Talking points

Our editors will be looking ahead today to these developing stories ...

Mainland architect collects top award

Wang Shu, whose buildings honour the past with salvaged materials even as they experiment with modern forms, receives the 2012 Pritzker prize, dubbed the Nobel for architecture. Wang, named the winner in February, is the first Chinese citizen to win the US$100,000 prize (the 1983 winner, I.M. Pei, was born in China but left for the United States in 1935). Major Wang projects cited by the jury include the Ningbo Contemporary Art Museum, completed in 2005, the Ningbo History Museum (2008) and the Vertical Courtyard Apartments (2007) in Hangzhou (left).

Ministers to give China-Eurasia Expo briefing

Vice-Commerce Minister Li Jinzao and the vice-chairman of the Xinjiang autonomous region, Shi Dagang, host a media briefing in Beijing on the China-Eurasia Expo to be held in Urumqi in September. The expo is an expansion of the Urumqi Fair and aims to promote trade between China, especially the western part, and Central Asia and Europe. It also aims to open up the border area and turn Xinjiang into a major gateway for trade with countries on China's remote western border.

Ada Wong addresses cultural conference

Ada Wong Ying-kay (left), chief executive of the Institute of Contemporary Culture, delivers a keynote speech at a youth cultural conference at Polytechnic University. She was tipped to be chief executive-elect Leung Chun-ying's culture minister. But reports since have said she was opposed by the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, and that the job would go to Undersecretary for Home Affairs Florence Hui Hiu-fai. Wong has remained silent on the issue.

Female cadres discuss roles in the party

Three deputy department heads at the Foreign Ministry - Wang Ke (department of African affairs), Yu Hong (consular affairs) and Xu Hui (department of translation and interpretation) take part in an online chat organised by the website of People's Daily (cpc.people.com.cn) on the role of female cadres in the Communist Party.

Serbia's new leader calls on Moscow

Serbian president-elect Tomislav Nikolic (left) travels to Moscow for the congress of Russian President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, his first foreign trip since his election victory over incumbent Boris Tadic on Sunday. Nikolic, a 60-year-old former ultranationalist, says he now shares the goal of taking Serbia into the European Union. He will be sworn in next month, and will be watched closely for proof of his commitment to continuing to pursue the path towards membership of Europe that Serbia has taken since the removal of late strongman Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.

Japanese data expected to show deflation continues

Economists expect data for Japan to show the world's third-largest economy is still mired in deflation. They expect the national consumer price index to register a 0.4 per cent year-on-year rise for April, lower than the 0.5 per cent rise in March. Despite record-low interest rates and efforts to inject liquidity into the economy, Japan still struggles with deflation and stagnant demand.