TOI Correspondent from Washington: In a city where monuments are usually carved in stone or cast in bronze, a new installation has boldly gone where no presidential tribute has gone before: into the toilet. Yes, a 10-foot golden toilet commode —titled with regal restraint “A Throne Fit for a King”—has appeared on the National Mall, courtesy of the guerrilla art collective known only as Secret Handshake. It is, according to its snarky creators, a tribute to Trump’s priorities. The sculpture satirizes the realtor-turned-President’s much-discussed White House renovations—particularly his decision to renovate the Lincoln bathroom and build a ballroom while the nation is wrestling with inflation and war.A plaque at the site helpfully explains the artistic vision, praising Trump as a “visionary who looked down, saw a problem, and painted it gold.” If the golden throne feels like a punchline, it’s only the latest in what has become a full-blown comedic universe of Trump satire. Earlier this month, Secret Handshake unveiled a towering sculpture depicting Trump and the late Jeffrey Epstein reenacting the iconic ship bow scene from the movie Titanic.Dubbed “King of the World,” the piece cast Trump in the Leonardo DiCaprio role—arms outstretched, wind in his trademark hair—while Epstein played his Kate Winslet counterpart. Before that came “Best Friends Forever,” a statue of Trump and Epstein skipping hand-in-hand like overgrown toddlers at a playdate.Taken together, the installations reveal something larger than any single sculpture: the meme-fication of a President who is the butt of jokes which are now turning into a joke of butts. He is, depending on whom you ask, either a misunderstood genius of branding or a walking meme template with a spray tan. His critics see him as the ultimate satirical muse—a man whose real-life pronouncements often sound like parody, requiring artists only to nudge reality a few inches further into absurdity.Indeed, the internet has embraced this ethos with gusto. Trump appears daily as everything from a Roman emperor to a fast-food mascot to a sentient gold-plated bathroom fixture. The potty installation also includes rolls of toilet paper branded with Secret Handshake’s name—because in modern political discourse, even the punchlines come with merch.Reactions to the artworks have been predictably polarized. Both Trump critics and his supporters snap selfies on it for different reasons. Critics applaud the installations as sharp political commentary and a triumph of free expression. Supporters meanwhile assert that he triggers the libs so hard they spend millions on golden toilets just to own him. Devoted to his bottom.line, some are even selling bootleg T-shirts featuring the toilet with the slogan “Even His Crap Is Classy.”

The Indian-flagged LPG tanker Pine Gas had to wait nearly three weeks before it could safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran began allowing ships through the narrow waterway only selectively. The vessel had loaded cargo at the United Arab Emirates’ Ruwais port on February 28, a day before attacks on Iran by Israel and the United States. It was expected to reach India within a week, but the journey took much longer.Chief Officer Sohan Lal said the ship’s 27 Indian crew had seen missiles and drones flying overhead every day while waiting. In a video reviewed, at least five projectiles could be seen streaking through the night sky above the vessel.Indian officials had asked the crew to be on standby to set sail around March 11. However, with the conflict escalating, the ship was only cleared to move on March 23, but not through the normal Hormuz shipping lanes.Instead, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) instructed the tanker to navigate a narrow channel north of Larak Island off Iran’s coast.“They needed a yes or a no from all crew,” Lal said. “Everyone onboard agreed.” He added that the Larak route, not generally used by shipping, was recommended by the IRGC as the regular passage through Hormuz was mined.Lal said the Indian Navy guided the ship during the transit, and four Indian warships then escorted it for nearly 20 hours from the Gulf of Oman to the Arabian Sea. He added that they did not pay a fee for the passage and that the IRGC did not board the vessel at any time.The Indian Navy confirmed it was escorting Indian-flagged ships after they crossed the strait. The foreign ministry said this month that the Indian Navy has been present in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea for years to secure sea lanes for Indian and other ships.India relies heavily on seaborne imports of liquefied petroleum gas, with hundreds of millions of households using it for cooking. The Pine Gas, carrying 45,000 metric tons of LPG, was originally scheduled to unload at the west coast port of Mangalore, but Indian authorities directed it to discharge equal volumes at the eastern ports of Visakhapatnam and Haldia.Iran has said it has permitted “friendly nations” including China, Russia, India, Iraq and Pakistan passage through the Strait of Hormuz. While six Indian ships have exited the strait, 18 Indian-flagged vessels carrying around 485 Indian seafarers remain in the Persian Gulf.

NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the BJP, accusing it of attempting to manipulate West Bengal’s electoral roll ahead of the 2026 assembly polls.Addressing a rally in Balurghat in support of TMC candidate Arpita Ghosh, Banerjee alleged a “conspiracy to change Bengal’s demography”, claiming that voters from BJP-ruled states were being brought into the state. “Efforts are being made to ensure that the people of Bengal cannot exercise their democratic rights. Voters are being brought into different parts of Bengal from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh,” he said, adding that he had lodged a complaint with the Election Commission.The TMC national general secretary also turned his fire on the BJP’s governance record in Balurghat, represented by a BJP MP and MLA for over five years. Without naming Union minister Sukanta Majumdar, he challenged the party to present a “report card”. “No one has experienced the so-called double-engine government more than the people of Balurghat… yet they have not been able to bring even 10 paise of additional funds or development,” he said.Banerjee contrasted this with the state government’s welfare schemes, pointing to initiatives such as Lakshmir Bhandar, Pathashree and Yuva Sathi. He claimed that benefits under these schemes had reached people directly, adding that funds under Yuva Sathi were transferred within 15 days of announcement. Taking aim at BJP promises to expand financial assistance schemes, he said, “I challenge them to first implement such a scheme in any BJP-ruled state… if they can do that, I will stop campaigning for the TMC.”The attack was echoed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who alleged that the BJP was attempting to include “illegal voters” from states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana in Bengal’s electoral rolls. She claimed that thousands of applications had been submitted in a single day and accused the party of using similar tactics elsewhere.Mamata Banerjee also accused the BJP of colluding with the Election Commission and deleting names of genuine voters, particularly women and minorities, during the revision process. She described the exercise as “illegal, unconstitutional and fundamentally undemocratic”, warning that people would resist any attempt to “squeeze in illegal voters”.