East-West line disruptions expected to continue until 1 October; Expert claims 'human error' led to turbulence on SIA flight: Singapore live news

Former national swimmer Joseph Schooling has joined a venture capital firm as an associate.

The announce was made via a LinkedIn post by the company, Vertex Ventures SE Asia & India, on Monday (30 Sept).

They wrote, "Joseph brings with him a unique perspective to our firm. As he embarks on this new journey, he will be working alongside our seasoned investment professionals to gain more experience and insights into assessing and making investments in high-growth startups."

This shouldn't come as a surprise considering that Schooling had already publicly expressed interest in the venture capital space during an interview with The Straits Times in April 2024.

He shared that he was going in with two partners, adding, "We’re going to slice that up into three pillars: health and wellness, tech, and sustainability."

As for joining Vertex Ventures, Schooling said, "Vertex Ventures is known to be one of the top VC names in the region. As our ecosystem evolves, we must be willing to pivot."

Age is just a number.

At least for this 80-year-old who is serving face and looks at the annual Miss Universe Korea competition.

Choi Soon-hwa was unveiled as a finalist earlier this month and will compete with 31 others for the tiara on Monday (30 Sept).

The grandmother of three said she wants to subvert expectations of people being old and sickly. "I want to show that we can live healthily even when we get old," she said. Choi is also a trained model and made her debut at 74 during the 2018 Seoul Fashion Week.

She is set to be the oldest participant in a national Miss Universe pageant.

Organisers of this year's Miss Universe Korea has said that "age doesn’t matter when it comes to dreaming". They have also removed the swimsuit segment of the competition.

For more on Choi's beauty pageant dreams, read here.

Hybrid work doesn't just benefit those who can do it.

According to a new study, those who can't saw bigger gains to compensate for their lack of work-from-home (WFH) benefits.

Economists from the University of Nottingham, the University of Sheffield, and King’s College London observed that the wages of remote workers grew two to seven per cent slower than other occupations.

However, remote workers do get benefits like access to free child care or a company car, which outweighed the slower wage gains.

For non-remote workers, the salary boost was more than enough compensation for having to work in person everyday.

In fact, researchers pointed out that when considering total compensation (wage and in-kind WFH benefits), a hybrid work model didn't increase inequality between both groups. It had no effect on the gap, they concluded.

If anything, it resulted in a "substantial increase in average compensation across the board".

Could this be something to consider when addressing the WFH situation in Singapore? To understand more, read here.

An evening out at Suria KLCC for shoppers turned into a panic-filled experience after the fire alarm sounded.

The alarm sounded at 8.10pm on 29 Sept, with smoke being observed at the food court and the motorcycle parking area.

Shoppers shared their experience online and it was varied. Some thought it was a drill while another thought it was a malfunction until they saw people running.

Netizen Zaid Zakir said he panicked because when he asked security guards what was going on, they replied, "Firing, some firing."

"At least teach the guards to use the correct words," he wrote.

Suria KLCC shared on Facebook that the fire department arrived at the scene within minutes and located the source of the fire.

For more on the Suria KLCC fire, read here.

It's hard to miss the buzz that New Bahru has been generating over the last couple of weeks.

From influencers to foodies, many have flocked to this new creative lifestyle concept that is home to over 40 independent, made-in-Singapore brands. (Fun fact: It is built at the location of the former Nan Chiau High School.)

New Bahru is progressively opening, but there's plenty that caters to different needs – from wellness and fitness, to fashion, and of course, dining.

Here's a list of top 10 dining spots at New Bahru, but let's see the highlights.

Firstly, breakfast spot Dearborn has evolved from its home-based fine dining roots that serves simple, yet sophisticated dishes. Its Potato and Egg dish consists of a soft-boiled egg, mash, and potato foam. Despite its classy heritage, you can also get affordable breakfast food like Smoked Cheddar & Chilli Sourdough for $7.

There's also Huevos, a no-frills Mexican place that serves affordable and authentic cuisine. You can try their popular Baja Fish Taco ($14 for two) or their Tacos De Camaron ($18 for two), a tiger prawn taco with mint and pineapple salsa.

The Coconut Club has set up shop there as well, if you're craving some local favourites like laksa, nasi lemak, or traditional kueh.

Check out all the top 10 dining spots in New Bahru here.

A rental flat at Block 12 Taman Ho Swee made headlines across the weekend because of its $8,000 price tag.

However, that is a "typographical mistake", according to a statement by the Housing Development Board (HDB).

HDB said, "Upon further checks, the owner clarified that a typographical mistake was made in the application form, listing a rental rate of $8,000 per month for the entire flat, instead of $900 per month for a single bedroom rental, as intended. The error has been corrected in the portal."

The data was listed on HDB's Market Rental Rates service, which is based on declarations from flat owners in their rental applications. It was reported by local media that the data was removed on Friday and replaced with the updated listing.

HDB verifies applicants' eligibility before the rental application is uploaded to the website, however, The Business Times reported that they do not check the accuracy of the rental data since the price is a "private matter [agreed] between owners and tenants".

Lee Hsien Yang, estranged brother of former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, has paid two senior ministers who sued him for defamation.

In a Facebook post on Sunday (29 Sept), Lee said he has paid Law Minister K. Shanmugam and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan a total of $619,335,53. The amount included damages, costs and disbursements related to a Singapore High Court order in May.

The ministers sued Lee last year over his allegations on Facebook that they received preferential treatment for their bungalow rentals on Ridout Road.

To find out more on the defamation charge, read here.

An ex-pilot has a theory about the fatal turbulence on flight SQ321 in May.

Richard Woodward, former Australian Air Force and Qantas pilot, claimed that the flight hit a thunderstorm due to "human error". Based on satellite images over Myanmar, Woodward concluded that the Singapore Airlines crew made a "terrible miscalculation".

On an Australian news show, he said, "With my background, I’m fairly certain that they had an encounter with or were very close to a thunderstorm."

Woodward, with 33 years of flying experience, also disputed the claims that the flight encountered Clear Air Turbulence – a claim that was fuelled by initial findings from Singapore’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB).

"It’s very rare to have a clear air turbulence encounter in the tropics," he said, adding that there is "compelling evidence" that the flight encountered a thunderstorm instead.

The flight departed London on 20 May and encountered severe turbulence 10 hours into the journey.

A 73-year-old British man died from a suspected heart attack, seven people were in critical condition, and dozens more taken to the hospital.

Recently, SIA has been accused of trying to 'lowball' payouts to victims of the flight.

For more on the theories around SQ321, read here.

Train services between Jurong East and Buona Vista will be halted till Tuesday (1 Oct).

SMRT had originally planned to resume services on 30 Sept, but delayed it by a day after new cracks were found on Saturday.

In a Facebook post, the train operator shared that repair and restoration works were completed on Saturday. However, "12 new cracks that were previously not visible appeared on unreplaced rail segments" during load testing.

"We are working towards restoration of train services on 1 Oct (Tue), subject to weather conditions and after thorough testing have been successfully completed to ensure safety of commuters," added SMRT.

Train services have been disrupted since Wednesday (25 Sept), making this the longest unplanned train disruption to hit Singapore.

To learn more about the train disruption, read here.