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Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra on Wednesday (February 25) lashed out at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, accusing him of "misleading" the public on government recruitment figures and "failing" to address the concerns of unemployed youth in the state.

In a detailed post on his X handle, Vijayendra alleged that the Congress-led government was attempting to deflect accountability by blaming the previous BJP administration instead of initiating concrete steps to fill vacant posts.

“Chief Minister, please refrain from misleading the people. Do not attempt to shift the blame for all your shortcomings onto the BJP and evade responsibility. Your administration has earned a reputation for arrogance, corruption and mismanagement,” Vijayendra said, adding that students and youth were not naïve enough to be swayed by what he termed as "exaggerated claims".

Vijayendra's response came following Siddaramaiah's statement on Tuesday (February 24) blaming BJP for the huge backlog of government job vacancies.

China has restricted exports to 40 Japanese entities it says are contributing to Japan's “remilitarisation,” in the latest escalation of tensions with Tokyo.

Beijing has shown continued displeasure with Tokyo since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in November implied Japan could intervene if China used military force against Taiwan, an island democracy China claims as its own.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry on Tuesday (February 24) put 20 Japanese companies on an export control list and 20 others on a separate watchlist.

Companies on the export control list will not be able to import from China dual-use goods, which can be used for civilian and military purposes.

They include multiple business subsidiaries of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries involved in shipbuilding and the production of aircraft engines and maritime machinery, as well as some of Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Fujitsu, among others.

The BJP on Wednesday (February 25) hit back at Priyanka Gandhi Vadra with "female Ghajini of Indian politics" barb, accusing the Congress leader of expressing "selective outrage" over alleged genocide in Gaza.

The 'Ghajini' reference, drawing from a 2008 Bollywood film character known for short-term memory loss, was used by the BJP to allege that Gandhi is choosing to focus on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza while forgetting the October 7 attacks in Israel.

This came after Priyanka Gandhi took aim at Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his departure for a two-day visit to Israel, hoping that he would mention the genocide in Gaza while addressing the Israeli Parliament and demand justice for the victims.

Reacting sharply to the remarks, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia wrote in a post on X, "The Female Ghajini of Indian politics is back!" Bhatia shared an old picture of the Congress leader carrying a bag with 'Palestine' written on it and said, "Carrying a 'Palestine' bag to Parliament is easy, but having the moral courage to condemn the Oct 7th massacre of 1,200-plus innocents, women being abducted and raped is clearly too hard for Priyanka Gandhi."

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (February 25) took suo motu cognisance of the contents of Class 8 NCERT textbook referring to the corruption in the judiciary and termed it a matter of "grave concern."

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi was urged by senior advocate Kapil Sibal that "children of class 8 are taught about corruption in the judiciary. This is a matter of grave concern."

The CJI said, "I will not allow anybody to defame the institution. Law will take its course." He added, "As head of the institution, I have done my duty and have taken cognisance … This seems to be a calculated move. I won't say much." Justice Bagchi said the book seemed to be against the basic structure of the Constitution.

The CJI said, "Please wait for a few days. Bar and Bench all are perturbed. All high court judges are perturbed. I will take up the matter suo motu. I will not allow anybody to defame the institution. Law will take its course." Later, Justice Kant said that the top court has taken suo motu cognisance of the matter.

Corruption, massive backlog of cases, and lack of an adequate number of judges are among the "challenges" faced by the judicial system, according to the new social science NCERT textbook for class 8.

The section "corruption in the judiciary" in the new book states that judges are bound by a code of conduct that governs not only their behaviour in court, but also how they conduct themselves outside it.

The Thane police have unearthed a bogus call centre that allegedly cheated foreign nationals, particularly US citizens, under the pretext of selling software, an official said on Wednesday (February 25).

Five persons, including the call centre owner, were detained after a raid at the premises in the Ambernath area of Maharashtra's Thane district late Tuesday night, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Ambernath division) Shailesh Kale told PTI.

The bogus facility was operating from a business centre and functioned under the garb of providing software services, the official said. "The call centre staff targeted foreign nationals, especially Americans. They contacted them on the phone, lured them with offers of software services and extracted money from them in different forms," Kale said.

The police received a tip-off about the illegal operations and raided the premises. The search operation continued till Wednesday morning, he said.

A 57-year-old Sikh man in the US was found dead days after he was kidnapped, with authorities saying he was not the “intended target” of the crime.

Avtar Singh was reported missing on February 17 at approximately 8:52 pm in Tracy, California.

During the investigation, surveillance footage showed a white SUV and three unidentified individuals dressed in dark clothing with Singh at approximately 2:30 pm. The victim appeared to enter the vehicle against his will, the authorities said.

San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Tuesday (February 25) said that Singh was found dead on February 20 at approximately 3:20 pm near Lake Berryessa after the Napa County Sheriff’s Office located a body matching the description of the missing person.