Page 14 - Rishi Sunak

Boris ally quits UK govt, accuses Sunak of apathy toward climate issues

A British environment minister who is close to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson quit on Friday, accusing the current government of apathy toward climate issues. Zac Goldsmith said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was simply uninterested in the environment. This government's apathy in the face of the greatest challenge we have faced makes continuing in my current role untenable, he wrote in a resignation letter released on social media. He said Britain has visibly stepped off the world stage and withdrawn our leadership on climate and nature. Goldsmith, Sunak and Johnson are all members of the governing Conservative Party. Goldsmith, 48, is a long-time conservationist who was appointed to Parliament's unelected House of Lords by Johnson before Johnson resigned almost a year ago amid ethics scandals. Goldsmith's resignation comes the day after he was among eight allies of the former prime minister criticised by lawmakers for trying to undermine a committee investigating whether Johnso

UK PM Sunak honours Sikh World War II veteran with Points of Light award

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has honoured Rajindar Singh Dhatt, one of the last surviving Sikh soldiers who fought in the Second World War with a Points of Light honour at a UK-India Week reception at 10 Downing Street. Dhatt, 101, was recognised on Wednesday for his service and his work running the "Undivided Indian Ex-Servicemen's Association" to help bring together British Indian war veterans. Dhatt, based in Hounslow in southwest London since 1963, was born in pre-Partition India in 1921 and fought with the Allied forces during the British colonial period. It is an immense honour to receive this recognition from the Prime Minister, to whom I would like to extend my deepest appreciation for acknowledging the importance and impact of the 'Undivided Indian Ex-Servicemen's Association'," said Dhatt. The journey of establishing this organisation was driven by a deep sense of duty as an ex-serviceman and the vision of fostering unity, support, and camaraderie. This award serves

Want to strike truly ambitious trade deal with India: UK PM Rishi Sunak

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday evening reiterated his commitment to a truly ambitious free trade agreement (FTA) with India as he hosted a special reception to celebrate India Global Forum's UK-India Week 2023 in the garden of 10 Downing Street here. The 43-year-old British Indian leader interacted with business leaders and celebrities, including boxing champion Mary Kom, musicians Shankar Mahadevan and Zakir Hussain, and Bollywood actor Sonam Kapoor, as part of what he dubbed as the start of an Indian summer for the UK. Prime Minister (Narendra) Modiji and I agree there's huge potential here. We're making great progress together on the 2030 roadmap and we want to strike a truly ambitious trade deal that benefits both our nations, bringing tremendous opportunities to businesses and consumers, both in India and here at home, said Sunak, who was joined at the garden party by wife Akshata Murty and mother-in-law Sudha Murty. It's not just UK-India Week, but a whole ...

Rishi Sunak lands in the eye of the storm due to his pen; here's why

Rishi Sunak's office maintains that the PM has never used the pen's erasing feature and will never do so

British PM Sunak's ex-deputy Raab calls for UK to up its game on India ties

One of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's close allies and former deputy prime minister, Dominic Raab, on Saturday called on the British Indian leader to up the government's game to reap the full dividends of a closer partnership with India. Dominic Raab, who led Sunak's leadership campaign and served as his Foreign Secretary before being forced to resign amid bullying allegations, wrote in The Daily Telegraph' that more can be achieved within the bilateral relationship with the UK's first Prime Minister of Indian heritage now in charge at Downing Street. He pointed to India's particular comparative advantage in tech against the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high-profile visit to the US this week during which mega deals were struck. With the UK's historic ties to India, and our first UK Prime Minister of Indian heritage, are we doing enough to maximise the rewards from this critical relationship, questions Raab. With Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister, Britain remains ...

UK will be 'OK': Sunak as rate hike exposes Conservative party's tensions

Sunak has repeatedly said voters should judge him on bringing inflation down - a pledge which sits awkwardly with his team's implied criticism of the Bank of England

Rishi Sunak hails IndiGo-Airbus pact as major win for UK aerospace sector

IndiGo and Airbus announced a purchase agreement earlier this week for 500 A320 family aircraft, making it one of the largest aircraft purchases by an airline in civil aviation history

Suella Braverman ramps up stop & search to crack down on knife crime in UK

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Monday gave her full support to police to ramp up the use of stop and search powers to crack down on knife crime and prevent attacks in the country. The intervention comes days after three separate incidents of knife attacks in England, which claimed the lives of three people of Indian heritage. A knife attack in north London ended in the fatal stabbing of 27-year-old student Tejaswini Kontham from Hyderabad last Tuesday, the same day as another fatal stabbing in Nottingham of British Indian teenager Grace O'Malley Kumar. On Friday, 38-year-old Aravind Sivakumar from Kerala was found stabbed to death outside an apartment in south London. Suspects in all three knife crime cases are currently in custody and charged with murder. "Carrying weapons is a scourge on our society. And anyone doing so is risking their own lives as well as the lives of those around them. This dangerous culture must be brought to a stop, said Braverman in a statement. My

UK PM Rishi Sunak joins raid on illegal migrants, over 100 arrested

UK PM Rishi Sunak joined the officials in the raid which ended with the arrest of over 100 illegal immigrants from 20 different nations, according to the statement released by the UK government

We need global cooperation on AI, global AI safety summit soon: Rishi Sunak

Artificial intelligence (AI) doesn't respect traditional national borders so we urgently need global cooperation between nations and labs, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday

Biden, Sunak hold White House talks on challenges to Ukraine, world economy

President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak launched wide-ranging talks at the White House on Thursday by vowing that they would work in lockstep as the globe tries to adapt to a period of rapid economic, political and technological change. The leaders' Oval Office talks were expected to cover the war in Ukraine, China, economic security, international cooperation on regulating the growing field of artificial intelligence, and more. Biden and Sunak have already had four face-to-face meetings since Sunak became prime minister in October, but the talks in Washington will offer the two leaders a chance for their most sustained interaction to date. We will put our values front and center," Biden said. Sunak reflected on the significant conversations that their respective predecessors have had over the years in the Oval Office and acknowledged that both he and Biden were facing their own daunting moment. The visit to Washington is Sunak's first since becoming Britain's pri

UK to lead way on AI safety with first global summit: PM Rishi Sunak

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is on a visit to the US, on Thursday announced plans for a first-ever global summit on artificial intelligence (AI) later this year, bringing together key countries, leading tech companies and researchers to agree on safety measures to evaluate and monitor AI's most significant risks. While participating countries have not been confirmed by Downing Street at this stage, India is likely to be among the countries as Sunak stressed the importance of like-minded allies and companies working together to develop an international framework to ensure the safe and reliable development and use of AI. The summit, which will be hosted in the UK this autumn, will consider the risks of AI, including frontier systems, and discuss how they can be mitigated through internationally coordinated action. It will also provide a platform for countries to work together on further developing a shared approach to mitigate these risks. AI has an incredible potential to

Biden, Sunak to focus on Ukraine, economic security UK PM's first WH visit

President Joe Biden is welcoming Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for wide-ranging talks on Thursday as the British leader makes his first White House visit as premier. The leaders' Oval Office talks are expected to cover the war in Ukraine, China, economic security, international cooperation on regulating the growing field of artificial intelligence, and more. Biden and Sunak have already had four face-to-face meetings since Sunak became prime minister in October, but the talks in Washington will offer the two leaders a chance for their most sustained interaction to date. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the 15-month-old Russian invasion of Ukraine will be top of mind. The US and UK are the two biggest donors to the Ukraine war effort and play a central role in a long-term effort announced last month to train, and eventually equip, Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets. Rishi also is looking to make the case to Biden for UK Defence Minister Ben Wallace to succeed ...

Sunak lands in Washington, will talk Ukraine, economy and AI with Biden

But he's also pragmatic, and has restored stability to Britain's government after the turbulent terms of predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss

UK PM Sunak unveils anti-obesity drug pilot to support health service

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday unveiled a two-year pilot scheme to reduce pressures on the state-funded National Health Service (NHS) which will see general practitioners (GPs) prescribe game-changer anti-obesity drugs to patients with at least one weight-related health condition. The British Indian leader, whose father Yashvir is a retired GP, said obesity puts additional pressure on the NHS and helping people lose weight would help cut waiting lists for access to procedures in the health service. Under the GBP 40-million two-year pilot scheme, the NHS will explore how approved drugs can be made safely available to more people by expanding specialist weight management services outside of hospital settings. Obesity puts huge pressure on the NHS, said Sunak. Using the latest drugs to support people to lose weight will be a game-changer by helping to tackle dangerous obesity-related health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer -- reducing pressu

British PM Rishi Sunak confirms plans to house illegal migrants on ships

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday claimed that his plan to "stop the boats" of illegal migrants coming to UK shores is working as he announced plans to house them on ships to reduce pressure on taxpayer-funded hotels. Addressing a press conference at the border town of Dover in Kent, Sunak said the first such ship will be ready later this month and two others to accommodate a further 1,000 migrants soon after. He pointed out that important legislation, referred to as the Illegal Migration Bill or Stop the Boats Bill, has cleared the House of Commons and will give his government the right to detain and deport migrants who enter the country illegally. "I promised we would get illegal migrants out of hotels and into alternative sites, including military facilities," said Sunak. "To reduce pressures on local communities, we'll also house people on ships. The first will arrive in Portland in the next fortnight. And we've secured another two today that will accommodate anothe

Biden set for critical talks on Ukraine this week with Frederiksen, Sunak

President Joe Biden is welcoming Denmark and Britain's prime ministers this week to Washington for talks that will focus heavily on what lays ahead in the war in Ukraine -including the recently-launched effort to train, and eventually equip, Ukraine with American-made F-16s fighter jets Britain and Denmark are playing a pivotal role in the nascent joint international plan that Biden recently endorsed after months of resisting calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for US aircraft Biden's separate meetings with the leaders of two key NATO allies - he'll huddle with Denmark's Mette Frederiksen on Monday and the UK's Rishi Sunak on Thursday - come at a crucial period in the 15-month war as Ukraine readies to launch a counteroffensive. It's also a moment when the U.S. and Europe are looking to demonstrate to Moscow that the Western-alliance remains strong and focused on cementing a longer-term commitment to Ukraine with no end to the conflict in sight. One of the things we'l

UK PM Rishi Sunak planning London-based global AI watchdog: Report

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is considering a London-based global artificial intelligence (AI) watchdog to oversee any threats posed by the fast-growing technology, according to a UK media report on Saturday. Sunak will discuss ways to cooperate on monitoring AI when he meets US President Joe Biden at the White House next week, according to The Times'. Among the ideas under consideration in Downing Street is setting up a global AI authority in London, modelled on the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA, founded in 1957 with 176 countries including India as members, monitors the use of nuclear energy, promotes safe standards, and checks that it is not used for military purposes. A British minister told the newspaper that the UK would be the best place in the world for any new body because many leading companies already have a strong presence here. Though plans are at an early stage, if Sunak pushes ahead, the UK government could seek to recruit ..

Changes in visa rules won't impact undergrad students, says UK minister

His comment comes days after UK Home Secretary, Suella Braverman recently announced changes to the existing visa rules, which included disallowing students from bringing dependants into the country

'Shocked' UK PM Rishi Sunak clamps down on free vapes for children

"My daughters are 10 and 12, and I don't want the way vapes are marketed, promoted and sold to be attractive to them," British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday as he launched a crackdown to protect children from "rogue companies and online crooks". Announcing the new set of measures aimed at curbing under-age vaping, Sunak said expressed his shock at reports of illicit vapes containing lead getting into the hands of schoolchildren. Taking to Twitter, the father of schoolgirls Anoushka and Krishna said: My daughters are 10 and 12, and I don't want the way vapes are marketed, promoted and sold to be attractive to them." That's why I am launching a new crackdown today to protect children and go after the rogue companies and online crooks who are putting vapes into their hands, he said. A loophole that allows retailers to give free samples of vapes to children in England is set to be closed under the new plans. While selling vapes to under 18s is illegal in the country, ...