The Guardian

Dominic Grieve says people are ‘perfectly entitled’ to ask Richard Hermer for review of teenagers’ sentences Appeal judges would be unlikely to criticise the attorney general, Richard Hermer, if he asked them to review “unusual” non-custodial sentences handed to three teenage boys convicted of raping two girls, one of his predecessors has suggested. Dominic Grieve, who also served as home secreta…

Research shows cost of crime for each affected business was on average £83,000 in past year Nine in 10 retailers based in rural locations have been victims of crime in the past 12 months, according to research, underlining the widespread impact of the rise in shoplifting and theft even in more remote parts of the UK. Rural retailers include farm shops as well as stores selling machinery and other…

Danny Kruger says matter is ‘private’, after party leader claimed hack was behind Guardian story about £5m gift A senior Reform UK figure has refused to call on the party’s leader, Nigel Farage, to hand evidence to the UK’s security services to support his claim he was hacked by Russian agents. Farage has come under mounting pressure to substantiate the claim that a state-sponsored Russian hack w…

Exclusive: Cache of internal documents leaked to the Guardian and the ABC’s Four Corners show multinational has war-gamed ways to massively delay decarbonisation Read more from the BHP files investigation here Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The world’s biggest miner has halted or delayed projects to cut vast amounts of emissions and has quietly war-gamed options to p…

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 credits Read more from the BHP files investigation here Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast BHP has continued to spend hundreds of millions of dollars buying diesel trucks in the Pilbara despite internal documents suggesting …

Exclusive: Jimblebar processing facility would have produced higher quality iron ore sought by steelmakers around the world – themselves under pressure to curb pollution Read more from the BHP files investigation here Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast BHP quietly dumped plans for an iron ore processing facility that would have cut emissions drastically, despite internal…

Restore Britain, set up by the former Reform MP Rupert Lowe, appears to be taking some support from Nigel Farage Andy 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 mayo…

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 Putin Don’t already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up here Good 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? For…

Activists detained by Israel after attempting to deliver aid to Gaza as part of Global Sumud Flotilla arrive in Australia Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Australians returning home from detention in Israel say they were abused, tortured and demeaned while in custody and have asked to meet the prime minister, Anthony Albanese. Nine of the 11 Australians who joined more…

Double-sided page featuring a sketch and text sheds new light on the baroque master and his time living in Rome More 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…

US president says it’s a ‘solid 50/50’ on either making a ‘good’ deal with Iran or striking the country anew Donald Trump said he would meet today with American negotiators to review Iran’s latest proposal and decide by Sunday whether he will strike Iran “to kingdom come”. The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, also told reporters in India on Saturday that “there may be news later today” about I…

Ex-husband of Nicola Sturgeon admits reduced charges in court after deal with prosecutors Peter 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…

Rain overwhelms sewer system in parts of US city, while temperatures in France break May record New York City saw flash flooding on Wednesday, as large parts of Brooklyn and Queens received about 2in (50mm) of rainfall in as little as 20 minutes. Officials said the deluge caused water to flow into the sewer system at a rate of up to 6in an hour, quickly overwhelming an aged network that was desig…

Supporters of Reza Pahlavi, exiled son of the late shah, are clashing with those who oppose a return of monarchy Wearing a bucket hat, a blue Adidas hoodie and khaki shorts, Tony Mohraz, also known as 021kid, chest-bumps a friend in front of a memorial wall in Golders Green, in north London. Photographs can be seen behind him of those who were killed protesting against the Iranian regime. As a la…

As former Soviet Republic goes to the polls, it finds itself in a strategic tug of war between Russia, the US, Turkey, Europe and Azerbaijan To describe Yerevan, a charming city of liberal values encased in imposing Soviet architecture, as the centre of the world is a stretch, but Armenia’s claim that it can become the strategic crossroads of the landmass of Eurasia is becoming less and less fanc…