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