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Independent Singapore
10 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
Sands breaks ground on new S$8 billion ultra-luxury expansion—but at what cost to Singapore's skyline and soul?
SINGAPORE: Marina Bay Sands is set to embark on a bold new chapter. On Jul 15, Las Vegas Sands broke ground on an ambitious S$11 billion (US$8 billion) expansion project that will see the rise of a 55-storey luxury hotel tower, a 15,000-seat state-of-the-art arena, and a suite of premium experiences designed to elevate Singapore's position in global tourism. Officiated by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and key cabinet members, including Minister Grace Fu, the groundbreaking ceremony brought together over 220 dignitaries, artists, and executives, including Sands co-founder Dr Miriam Adelson and CEO Robert Goldstein. 'I'm glad that this partnership has flourished, and even happier that we are now taking it to the next level,' PM Wong said, calling the development 'a testament to Singapore's ambition and resilience.' The move comes 15 years after the opening of Marina Bay Sands in 2010 — an architectural marvel that has since become a symbol of modern Singapore. Today, the three iconic towers and SkyPark are globally recognised, housing flagship boutiques in their Shoppes, the ArtScience Museum, and the world's first floating Apple store. A tower teaching for the sky—and a legacy to match 'This next chapter is not just about adding another tower,' said Goldstein. 'It's about reimagining what luxury, tourism, and entertainment can mean for Singapore and the region. We're carrying forward Sheldon Adelson's vision — and taking it higher.' And by all commercial metrics, that legacy has delivered. MBS is now the most successful integrated resort in the world, drawing over 50 million visitors annually and redefining Singapore's global brand. Photo: Safdie Architects The new tower, again designed by Safdie Architects—the firm behind MBS and Jewel Changi—will spiral upward in twin arcs, capped by a futuristic 'Skyloop': an 18,000-square-foot terrace of infinity pools, observatories, rooftop gardens, and private wellness enclaves. Below it, an entertainment arena by Populous—designers of the Las Vegas Sphere and London's O2, Optimised for acoustics and flexibility, the venue aims to make Singapore a premier stop for global entertainment tours. It's no small feat. The engineering alone will be another chapter in Singapore's textbook of architectural audacity, but some have begun asking: when every new tower outshines the last, what happens to the horizon line? What does a city see when it can no longer see the sky? The price of grandeur Critics, particularly among the Reddit-savvy local crowd, were quick to point out how the new tower—rotated at 45 degrees to offer maximum panoramic views—visually jars against the original triptych of MBS towers. One user called it a 'sore thumb,' while others noted the loss of visual harmony in what was once an iconic silhouette. Photo: Safdie Architects Still, some conceded: Singaporeans will adjust, just as they always do. The city has long conditioned its people to embrace change as progress, even when it reshapes a shared sense of place. Yet that quiet resignation speaks volumes. In a city that moves with precision and speed, belonging sometimes feels like a luxury fewer can afford. For many locals, MBS is a landmark they are more likely to gaze at than check into. A global city for the world—but not necessarily for its people Singapore remains the world's most expensive city for luxury spending, and the new development doubles down on that reputation: high-end retail, fine dining, private spas, and experiences curated for the globally mobile. However, even as the tower promises to 'usher in a new era of luxury tourism,' the question looms: who is Singapore really designing itself for? The new arena will bring in international acts. The luxury suites will host the wealthy elite. And the skyline—once a symbol of shared national ascent—will increasingly reflect a Singapore made to be admired from the outside, viewed from the new tower's public observation deck. At the same time, projects like NS Square and the Greater Southern Waterfront are positioned as community anchors, promising to preserve space for culture and public life, but even so, the symbolic tension is hard to ignore: a tower that promises 'sky gardens and exclusive vistas' while resale public housing prices soar and green spaces become increasingly curated. A future already written? In conjunction with SG60 celebrations, Marina Bay Sands unveiled a short film, Nothing Comes By Chance , directed by Kirsten Tan. The title is not just an ode to Singapore's relentless planning ethos and unrelenting work ethic but a subtle reminder that in this city, even spontaneity is engineered. The Sands expansion, for all its grandeur, fits neatly into that narrative, as the city looks up once again, perhaps the question many Singaporeans are asking is not how tall or luxuriously we can build, but how much space is left for people to feel grounded.
CNA
14 hours ago
- CNA
Three-person IVF technique spared children from inherited diseases: Scientists
Eight children in the United Kingdom have been spared from devastating genetic diseases thanks to a new three-person in vitro fertilisation (IVF) technique, scientists from Newcastle University reported on Wednesday (Jul 16). The technique, which is banned in the United States, transfers pieces from inside the mother's fertilised egg - its nucleus, plus the nucleus of the father's sperm - into a healthy egg provided by an anonymous donor. The procedure prevents the transfer of mutated genes from inside the mother's mitochondria, the cells' energy factories, that could cause incurable and potentially fatal disorders. Mutations in mitochondrial DNA can affect multiple organs, particularly those that require high energy, such as the brain, liver, heart, muscles and kidneys. One of the eight children is now two years old, two are between the ages of one and two, and five are infants. All were healthy at birth, with blood tests showing no or low levels of mitochondrial gene mutations, the scientists reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. All have made normal developmental progress, they said. The results "are the culmination of decades of work", not just on the scientific or technical challenges but also in ethical inquiry, public and patient engagement, law-making, drafting and execution of regulations, and establishing a system for monitoring and caring for the mothers and infants, reproductive medicine specialist Dr Andy Greenfield of the University of Oxford, who was not involved in the research, said in a statement. The researchers' "treasure trove of data" is likely to be the starting point of new avenues of investigation, Greenfield said. Often during IVF screening procedures, doctors can identify some low-risk eggs with very few mitochondrial gene mutations that are suitable for implantation. But sometimes all of the eggs' mitochondrial DNA carries mutations. In those cases, using the new technique, the UK doctors first fertilise the mother's egg with the father's sperm. Then they remove the fertilised egg's 'pronuclei', that is, the nuclei of the egg and the sperm, which carry the DNA instructions from both parents for the baby's development, survival and reproduction. Next, they transfer the egg and sperm nuclei into a donated fertilised egg that has had its pronuclei removed. The donor egg will now begin to divide and develop with its healthy mitochondria and the nuclear DNA from the mother's egg and the father's sperm. This process, detailed in a second paper in the journal, 'essentially replaces the faulty mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) with healthy mtDNA from the donor', senior researcher Mary Herbert, professor of reproductive biology at Newcastle, said at a press briefing. Blood levels of mtDNA mutations were 95 per cent to 100 per cent lower in six newborns, and 77 per cent to 88 per cent lower in two others, compared to levels of the same variants in their mothers, the researchers reported in a second paper. "These data indicate that pronuclear transfer was effective in reducing transmission of mtDNA disease," they said. The procedure was tested in 22 women whose babies were likely to inherit such genes. In addition to the eight women who delivered the children described in this report, another one of the 22 is currently pregnant. Seven of the eight pregnancies were uneventful; in one case, a pregnant woman had blood tests showing high lipid levels. There have been no miscarriages. The authors of the current reports have also tried transplanting the nucleus of a mother's unfertilized egg into a donor egg and then fertilising the donor egg afterwards, but they believe their new approach may more reliably prevent transmission of the genetic disorders. In 2015, the UK became the first country in the world to legalise research into mitochondrial donation treatment in humans. That same year in the US, pronuclear transfer was effectively banned for human use by a congressional appropriations bill that prohibited the Food and Drug Administration from using funds to consider the use of "heritable genetic modification".
CNA
a day ago
- CNA
Japan sees record 21.5 million tourists in first six months
TOKYO: A record 21.5 million tourists visited Japan in the first six months of the year, a 21-per cent increase year-on-year, official figures showed on Wednesday (Jul 16), despite visitors from Hong Kong dropping by a third last month over rumours of a quake. "The number exceeded 20 million in six months, the fastest pace ever," the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) said in a statement. The figure in June alone jumped 7.6 per cent to record 3.4 million, due to "increased demand to coincide with school holidays," it said. The number was boosted by a jump year-on-year in tourists from China, South Korea, Singapore, India, the United States and Germany. But the number of travellers from Hong Kong plunged 33.4 per cent in June, with the JNTO citing online rumours warning of a huge quake in Japan. The number of travellers from Hong Hong in the first six months declined 0.4 per cent to 1.27 million people. People from Hong Kong made nearly 2.7 million trips to Japan in 2024. Although it is impossible to know exactly when earthquakes will hit, fear-inducing predictions have spread widely among the Chinese city's residents. Some posts cited a Japanese manga comic that predicts a major natural disaster in July 2025 - based on the author's dream. Japanese authorities have repeatedly said the rumours are false. The government has set an ambitious target of almost doubling tourist numbers to 60 million annually by 2030. Authorities say they want to spread tourists more evenly around the country, and to avoid a bottleneck of visitors eager to snap spring cherry blossoms or vivid autumn colours.
