Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
Severe weather warnings have been issued across southern Europe, including in Italy, Spain and Portugal, with temperatures expected to get close to or locally even above 40C this weekend, prompting concerns about health hazards and wildfires (14:32).
Expected temperatures on early Saturday afternoon: Madrid 38C, Thessaloníki 38C, Florence 38C, Rome 37C, Lisbon 36C, Tirana 36C, Athens 35C.
It will be hot in Paris (32C) and still warm in London and Berlin 28C, and in Brussels 27C.
The heatwave comes as a star-studded “wedding of the year” (eye roll) between Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez gets under way in Venice, Italy (30C) amid protests from local residents and campaigners (14:55, 15:22, 15:50, 16:05, 16:27).
In other news,
European leaders failed to agree on the latest, 18th, package of sanctions at last night’s European Council meeting in Brussels, with Hungary and Slovakia holding firm in their opposition to the proposed measures (9:46, 9:48).
But it’s worth noting that the EU has agreed on rolling over the already existing sanctions against Russia, which were due to expire (9:59).
In Germany, lawmakers agreed to suspend family reunification rights for refugees without asylum status as conservative chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government pursues a crackdown on immigration (11:28).
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Estonia’s stated intention to let Nato allies’ nuclear-capable aircraft use its territory was a direct threat to Moscow (13:08).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
Enjoy the weekend everyone, and stay safe!
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Venice 'split into three groups' on Bezos wedding with people who don't care, are angry, or make money out of it
in Venice
Hosing down the deck of his boat in the island’s harbour, one local man offered a laconic and not untypical take on what has become known, a little tediously, as “the wedding of the century”.
What did he make of all the fuss? “I’m not thinking about it at all,” he said. “I don’t care.”
The wedding celebrations – which began in earnest on Thursday night and are due to culminate in a reception held at the Arsenale historic shipyard complex on Saturday – have split the city into three groups.
There are those, like the yachtsman, who simply don’t care; there are those furious that Venice is prostrating itself before a man with an estimated net worth of $212bn (£154bn), and there are those who, like the city’s mayor, see the £40m extravaganza as a welcome money-spinner and a wonderful showcase for the area’s attractions.
Those behind the protests – a coalition of groups angered by the selling-out of the city, housing activists and anti-cruise ship campaigners – say their punning “No Space for Bezos” alliance has already paid off.
They claim their sustained pressure, not least the threat to unleash the blow-up crocodile fleet, prompted the couple to switch the location of the reception from the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, a majestic 16th-century building in the city centre, to the more private Arsenale.
As the day wore on, the secret preparations continued and the vicious June sun beat down on tourists, guests and journalists, one visitor making her way around San Giorgio Maggiore shook her head.
This was all proof, if further proof were needed, of the awesome power of the 21st-century super-rich.
“It’s grotesque,” said the woman from northern Spain. “Two hundred-and-fifty guests and a bill of €50m? This is why I don’t buy anything on Amazon.”
