A 14-year-old student in Malaysia died after he was found unconscious at his school hostel on Sep. 25.

Police have since classified his death as murder and detained a 16-year-old student to assist with investigations, Malay Mail reported.

The teenager was subsequently remanded for six days, according to The Star.

Found unconscious at school hostel

The deceased was identified as Muhammad Idlan Fareeq Shahril, a Form Two student at a sports school in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan.

He was found unconscious at the school hostel on the night of Sep. 25 before being taken to Hospital Tuanku Ampuan Najihah (HTAN), where he was pronounced dead, according to The Star.

A post-mortem was scheduled to be conducted at Hospital Tuanku Ja’afar in Seremban.

Negeri Sembilan police chief Alzafny Ahmad said preliminary investigations found that the incident occurred at the hostel at around 8pm.

“We are probing the case under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder,” Alzafny said in a statement.

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, including a possible motive.

Alzafny also urged members of the public not to speculate or spread unverified information about the case, saying this could affect investigations and the privacy of the families involved.

Bullying alleged

Before police classified the case as murder, allegations of bullying circulated online.

The Star reported that a social media post had gone viral alleging that a student died after being assaulted and bullied at the school hostel.

However, the alleged assault had not been verified at the time, with police investigations ongoing.

Kuala Pilah Member of Parliament Adnan Abu Hassan said he went to HTAN after being informed of the incident by police.

Former Education Minister Mohd Radzi Jidin also called for a thorough and transparent investigation into the student's death in the interest of the deceased and his family.

Education Ministry orders audit

Malaysia's Education Ministry said it would work with police as investigations into Muhammad Idlan's death continue.

The ministry has also ordered a review at the school to check whether procedures had been properly followed.

It also urged the public not to speculate about the case while investigations are ongoing.

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) has disbursed $2.2 million in one-off Cost-of-Living Support to more than 5,600 eligible Zakat beneficiary households, to help lower-income Muslim families with their daily expenses.

One-off cost-of-living support

According to a MUIS media release on Sep. 25, each household received at least $120 under the special payout, with higher amounts given to households with greater needs based on their per capita income (PCI).

The one-off support is funded by Zakat contributions from the Muslim community, referring to the Islamic principle of financially contributing to the less fortunate.

MUIS said the support complements its monthly Zakat Financial Assistance and the government's broader cost-of-living support measures, and reflects its commitment to ensuring Zakat assistance remains responsive to the evolving needs of beneficiaries.

Zakat complements national efforts to support lower-income households

MUIS said Zakat is a cornerstone of the Muslim community in Singapore, channelling contributions from Zakat payers to eligible beneficiaries across the eight asnaf, or categories of Zakat recipients.

Its approach to Zakat is guided by the values of Ihsan (compassion), Amanah (trust and responsibility) and Islah (continuous improvement), which underpin how it cares for those in need, administers Zakat responsibly, and improves support over time.

Beyond providing immediate relief, MUIS said Zakat also strengthens social resilience and complements national efforts to support lower-income households.

One-off support made possible by Zakat contributions

MUIS Chief Executive Kadir Maideen said that the government has introduced a range of national support measures to help households manage higher living costs.

This one-off support, made possible by the Muslim community's Zakat contributions, provides additional assistance to eligible beneficiaries who may face greater financial pressures.

Kadir said MUIS remains committed to ensuring its assistance is "timely and responsive" as it works alongside the government and community partners to uplift vulnerable families.

Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Zaqy Mohamad said that for some families in the community, managing everyday expenses can be a real concern, in a video uploaded on Facebook on Sep. 25.

"A little extra support can make a meaningful difference," he added, thanking the community for playing its part through Zakat contributions to help those who need it.

Top image via Google Maps, Zaqy Mohamad/Facebook

A male Filipino national and four female Filipino nationals, aged between 31 and 57, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in a case of theft involving more than S$155,000.

S$155,600 cash missing from haversack

According to a police news release, officers were alerted to a case of alleged theft at the underpass near Tang Plaza at around 1:40pm on Sep. 25.

Preliminary investigations revealed that a male victim had just exchanged currency at a nearby money changer when a few unknown people bumped into him at the foot of an escalator.

He subsequently discovered that his haversack had been unzipped, and cash amounting to about S$155,600 was missing.

Arrested within the same day

Through follow-up investigations and with the aid of CCTV and police camera footage, officers from Tanglin Police Division established the identities of the five suspects involved, and arrested them within the same day.

Cash amounting to about S$152,800 was recovered and seized as case exhibits.

Five Filipino nationals to be charged with theft with common intention

The five will be charged in court on Sep. 26 with theft with common intention.

If found guilty, they could face imprisonment for up to three years, a fine, or both.

Top image via Google Maps, Singapore Police Force

A pair of cyclists are making their way from the Netherlands to Singapore, having already covered more than 4,000km on their journey.

In an Instagram video, the pair shared the first part of their route, which has taken them across Europe and into Asia.

They have so far travelled through countries including Belgium, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey, before reaching Georgia.

“We are cycling from the Netherlands to Singapore,” they said at the start of the video. “And this is our route.”

Through Europe first

The pair began their journey in their home country, the Netherlands, before quickly passing through Belgium and spending a longer stretch in Germany.

There, they cycled along the Rhine before following the Romantic Road, a route they described as being filled with castles and valleys.

From Salzburg they crossed the Alps into Italy along the Alpe Adria route, which they said remains one of their favourites.

Then the Balkans

Scenic domestic roads took them through Slovenia and Croatia before a long stint in Bosnia, crossing the Balkan mountains. By that point they had covered 1,798km.

They followed the Trans Dinarica trail, which they described as amazing, but had to make up time, so they moved faster through Serbia and Bulgaria.

Part of that leg followed the Iron Curtain trail, which traces the former Cold War political border in Eastern Europe.

Into Asia

The pair had covered 2,798km by the time they reached Turkey.

Arriving in the country marked a significant point in their journey, as they would thereafter be cycling through Asia.

They chose a route through central Turkey, where they experienced what they described as “amazing hospitality and crazy nature”.

However, one of the cyclists fell ill during this leg of the journey.

With a deadline to reach Georgia, the pair decided to take a train to eastern Turkey before resuming their journey by bicycle.

They subsequently crossed into Georgia.

“We cycled onto the much greener Georgia and now after over 4,000km, we’re here,” they said.

Still to come

They said they would share the next stretch of the route soon.

On the trails they had used so far, they wrote:

"These trails were amazing so save them for your future bikepacking trips."

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A post shared by Tanya Spee 🏃🏼‍♀️🚴🏼‍♀️ (@by.tanya)

Singapore's total population rose 1.6 per cent to 6.21 million as at June 2026, up from 6.11 million in June 2025, according to the Population in Brief 2026 report by the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD).

Growth driven mainly by non-residents

The report stated that the increase in total population was mainly due to growth in the non-resident population, which rose 3.7 per cent to 1.98 million in June 2026, from 1.91 million in June 2025.

This came primarily from Work Permit holders, followed by migrant domestic workers.

The NPTD said the rise in Work Permit holders was particularly driven by the construction sector, to support key infrastructure projects such as Changi Terminal 5, the Marina Bay Sands expansion, and the ramp-up of housing supply and other transport infrastructure.

The citizen population increased by 0.7 per cent to 3.68 million in June 2026, up from 3.66 million in June 2025.

The permanent resident (PR) population remained relatively stable at 0.55 million.

Singapore now a "super-aged society"

The report also highlighted Singapore's ageing population.

As at June 2026, 21.4 per cent of the citizen population was aged 65 and above, up from 13.7 per cent in 2016.

This means Singapore has crossed the United Nations' threshold of 21 per cent for a "super-aged society."

The number of citizens aged 80 and above rose 60 per cent over the past decade, from 95,000 in 2016 to 152,000 in 2026.

The median age of the citizen population also rose, from 43.7 years in June 2025 to 44.1 years in June 2026.

The NPTD projected that by 2035, more than one in four citizens will be aged 65 and above.

Fewer marriages and births in 2025

There were 21,671 citizen marriages in 2025, 5.6 per cent lower than the 22,955 citizen marriages recorded in 2024.

The average number of citizen marriages per year from 2023 to 2025 (23,000) was lower than the average from 2016 to 2019 (23,500).

There were also 26,071 citizen births in 2025, 10.8 per cent lower than the 29,237 citizen births in 2024.

The average number of citizen births per year from 2021 to 2025 (29,300) was lower than the average from 2016 to 2020 (32,500).

The resident total fertility rate fell to 0.87 in 2025, down from 0.97 in 2024.

Top image via Yoav Aziz/Unsplash

Former DBS CEO Piyush Gupta revealed in an interview that the bank had deliberately moved away from hiring only the top-scoring university graduates, as academic results alone do not make the best employees.

In an interview with content creator Inconvenient Questions, Gupta recounted that DBS used to hire its "first class" candidates from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Suggested hiring outside of the top 20 per cent

When he asked his team why they only hired from this cohort, he was told that the bank received so many applications that using top grades as a cut-off was a way to narrow down the pool.

Gupta said he pushed back, suggesting the team ignore the top 20 per cent of applicants and instead take the next 20 per cent, since that would also form a valid shortlist.

He added that in his experience, the best bankers have never come from the top academic performers, but from "the next lot."

According to Gupta, candidates still need to be bright, but they also need to be street smart and capable of handling a wide range of tasks.

Hiring for "fire in the belly"

Gupta said that during his tenure at DBS, the bank began hiring differently, prioritising skills and what he called "fire in the belly" over academic credentials alone.

He said this is increasingly the direction he expects employers to move in going forward.

Universities must rethink their role

Gupta's comments echo remarks he made in a separate interview with The Straits Times published on Sep. 22, in which he discussed how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the value of a university education.

Gupta said that as AI makes knowledge instantly accessible, universities must shift their focus from transferring information to fostering curiosity, critical thinking and cross-disciplinary reasoning.

Rather than banning AI outright, he said universities need to adapt, including guarding against "cognitive debt," teaching students to verify AI-generated output, and partnering with companies to give students early exposure to practical, real-world experience.

He also said universities must evolve beyond the traditional four-year degree structure to support lifelong learning.

On how students should approach their studies, Gupta said, "So far, the focus has been on choosing a major. In the future, I would say: Forget one or two majors and focus on 10 minors, so you get enough cross-disciplinary and eclectic learning."

Pay gap between university graduates and non-graduates could narrow

Gupta also raised concerns in his interview with ST about the automation of "grunt work" traditionally assigned to fresh graduates, questioning whether they will still gain the depth of knowledge and practical experience needed to take on more advanced roles later in their careers.

He suggested this could narrow the "graduate premium", referring to the higher salaries university graduates have traditionally commanded over non-graduates.

Employers may become less willing to pay this premium if graduates do not bring anything to the workplace that sets them apart from school-leavers who have access to the same AI tools, Gupta said.

Top image via Piyush Gupta/LinkedIn

Manchester City have been found guilty of the majority of charges brought against the club over breaches of the Premier League's financial rules, The Guardian reported.

The Athletic cited sources familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak publicly.

It added that City were cleared on just one of the 115 charges pertaining to financial breaches they faced. Additional charges brought to the total number to 134.

What the charges are about

According to The Guardian, the case centres on allegations that City failed to provide accurate financial information to the Premier League.

More than 80 charges relate to City's duty to provide information to the Premier League in “the utmost good faith”.

Other charges relate to the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules and UEFA's financial fair play regulations.

20 charges concern City's obligation to provide full details of payments made to players and managers.

City have always denied the allegations, per The Athletic.

What could happen to Man City

No punishment has been decided.

City are expected to appeal the decision, and would have 14 days from the announcement of the verdict to do so.

Should the appeal fail, the panel would then decide on a sanction. Under Premier League rules, the options include a fine, a points deduction, suspension from competition or expulsion from the league.

Investigation began in 2018

The Premier League began investigating City in December 2018 following the publication of leaked documents relating to the club's finances.

The club was subsequently charged in February 2023.

City had previously been handed a two-year ban from UEFA competitions in 2020, along with a €30 million (S$43.6 million) fine, after being accused of “overstating sponsorship revenue in its accounts”.

The ban was later overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Man City responds

According to The Guardian, a Manchester City spokesperson said the Premier League process was still ongoing.

“The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality,” the spokesperson said. “As such Manchester City FC's position remains consistent with the club's statement of February 2023.”

The club added that it had “diligently respected due process for eight years”, and said it expected the Premier League's board and executive to act as an “independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator”.

The Premier League declined to comment, citing the confidential nature of the proceedings.

'People shouldn't jump to conclusions'

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham urged people not to jump to conclusions before studying the independent commission's report in detail.

“I've only just been made aware of it. I think these are reports at this stage,” Burnham told ITV Granada Reports. “But if they're confirmed, obviously I will want to look at the report of the independent commission.”

He added: “People shouldn't jump to those kind of conclusions.”

Burnham said the proceedings between City and the Premier League had been lengthy and contested, and that the commission's report would need to be studied before conclusions could be reached.

A man has complained that pressing the button at a pedestrian crossing does not turn the traffic light green straight away.

He posted about it in the Complaint Singapore Facebook group, saying he had pressed the button, but the "green man" did not appear immediately.

"Need to change to green man at once"

He said that at some junctions, such as Balestier Road in front of Zhongshan Mall, the wait was at least three minutes.

He added: "Need to change to green man at once upon pressing for all pedestrian crossings. If not, press button is meaningless."

How the buttons actually work

The post drew mostly mockery, though a few commenters took the time to explain how the system works.

One user wrote:

"It's not a light switch at your home. It's designed to make traffic flow efficient.

It gives a signal to the traffic circuit that there is a person crossing on that path so that it will give access to the crossers on it's next cycle, not immediately at pressing it."

The commenter added that if the button is never pressed, the junction gives priority to passing vehicles to keep traffic moving.

A 50-year-old Chinese man will be charged in court on Sep. 26 for allegedly starting a fire outside a mosque in the central business district of Singapore.

Set fire to a piece of undergarment outside mosque

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said in a news release that they were alerted to a case of a fire outside a mosque located at 80 Raffles Place at around 9pm on Friday (Sep. 25).

The address matches that of Masjid Moulana Mohamed Ali, located in the basement of UOB Plaza One.

Preliminary investigations revealed that a man had placed an oil tin at the entrance of the mosque and set fire to a piece of undergarment placed in the oil tin.

He subsequently left the location. The fire was put out by a member of public and no injuries were reported.

Arrested within three hours

Officers from the Central Police Division established the man's identity through ground enquiries and police camera footage, and arrested him within three hours of the report.

A lighter was seized as a case exhibit.

The man will be charged in court on Sep. 26 for causing or contributing to the risk of dangerous fire, an offence punishable under Section 285 of the Penal Code 1871.

If found guilty, the man may face a jail term of up to one year, a fine, or both.

Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Zaqy Mohamad commented on the incident in a Facebook post, saying he was thankful no one was hurt and thankful for the member of the public who put out the fire.

Top image via

Xi Jinping’s first and only full day in the United States during his second state visit was capped by a state banquet with 134 guests.

A glance at the guest list was telling: out of those 134, only 19 were from the Chinese delegation, including Xi and his wife.

The remaining 17 were all Chinese government officials, from Politburo standing member Cai Qi, foreign minister Wang Yi, to the ambassador to the U.S. and China’s MFA’s deputy director general for North American and Oceanian affairs.

Guest list

On the U.S. side, there were the senior leaders of the U.S. government, including three supreme court justices, several cabinet secretaries, senators, congressmen, and advisers.

But perhaps of more note was the number of CEOs and business leaders present.

Technology hardware leaders like Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, AMD’s Lisa Su, and former Apple CEO and current Executive Chairman Tim Cook all sat at the head table with Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Then there were the tech leaders, like Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, and Elon Musk, the latter of whom also sat at the head table.

Rounding out the list were aerospace company leaders from the likes of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, financial leaders from Goldman Sachs, and even pharmaceutical companies, like Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla.

But where were the Chinese businesses?

What you wouldn’t have seen was any Chinese tech leaders.

There was a matter of some confusion about this as late as this weekend. There were still rumours that China intended to bring along a sizable business contingent.

The Financial Review said that until days before Xi's arrival, there were discussions about the inclusion of executives from companies such as BYD, Xiaomi, battery manufacturer CATL, as well as the Bank of China.

But as Xi set off, it was revealed that the Chinese delegation would contain no business leaders, immediately sparking speculation as to why.

Did Xi leave them out?

A CNA report indicates that Xi rarely travels abroad with a large business delegation, especially after China's crackdown on tech, education and property sectors, which began in 2020.

This is in contrast to his 2015 state visit, which was overall more expansive in nature.

Not only did his business contingent then consist of a large number of executives from Chinese banks, state-owned companies, but it also included China's own tech giants like Jack Ma of Alibaba and Tencent's Pony Ma.

Both Mas have been investigated for wrongdoing in the years since that visit, and China’s tech leaders have since sought to lower their profile as a response.

Corporate restrictions

The Financial Review also suggested that some Chinese companies were not eager to invest in the United States, quoting The Asia Society Policy Institute's Centre for China Analysis' Neil Thomas.

Thomas said that many Chinese companies were acutely aware of the political risks they face in the U.S. and that restrictions on Chinese investment could tighten further in the near future due to security concerns.

Many of the companies that might have been part of a Chinese delegation were currently subject to U.S. restrictions or intense political scrutiny, such as companies like CATL and BYD due to their links to the Chinese military.

Meanwhile, access to U.S. technology, such as Nvidia chips, by Chinese companies is subject to significant restriction.

As a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Drew Thompson put it, there may have been very little reason for Chinese business leaders to head on the trip.

Protocol issues

But as the visit developed, stories emerged that the lack of representation was not exactly a response from corporate leaders.

By Sep. 24, the day of the state banquet, outlets such as the South China Morning Post and Nikkei both reported that Chinese CEOs had travelled to Washington in the hope that they would be able to attend.

Nikkei reported that senior executives from BYD and Xiaomi both travelled to Washington, despite other reports indicating that no Chinese executives had applied for visas in recent days.

There was even a discussion about a corporate leaders' roundtable at one point before the idea was nixed.

NPR suggested that the reason for the lack of invitations was due to the U.S. leaving planning for the event until very late, with significant details of the visit still to be finalised as much as a week before it started.

U.S. planners had apparently taken a stance of “perfect reciprocity” when dealing with the event's logistics; that is to say, they refused to offer any programming or access beyond what was available to Trump when he visited in May.

One example was a possible speech at a U.S. university by Xi which was abandoned early on, as Trump had not been asked to make a similar speech in May.

Reciprocity

But this would not explain the lack of corporate representation, as one of the more remarkable aspects of Trump's May visit: the number of tech CEOs that had travelled to Beijing with him on Air Force One.

Some had even boarded in Alaska while Trump's plane was being refuelled.

While China’s MFA did not release a full list of attendees of the May banquet, it is known that a number of Chinese business leaders were in attendance, so for them to attend would have fulfilled the “reciprocity” requirement.

CNBC reported at the time that some of the leaders in attendance included the co-founder of ByteDance (TikTok's parent company) Liang Rubo, and Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun.

Insiders that NPR spoke to suggested that Chinese diplomats were chafing at their U.S. counterparts’ tendency to arrange events in an ad hoc manner; one was even quoted as calling their process “half-assed”.

Diplotainment?

Ultimately, trade and commerce between the two superpowers remain a fraught topic, despite the warm welcome Trump has put on for Xi.

One of the most critical topics up for discussion, a resolution to the ongoing trade war, has not yielded a solution, with both countries instead agreeing to extend a current “trade truce” agreed upon in Busan last year until January 2027.

There is a feeling that whatever the reason, whether it was reluctance on the part of the Chinese CEOs or U.S. diplomats not being proactive enough, there was not enough motivation to ensure Chinese business leaders' participation.

It resulted in a very lopsided state dinner attendance, both in terms of ratio and in terms of attendee backgrounds.

It feeds into a sentiment, expressed by Senate Democrats critical of the conduct of the visit, that the event had an air of “diplotainment”, rather than true diplomacy.

Trump, for his part, has been effusive in his praise of Xi and of the summit, describing the meeting as “very productive” and predicting “tremendous things”.