russian, Key Locations: Singapore, Asia, Kharkiv, China, Moscow, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Timor, Ukraine, AFP, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, Europe, North Korea, Beijing, Beijing’s, Russian, Reuters Beijing, Zelensky, Kyiv

He also warned that the death of any Filipino citizen at the hands of another country in the South China Sea would be “very close” to an act of war. It is also a rare opportunity to hear from, and pose questions to, senior Chinese military leaders. Robert Ward, IISS Japan chair, told CNN he felt Dong’s tone was “more shrill” than he’s seen in previous speeches by Chinese defense chiefs at the gathering. “The strategic environment in Asia has actually got more tense and I think we saw that in the Chinese defense minister’s speech today,” Ward said. “Every year for three years, a new Chinese defense minister has come to Shangri-La,” the official told CNN.

Persons: Dong Jun, ” Dong, ”, Xi Jinping, Dong, Lloyd Austin, ” China’s, “, Lai Ching, China, Ferdinand R, Marcos Jr, Austin –, China “, Robert Ward, he’s, ” Ward, they’ve Organizations: Singapore CNN, Taiwan, National Defense, Communist Party, Democratic Progressive Party, China’s Defense Ministry, South China, Austin, International Institute for Strategic Studies, CNN, US Locations: Singapore, Beijing, Taiwan, United States, China, Taiwan Strait, East, South, South China, Philippines, ”, American, The Hague, Philippine, Ukraine, Dong, Russia, Asia, Pacific, Japan

☆ Shangri-la Dialogue: Death of a Filipino in South China Sea clashes would be ‘very close’ to act of war, Marcos Jr warns
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Brad Lendon | Jerome Taylor | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Singapore CNN —The death of any Filipino citizen at the hands of another country in the South China Sea would be “very close” to an act of war, Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. warned Friday as his nation faces increasingly fraught clashes with Chinese vessels in the South China Sea. China has increasingly pushed its territorial claims in the South China Sea, and China Coast Guard ships, reinforced by maritime militia boats, have been involved in a series of fraught clashes over the last year that has seen Philippine ships damaged and Filipino sailors injured by water cannon. A China Coast Guard vessel sails close to a Philippines ship during a day of clashes in the South China Sea, March 5, 2024 Rebecca Wright/CNNKey global waterwayChina claims “indisputable sovereignty” over almost all of the 1.3 million-square-mile South China Sea – one of the world’s busiest waterways. Meanwhile, the Philippine Navy said it is prepared to protect the rights of Filipinos and would be increasing patrols in the South China Sea, including the areas of contested sovereignty, according to the PNA. “What I want to emphasize is that it is not China but the Philippines that has frequently escalated the situation in the South China Sea,” Ning added.

Persons: Ferdinand “ Bongbong ” Marcos Jr, Marcos, Lloyd Austin, Dong Jun, ”, –, ” Marcos, Rebecca Wright, Mao Ning, ” Ning, “ Organizations: Singapore CNN, US, Coast Guard, China Coast Guard, CNN, West, Philippine Navy, Foreign Ministry Locations: Singapore, South, Philippines, South China, Philippine, Filipino, China, Beijing, Manila, United States, Washington, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan, Hague, China’s, West Philippine, Asia, Pacific

The meeting, between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and China’s Minister of National Defense Adm. Dong Jun, is the first face-to-face talks between the two defense chiefs and Austin’s first such discussions with a Chinese counterpart since late 2022. The meeting, on the sidelines of an annual defense conference in Singapore, takes place against a fraught regional backdrop. Austin is expected to raise concerns with Dong about China’s support for Russia, US officials said ahead of the meeting. Talks between Austin and Dong are not expected to see substantive progress towards resolving many entrenched issues between them. Several weeks later, US and Chinese top generals spoke in a video call, paving the way for this week’s in-person meeting between the defense chiefs.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, Dong Jun, Austin’s, China’s, Austin, Dong, Nancy Pelosi, Li Shangfu, Li, won’t, Xi Jinping’s, Xi, Joe Biden Organizations: Singapore CNN, US, National Defense, South China Seas, Communist Party, Coast Guard, Defense, Washington, Russia, America, East, Communist, Central Military Commission Locations: Singapore, Asia, Pacific, Taiwan, Beijing, East, South, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, China, South China, American, Russia, Ukraine, Austin, Asia –, San Francisco

☆ US defense chief hails security partnerships in Asia in face of Russia, China threats
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Brad Lendon | Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Singapore CNN —US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday hailed the arrival of a “new convergence” in the Indo-Pacific, as the United States fortifies strategic and security partnerships in the region amid rising threats from China and Russia. “Today, we are witnessing a new convergence around nearly all aspects of security in the Indo-Pacific,” Austin said at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore. Looming large in that regional vision is a more assertive China, which Austin alluded to without mentioning it by name. Austin’s emphasis of a “new convergence” in Asia Pacific appeared to have struck a raw nerve with the Chinese delegation in the audience. Austin also reaffirmed US commitment to the Asia Pacific region, saying peace and stability across the region are crucial for the whole world.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, ” Austin, Austin, Lai Ching, “ We’ve, We’ve, we’ve, ”, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Cao Yanzhong, “, Mr.Putin, Dong Jun, Dong, Ferdinand R, Marcos Jr Organizations: Singapore CNN — US, Saturday, “, South China Seas, Asia Pacific, NATO, Institute of War Studies, Academy of Military Sciences of, China’s, National Defense Locations: Singapore, United States, China, Russia, Taiwan, Beijing, South China, Asia Pacific, South, Washington, Asia, Ukraine, Philippines, Philippine

☆ World Building of the Year: Chinese boarding school receives 2023 architectural honor
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Singapore CNN —A Chinese boarding school designed to let students unwind and “waste time mindfully” has been named 2023’s World Building of the Year. Designed by Approach Design Studio and the Zhejiang University of Technology Engineering Design Group, the serene campus’ communal areas are intended to blur the distinction between inside and out. Courtesy Approach Design Studio/Zhejiang University of Technology Engineering Design GroupApproach Design Studio said that while teaching prioritizes efficiency, a school’s campus itself should inspire free thinking. The coveted World Building of the Year title is considered one of the architecture profession’s top accolades and is decided at the annual festival by a 140-strong expert panel. This year’s winning design was commended by judges for breaking with the conventions of school design.

Persons: ”, Di Ma, Paul Finch, —, ” Finch, WAF Organizations: Singapore CNN, Huizhen, School, Zhejiang University of Technology Engineering, Group, Newark Liberty International, Surat Diamond Bourse, Pentagon, Australia’s Locations: Singapore, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China, Melbourne, Cambodia, Senegal, Surat Diamond, Sylt, Germany, Europe, Winnipeg, Canada, Bangkok, Thailand

The 2023 Earthshot Prize winners:This year’s winners were chosen from a shortlist of 15 finalists by Prince William and the Earthshot Prize Council, chaired by Christiana Figueres, a former UN climate chief, who played a key role in negotiating the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015. The Prince of Wales speaks with the winners of the 2023 Earthshot Prize following the awards ceremony on Tuesday night. Irwin added that the Earthshot Prize offers “hope,” which “is something we all need to hang on to.”The Singapore skyline was lit up in green to celebrate the Earthshot Prize on Monday. Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty ImagesFigueres, who is also an Earthshot Prize trustee, told CNN that it was “such a joy” to work with the Prince of Wales. The prince said he was “thrilled” to be in Singapore for the third Earthshot Prize ceremony and outlined his vision for supporting this year’s shortlist of finalists.

Persons: Wales, Prince William, “, ” William, Christiana Figueres, Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, Ernest Gibson, Jack Ma, Prince, Chris Jackson, Nidhi Pant, Emily Owen, ’, Ted Lasso ”, Hannah Waddingham, Sterling K, Brown, Cate Blanchett, Nomzamo, Robert Irwin, OneRepublic, Irwin, ”, Hunter, Steve Irwin, Mohd Rasfan, Prince of Wales, William, we’ve, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Lee Hsien Loong, Catherine, Princess, Prince George Organizations: CNN’s Royal, Singapore CNN, Earthshot, Theatre, MediaCorp, Royal Foundation, WildAid, Technologies, S4S Technologies, CNN, ”, Voices, Getty, Figueres, BBC, PBS, Singapore, Jewel, HSBC Locations: Singapore, India, UN, Paris, Peru, South America, Hong Kong, South African, ”, AFP, Gardens, Kallang

☆ ‘World’s best’ bar for 2023 is revealed
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Singapore CNN —Barcelona has retained its grip on the World’s 50 Best Bars list as intimate cocktail joint Sips claimed the top spot at 2023’s awards. Winners were voted for anonymously by the World’s 50 Best Bar Academy, a group of 680 industry figures including bar owners, bartenders and critics. The group also coordinates the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, which named fine dining establishment Central, in the Peruvian capital Lima, at No. World’s best bars for 20231. Baba au Rum, AthensFor the full list of the top 50, visit the World’s 50 Best Bars site.

Persons: “, ‘, Miami’s, Connaught, Sips, Simone Caporale, Marc Álvarez, ” Caporale, mixologist, ” William Reed, Licorería, Sammy, Salmon, Hanky, Café Organizations: Singapore CNN — Barcelona, Mexico City, Bar Academy, Connaught Bar, CNN, BKK Social, Sydney Locations: Singapore, London, New York, Spain, Europe, Mexico, Buenos Aires, New York City, Manhattan’s Lower, Side . Florida, Louisiana, New Orleans, Mayfair, Barcelona, Lima, Sips, Paris, Licorería Limantour, Alquímico, Cartagena, Himkok, Oslo, Athens, Bangkok, Pony, Madrid, , New York, Seoul, Hong Kong, Rome, Hanky Panky, Melbourne, Trova, Miami, Baba au Rum

☆ Singapore university unveils Asia’s largest timber building
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Sprawling across 43,500 square meters (468,000 square feet), it is now Asia’s largest timber building, by floor area. Some countries now even allow for high-rises (or “plyscrapers”), like Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s 25-story Ascent, which at 284 feet, is the world’s tallest mass timber structure. Advocates for mass timber point to the relatively slow and predictable rate at which the material burns. Many of the purported benefits of mass timber are, however, environmental. If a tree is then turned into mass timber, this embodied carbon is sequestered, or “locked in,” rather than being returned to the atmosphere.

Persons: Lee Kuan Yew, sunlit, Gaia, Toyo Ito, “, ”, ” Ito, Ito, Ho Teck Hua, ’ Organizations: Singapore CNN —, Nanyang Technological University’s, Singapore, CNN, RSP, Nanyang Technological, NTU, Construction Authority, NTU Singapore Locations: Singapore, Singapore CNN — Singapore, ”, Nanyang, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Europe, NTU Singapore, Milwaukee, Asia

Questioned after his speech on the incident, Li said the US naval presence in the strait was an example of Washington creating chaos in the region. “They are not here for innocent passage, they are here for provocation,” Li said of US warships. Li said if the US and other foreign powers did not want confrontation, they should not send their military assets near China. The incident is the second time in two weeks that Chinese military personnel have engaged in aggressive maneuvers in the vicinity of US military personnel near China’s border. US and Chinese defense chiefs are not expected to meet this year – a mark of the depth of the fracture in relations between the two countries.

Persons: Li Shangfu, ”, Lloyd Austin, Li, ” Li, USS Chung, Hoon, Arleigh Burke, “ Chung, “, Chung, Paul Mountford, Shi Yi, Austin, ” ‘, General Jing Jianfeng, ” China’s, Xi Jinping, Jing Organizations: Singapore CNN —, US, Canadian, Pacific Command, USS, Canada’s Global, PLA, East China Seas, Command, Taipei’s Defense, Chinese Communist Party, People’s Liberation Army, CCTV, Communist Party, Taiwan Locations: Singapore, United States, Washington, China, Taiwan, Canadian, Montreal, South, East, China’s, Beijing, “, Austin

Singapore CNN —A war over Taiwan would be “devastating” and affect the global economy “in ways we cannot imagine,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has warned, as he underlined US support for the island democracy. “The whole world has a stake in maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. And the right time to talk is now,” Austin said. “But we will not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion.”Austin reaffirmed US readiness in the region. Defense Minister Li addresses the Shangri-La forum on Sunday morning.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, ” Austin, Austin, China’s, Xi Jinping, “, People’s Republic of China “, Li Shangfu, ”, ” Drew Thompson, Lee, Li, ” Thompson Organizations: Singapore CNN, US, Communist Party, Taiwan, Chinese Defense, Lee Kuan Yew, of Public, National University of Singapore, Defense Locations: Singapore, Taiwan, China, Taiwan Strait, Austin, People’s Republic of China, Beijing

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