List of All Articles with Tag 'o'

Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Claire Coutinho said she wanted to add a "light moment" in her speech as she referenced the 'meat tax' - which, in fact, doesn't exist. Coutinho sat down with journalist Sophy Ridge on Sky News' Politics Hub, where she was quizzed on a part of her Conservative Party conference speech "that really struck" Ridge. "'It's no wonder Labour seem so relaxed about taxing meat," Coutinho said in her speech. "Sir Keir Starmer doesn't eat it and Ed Miliband is clearly scarred by his encounter with the bacon sandwich". Ridge asked: "You didn't write that, did you?" "I did actually write that," Coutinho smirked. "I think it's good to have a light moment in your speech as well, but the point is actually very serious..." Ridge proceeded to continuously ask the Net Zero secretary about the non-existent meat tax. The clip was soon flooded to X/Twitter with many mocking Coutinho's remarks. "You can see the Tory media training so clearly (and other parties do the same thing)," one wrote. "If an interviewer catches on something that is awkward for you then deflect, pivot, digress, talk faster, do anything except acknowledge in any way (including allowing a pause) the lie that you've been caught on." "She repeatedly kept saying 'the point is…' before not making a single point," another noted, while a third joked: "Watching it on mute is also brilliant." Last month, in an interview with the BBC, Rishi Sunak was challenged over several measures he claimed he was scrapping, including the possibility of taxes on meat and compulsory car sharing, after his former environment minister Lord Goldsmith accused him of "pretending to halt frightening proposals that simply do not exist". The prime minister told Radio 4’s Today programme: "I reject that entirely." "These are all things that have been raised by very credible people about ways to meet our net zero obligations," he said, but was unable to provide evidence they were specifically recommended by anyone. He cited the Climate Change Committee as the source of general proposals to curb meat consumption, although it never recommended a so-called "meat tax". Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A U.S. federal appeals court has granted a conservative group's request to temporarily block a Black-owned venture capitalist firm from awarding grants exclusively to Black women entrepreneurs.

Police in eastern Pakistan have smashed an illegal organ harvesting ring, arresting eight people for surgically removing kidneys from hundreds of patients for wealthy people needing a transplant, authorities said Monday.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has suggested recent tweets by Elon Musk mocking Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky are “unhelpful”. The senior Cabinet minister made the comments at a Conservative Party conference fringe event in Manchester, hours after the billionaire entrepreneur used Twitter, now known as X, to take aim at Mr Zelensky’s repeated requests for Western support in the battle against Russia. Mr Shapps, an avid social media user himself, expressed reservations about the owner of X’s recent attitudes to the war. “I think it’s unhelpful, to be blunt,” he said. “I can’t speak for him or his motivations. He’s a free individual, we live in a free world. He can tweet or X what he likes.” “What Ukraine really needs is strong and steady friends who won’t waver,” he added. Mr Musk’s mockery has gone down badly in Ukraine, making it the latest controversial outburst by the high-profile businessman. Read More

(Reuters) -The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) sought bids from power producers on Monday to increase its operating reserves

China's military released an animation on Sunday depicting the journey to reunite two halves of a torn scroll across the Taiwan Strait, a thinly veiled reference to the country's longstanding goal of "reunification" with the democratic, self-ruled island.

The European Union (EU) promised Ukraine £4.3bn in military aid as part of its ongoing support in the war against Russia. The 27-nation bloc remained committed to help defeat a “brutal and inhumane” Moscow, said Josep Borrell, EU’s high representative for foreign affairs. It comes after the US Congress left Ukraine war aid out of its spending bill and a pro-Russian candidate won an election in Slovakia. Monday’s meeting in Kyiv was touted by Mr Borrell as a historic first for the EU but it comes at an awkward time for the Western countries backing Ukraine. With summer drawing to a close, Ukraine’s counteroffensive has failed to produce the victories that Kyiv’s allies had hoped to see before mud clogs the treads of donated tanks. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, quoted by his website, said he was sure "Ukraine and the entire free world are capable of winning this confrontation. But our victory depends directly on our cooperation with you". Mr Borrell told a news briefing with Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba that the EU remained united in its support for Ukraine. He had proposed an EU spending package for Kyiv of up to €5bn (£4.3bn) for 2024 which he hoped to have agreed by then. Mr Kuleba also brushed off concerns about faltering support on both sides of the Atlantic, amid the omission of Ukraine from the US spending bill. "We don’t feel that the US support has been shattered ... because the United States understands that what is at stake in Ukraine is much bigger than just Ukraine," he told reporters. Meanwhile, pro-Kyiv officials in the US are scrambling to find the best way to secure approval for further assistance on top of the $113bn (£93.6bn) in security, economic and humanitarian aid the US has provided since Russia invaded in February 2022. Leaders in the Senate, narrowly controlled by president Joe Biden’s fellow Democrats, promised to take up legislation in the coming weeks on continued support. But in the Republican-led House of Representatives, speaker Kevin McCarthy said he wanted more information from the Biden administration. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre urged Congress to act quickly. As for the election victory of pro-Russian Slovak former prime minister Robert Fico, Mr Kuleba said a new leader would still have to form a coalition and it was "too early to judge" the impact on politics there. German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock sought help to prepare Ukraine for winter, including air defence and energy supplies, after Russia bombed energy installations last year. "Last winter, we saw the brutal way in which the Russian president is waging this war," Ms Baerbock said. "We must prevent this together with everything we have, as far as possible." Moscow touted the congressional vote in the United States as a sign of increasing division in the West, although the Kremlin said it expected Washington to continue its support for Kyiv. The omission of aid for Ukraine was "temporary", Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. "But we have repeatedly said before that according to our forecasts fatigue from this conflict, fatigue from the completely absurd sponsorship of the Kyiv regime, will grow in various countries, including the United States," he said. Additional reporting from the wires Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin’s prized Black Sea fleet ‘struggling’ with threats on southern front Ukraine to build its first underground school in Kharkiv, official says Congress didn't include funds for Ukraine in its spending bill. How will that affect the war?

Killings by militant Islamists have intensified since the military seized power in July.

Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar is reportedly unharmed after the incident in Washington.

The president-elect of the Maldives says he's sticking to his campaign promise to remove Indian military personnel stationed in the archipelago state, promising he will initiate the process

The World Bank lowered its economic growth forecast for South Asia for next year, although still expects it

A critically endangered Sumatran rhinoceros calf has been born in a national park in Indonesia, the third successful pairing between a local female rhino named Ratu and Andalas, a former resident of Ohio's Cincinnati Zoo.