Greenpeace protesters yesterday draped the private home of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in black fabric, stepping up their campaign against his government’s policy on drilling for oil.
A picture posted by Greenpeace UK on messaging platform X showed four protesters atop the property in northern England, covering it in swathes of black fabric, while two others held a banner that read: “RISHI SUNAK — OIL PROFITS OR OUR FUTURE?”
A source at Sunak’s office said police were in attendance.
Photo: AFP / Greenpeace / Luca Marino
“We make no apology for taking the right approach to ensure our energy security, using the resources we have here at home so we are never reliant on aggressors like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin for our energy,” the source said.
Sunak on Wednesday said that he was due to leave the UK for a holiday that evening.
Britain adopted the target of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 under former British prime minister Theresa May in 2019, and was quick to build up its renewable energy capacity.
However, campaigners have criticized the government’s record in recent years.
On Monday, the government committed to granting hundreds of licenses for North Sea oil and gas extraction as part of efforts to become more energy independent. In December last year it also approved its first new deep coal mine in decades.
Sunak on Wednesday defended his environmental record, saying the UK had done a better job than other major nations in cutting emissions.
Greenpeace said four activists climbed onto the roof of Sunak’s home in Yorkshire, England, to protest his backing for the expansion of North Sea oil and gas licenses.
“We desperately need our prime minister to be a climate leader, not a climate arsonist,” Greenpeace UK said in a statement.
A poll released on Wednesday showed that 67 percent of voters thought the government was handling environmental issues badly, the worst rating since mid-2019 when YouGov began tracking public opinion on the issue.
The Philippine Department of Justice yesterday labeled Vice President Sara Duterte the “mastermind” of a plot to assassinate the nation’s president, giving her five days to respond to a subpoena. Duterte is being asked to explain herself in the wake of a blistering weekend press conference where she said she had instructed that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr be killed should an alleged plot to kill her succeed. “The government is taking action to protect our duly elected president,” Philippine Undersecretary of Justice Jesse Andres said at yesterday’s press briefing. “The premeditated plot to assassinate the president as declared by the self-confessed mastermind
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
Ireland, the UK and France faced travel chaos on Saturday and one person died as a winter storm battered northwest Europe with strong winds, heavy rain, snow and ice. Hampshire Police in southern England said a man died after a tree fell onto a car on a major road near Winchester early in the day. Police in West Yorkshire said they were probing whether a second death from a traffic incident was linked to the storm. It is understood the road was not icy at the time of the incident. Storm Bert left at least 60,000 properties in Ireland without power, and closed
CONSPIRACIES: Kano suspended polio immunization in 2003 and 2004 following claims that polio vaccine was laced with substances that could render girls infertile Zuwaira Muhammad sat beside her emaciated 10-month-old twins on a clinic bed in northern Nigeria, caring for them as they battled malnutrition and malaria. She would have her babies vaccinated if they regain their strength, but for many in Kano — a hotbed of anti-vaccine sentiment — the choice is not an obvious one. The infants have been admitted to the 75-bed clinic in the Unguwa Uku neighbourhood, one of only two in the city of 4.5 million run by French aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Kano has the highest malaria burden in Nigeria, but the city has long
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