Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Greta Thunberg joins London climate protest ahead of COP26

Greta Thunberg joins London climate protest ahead of COP26

TEENAGE climate activist Greta Thunberg attended a small protest in London on Friday (29) against global banks' role in the fossil fuel industry, ahead of travelling to the upcoming COP26 summit in Scotland.

The 18-year-old environmental icon joined a few dozen young protesters demanding banks stop financing polluting projects, such as fossil fuel extraction, outside the headquarters of Standard Chartered bank.


After being thronged by the hordes of waiting cameras, she briefly rallied with other young activists at the site in London's financial district before leaving without making a speech.

The group posed for picture behind a banner reading "defund climate chaos! Stop funding our destruction!" while others held aloft placards with similar slogans.

"Today we're outside @StanChart asking them to stop funding our destruction," Thunberg tweeted soon after.

"Banks still pour fantasy amounts into fossil fuels, destabilising the planet and putting many people's lives at risk."

The demonstrators had earlier protested at several other sites in London finance hub and held a vigil later Friday outside the Bank of England.

"We've come here today as a part of this week of action because... the UK and corporations in the UK have been funding climate chaos and the destruction of our islands for decades," said Joseph Sikuli, an activist from Tonga in the South Pacific.

Organisers say similar protests are being held in 26 countries worldwide ahead of COP26.

The 12-day gathering of world leaders and environmental policy delegates kicks off Sunday (31) in the Scottish city Glasgow.

Thunberg, whose Fridays For Future movement has inspired massive street protests around the world since 2018, has confirmed she plans to join a November 5 march for "climate justice" there.

Earlier this month, she voiced concern the summit would not achieve the landmark agreements needed to combat catastrophic climate change.

"As it is now, this COP will not lead to any big changes, we're going to have to continue pushing," she said on the sidelines of a climate concert organised in Stockholm.

(AFP)

More For You

Liz Kendall

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall will outline welfare reforms in a green paper next week, followed by chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement on 26 March.

Ministers may drop plan to freeze disability benefits: Report

MINISTERS are considering dropping plans to freeze Personal Independence Payments (PIP) for a year, according to a report.

Initial proposals suggested PIP would not rise in line with inflation, but strong opposition from Labour MPs has prompted a review.

Keep ReadingShow less
BBC settles age and sex discrimination case
BBC headquarters in Central London.
Getty Images

BBC settles age and sex discrimination case

THE BBC on Friday (14) said it had settled a case with four female journalists who claimed they lost their jobs because of their sex and age.

Martine Croxall, Annita McVeigh, Karin Giannone and Kasia Madera, who have all presented on the BBC's television channels, claimed they lost their jobs following a "rigged" recruitment exercise.

Keep ReadingShow less
Indian student in US self-deports after visa revocation

In this screenshot from a video posted by @Sec_Noem via X on March 14, 2025, Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen who participated in pro-Palestinian protests at United State’s Columbia University, leaves the country after her visa was revoked by the Department of State. (@Sec_Noem via PTI Photo)

Indian student in US self-deports after visa revocation

AN INDIAN student at Columbia University, whose visa was revoked for allegedly supporting Hamas, has self-deported, says the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen, came to the US on an F-1 student visa as a doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia University, and her visa was revoked on March 5.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Companies with diverse leadership are better positioned for growth'

From LtoR- Lord Karan Bilimoria, Sir Trevor Phillips, Seema Malhotra MP, David Tyler and Nathan Coe

'Companies with diverse leadership are better positioned for growth'

COMPANIES with diverse leadership are better positioned for sustainable growth, improved decision-making, and will connect better with multicultural markets, equalities minister Seema Malhotra has said.

She added that the government will soon launch a public consultation on their approach to mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting.

Keep ReadingShow less
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with  Wang Yi (right)

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with Wang Yi (right)

S Jaishankar: ‘Delhi’s global interests shape its regional ties'

INDIA today sees itself as a global power or, at least, a country with global interests, which is why Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has spoken of its equation with Russia, China and notably the Middle East.

India’s external affairs minister was in conversation last Wednesday (5) in London with Bronwen Maddox, director of the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House.

Keep ReadingShow less