Australian flotilla activists arrive home alleging sexual assault and beatings in Israeli detention

Exclusive: Cache of internal documents leaked to the Guardian and the ABC’s Four Corners show multinational has war-gamed ways to massively delay decarbonisationRevealed: the internal BHP memo that slammed the brakes on world’s biggest miner’s climate pushRead more from the BHP files investigation hereGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe world’s biggest miner has halted or delayed projects to cut vast amounts of emissions and has quietly war-gamed options to push major climate investments in its Western Australian iron ore operations into the next two decades, internal documents show.An exclusive investigation based on documents leaked to the Guardian and the ABC’s Four Corners can reveal that BHP, one of Australia’s biggest historic emitters, has dumped plans for a facility that could have significantly reduced emissions and has put on ice renewable projects designed to power its iron ore operations in the vast, resource-rich Pilbara region. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Jimblebar processing facility would have produced higher quality iron ore sought by steelmakers around the world – themselves under pressure to curb pollutionRead more from the BHP files investigation hereGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastBHP quietly dumped plans for an iron ore processing facility that would have cut emissions drastically, despite internally rating it as having “excellent social value” and being “well-aligned” to its shareholder-endorsed climate plan and decarbonisation targets.In 2025 the mining giant was well advanced in its plans to build a beneficiation plant near its Jimblebar open-cut mine in the Pilbara, which would greatly improve the purity and quality of its iron ore. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Mining giant says technology is not yet advanced enough to run a fully electrified fleet but experts say it is hooked on federal fuel tax creditsRead more from the BHP files investigation hereGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastBHP has continued to spend hundreds of millions of dollars buying diesel trucks in the Pilbara despite internal documents suggesting it would increase emissions and be “misaligned” with its decarbonisation goals.The mining giant is Australia’s biggest consumer of diesel and trucks are its biggest single source of diesel emissions. Replacing the fleet with battery-electric trucks is considered a critical step in the multinational’s efforts to decarbonise. Continue reading...

US president says he is not rushing into a deal after proposed plan to end war prompts Republican backlash. Plus, mood in Russia turns against PutinGood morning.Donald Trump defended himself against criticism from fellow Republicans yesterday as he appeared on the verge of agreeing a deal with Iran to end the war.What has Iran said? Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei has been speaking at a news briefing about the contours of a potential deal with the US to end the war: “It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion. But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent – no one can make such a claim.”Why does he think voters are becoming disenfranchised? Massie pointed to several significant constituencies – including “Make America healthy again” campaigners, fiscal hawks pushing for sweeping government budget cuts, and voters who don’t want the US engaged in wars – who he claimed had been “alienated” by the administration’s actions. “And so, I’m worried that in November, this is going to cost the party a lot.” Continue reading...

Far-right party set up by former Reform MP appears to be taking some support from FarageAndy Burnham is unlikely to be Elon Musk’s first pick to be prime minister of the UK. But an intervention by the US tech billionaire on behalf of a far-right offshoot of Reform UK is one of several signs that a divided right wing could deliver the Makerfield seat to the Manchester mayor.On 18 June, Burnham will fight a byelection in Greater Manchester, and polls have him only slightly ahead of Reform’s candidate, Robert Kenyon, a plumber. But a far-right party set up by the former Reform MP Rupert Lowe looks as if it is taking some support from Reform. Continue reading...

Double-sided page featuring a sketch and text sheds new light on the baroque master and his time living in RomeMore than 400 years ago, the up and coming Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens toured the streets of Rome, notebook in hand, sketching images from Renaissance works adorning the city’s churches and palazzos.Now a rare sheet, thought to be from his Roman sketchbook, has gone on display in his home city of Antwerp, shedding new light on the baroque master. Continue reading...

Ex-husband of Nicola Sturgeon admits reduced charges in court after deal with prosecutorsPeter Murrell, the former chief executive of the Scottish National party, has pleaded guilty to charges of embezzling £400,310.65 from the party after agreeing a deal with prosecutors.Murrell, the ex-husband of the former SNP leader and first minister Nicola Sturgeon, appeared in the high court in Edinburgh after being charged last year with stealing from the SNP to fund an expensive lifestyle including a Jaguar car, a luxury motorhome, a luxury pen and shoes. Continue reading...

Bonus scheme that could hand CEO a £60m windfall is ‘significantly out of line’ with market, says proxy adviserInvestors in Metro Bank are being urged to vote against the lender’s pay report next month, in protest of a complex bonus scheme that shareholder advisers say is “significantly out of line” with market standards.Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), which issues voting advice to some of the world’s biggest investors, made the recommendation weeks ahead of the bank’s annual meeting on 2 June. Continue reading...

Monday predicted to be hottest May day on record by large margin, as UK braces for ‘super El Niño’ summerTemperatures are expected to hit 35C in parts of England on Monday, in an “unprecedented” May heatwave.The Met Office is already predicting that records will be broken. A spokesperson said: “Today will be the hottest day in May in the UK in our temperature records, with highs of 35C expected. The current May record is 32.8C. Records are usually only broken by tenths of a degree, making this heatwave unprecedented for the time of year.” Continue reading...

Dangers include unintended pregnancies, taking unnecessary medication and missed diagnoses, say expertsMisinformation about perimenopause is putting women at risk of unintended pregnancies, unnecessary medication and missed diagnoses, experts have said.Awareness of menopause and treatments such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been raised by efforts including a prominent documentary by Davina McCall. Continue reading...

Hitting government’s target of getting 80% of workers into jobs would reduce cost of universal credit by £10bnTackling the root causes of joblessness, instead of cutting benefits, is the best way to get the welfare bill down, and polling shows voters support that approach, according to research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.In a forthcoming report, JRF economists show that hitting the government’s target of getting 80% of the working age population into jobs would cut the cost of universal credit by £10bn – an eighth of the current bill. Continue reading...