Yip Pin Xiu on significance of Paris golds; Singapore sends condolences to Vietnam over Typhoon Yagi deaths: Singapore live news

Popular Chinese e-commerce site Taobao can be quite tricky to navigate using Google Translate.

But all that is in the past now as shoppers who aren’t fluent in Mandarin – such as myself – can now use the app in English.

Existing users will need to update the Taobao app to its latest version while new users can simply set English as their default language.

The English Taobao experience is being powered by artificial intelligence technology and includes customer support.

The news was also greeted with excitement across the border in Malaysia where it appears there are many Taobao users who have spent many a night attempting to translate information from the app into English.

“This initiative is driven by the strong demand we have observed from local users and we believe it will enhance their shopping experience by minimising language barriers,” said Jess Lew who is the country manager for Tmall Taobao World in Malaysia.

Lew also revealed the English interface had been in development since 2018.

Singapore and Malaysia are the first markets where Taobao will be introducing this new offering.

Road developments to serve Changi North and Changi South are set to begin in the fourth quarter of 2024 after the Land Transport Authority (LTA) awarded two contracts worth a combined $522.4 million.

The LTA announced both contracts had been awarded to Samwoh Corporation.

For the contract on what the LTA calls the Changi Northern Corridor, work will be done for a section of Loyang Avenue, Telok Paku Road, Nicoll Drive and Changi Coast Road. This includes widening the dual 2-lane road from Loyang Avenue to Aviation Park Road into a dual 4-lane road.

For the contract on what the LTA calls the Changi Southern Corridor, there will be developments of road networks at the Pan Island Expressway (PIE), East Coast Parkway (ECP) and Changi Flyover. This includes a new vehicular underpass and flyover for the PIE/ECP/Airport Boulevard interchange.

Additionally, the stretch of PIE between Upper Changi Flyover and Changi Flyover will also be widened, and a new road will be constructed parallel to the ECP between Changi Flyover and Tanah Merah Flyover.

These are all expected to be completed by 2030.

According to the LTA, the improvements to Changi South will support developments in Changi East and Changi Airport Terminal 5.

LTA says they will be calling the remaining tenders for the Changi Southern Corridor from the fourth quarter of 2024.

A more comprehensive list by LTA of the works which will be carried out can be found here.

Taylor Swift, fresh from her cleverly executed endorsement of Kamala Harris, was a big winner once again.

Swift bagged Video of the Year for ‘Fortnight’ at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) to become the first artist ever to win the prize three years in a row.

The award was just one of seven – including Artist of the Year – handed to Swift which allowed her to surpass Beyoncé for the most number of wins as a solo artist at the VMAs with 30 moon men.

Beyoncé also has 30 moon men – but four of them came as a part of Destiny’s Child and with Jay-Z as the Carters.

Swift didn’t miss a beat as she used an acceptance speech to remind her audience to vote.

“And if you are over 18 please register to vote for something else that’s very important coming up – the presidential election,” she said.

It has been reported that Swift’s endorsement of US Vice President Harris earlier in the week drove 338,000 people to the site vote.gov to register.

Singapore has named a new orchid hybrid in honour of Pope Francis who arrived in the country on Wednesday as part of a three-day visit.

The ‘Dendrobium His Holiness Pope Francis’ orchid was unveiled during the Pope’s ceremonial welcome held at Parliament House on 12 September.

The National Parks Board described the flower as an “elegant and attractive” orchid hybrid which exudes “serene and pure beauty”.

The flowers are about 8cm wide with ivory white sepals and petals which are “complemented by a lovely lip” tinged with pink towards the centre.

Pope Francis will hold a public Holy Mass today at the National Stadium.

Around 1,000 Catholics showed up to welcome the 87-year-old outside Changi Airport along the Jurassic Mile stretch.

Do you remember the Thai youth football team which made global headlines after they were stuck in a cave for nearly three weeks?

The coach of the ‘Wild Boars’ team is in the news again – except this time it’s for being stranded on his roof because of floods brought about by Typhoon Yagi.

In a phone interview with AFP, Ekkapol Chantawong revealed that relentless rains had caused flood waters to rise in his village, in the northern Thai district of Mae Sai, early on Tuesday morning.

The flash floods forced him, his girlfriend and her aunt to spend the night on the roof of the house.

The waters have since gone down enough for Ekkapol to return back into the house but unfortunately the water current remains too strong for travel to be possible.

He told AFP the cave experience had taught him lessons he could apply to his latest predicament.

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan have sent letters of condolences to their Vietnamese counterparts for the loss of lives caused by Typhoon Yagi.

PM Wong wrote to Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh: "I was deeply saddened to hear about the tragic loss of lives and devastation caused by Typhoon Yagi in many parts of northern Vietnam.”

“On behalf of the Government of Singapore, I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, and my sincere sympathies to all those whose lives have been affected,” Wong said in the statement.

Asia's most powerful typhoon this year has killed 179 people in Vietnam while 145 people were estimated to be missing.

“As a fellow ASEAN Member State, Strategic Partner, and close friend of Vietnam, Singapore stands ready to support Vietnam during this difficult time,” added PM Wong in the statement.

In his letter to Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, Dr Balakrishnan wrote: "I extend my sincere condolences to the families of the victims, and wish for the speedy recovery of those who were injured.”

“Please let me know if Singapore can be of any assistance in the relief efforts,” Balakrishnan added.

Storms like Typhoon Yagi are getting stronger due to climate change as warmer ocean waters provide more energy to fuel the storms.

Yip Pin Xiu has won an incredible seven Paralympic gold medals but her latest two-gold haul from Paris 2024 was extra special as it came at the age of 32.

“These two gold medals mean a lot to me because I think as I age, sometimes I doubt that I will still be able to be at the highest level where I am able to,” Yip said in an interview inside a luxurious Singapore Airlines on her way back to Singapore.

“I think it means a lot because it kind of shows me that through commitment, discipline, hard work and the right team behind me, I’m still able to reach the heights that I want to and be able to achieve the things that I want. And we worked really, really hard for it. It was such a fruitful trip,” she said.

Singapore’s Paralympians are preparing for an open-top bus parade on 14 September where fans and members of the public can show their appreciation for these inspsirational athletes.

Jeralyn Tan, who clinched Singapore’s first ever medal in boccia by winning silver in Paris, says she hopes the message people take away from her achievement is to “never give up” and that “dreams will come true.”

“We would like to share that we are not disabled, but we are able,” Tan said.

You can find out more information on the parade route here.