Fortescue ordered to pay Yindjibarndi traditional owners $150m in record native title payout

Mining company Fortescue has been ordered to pay $150m in compensation to traditional owners over cultural losses caused by the multibillion-dollar Solomon Hub iron ore mine – the largest compensation payout in native title history.The mine, which has extracted millions of tonnes of iron ore and generated an estimated $80bn in revenue for Fortescue since operations began in 2013, was approved by the Western Australian government without the consent of the Yindjibarndi traditional owners.The Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation (YNAC) launched the compensation claim in 2022 and sought $1.8bn, including $1bn for cultural damage, $678m for economic loss, $34.85m for the destruction of sites, and $112

Labour must offer more than ‘better managed decline’ on economy, MPs urge

An influential group of MPs has said Labour needs an urgent renewal of economic strategy to offer voters “more than better management of decline” before the next general election.With Keir Starmer fighting to ward off a leadership challenge, the leading backbenchers from the soft-left Tribune group published a series of essays calling for bolder action to salvage the party’s remaining time in power.In a foreword by the former cabinet minister Louise Haigh and Yuan Yang, a prominent figure from Labour’s 2024 intake, the MPs issued a thinly disguised attack on Starmer amid pressure on him to set out a timeline for his departure.“We do not present this as the final word. They are an invitation – to challenge assumptions, test ideas and help build a broader coalition for economic renewal

‘There’s too much risk’: Britons on changing holiday plans amid Iran war

The Middle East crisis, now in its 11th week, has resulted in higher fuel prices for drivers and prompted fears of jet fuel shortages, rising air fares and cancelled flights.Given the uncertain outlook, prospect of higher travel costs and potential disruption, we asked whether people had changed their holiday plans.Here are some of the responses.Raffaele Brancati, 77, who is retired and lives in Wiltshire, says he delayed making a holiday booking “because of Trump’s war with Iran”.He and his wife, Linda, 78, had planned to travel to Italy to visit relatives, or to Sicily, “in June, July, or September”, but have held off because of the geopolitical situation

Five former Carillion executives banned by accountancy regulator

Five former executives at the collapsed government contractor Carillion have been banned by the UK’s accountancy regulator, effectively ending the career of its former finance chief, after they “acted recklessly”.Before Carillion collapsed into compulsory liquidation in January 2018 – one of the biggest corporate failures in UK history – it was a large multinational construction and facilities management services company and employed 43,000 people around the world.Richard Adam, a former finance director at Carillion and Zafar Khan, his successor in that role and previously Carillion’s financial controller, have already been fined £232,830 and £138,960 respectively by the Financial Conduct Authority for misleading investors.The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said on Tuesday that Adam, 69, would be excluded from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales for 15 years, which amounts to a ban, and effectively spells the end of his career.The FRC also imposed a financial sanction of £222,019, reduced from £550,000, to take into account the FCA’s fine and a settlement discount

UK households cut back spending at fastest rate in 16 months, Barclays says

Households cut back on their spending in April at the fastest pace in 16 months, as the conflict in the Middle East provoked fears of another cost of living crisis, a report from one of the UK’s biggest banks has suggested.Barclays, which processes nearly 40% of the UK’s credit and debit card transactions, said its data showed there had been a 0.1% fall in card spending last month compared with a year earlier. This was the first year-on-year fall since November 2024.The bank, which analyses the hundreds of millions of transactions made on its debit and credit cards each month, said non-essential spending fell by 0

British Steel nationalisation: what went wrong, and what happens now?

Four queens – blast furnaces named after Anne, Bess (Elizabeth), Victoria and Mary – loom over the British Steel works at Scunthorpe. Within days the queens could be under public ownership, after Keir Starmer on Monday promised legislation to nationalise the plant.“Strong nations in a world like this need to make steel,” Starmer said on Monday in a speech. The prime minister was hoping decisive action would fend off challenges to his leadership.It comes 13 months after the government recalled parliament for a historic Saturday sitting to ram through legislation to take control of the steelworks

BuzzFeed sold to Byron Allen, who will take over as CEO in $120m deal

BuzzFeed, the digital media pioneer that was once valued as high as $1.7bn amid a private equity-funded wave of interest in websites that generated massive amounts of online traffic in the 2010s, has finally changed hands for $120m.On Monday, the company announced that a controlling stake in the company has been sold to media entrepreneur Byron Allen. Allen, who often makes large, sometimes unsolicited bids for media companies, is also an on-screen personality in addition to controlling his Allen Media Group conglomerate, which owns networks including The Weather Channel. Allen’s show, Comics Unleashed, will replace the Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS’s schedule starting later this month

British Steel: more questions than answers on the future | Nils Pratley

“One of the proudest things we have done in government,” said Keir Starmer in Monday’s big speech about the decision a year ago to recall parliament in order to take control of British Steel at Scunthorpe.It was an odd boast because last year’s action was merely an emergency exercise in saving the patient, as opposed to getting British Steel on its feet and out of the hospital. Taking control meant the Chinese owner, Jingye, could not turn off the two blast furnaces but meant the government was on the hook for operational losses, which will be £615m and counting by next month according to the National Audit Office (NAO).Full nationalisation is now on the cards, which will end the limbo-land state of ownership and give some comfort for 4,000 workers. But it is also the point at which the government will have to choose between its barely described “potential future options” for British Steel

UK government borrowing costs rise as Starmer ‘fails to reassure bond markets’ – as it happened

UK government borrowing costs are creeping a little higher after a morning of rising political jitters.The yield, or interest rate, on UK 30-year bonds is now up 8 basis points (0.08 of a percentage point) at 5.65%, up from 5.57% on Friday night

UK borrowing costs rise as Starmer speech fails to dispel investor ‘jitters’

The cost of government borrowing has crept higher as Keir Starmer’s crucial speech failed to dispel investor “jitters” in the bond markets over political instability combined with fears of rising inflation.The yield, effectively the interest rate, on the benchmark 10-year UK government bonds (known as gilts) rose eight basis points (or 0.08 of a percentage point) to 5% on Monday.The yield on 30-year gilts rose 9.3 basis points to 5

E.ON agrees to buy Ovo in deal to create UK’s biggest energy supplier

The German energy group E.ON has agreed to buy struggling UK rival Ovo in a deal that would create Britain’s biggest gas and electricity supplier by number of households served.The combined company will supply about 9.6 million customers, overtaking the market leader, Octopus, which serves almost 8m homes in the UK.The value of the deal was not disclosed, but reports have estimated it at £600m

Thinktank calls for ‘double lock’ England private rent cap to ease living costs

One of the thinktanks closest to the Labour government is urging ministers to introduce private sector rent controls in England, as the chancellor weighs up how to ease a surge in living costs caused by the Iran war.The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has published a paper calling for a rent “double lock”, which would link rent increases to either wages or inflation, depending on which was lower.While others on the left have previously called for rent controls, the IPPR’s extensive links inside government will increase pressure on ministers to include the idea in a cost of living package to be announced by Rachel Reeves later in May.The Guardian revealed last month that Reeves had been considering a one-year rent freeze to deal with a rise in inflation which economists say is now inevitable, but the idea was quickly dismissed by Downing Street.Maya Singer Hobbs, the author of the paper, said: “There are millions of people living with unaffordable housing costs, and if you want to bring those down quickly there are not many options

How to match wine with vegetables

At a recent tasting, I got chatting to a winemaker from Australia’s Clare Valley as I bravely made my way through his wares: a ripe, leathery shiraz and a deep, dark cabernet sauvignon that put me in mind of blackcurrant bushes. These were serious wines – and good value, too. A generation ago, such gutsy New World reds were all the rage, but now, lamented the winemaker, gen Z was more interested in lighter, cooler-climate wines, lower on the alcohol and brighter on the palate.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link

‘Restaurants won’t survive’: Michelin chef opens venues abroad to withstand UK taxes

A British Michelin-starred chef says he is opening restaurants abroad to subsidise his UK venues against a backdrop of high taxes and a struggling hospitality sector.Jason Atherton is now in Forte dei Marmi, on the Tuscan coast in Italy, where he is preparing his newest opening, Maria’s, which will be in the Principessa hotel. The Sheffield-born chef now has restaurants all over the world, including in Dubai and St Moritz.He said he was finding it easier to make a profit in countries with more forgiving policies towards restaurants, pubs and bars. “I am trying to sustain our business by opening abroad

Rachel Roddy’s recipe for spring chicken thighs with spring onions, mint and peas | A kitchen in Rome

The weather lately has been as temperamental as peas in pods. But peas are even harder to read than the sky: some pods contain sweet things no bigger than peppercorns, which explode when you bite them; the contents of others, however, are closer to small ball bearings, their size very likely a sign that all the natural sucrose has been metabolised and transformed to pea starch. The best thing for the tiny ones is to snack on them alongside a bit of cheese, whereas the path for big ones is the same as for dried peas, so pea and ham soup or a long-simmered puree.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link

Navel gazing: oranges, mandarins and persimmons top Australia’s best-value fruit and veg for May

“Sweet, low seed and great for snacking” imperial mandarins have just started their season, says Josh Flamminio, owner and buyer at Sydney’s Galluzzo Fruiterers. The tangy-sweet citrus is selling for between $2.99 and $3.99 a kilo in major supermarkets. At Galluzzo, Queensland-grown imperial mandarins are $3

How to save asparagus trimmings from the food-waste bin – recipe | Waste not

Asparagus butts are a particularly tricky byproduct to tame because they’re so fibrous. I usually cut them very finely (into 5mm-thick discs, or even thinner), then boil, puree and pass them through a sieve (as in my green goddess salad dressing and asparagus soup), but even then you’ll still end up with a fair bit of fibrous waste. Enter asparagus-butt butter: a recipe that defies all odds, making the impossible possible by transforming a tough offcut into an intense compound butter that’s perfect for grilling or frying asparagus spears themselves, or for eggs, bread, gnocchi or whatever you can think of. The short fibres brown and caramelise in the butter, and in the process become the highlight of the dish, rather than the problem.This transforms an unwanted byproduct into an intense expression of the plant’s flavour

Thoran and chaat: Romy Gill’s Indian-style asparagus recipes

Spring’s first asparagus always feels like a celebration, but there’s so much more to cooking those spears than just butter and lemon. Here, those tender stems combine with bold Indian flavours in two playful dishes. The thoran, inspired by Keralan home cooking, involves stir-frying asparagus with coconut, mustard seeds and curry leaves to create something warm and comforting (my friend Simi’s mum always used to drizzle it with a little lemon juice to give the flavours a lift). The chaat, meanwhile, tossed with tangy tamarind, yoghurt, spices, crunchy chickpeas and sweet pomegranate, is a delicious snack or side. Together, they show how versatile asparagus can be: easy to cook, vibrant and moreish even in unexpected culinary traditions

Australian supermarket sauerkraut taste test: one is ‘like eating the smell of McDonald’s pickle’

It’s ‘Gut Coachella’ for Nicholas Jordan and friends, who blind taste a line-up of 20 shredded and fermented cabbage productsIf you value our independent journalism, we hope you’ll consider supporting us todayGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailI cannot tell you how many times I’ve been introduced to a fatty, salty hunk of meat and thought, “my god, I’m going to need a pickle”. I feel the same eating cheese toasties or deli sandwiches with rich mayo-based sauces. Where is the pickle, hot sauce, citrus or ferment? Even the most savoury, juicy slab of umami is a bit much without acidity to balance it.What is the point of sauerkraut without acidity? It’s just wet, salty cabbage, and what is that for, other than deflating my spirits and inflating my gastrointestinal system? Sauerkraut should be sour; it’s the hallmark of the very thing that created it – fermentation.Why am I saying all this? After eight friends and I tasted 21 supermarket sauerkrauts, I was shocked to find some lacked not just acidity but any vigour at all

Fears for spears: how to cook asparagus without blanching | Kitchen aide

I always blanch asparagus, but how else can I cook it?Joe, via email“Blanching captures that green, verdant nature of asparagus so well, and saves its minerality, too,” agrees Bart Stratfold of Timberyard in Edinburgh, but when the season is going full tilt, it’s just common sense to expand our horizons. For Billy Stock, chef/owner of the Wellington in Margate, that means salads, especially with spears that are really fresh: “Use a peeler to shave thin strips off the raw asparagus, and use them in a delicious variation on salade Niçoise.”Another approach would be the grill, Stratfold says: “Coat the spears in rapeseed oil, then grill on an excruciatingly high heat for just a few seconds, until they develop some char.” After that, he rolls them in a tray of vinegar or preserves: “At the restaurant, that’s usually sweet pickled elderflower and elderflower vinegar.”Joe could even abandon the kitchen altogether

Georgina Hayden’s quick and easy recipe for spanakopita orzo | Quick and easy

For me, it isn’t really spring until the first May bank holiday; the days are longer, the flowers are out, and an abundance of green graces our shelves. This spanakopita orzo is a celebration of all things light, bright and spring. It’s a great weeknight dinner that will instantly transport you to Greece.This dish should be oozy, like a good risotto, so if your orzo absorbs all the stock, add a little more hot water to give it that requisite creamy finish.Prep 15 minCook 25 min Serves 425g butter 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and sliced2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced220g baby leaf spinach, chopped1

Spring soup and bean and cheese quesadillas: Thomasina Miers’ Mexican-inspired seasonal recipes

I have always loved the evident (though not proven) link between how foodie a country is and its love of soups. In Mexico, where nose-to-tail eating is a given, broths maintain a steadying presence in any self-respecting cantina, and soups are commonplace on most menus. We don’t eat a crazy amount of meat at home, but having homemade stock in the freezer is an ingenious fast track to flavour and goodness. Here, whether your stock is chicken or vegetable, homemade or shop-bought, the joy is in the gentle spicing, a scattering of herbs, zingy tomatillos and some lovely spring leaves.There are so many different herbs in Mexico that are impossible to find here, so I’ve used bundles of more common soft herbs to try to capture the lovely breadth of flavour in this soup

How to make the perfect Spanish broad bean stew – recipe | Felicity Cloake's How to make the perfect …

I always feel sorry for broad beans, the lumpy cousin perpetually overshadowed by the charms of slender, elegant asparagus and sweet, bouncy, little peas. They’re in season at roughly the same time, but asparagus in particular gets all the glory, perhaps because so many of us are scarred by childhood experiences of large, grey wrinkly beans served in a floury white sauce (my own parents are so averse to the things that I vividly remember the first time I came across them on a Sunday roast as a teenager and had to ask a friend what they were).The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more

‘We don’t want to make the same mistakes’: Jamie’s Italian reopens in London

Jamie Oliver’s head of restaurants is optimistic about new recipe of smaller site, slimmed-down menu and no burgersWhen Jamie’s Italian crashed and burned in 2019, with the company in £83m of debt and causing 1,000 job losses, no one imagined the celebrity chef would try again.But seven years later, Jamie Oliver has opened a flagship site under the same name in Leicester Square in central London, and believes he has a new recipe for success: a smaller restaurant with a slimmed-down menu, which features cheaper cuts of meat and no burgers.At its peak the chain, which opened in 2008, had 47 UK restaurants. Now it just has the one.Ed Loftus, the global director of Jamie Oliver Restaurants, has worked with Oliver for 20 years and is charged with making the reopening a success