C

CNA

September 2026

Asian Games open in Nagoya with celebration of solidarity and Japanese culture

I was really honoured and proud to carry the flag and lead the contingent out. The canoe team doesn’t always get the opportunity to march at the opening ceremony, as we often arrive at the Games after the ceremony,
Ohmura Hideakipresident
Sports have the tremendous power to bring people together across languages, cultures, and national borders,
Olympian Kiriatime
Walking into the stadium carrying the Singapore flag was honestly quite emotional. I felt very proud, but also a little nervous because it made everything feel very real and that we’re finally here,

Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke resigns over former PM Najib’s conditional pardon, other DAP ministers to stay on

The decision was reached during an emergency meeting of Democratic Action Party's central executive committee on Saturday (Sep 19), a day after Najib Razak’s pardon was granted by the Malaysian king

Anthony Loketransport Minister
As a party we have a stand, we feel this is difficult to accept for DAP and many Malaysians, hence we have discussed for three hours and debated, we have reached a decision,

Denmark hails 'binding' Greenland deal with Trump

This agreement guarantees that China and Russia cannot have a base in Greenland, they cannot send troops to Greenland, and the necessary mechanisms are in place to prevent investment in sensitive sectors,
An agreement that strengthens our common security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic area and is therefore also good for NATO and Europe,

Technology, AI have made us hasty readers — and that's a big problem

Technology has made information faster and easier to access, but educators say that students still need the patience and skills to understand, question and evaluate what they come across online

I worry quite a lot, because the joy of reading comes from the trepidation and excitement of following a character on a journey,
Loh Chin Eeassoc Prof
Given the amount of online information we have to process daily, a literate person would have to be able to read and process both print and digital texts."
Their reading, comprehension and understanding skills are lacking because they don't read books, or long texts or articles, so chunks of words are tough for them,
People should be encouraged to attempt a task themselves and form an initial view, and then bring in AI for feedback, refinement, or to explore another perspective,
At the same time, students continue to develop human qualities that AI cannot replace, including sound values, critical thinking, self-management and the confidence to make responsible choices,
Loh Chin Eeassoc Prof
I do worry that, as they get older, reading will face growing competition from phones, games and other forms of entertainment,
Giving students time to read in school, creating opportunities for critical reading and encouraging parents and caregivers to put time aside for reading are helpful strategies,
This trend is particularly concerning because reading skills underpin learning across the curriculum and are essential for finding, evaluating, interpreting and reflecting on information in an increasingly digital world."
Kelvin Hongresearcher (ORCID 0000-0002-8420-5307)
As someone who has taught Economics and General Paper for over 25 years, I find that, in recent years, more students struggle to explain a writer's overall argument, pick up on nuance or connect different ideas,
It does take effort to stay with a single text over a sustained period of time,

US and Denmark reach deal on Greenland, Trump says

Donald Trumppresident
I am pleased that there is a prospect of a good agreement for Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark and the United States,
Donald Trumppresident
At my direction, we worked with representatives of Denmark and Greenland to guarantee that the United States will FOREVER have the complete ability to do what is necessary in Greenland in order to secure and defend the security of Greenland, and the United States of America,

Macron warns of Russian 'hybrid' threat after meeting presidential hopefuls

Emmanuel Macronpresident
In recent weeks, the threat — particularly the Russian hybrid threat — facing Europeans and France has intensified,
Emmanuel Macronpresident
This will not go unanswered,
The intention behind it is to intimidate us and to derail the effort to support the Ukrainians. The consequence will be the opposite,

Singapore Airlines named world’s best airline for 2026

Goh Choon Phongairline CEO
We are grateful to our customers for their trust and support, and we are committed to delivering an exceptional, world-class travel experience every time they fly with us,
This recognition validates Scoot’s commitment to providing our customers with comfortable, reliable and seamless travel experiences,
Edward Plaistedskytrax CEO
We congratulate the Singapore Airlines Group on the major achievement of being named the world’s best airline 2026 for Singapore Airlines, and the best long-haul low-cost airline for Scoot,

Najib’s house arrest puts Malaysia in ‘uncharted’ legal territory, poses political challenge for PM Anwar

Azmi Hassanend, political analyst
Many UMNO supporters view Najib’s arrest and sentencing as political persecution, so this decision which (allows him to serve the remainder of his sentence at home) would satisfy them,
James Chinpolitical researcher
The DAP (politicians) have been adamant against corruption and they have been vocal on Najib’s sentence. Anwar will have to navigate these issues,
James Chinpolitical researcher
Najib is known to commit kleptocracy, a key political leader renowned around the world for stealing from his own state,
Lim Wei Jietconstitutional lawyer
I really do not know the details, or limitations imposed on the convict (on house arrest). This is really uncharted territory,
Azmi Hassanend, political analyst
Najib’s track record as one of Malaysia’s most successful prime ministers — before the 1MDB saga — will be remembered by many across the country. It will boost the party’s momentum ahead of the upcoming polls,
This is going to open the floodgates. People serving sentences for white-collar crimes may ask, ‘Why not me?’

All aboard: Some Singapore athletes housed on cruise ship during Asian Games

The cruise ship Costa Serena, berthed at Nagoya Port, is being used to house athletes taking part in the Asian Games 2026, Sep 17, 2026

Chloe Laitable tennis player
Accommodation will be the most important because after a tiring day of competition and training, you need somewhere... you can come back to relax and de-stress from the day,
It's quite a new experience for us. Especially because with previous major Games, we've never had a (Games) village on the boat,
Abielle Yeocaptain
The beds were very comfortable. We heard that the beds were not comfortable or the pillows were not very good. So I brought a pillow from home (just) in case, but I didn't have to use it,
With our previous experiences, sometimes because the game schedule is as is... when we can only come back to our accommodation during off-meal times, it's a bit difficult because there's either no food left or they have to prepare takeaway boxes or stuff that is not very great,
They look forward to enjoying the facilities and the space on board. The food has also been well received, with buffet-style meals offering a good range of international options,
(The... The rooms are) not bad, there's quite a lot of space. We expected it to be way smaller,
I have found the accommodation to be comfortable and well equipped, with air conditioning, comfortable beds, washing machines and dryers, as well as showers and bidet toilets. The organisers have also provided laundry pods, hangers and welcome kits with toiletries for all residents,

Public servants need to shift from doing things ‘for’ Singaporeans to ‘with’ them: Chan Chun Sing

Chan Chun Singpublic Services
Everyone has their preferred outcomes, everyone has their strongly held personal convictions. But there is a need to align on the bigger picture, the trade-offs and the range of considerations — housing needs, land use, energy, transport, and even sewage planning,
These issues before us are increasingly interconnected and cut across conventional organisational boundaries,
These are not partnerships of convenience. They are deliberate efforts to create new space for cooperation and advance our shared interests,
These experiences give our officers a deeper understanding of our international partners and norms, and help us build critical networks and relationships,
Where we can find common ground, we must grow those opportunities and forge new partnerships,
Bringing people together seems straightforward, but to ensure that everyone walks out of the room with the same shared understanding of the bigger picture is a different challenge,
We start from strong foundations, built by generations of officers and leaders before us,
But the point is not a single successful initiative. The point is whether we continually challenge ourselves to experiment, innovate and reimagine what’s possible,
We do not need to possess every answer or capability ourselves. We need to know what we must be good at and have a responsibility to decide, what others are better placed to do, and how to bring citizens, communities, businesses and government towards a common outcome,

Three students killed in Philippine school shooting, including gunman, officials say

The suspect supposedly sat beside his friends and told them to go home ‘because after lunch, I will be executing my plan’. His friends laughed because the shooter was a known joker,
After lunch, he started shooting students. He hit 10 students before killing himself,
Reynaldo Tamayo Jr.south Cotabato Governor
For now, we are trying to let our fellow citizens know that the situation is stable and the case is contained,
Reynaldo Tamayo Jr.south Cotabato Governor
We need to be responsible in storing firearms. Gun owners, in particular, must make sure that minors do not have access to them,
Reynaldo Tamayo Jr.south Cotabato Governor
He is a student of that school, grade nine,
Rizalie Dedeldisaster agency worker
One male and one female were killed, both grade nine students,

Former Malaysia PM Najib to serve remaining jail term at home — if he pays US$12.26 million fine

A Pardons Board meeting chaired by the Malaysian king on Friday (Sep 18) reached this decision after an appeal by Najib Razak, who is serving a six-year jail sentence until Aug 23, 2028

Ahmad Zahid Hamidideputy
Nevertheless, we remain respectful and express our respect to Tuanku (the king),
He must abide by these conditions, and should he fail to fulfil any of these conditions, his conditional pardon will be nullified and must immediately serve the remainder of his sentence in jail,
UMNO expresses our profound gratitude to His Majesty, Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia,
The Pardons Board has not met. Please do not share this fake document. My press secretary has made a report to the authorities,

North-South Corridor: Costs of two-year delay to be known only after completion, LTA says

LTA’s priority remains to ensure that the NSC is completed expediently without compromising safety,
The final additional cost, including the allocation of costs between the parties, could only be ascertained upon the completion of the project,
Ahead of the full opening of the NSC, LTA will continue to return affected areas to public use where safe and practicable,

Chinese researchers map out five-stage plan for AI to improve without human intervention

Researchers from China’s leading universities and tech giants are exploring how increasingly autonomous systems could eventually refine their own capabilities, in a report titled “The Last AI Built by Humans: Toward Genuine Recursive Self-Improvement”

American companies still appear several months ahead of China and have access to more compute for deployment,

‘Ludicrous statement’: AirAsia co-founder Tony Fernandes rebuts report claiming it needs government bailout

We have been through many crises before in our 25-year journey, with COVID-19 being by far the most challenging,
Tony Fernandes-founder
Nothing, nothing, we are not getting (anything) from the government. I don’t know where this story comes from,
Tony Fernandes-founder
It’s the most ludicrous statement I have seen in 25 years,
We are managing industry-wide headwinds from a position of strength, executing a clear and strategic plan for sustainable and profitable growth,
My top sources said no such conversations happen … Kill it (the story) already. We do not need rescuing or bailouts whatsoever,

Australian Hyrox athlete apologises for continuing Beijing race after soiling herself

On reflection, I have decided to retroactively withdraw from the race and forfeit the points I earned,
Looking back, I regret the decision to not have stepped off the track. I recognize that I should have made a different choice. I take responsibility for my decision to continue and am deeply sorry for the discomfort and disruption it caused,
I apologize to all that were directly or indirectly affected, as well as to everyone who felt like we did not handle the situation like we should have,
A foreign athlete suffered from diarrhoea, soiled the course and won anyway,
Why didn't they consider the health of the other competitors and the public?"