Skip to content
Search
Please enter at least 3 characters.

Latest Stories

Indian politician toilet video goes viral

AN Indian ruling party politician has been left red-faced after a video of him urinating in public went viral on World Toilet Day, despite government efforts to stop people relieving themselves in the open.

Ram Shinde, a minister for water conservation in the western state of Maharashtra, was filmed answering the call of nature in a field by the side of a road Saturday.


The clip spread online the following day. November 19 marks the United Nations' official World Toilet Day, which aims to raise awareness about the health risks caused by a lack of lavatories.

Shinde, a member of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, defended his actions with an excuse familiar to many, effectively saying: "When you've got to go, you've got to go".

"I have been travelling continuously for the last one month reviewing the Jalyukta Shivar scheme," he told an international news source, referring to drought-prone Maharashtra's water conservation programme.

"Continuous travelling in high temperatures and dust made me ill. I was suffering from fever and when I couldn't find a toilet while travelling, I had to relieve myself in the open."

India is notorious for its lack of toilets. Some 70 percent of Indian households do not have them while around 600 million people, nearly half the population, defecate in the open, according to UNICEF.

Three years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to build toilets for everyone by 2019.

The government has so far helped install more than 50 million lavatories across the country of 1.25 billion people and has been encouraging citizens to break old habits and use them.

International news outlets said the incident occurred on a stretch of road between the cities of Barshi and Solapur in the south west of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the state capital.

(AFP)

More For You

Starmer scraps NHS England to cut costs and improve care

Keir Starmer speaks with medical staff during a visit to the Elective Orthopaedic Centre at Epsom Hospital in Epsom, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Starmer scraps NHS England to cut costs and improve care


HUNDREDS of millions of pounds could be saved and patient waiting lists reduced as prime minister Keir Starmer announced plans to abolish NHS England, the body overseeing the state-funded health system.

In a speech delivered in Hull, Starmer explained his decision to streamline the National Health Service's management structure: "I can't, in all honesty, explain to the British people why they should spend their money on two layers of bureaucracy."

Keep ReadingShow less
Early risers in the UK witness stunning Blood Moon eclipse

The lunar eclipse of Friday may not have been as dramatic as the total eclipses seen in other parts of the world

iStock

Early risers in the UK witness stunning Blood Moon eclipse

In the early hours of Friday morning, stargazers across the UK were treated to a partial lunar eclipse, with many enthusiasts rising before dawn to catch a glimpse. The celestial event, which saw the Earth's shadow partially covering the Moon, began at 05:09 GMT. Although only partial for most UK observers, it still presented a spectacular sight, with western parts of the country and regions further afield, such as the Americas and some Pacific islands, witnessing the eclipse.

For some, like Kathleen Maitland, the experience was magical. Stargazing from Pagham Harbour in West Sussex, she described the beauty of watching the Moon gradually darken and transform into a reddish hue, with the sunrise unfolding behind her. The eclipse gave rise to the so-called "blood Moon," a phenomenon that occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth’s shadow, turning a dusky red as sunlight is refracted through the Earth's atmosphere.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sangam Foundation celebrates Women's Day

From L- Reetu Kabra, Maya Sondhi, Shobu Kapoor and Meera Syal during Sangam Foundation's Women's Day celebrations.

Sangam Foundation celebrates Women's Day

HUNDREDS of women gathered for the International Women's Day celebrations of Sangam Foundation last week. Prominent actresses Meera Syal, Shobhu Kapoor and Maya Sondhi have attended the event, a statement said.

The British Asian celebrities shared their experiences of breaking into an industry rife with misogyny and prejudice. The industry veterans also talked about challenges they faced in a male-dominated field.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asian tycoon Sudhir Choudhrie  backs Liberal
Democrats with £23,000

Sudhir Choudhrie

Asian tycoon Sudhir Choudhrie  backs Liberal Democrats with £23,000

BUSINESSMAN Sudhir Choudhrie has emerged as one of the biggest British Asian donors to the Liberal Democrats in the last quarter of 2024, according to the latest data from the Electoral Commission.

Choudhrie, currently an advisor on India to the leader of the Liberal Democrats, contributed on six different occasions to the party between October and December 2024, totalling more than £23,000. He contributed in a similar fashion in the previous quarter as well.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sunak is ‘content in his MP role
and has no desire to move to US’

(From left) Rishi Sunak with wife Akshata Murty, and parents Usha and Yashvir Sunak

Sunak is ‘content in his MP role and has no desire to move to US’

RISHI SUNAK “loves being an MP” and has no intention of flying to California to begin a new life in America, as his enemies alleged during the general election campaign last year.

And, unlike Boris Johnson, he is not striving to be prime minister again, even though he is still only 44.

Keep ReadingShow less