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Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has joined an environmental protest outside a London hotel where oil executives are meeting.

The 20-year-old was among protesters disrupting a major annual meeting of industry leaders from Shell, Total, Equinor, Saudi Aramco and other oil giants.

Activists from Fossil Free London scale the front of the InterContinental in central London, to unfurl a banner as they demonstrate ahead of the Energy Intelligence Forum, a gathering between Shell, Total, Equinor, Saudi Aramco, and other oil giants. Picture date: Tuesday October 17, 2023.
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Activists from Fossil Free London scaled the front of the InterContinental…

Climate activists attach a banner on the outside of the InterContinental London Hotel, where the Energy Intelligence Forum is taking place, as climate activists attend an Oily Money Out and Fossil Free London protest in London, Britain, October 17, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville
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and unfurled a banner

Organised by the group Fossil Free London, protesters attempted to block access to the three-day Energy Intelligence Forum at the InterContinental Hotel on Park Lane, which got under way on Tuesday.

Speakers at the conference include the chief executives of Saudi Arabia’s Aramco and Norway’s Equinor, the German ambassador to the UK and Graham Stuart, UK energy security and net zero minister.

Mr Stuart has previously said allowing oil and gas companies to continue drilling the North Sea for resources is necessary for energy security.

But Ms Thunberg told reporters: “The world is drowning in fossil fuels. Our hopes and dreams and lives are being washed away by a flood of greenwashing and lies.

“It has been clear for decades that the fossil fuel industries were well aware of the consequences of their business models, and yet, they have done nothing.

“The opposite – they have actively delayed, distracted and denied the causes of the climate crisis and spread doubts about their own engagement in it.”

Protesters gathered with banners and shouted “oily money out” and “cancel the conference”, while others lit yellow and pink smoke flares.

Activists from Fossil Free London outside the InterContinental in central London, demonstrate ahead of the Energy Intelligence Forum, a gathering between Shell, Total, Equinor, Saudi Aramco, and other oil giants
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Activists from Fossil Free London outside the InterContinental hotel in central London

Activists from Fossil Free London outside the InterContinental in central London, demonstrate ahead of the Energy Intelligence Forum, a gathering between Shell, Total, Equinor, Saudi Aramco, and other oil giants
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The protest took place at the start of a three-day Energy Intelligence Forum attended by executives from Shell, Total, Equinor, Saudi Aramco, and other oil giants

Greta Thunberg joins protesters from Fossil Free London outside the InterContinental in central London, to demonstrate ahead of the Energy Intelligence Forum, a gathering between Shell, Total, Equinor, Saudi Aramco, and other oil giants
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Ms Thunberg accused oil executives of doing nothing to tackle the climate crisis

Read more:
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‘World’s thermometer’ sends back first pictures of Earth’s hotspots

A white fence surrounded the hotel entrance, keeping protesters out while police smuggled conference attendees through the crowd of chanting activists and a samba band.

Ms Thunberg added: “We cannot let this continue. The elite of the oil and money conference, they have no intention of transition.

“Their plan is to continue this destructive search of profits. That is why we have to take direct action to stop this and to kick oil money out of politics.

“We have no other option but to put our bodies outside this conference and to physically disrupt. And we have to do that every time, we have to continue showing them that they are not going to get away with this.”

Five people were arrested on suspicion of obstructing a highway and taken into custody, the Metropolitan Police said.

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Last month, the controversial Rosebank offshore development was approved by regulators despite warnings about the climate damage of new fossil fuel projects.

Located 80 miles west of Shetland, it is the UK’s largest untapped oil and gas field.

The UK government says more oil will add to energy security, though the majority is expected to be sold to Europe and then reimported as refined products.

Lauren McDonald, a campaigner against Rosebank, said: “The only reason that they continue to pursue this is for profit. There is no justification for this.”

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Hashem Abedi: Manchester Arena bomb plotter charged with three counts of attempted murder

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Hashem Abedi: Manchester Arena bomb plotter charged with three counts of attempted murder

Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi has been charged with three counts of attempted murder.

It comes after four prison officers were injured in an attack at the maximum security prison HMP Frankland in Co Durham on 12 April.

Abedi has also been charged with one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of unauthorised possession of a knife or offensive weapon.

Counter Terrorism Policing North East has said it carried out a “thorough investigation” of the incident with Durham Constabulary and HMP Frankland.

He remains in prison and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 18 September.

Three prison officers were taken to hospital with serious injuries following the incident.

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Three teenagers charged with murder after death of man, 49, in Kent

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Three teenagers charged with murder after death of man, 49, in Kent

Three teenagers have been charged with the murder of a man in Kent.

Kent Police were called to an incident in Leysdown-on-Sea, on the Isle of Sheppey, shortly after 7pm on Sunday.

Alexander Cashford, 49, from Kent, was found dead at the scene, having suffered multiple injuries.

He was allegedly assaulted following a “disturbance involving a small group of people”, according to police.

Police at the scene in the Leysdown-on-Sea resort on the Isle of Sheppey. Pic: PA
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Police at the scene in the Leysdown-on-Sea resort on the Isle of Sheppey. Pic: PA

A 16-year-old girl and two boys, aged 14 and 15, were arrested and taken into custody shortly after.

The three suspects, who were all from London, were charged with murder by joint venture on Tuesday.

They are due to appear before Medway Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday. The teenagers cannot be named for legal reasons.

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Police officers carry out searches near the scene where Mr Cashford was found dead. Pic: PA
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Police officers carry out searches near the scene where Mr Cashford was found dead. Pic: PA

A 12-year-old girl was arrested on Tuesday in Basildon, Essex, in connection with the incident.

She remains in custody while enquiries continue.

Read more from Sky News:
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Backlash over police vans with facial recognition

Kent Police are appealing for witnesses who have not yet spoken to detectives to contact the force.

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‘Disturbing’ rise in abusive teen relationships – as experts warn of signs to look out for

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'Disturbing' rise in abusive teen relationships - as experts warn of signs to look out for

Marnie’s first serious relationship came when she was 16-years-old.

Warning: This article contains references to strangulation, coercive control and domestic abuse.

She was naturally excited when a former friend became her first boyfriend.

But after a whirlwind few months, everything changed with a slow, determined peeling away of her personality.

“There was isolation, then it was the phone checking,” says Marnie.

As a survivor of abuse, we are not using her real name.

“When I would go out with my friends or do something, I’d get constant phone calls and messages,” she says.

“I wouldn’t be left alone to sort of enjoy my time with my friends. Sometimes he might turn up there, because I just wasn’t trusted to just go and even do something minor like get my nails done.”

The internet is said to be helping to fuel a rise in domestic abuse among teens. Pic: iStock
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The internet is said to be helping to fuel a rise in domestic abuse among teens. Pic: iStock

He eventually stopped her from seeing friends, shouted at her unnecessarily, and accused her of looking at other men when they would go out.

If she ever had any alone time, he would bombard her with calls and texts; she wasn’t allowed to do anything without him knowing where she was.

He monitored her phone constantly.

“Sometimes I didn’t even know someone had messaged me.

“My mum maybe messaged to ask me where I was. He would delete the message and put my phone away, so then I wouldn’t even have a clue my mum had tried to reach me.”

The toll of what Marnie experienced was only realised 10 years later when she sought help for frequent panic attacks.

She struggled to comprehend the damage her abuser had inflicted when she was diagnosed with PTSD.

This is what psychological abuse and coercive control looks like.

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‘His hands were on my throat – he didn’t stop’

Young women and girls in the UK are increasingly falling victim, with incidents of domestic abuse spiralling among under-25s.

Exclusive data shared with Sky News, gathered by domestic abuse charity Refuge, reveals a disturbing rise in incidents between April 2024 and March 2025.

Psychological abuse was the most commonly reported form of harm, affecting 73% of young women and girls.

Of those experiencing this form of manipulation, 49% said their perpetrator had threatened to harm them and a further 35% said their abuser had threatened to kill them.

Among the 62% of 16-25 year olds surveyed who had reported suffering from physical violence, half of them said they had been strangled or suffocated.

Earlier this year, Sky News reported that school children were asking for advice on strangulation, but Kate Lexen, director of services at charity Tender, says children as young as nine are asking about violent pornography and displaying misogynistic behaviour.

Kate Lexen, director of services at charity Tender
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Kate Lexen, director of services at charity Tender

“What we’re doing is preventing what those misogynistic behaviours can then escalate onto,” Ms Lexen says.

Tender has been running workshops and lessons on healthy relationships in primary and secondary schools and colleges for over 20 years.

Children as young as nine ‘talking about strangulation’

Speaking to Sky News, Ms Lexen says new topics are being brought up in sessions, which practitioners and teachers are adapting to.

“We’re finding those Year 5 and Year 6 students, so ages 9, 10 and 11, are talking about strangulation, they’re talking about attitudes that they’ve read online and starting to bring in some of those attitudes from some of those misogynistic influencers.

“There are ways that they’re talking about and to their female teachers.

“We’re finding that from talking to teachers as well that they are really struggling to work out how to broach these topics with the students that they are working with and how to make that a really safe space and open space to have those conversations in an age-appropriate way, which can be very challenging.”

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Hidden domestic abuse deaths

Charities like Tender exist to prevent domestic abuse and sexual violence.

Ms Lexen says without tackling misogynistic behaviours “early on with effective prevention education” then the repercussions, as the data for under 25s proves, will be “astronomical”.

At Refuge, it is already evident. Elaha Walizadeh, senior programme manager for children and young people, says the charity has seen a rise in referrals since last year.

Elaha Walizadeh, senior programme manager for children and young people at Refuge
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Elaha Walizadeh, senior programme manager for children and young people at Refuge

“We have also seen the dynamics of abuse changing,” she adds. “So with psychological abuse being reported, we’ve seen a rise in that and non-fatal strangulation cases, we’ve seen a rise in as well.

“Our frontline workers are telling us that the young people are telling them usually abuse starts from smaller signs. So things like coercive control, where the perpetrators are stopping them from seeing friends and family. It then builds.”

Misogyny to violent behaviour might seem like a leap.

But experts and survivors are testament to the fact that it is happening.

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