Oil prices fall below $100 a barrel on hopes of Iran peace deal
Posted on Monday May 25, 2026

Brent crude futures down 6% to lowest level in two weeks and stock markets rise

Oil prices fell below $100 a barrel on Monday and stock markets rose on hopes that the US and Iran are inching closer to a peace deal.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were down 6% to $97.43 a barrel, the lowest level in two weeks, with hopes that an agreement to end the near three-month US-Israeli war on Iran can be struck.

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Rise in shoplifting and theft in UK finds nine in 10 retailers in rural areas targeted
Posted on Monday May 25, 2026

Exclusive: 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 equipment. The financial cost of crime for each affected retailer was on average £83,000 during the past year, according to a survey carried out by the commercial insurer NFU Mutual. Meanwhile, one in 20 victims said crime had cost them more than half a million pounds.

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Labour needs ‘system reset’ to tackle youth unemployment, report to say
Posted on Monday May 25, 2026

Alan Milburn, who is leading review commissioned by government, says current strategy ‘going in wrong direction’

Labour has failed to tackle soaring youth unemployment and must launch a “system reset” involving a fresh attempt to overhaul health and disability benefits, a report commissioned by the government is to warn.

Alan Milburn, who is leading a review into why almost a million young people are not in education or work, said ministers had so far responded with a series of disjointed jobs programmes.

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The BHP files: World’s biggest miner BHP backtracks on climate action with key projects put on ice, leaked documents reveal
Posted on Monday May 25, 2026

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

• Revealed: the internal BHP memo that slammed the brakes on world’s biggest miner’s climate push

• Read more from the BHP files investigation here

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The 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.

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Pope Leo denounces ‘culture of power’ driving rise of AI
Posted on Monday May 25, 2026

Pontiff calls for ‘disarming’ of artificial intelligence and apologises for church’s delay in condemning slavery

Pope Leo has denounced the “culture of power” driving the rapid rise of artificial intelligence while warning that the technology must be subject to the “most rigorous” ethical constraints as it infiltrates everything from work to war.

In his encyclical – the first major text on safeguarding humankind of his papacy – he also apologised for the Catholic church’s long delay in condemning slavery, describing it as “a wound in Christian memory”, and spoke of the “new forms of slavery” due to the digital economy.

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Delivery robots are spreading across LA. Residents ‘both pity and hate them’
Posted on Monday May 25, 2026

A region known for its lack of walkability now has more obstacles for pedestrians to contend with

Robots have taken over Los Angeles.

It’s not just the AI-generated videos that have caused angst in Hollywood. Our streets are full of driverless Waymo vehicles, covered in more sensors and gadgets than the Batmobile. And our walkways are home to fleets of boxes on wheels, hurrying past pedestrians and navigating outdoor bar-hoppers as the robots deliver smoothies and keto-friendly salads.

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England saunter past New Zealand to take T20 series after Dean leads demolition
Posted on Monday May 25, 2026

• NZ 80; Eng 81-3. England win by seven wickets

• England complete chase with 37 balls to spare

England achieved a straightforward win against New Zealand at Hove on Monday, bowling the visitors out for 80 before chasing down the runs with 37 balls to spare to secure the series 2-1.

The win was set up by a catastrophic batting collapse from New Zealand, who sunk to 33 for six in the first nine overs. A Thomas Becket-esque miracle had saved them at Canterbury, but a second one was unlikely to materialise, especially as this time the in-form Sophie Devine was dismissed for a duck.

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Notts County cruise into League One with emphatic win over Salford
Posted on Monday May 25, 2026

The final match of the English domestic season saw football’s oldest professional club continue a clamber back up the divisions. Alassana Jatta’s injection of higher echelon quality for the opening goal began a County stroll in baking Wembley sunshine as Salford melted away. Following Lucas Ness’s towering header, Jodi Jones’s second-half goal confirmed County’s promotion to League One.

Salford, club of the Class of 92, facing Notts County was celebrity versus tradition. Not that Salford lack football heritage within their ownership, nowadays Gary Neville and Sir David Beckham, with further former Manchester United notables lending a hand. Beckham, furthering the A-lister trend of soccer ownership by co-owning two, was in the posh seats, along from Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt.

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