Singapore’s inspirational Paralympians set for open-top bus parade; Adults to pay 10 cents more per journey on public transport: Singapore live news

Singapore is ramping up preparations for the visit of Pope Francis who arrives on Wednesday afternoon.

Security has been tightened at land, air and sea checkpoints this week while road closures are also expected during his three-day visit.

It will be only the second time a sitting Pope has visited Singapore following Pope St John Paul II in 1986.

“I fondly recall my brief conversation with Pope Francis in January 2022 when we met at the Vatican City,” said Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, in a Facebook post on 10 September.

“He granted my colleagues and I a brief audience. He had a tremendous aura of presence, but at the same time, incredibly sincere, thoughtful and kindly,” Tong said.

He added: “Through our brief interaction, I could see that Singapore and the Holy See share a deep common interest in finding different ways to promote inter-religious harmony in today’s increasingly diverse and interconnected world.”

Singapore was part of Francis’ original travel plans to the region in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

A highlight of Pope Francis’ visit will be a public mass at the Singapore National Stadium on Thursday evening

He will also hold an inter-religious meeting with youths at the Catholic Junior College on his final day in Singapore.

“One highlight of the visit that I am looking forward to would be Pope Francis’ inter-religious dialogue with our youths, scheduled for Friday morning,” Minister Tong said.

“As Pope Francis has emphasised through his work, unity and fraternity can only be achieved through open and honest dialogue across all religions. This helps promote trust and mutual respect,” he said.

Singapore is the last stop on Pope Francis’ four-nation tour of Asia, which took him to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and East Timor before Singapore.

Six people were hospitalised after a fire broke out at Block 104 Jalan Bukit Merah on 10 September.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) responded to the fire, which involved a bedroom in a 9th-floor unit, at 11.20am. It was extinguished by firefighters using a water jet but the HDB unit sustained heat and smoke damage.

According to the SCDF, the fire is likely to have started in the bedroom and that two people had managed to leave the unit before their arrival.

The SCDF revealed about 35 residents from the 9th to the 11th floor were evacuated as a “precautionary measure” while six people were conveyed to Singapore General Hospital after being assessed by paramedics for smoke inhalation.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

K-pop girl group 2NE1 will be performing in Singapore on 21 December 2024 as part of their ‘Welcome Back 2024-25 Asia Tour’.

The iconic K-pop band will be heading to Manila (16 November), Jakarta (23 November) and Hong Kong (8 December) before playing in Singapore, according to social media posts from Live Nation Singapore and One Production Singapore.

Based on the social media graphic, two more Asian cities are set to be revealed, leaving fans in Malaysia hopeful of good news to follow.

This tour, which earlier announced dates in South Korea and Japan, coincides with 2NE1’s 15th anniversary this year.

The band’s self-titled album debuted in 2009 to stunning commercial success, launching 2NE1 into K-pop stardom.

The group disbanded in 2016 while different members of the group have since pursued solo interests, including recently performing at the inaugural Waterbomb Singapore festival.

James Earl Jones – the celebrated actor whose iconic deep voice is famously associated with Darth Vader and ‘The Lion King’ – has died at age 93.

His agent confirmed Jones had died Monday morning at home.

Jones was far more than his voice as a winner of two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two Tony Awards, a Grammy and the National Medal of Arts. He was also awarded an honorary Oscar and a special Tony for lifetime achievement.

He was born on 17 January 1931, in Arkabutla, Mississippi and leaves behind a stellar body of work in both screen and stage.

But another part of his legacy was his 34-year marriage to Cecilia Hart who died in October 2016.

He is survived by his son, Flynn Earl Jones.

A Singaporean has reportedly been ordered to pay about A$38.7 million (S$33.6m) to settle an eye-popping baccarat debt with Australia’s The Star Gold Coast Casino.

The high-roller, Dr Wong Yew Choy, is said to have incurred a debt of A$43 million at the casino between 26 July and 2 August in 2018.

The casino’s operator Star Entertainment Queensland tried to cash a signed blank cheque he had provided in exchange for chips in 2017 to Star Sydney, a related establishment.

But the cheque bounced after Wong instructed his bank not to honour it.

The matter then went to the courts in Singapore and Australia before he was ordered to pay the casino A$38,659,853.22, plus interest and indemnity costs.

You can read more about this ultra expensive baccarat debt, here.

Apple has lifted the wraps on its iPhone 16 and 16 Pro.

Unsurprisingly the models come equipped with lots of artificial intelligence features (they’ve cleverly branded it Apple Intelligence).

Some of the notable AI functions include system-wide Writing Tools which can help you edit or offer suggestions for Notes or emails. Users can also record, transcribe and summarise audio calls using Apple Intelligence in Notes.

An additional Apple Intelligence feature called Image Playground will roll out later in the year which allows users to “create playful images” in moments. The company also said you will be able to “create an original Genmoji” by typing a description, or by selecting a photo of a friend or family member.

It wouldn’t be a smartphone update without camera developments.

The iPhone 16 and 16 Pro have a new “camera control” on the side which can be used to call up and then adjust the camera.

New devices are expected to go on sale on 20 September.

For more on the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro debuts and industry reaction, read here.

From 28 December this year, it will cost 10 cents more per journey to ride buses and trains for adult card fares, and 4 cents more per journey for passengers using concession cards.

The concession group has around two million card holders and includes students, seniors, national servicemen, persons with disabilities and those on the Workfare Transport Concession Scheme.

The fare adjustment was announced by the Public Transport Council (PTC) on 9 September after its yearly review of train and bus fares.

According to the PTC, the overall fare increase of 6% is less than a third of the maximum allowable quantum – the deferment of the remaining quantum is supported by additional Government subsidies.

“The Public Transport Council understands Singaporeans’ concerns about cost of living. For the past few years, PTC has not granted the maximum allowable fare quantum because as much as we can, we want to moderate the financial impact of fare increases on commuters,” said Janet Ang, Chairperson for PTC.

“As a result, the deferred quantum from previous years has accumulated, due to sharp increases in energy prices in 2021 and 2022, elevated core inflation, and strong wage growth,” Ang said.

She added: “By granting a 6% fare increment this year, we are reducing the deferred quantum from previous years, to narrow the gap between cost and fares where we can to maintain the financial sustainability of our public transport system.”

The PTC has encouraged adults and concession groups who travel frequently to consider buying monthly passes as there would be no fare increases in this category. There will also be no change to fares paid in cash on buses.

Student concession validity period for graduating students has been extended to 4 months after completion of their course which the PTC says will help about 75,000 graduating students.

Singapore's Paralympians have returned after a successful campaign at Paris 2024.

The Singapore contingent touched down at Changi Airport early on Tuesday morning, and were welcomed home with loud cheers at the Terminal 3 arrival hall.

But don’t fret if you didn’t get the chance to greet our returning heroes today as Sport Singapore have announced there will be an open-top bus parade for our Paralympians on 14 September.

Swimmer Yip Pin Xiu will be one of the stars after she brought home two gold medals while Jeralyn Tan wrote her name into the history books with a silver for boccia – our first ever medal in the sport.

All 10 of our Paralympians will be present at the celebratory parade which is scheduled to run from 11.30am to 1pm in the city centre.

The open-top bus parade route includes:

• Chinatown (In front of People’s Park Complex), 11.50am

• Orchard Road (Along Orchard Road and Bideford Road junction), 12.10pm

• Serangoon Road (After Tekka Market and towards the Junction of Buffalo Road), 12.30pm

• Victoria Street (Mural Wall at 8C Jalan Kledek), 12.40pm

Bus arrival timings are subject to traffic conditions.