Concert review: Asian Grand Prix concert showcases choral excellence and diversity in harmony
Indonesia's lively Gita Maizan Choir was named the winner of the 2025 Asian Grand Prix.
Grand Prix Concert & Award Ceremony
Esplanade Concert Hall
July 27, 7.30pm
The culmination of the 9th Singapore International Choral Festival organised by One Choral Company and Rave Group International was its Grand Prix concert on July 27.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Shanghai police bust gang selling counterfeit Labubu toys
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Made by Beijing-based toymaker Pop Mart, Labubu dolls have become a must-have item internationally. – The police in Shanghai busted a gang making and selling fake Labubus in July, detaining eight people and seizing 5,000 counterfeit toys worth 12 million yuan (S$2.1 million), local state-owned media reported. Made by Beijing-based toymaker Pop Mart, Labubu dolls have become a must-have item internationally, adorning the handbags of celebrities such as Rihanna and Dua Lipa. The furry, fanged creatures, which typically sell for around US$40, are released in limited quantities and have caused frenzies at stores around the world. Knock-offs – many of which are also made in China – have flooded online platforms, dubbed 'Lafufus' by social media users. The Shanghai bust in early July uncovered 12 million yuan worth of fake Pop Mart toys, state-run Shanghai Daily reported late on July 29. Pop Mart had notified the police when a customer reported that one Labubu purchased online was a fake. This led to the discovery of an online store that sold fans, speakers and gaming consoles – but was also a front for selling the Labubu counterfeits. The police raided a warehouse, detaining eight people and finding 5,000 toys complete with forged trademarks and fake anti-counterfeit stickers, the report said. It is not the first time the fluffy monsters have been associated with crime. In Singapore, CCTV footage captured a family stealing Labubu dolls from a claw machine in 2024, according to online media outlet AsiaOne. And in June 2025, burglars broke into a store in California and took several Labubu dolls along with electronics and other valuables, US news outlet ABC reported. AFP
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Booker Prize nominees include novels by Kiran Desai, Katie Kitamura and Susan Choi
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The 13 titles nominated for the prestigious British literary award also include books by David Szalay, Maria Reva and Claire Adam. LONDON – In 2006, Indian author Kiran Desai shot to fame when she won the Booker Prize with The Inheritance Of Loss, a novel about a teenage romance in India and illegal migration in New York City. But she struggled to write a follow-up. Now, almost two decades later, Desai has been nominated for the Booker again – for The Loneliness Of Sonia And Sunny, the novel that she was grappling with during that time. On July 29, the Booker Prize judges announced the 13 novels nominated for the 2025 edition of the prestigious British literary award, with Desai's novel arguably the highest profile. Other nominees include American novelist Katie Kitamura's Audition, about an actress who becomes embroiled with a man who claims to be her son; American author Susan Choi's Flashlight, a Korean-American family saga; and Hungarian-English writer David Szalay's Flesh, which tells the tale of a man who inveigles his way to a life of privilege. In Desai's novel, which is scheduled for a Sept 23 release, two immigrants to the United States return to their native India and meet on an overnight train. The 667-page book has yet to receive any major reviews, but the Booker Prize's judges – who in 2025 include Irish novelist Roddy Doyle and American actress Sarah Jessica Parker – described it in a news release as a 'vast and immersive' work that 'enfolds a magical realist fable within a social novel within a love story'. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore MHA to support HSA's crackdown on Kpod abusers and help in treatment of offenders: Shanmugam Business S'pore's economic resilience will face headwinds in second half of 2025 from tariffs, trade conflicts: MAS Business S'pore's Q2 total employment rises, but infocomm and professional services sectors see more job cuts Singapore Fewer than 1 in 5 people noticed suspicious items during MHA's social experiments Asia Powerful 8.8-magnitude quake in Russia's far east causes tsunami; Japan, Hawaii order evacuations Singapore Migrant workers who gave kickbacks to renew work passes were conservancy workers at AMK Town Council Asia Japan, Vietnam, EU contest terms of US tariff deals behind the scenes Singapore Escape, discover, connect: Where new memories are made Founded in 1969, the Booker Prize is one of the literary world's most coveted awards, given each year to a novel written in English and published in Britain or Ireland. The winner in 2024 was Orbital, English novelist Samantha Harvey's meditative novel about astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The judging panel in 2025 is now tasked with re-reading all 13 nominees and then creating a six-book shortlist that is scheduled to be announced on Sept 23. The winning title will then be unveiled at a ceremony in London on Nov 10, and its author will receive a prize of £50,000 (S$86,000). The full list of nominees: – Claire Adam's Love Forms, about a Trinidadian woman trying to find the child she gave up as a young girl. Julie Myerson, in a review for The Guardian, described the novel as 'quietly devastating'. – Tash Aw's The South, in which a Malaysian man recalls a steamy teenage vacation. Heller McAlpin, reviewing the book for The New York Times, called it 'a gorgeous coming-of-age story'. – Natasha Brown's Universality, a satire that begins with a journalist reporting on a brutal attack at a hippie commune. – Jonathan Buckley's One Boat, about a woman grieving her father's death. The novel is the first Booker-nominated title published by Fitzcarraldo Editions, a British imprint known for publishing Nobel Prize laureates and fiction in translation. – Susan Choi's Flashlight, which touches on historical events including North Korean re-education camps. – Kiran Desai's The Loneliness Of Sonia And Sunny. – Katie Kitamura's Audition, which Joumana Khatib, in the Times, said was the author's 'most thrilling examination yet of the deceit inherent in human connection'. – Benjamin Markovits' The Rest Of Our Lives, in which a New York law professor goes on a road trip after leaving his wife when their daughter starts college. – Andrew Miller's The Land In Winter, about two couples living through one of Britain's coldest recorded periods, in the 1960s. British critics have praised the title for its sensitive portrayal of flawed protagonists. – Maria Reva's Endling, set in Ukraine on the brink of Russia's 2022 invasion, with characters including several mail-order brides and a hunter of rare snails. Reviewing the novel for the Times, Ania Szremski called it 'a startling and ambitious whirlwind'. – David Szalay's Flesh, a rags-to-riches story of a Hungarian man with a criminal record who ends up in London high society. Dwight Garner in the Times said that he admired Szalay's book 'from front to back without ever quite liking it'. – Benjamin Wood's Seascraper, about a fisherman whose life is disrupted by a Hollywood director. Wood is 'one of the finest British novelists you've never heard of', wrote Johanna Thomas-Corr in a review of the novel for The Times of London. – Ledia Xhoga's Misinterpretation, about an interpreter whose marriage has turned sour. Lucy Popescu, in The Observer, called the novel 'a nuanced exploration of communication failures, blurred boundaries and the emotional cost of unchecked altruism'. NYTIMES
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
HK actor Raymond Lam and family kick off their summer vacation in Singapore
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Chinese model Carina Zhang and Hong Kong actor Raymond Lam brought their daughter Luna to Singapore on holiday. SINGAPORE – Hong Kong actor Raymond Lam was recently in Singapore to kick off his family's summer vacation. The 45-year-old is married to Chinese model Carina Zhang, 34, and they have a daughter, Luna, who turns five in September. Zhang shared photos of their stay here on Luna's account on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, with the caption titled: 'Transformed into a mermaid in SG'. 'Singapore was the first stop of my summer vacation,' Zhang wrote in Chinese on behalf of her daugher. 'I've become obsessed with The Little Mermaid lately, so my dad booked a hotel where I could watch the fish from my room, and my mum bought me a mermaid costume, making my little wish come true.' Zhang also shared photos of Lam and Luna at Universal Studios Singapore and the three of them posing at Merlion Park. According to Zhang, Sydney, Australia, is the second stop of the family's summer vacation. Carina Zhang posts on social media a photo of herself with her husband Raymond Lam and daughter Luna vacationing in Singapore. PHOTO: LUNA LAM/XIAOHONGSHU Lam also met up with local actor Ben Yeo, his co-star in the Singapore-Hong Kong TV series Yummy Yummy (2005), during his four-day stay in Singapore. Yeo, 46, told Chinese-language evening daily Shin Min Daily News in a report published on July 26 that he took Lam to his restaurant, Charcoal Fish Head Steamboat, where they spent time catching up. Lam was previously in Singapore in November 2024, when he was one of the judges at the finals of Mediacorp's talent competition Star Search. When he was in town this time round, Lam was spotted by several local fans, who uploaded videos and photos of him on social media. In one clip posted on Instagram and TikTok on July 24, the star of Hong Kong action crime thriller Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In (2024) was seen at Changi Airport's arrival hall and then boarding a car with his family. A fan posted a photo of herself with Lam on Xiaohongshu on July 25. She replied to a netizen that she bumped into him in Haji Lane on July 24. 'I was so lucky to run into him,' she wrote in Chinese. 'He was very nice and even helped me take a selfie with my camera. I was so happy.'
