PM Modi meets Israeli PM Netanyahu in Tel Aviv

Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Israel on Wednesday (February 25, 2026) to a red-carpet welcome with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and wife Sara receiving the Indian leader at the Ben Gurion airport. Mr. Netanyahu greeted the Indian Prime Minister with a warm hug, following which Mr. Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the airport, located 20 km southeast of Tel Aviv. Mr. Modi also met with Mr. Netanyahu in Tel Aviv and is scheduled to depart for Jerusalem.

CBSE proposes draft policy for conducting two Board exams from 2025-26 onwards

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has proposed that from the academic year 2025-26, students of Class 10 can appear for Board examination twice, in a bid to improve their performance.

Ukraine and U.S. agree on framework mineral deal, Ukrainian officials say

Ukraine and the U.S. have reached an agreement on a framework for a broad economic deal that would include the exploitation of rare earth minerals, three senior Ukrainian officials said Tuesday (February 25, 2025).

SLBC tunnel collapse: Slush and water seepage hinder rescue operation

The joint teams of multiple agencies participating in the rescue operation to find eight persons trapped 14 km inside the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel since Saturday morning have arrived at the conclusion that any attempt to cross the last 50 metres barrier completely filled with mud and debris from the tunnel boring machine (TBM) would be risky to the lives rescue teams.

Devotees rush to Sangam for Maha Kumbh’s final ‘snan’ on Mahashivratri

Pilgrims began arriving at the Triveni Sangam in the early hours of Wednesday (February 26, 2025) for a holy dip on Mahashivratri, marking the culmination of the six-week-long Maha Kumbh, held once every 12 years and believed to grant ‘moksha’ or salvation.

Two killed in Israeli strike on eastern Lebanon: state media

Lebanese state media said that an Israeli air strike on Tuesday (February 25, 2025) killed at least two people in the country’s east, where the military said it targeted Hezbollah militants. “An enemy drone carried out an air strike on the town of Shaara... near the eastern Lebanon mountain range, killing two people and wounding two” others, said the state-run National News Agency.

Pope signs decree making José Gregorio Hernández, ‘doctor of the poor,’ Venezuela’s first saint

A man revered by millions as the “doctor of the poor” will be the first saint from Venezuela after Pope Francis approved a decree Tuesday (February 25, 2025). A date for the canonisation of Dr. José Gregorio Hernández, who died in 1919, has not been set. The Vatican in a statement said Pope Francis also decided to convene a formal meeting of cardinals to set the dates for future canonisations, but it was not immediately scheduled.

Judge gives Trump administration two days to unfreeze funds for US foreign aid

A federal judge on Tuesday (February 25, 2025) gave the Trump administration less than two days to release billions of dollars in U.S. foreign aid, saying the administration had given no sign of complying with his nearly two-week-old court to ease its funding freeze.

Allahbadia told cops he committed ‘mistake’ by passing controversial remarks: Officials

Podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia, whose crass remarks on a YouTube show kicked up a row, has said in his statement before the Maharashtra Cyber that he committed a mistake of passing controversial statements, officials said on Tuesday (February 25, 2025).

J&K was promised a plebiscite at the time of accession to India, says Omar Abdullah

Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday (February 25, 2025) said the description of Article 370 as a “temporary or transitional [provision] was because J&K’s status had not been fully formalised” at the time of its accession to India in 1947.

Existing norms duly address caste bias concerns in universities: National Assessment and Accreditation Council

Weeks after the Supreme Court directed the University Grants Commission (UGC) to collate complaints of caste discrimination across higher education institutions (HEIs) in India, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has now told the top court that its existing measures for assessment and grading of HEIs “effectively address concerns related to caste-based discrimination, mental health, and equal opportunities”.

BMC presents Budget, earmarks total outlay of ₹80,952.56 crore

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) presented its Budget for 2026-27 on Wednesday (February 25, 2026). It has proposed a total outlay of ₹80,952.56 crore, marking a significant increase from ₹74,427.41 crore allocated in 2025-26. BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani tabled the budget, with the capital expenditure pegged at ₹48,164.28 crore, reflecting a rise of about 11.59% over the revised estimate of ₹39,159.51 crore for 2025-26.

Supreme Court judge reminds state, non-state actors that art, cinema cannot be used to vilify communities

Supreme Court judge, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, held the mirror to divisive forces within society that have weaponised visual arts, speeches, memes, cartoons to “vilify and denigrate” entire communities. “It is constitutionally impermissible for anybody, be it the state or non-state actors, through any medium, such as, speeches, memes, cartoons, visual arts, etc., to vilify and denigrate any community. It will be violative of the Constitution to target any particular community on the basis of religion, language, caste or region by whosoever he or she may be,” Justice Bhuyan wrote.

Supreme Court junks plea challenging validity of BNSS provisions on appointment of prosecution officers

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (February 25, 2026) junked a petition challenging the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the BNSS that allow appointment of serving or retired judicial officers as directors, and serving judicial officers as deputy directors of prosecution and assistant directors of prosecution. A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and M. Vipul Pancholi said the plea was misconceived and had no legal basis.

Madhyamik admit card can be submitted along with pass certificate, SC clarifies in West Bengal SIR

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (February 25, 2026) clarified that the Madhyamik (Class 10) admit card may be submitted along with the Madhyamik pass certificate as proof of birth and parentage by electors during the verification of their claims and objections in the ongoing West Bengal Special Intensive Revision (SIR). A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant directed that verification documents which have not been uploaded so far, and received before February 14, should be submitted by the Election Registration Officers/Assistant Election Registration Officers (EROs/AEROs) by 5 p.m. on February 26, 2026.

CJI eyes suo motu case over NCERT’s Class 8 textbook chapter alleging ‘corruption in judiciary’

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant has referred to the “selective” reference to “corruption in the judiciary” in a Class 8 NCERT book as a “tentatively calculated, deep-rooted attempt” to denigrate the institution. “I will not let anything like to happen,” CJI Kant, visibly annoyed, emphasised when senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi brought up the issue in open court. They urged the CJI to take suo motu cognisance.

Haryana authorities nab four people in ₹590-crore IDFC First Bank case

Haryana’s State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested four people in the IDFC First Bank fraud case, officials said on Wednesday (February 25, 2026). Of the four arrested, two are ex-IDFC First Bank employees and two are private persons who own a partnership firm, they said.

Trump’s State of the Union 2026: Top takeaways for India

For the most part, U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Speech highlighted his administration’s moves on growing the U.S. economy and affordability, cracking down on crime and immigration, while attacking former President Joseph Biden (2020-2024) and the Democrats in opposition, even calling them “crazy”.

Sri Lanka arrests ex-intel chief over 2019 Easter bombings

Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department on Wednesday (February 25, 2026) arrested former intelligence chief Major General Suresh Sallay in connection with the deadly Easter Sunday bombings of 2019 that killed around 270 people and injured several hundred, police said. Speaking to The Hindu, a senior official confirmed that the arrest was made under Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), “based on adequate evidence”. The official described the arrest of the former head of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) as “a major breakthrough” in the case, which has been ongoing for nearly seven years, even as victims’ families relentlessly demand justice.

Pakistan wary of militant attacks after Afghanistan air strikes

Pakistan has boosted security and arrested ‌dozens of suspects as it fears rising wave of militant attacks ​following its air strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s Junior Interior Minister ⁠said on Wednesday (February 25, 2026). “Our forces are on high-alert to combat any attacks,” the Minister, Talal Chaudhry, told Reuters. “You know the militants always react whenever we go after their hideouts in Afghanistan.” Pakistan ‌carried out air strikes on targets in Afghanistan over the weekend on what it said were militant targets responsible for a ‌spate of recent suicide bombings on Pakistani soil.