Philippines Defence Secretary Gilberto C Teodoro publicly confronted China at the Seoul Defence Dialogue after a note outlining Beijing’s position on the South China Sea arbitration was unexpectedly handed to him while he was speaking. Teodoro read the note aloud before accusing China of “coercion, bullying and aggression” and calling the move disrespectful to South Korea and the forum’s participants. He also defended the 2016 arbitration ruling, which rejected China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea, while Beijing continues to reject the decision.
The Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at 18 locations across Karnataka and Maharashtra linked to Karnataka Public Works Department Minister Satish Jarkiholi and his associates. The searches are part of a Foreign Exchange Management Act investigation into alleged irregularities in the Karnataka Excise Department and suspected illegal overseas investments. Searches also covered premises belonging to his daughter and Chikkodi Lok Sabha MP Priyanka Jarkiholi, Excise Department Additional Commissioner Manjunath, and close aide Raju Darashietty. Investigators are probing whether funds from excise irregularities were routed abroad into an African mining company. Responding to the action, Karnataka leader DK Shivakumar called the raids unfortunate, fully political vendetta, and asserted that Satish Jarkiholi is a clean and forward-looking politician who has done nothing wrong. The Congress party strongly condemned the Bharatiya Janata Party and NDA, alleging that central investigation agencies are being deliberately weaponised against opposition leaders and prominent Dalit and Scheduled Tribe political figures ahead of upcoming elections.
A intense political confrontation has erupted in Punjab following the suicide of Gulzar Singh in Sangrur. In a video recorded prior to his death, Singh raised the issue of the drug menace and named Punjab Cabinet Minister Harpal Singh Cheema. While the Punjab Police have arrested several individuals in connection with the case, Minister Cheema has not been named in the First Information Report. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other opposition parties, including the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party, have demanded an FIR against Cheema and targeted the Aam Aadmi Party government over its failure to tackle drug abuse. In response, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann hit out at the opposition, accusing them of playing politics over dead bodies and asserting that previous Akali Dal, BJP, and Congress regimes were responsible for the state's drug menace.
A political confrontation has intensified between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress over the singing of the full rendition of Vande Mataram. The BJP accused the Congress of harbouring an anti-national mindset and disrespecting freedom fighters after Congress leaders reaffirmed their stance of singing only the first two stanzas to maintain communal harmony. Meanwhile, the central government has proposed legislation penalising disrespect to the national song on par with the national anthem. The issue has also exposed divisions within the opposition alliance after National Conference leaders Farooq Abdullah and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah stood for all six verses played at an event in Srinagar following new guidelines. Congress leader K. C. Venugopal stated that the full version sits uneasily with India's pluralist ethos, urging allies to adhere only to the version adopted during the freedom movement, while the BJP criticised the Congress for opposing the original version of the national song.
Following the building collapse in Satya Niketan, the Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) have initiated an extensive demolition drive targeting illegal and dilapidated structures across the national capital. Enforcement actions are underway in areas including Pandav Nagar, Lakshmi Nagar, Geeta Colony, and Mukherjee Nagar, with authorities razing unauthorised floors erected beyond permitted limits. Alongside structural demolitions, the Delhi government has announced stricter guidelines for paying guest (PG) accommodations, making CCTV installation, registration, security provisions, and rent caps mandatory, especially across major student hubs. The report raises questions over administrative accountability, questioning why civic agencies and enforcement officials failed to act against illegal constructions before fatal mishaps occurred.