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New Zealand finally gets a Google Maps tool that correctly pronounces Māori placenames

For years, Māori placenames have been distorted into nearly unrecognisable sounds by Google Maps in New Zealand. For those with attuned ears, it can be grating or offensive. Now the Māori language commission – Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori – has collaborated with Google to fix it, launching a New Zealand-accented voice for its navigation tool that can correctly pronounce Māori words. It is the culmination of a project that has been years in the making. “We can’t underestimate just how important this is in terms of normalising te reo Māori [Māori language],” Ngahiwi Apanui-Barr, the commission’s chief executive, told the Guardian. “When everybody who is learning te reo Māori, or who speaks the language, hears those placenames being used, their language journey is being supported.” While the government is pushing policies to limit the language in the public service, te reo Māori has undergone a major resurgence in the past decade. There are extensive waiting lists for classes, Māori songs often top the charts and Hollywood studios are releasing versions of movies in Māori. Māori is the second most widely spoken language in New Zealand, after English, according to the 2023 census. Between 2018 and 2023, there was a 15% increase in the number of Māori speakers. Apanui-Barr said he “giggled with glee” when he listened to the placenames being pronounced properly. “It just spoke directly to my heart, to hear my language being pronounced properly on an app … this is the future of my language, is one of the foundations we need to have in place, because if people hear the language being pronounced properly, they are going to say it properly too.” The project was an example of how a public organisation can work with a private sector company to do a “really good job”, Apanui-Barr said. The Google project has prioritised cities, towns and certain street names for its launch, with the goal of expanding into more roads and regions. In 2017, Google and telecommunications company Vodafone (now One NZ) launched a campaign, with support from the language commission, calling on the public to pinpoint which Māori names were being mispronounced. Google said it would correct the tool by the end of that year. More than 60,000 corrections were submitted but technological hurdles led to delays. Advancements in AI text-to-speech models have now enabled the project to get off the ground, said Caroline Rainsford from Google New Zealand. The model is not bilingual – it is English – but draws on the data of sounds and names, guided by the commission and publicly available New Zealand Geographic Board data. A voice actor was hired to record a large script of te reo Māori sounds, which then feeds the model. The commission retains guardianship of that data, to ensure Māori academics, researchers and communities can access the lexicon. A number of other countries are on the waitlist for voice capture of their Indigenous languages, and projects are under way in Australia and the US. Rainsford said technology plays an important role in the use and advancement of te reo Māori, and she was proud New Zealanders would now hear “a Kiwi voice” during navigation. “And [they] are going to be able to hear really incredible pronunciation of our very sacred placenames in New Zealand.”

Maltese businessman paid hitmen €150,000 to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia, jury hears

One of Malta’s wealthiest businessmen plotted to kill the investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, paying €150,000 (£130,000) for three hitmen to carry out the murder, a jury has heard. Yorgen Fenech, the 44-year-old heir to a property empire that includes the Hilton Malta hotel and casino, is on trial for the 2017 murder. Caruana Galizia died after a bomb planted in her car was detonated. A magazine publisher, newspaper columnist and blogger, she was one of the most recognised media figures in the country. Her reporting on leading government and business figures had made her a target of repeated attacks by politicians and their supporters, and her violent death caused outrage across Europe. Fenech was arrested seven years ago. After numerous delays and his release on bail in February after the time during which he could legally be held expired, his trial began on Wednesday morning at the courts of justice in Malta’s capital, Valletta. The accused, wearing a navy suit and glasses, entered a plea of not guilty. Fenech has been indicted on two counts: complicity in the voluntary homicide of Caruana Galizia, and association with a person or persons in Malta with the intention of committing a crime there. He is one of seven men who prosecutors accused of involvement in the killing, and the last to face trial. Five of the seven have been convicted and one secured a pardon in exchange for testimony. Amid concerns over the level of media interest in the case and its potential impact on the public, the opposing parties took five hours to agree on a jury selection, while those reporting for duty waited outside the courtroom for their names to be called. Officials were called to help after one reserve juror fainted as temperatures rose to 33C. Under Maltese law the jury will be segregated for the entire duration of the trial, living in a hotel and unable to access computers, mobile phones or smartwatches. The trial opened with a reading of the bill of indictment, a summary of the allegations written by government prosecutors. The jury heard how, shortly before 3pm on 16 October 2017, Caruana Galizia’s car swerved off the road into a field as she was driving away from her home in the village of Bidnija. A powerful bomb contained in a children’s shoebox had been placed under the driver’s seat, the jury were told. The bombers, who prosecutors say were paid €150,000 to carry out the attack, had broken into the journalist’s vehicle the night before after weeks spent watching her movements. Her son Matthew Caruana Galizia, who had been with her at home, was the first to arrive on the scene, discovering her remains in the burning wreckage. She was 53. The jury were told that the alleged plot to kill the journalist was hatched in April 2017. Fenech called his friend Melvin Theuma, a taxi driver and bookmaker, and asked him to meet him near the Hilton, where he had been granted a lucrative stand to pick up guests from the hotel. Fenech told Theuma to find someone to kill Caruana Galizia, the indictment claims. He even gave him the name of a potential hitman, a gangland figure called George Degiorgio, who operated from a warehouse in the docks of Marsa, across the grand harbour from Valletta. Fenech said he wanted the journalist killed because she was about to publish a story about his uncle, the jury heard. After Theuma made contact with Degiorgio and his brother Alfred, a price of €150,000 was agreed, with €30,000 to be paid upfront. However, a general election was called for 3 June and Fenech put the murder on hold, the jury heard. Two weeks after the ruling Labour administration was returned to power, the prosecutor alleges Fenech told Theuma to proceed with the plan. The indictment alleges Fenech personally handed Theuma an envelope containing the cash. As weeks and then months passed, Fenech pressed for the plan to be put into action, according to the indictment, saying this time that Caruana Galizia was about to publish a story about him. After considering using a rifle, the hitmen decided on a bomb. It was fitted with a mobile phone receptor, and detonated remotely by George Degiorgio via a text message sent while he was at the wheel of his boat in the grand harbour. A few days after the killing, Alfred Degiorgio went to Theuma’s garage to collect the money, the indictment claims. Theuma paid him a further €5,000 for expenses, including a pair of powerful binoculars. The indictment claims Fenech spent “tens of thousands” more on the Degiorgios’ legal expenses after their arrests. The Degiorgio brothers, and their accomplice Vincent Muscat, were arrested not long afterwards, taken into custody on 4 December 2017 after a televised raid on their warehouse. The jury heard how Theuma himself was arrested on 14 November 2019, clutching an ice-cream box containing USB drives with copies of what he claims are covertly recorded conversations with Fenech that the prosecution is relying on. Fenech’s team have challenged the prosecution’s interpretation of the recordings and claim Theuma’s testimony contains “half truths” and “blatant lies”. The indictment repeatedly names Fenech as the instigator of the plot to kill Caruana Galizia, saying he conceived the plan and paid for others to carry out the killing. The attorney general has called for a life sentence for the murder charge and between 20 and 30 years for the criminal association charge. The case caused a political and constitutional crisis in Malta, which threatened to bring down the government. The then prime minister, Joseph Muscat – who is not related to Vincent Muscat – resigned soon after Fenech’s arrest, stepping down in December 2019. Vincent Muscat was given a reduced sentence of 15 years and a presidential pardon after pleading guilty to all charges, including wilful homicide, and testifying against the Degiorgio brothers. They at first denied the charges against them, which also included wilful homicide, before changing their pleas to guilty on the first day of their trial in October 2022. A plea bargain reduced their sentences from life to 40 years. Two men accused of supplying the bomb, Robert Agius and Jamie Vella, were sentenced to life in June 2025. They are not eligible for parole or any other form of early release. Theuma has been living under a witness protection scheme since 2019.

Man guilty of attempting to murder three children in attack that triggered Dublin riot

A man has been found guilty of attempting to murder three children during a stabbing attack in Dublin in 2023, a crime that horrified Ireland and triggered a riot in the capital. A jury at the central criminal court on Wednesday also found Riad Bouchaker, 52, guilty of assault causing serious harm to a childcare worker, Leanne Flynn, and of assaulting two other children and a teenager. Bouchaker used a 30cm (12in) kitchen knife to attack Flynn and the children on 23 November 2023 when they emerged from a creche in Parnell Square in the city centre. That night rioters chanted anti-immigrant slogans, looted shops and torched buses, a tram and police vehicles in the worst unrest in decades. Bouchaker is an Algerian national and Irish citizen who had lived in Ireland for two decades. The court heard that on the morning of the attack he learned he had been refused a social welfare payment. He collected a backpack and the knife from his hostel and waited outside the childcare centre at Parnell Square. When the children lined up by a railing he attacked. He stabbed a girl, then aged five, in the heart. She now has a brain injury and is non-verbal, uses a wheelchair and is fed through a tube in her stomach. A five-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl required hospital treatment for less severe injuries. Bouchaker stabbed Flynn while she tried to protect the children, leaving her with two collapsed lungs and injuries to her diaphragm, stomach and spleen. He also assaulted two other children and a teenager who intervened and wrestled the knife away. Other bystanders intervened, incapacitating Bouchaker and leaving him unconscious and with a head injury that required hospital treatment. A defence psychiatrist argued that he was not fit to stand trial but a prosecution expert disagreed. Judge Tony Hunt allowed Bouchaker to stand trial with an interpreter and intermediary. During the three-week trial Bouchaker denied all eight charges and said he did not intend to kill anyone. Prosecutors said his use of the knife, selection of small children and targeting of their upper bodies, necks and heads indicated an intent to kill. The jury of three women and nine men found Bouchaker guilty of all charges. Hunt thanked the jury and said the verdicts aligned with the evidence it had heard. He is to impose a sentence in September. “No more needs to be said today,” he said.

Albania warned EU accession at risk over Jared Kushner-backed resort plans

MEPs have warned Albania that EU accession talks are at risk if the government does not “change course” over plans for a luxury resort backed by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Tineke Strik, the Dutch MEP heading a European parliament fact-finding mission to the Balkan nation, said Albania’s leadership was “playing with fire” by pursuing the €1.4bn (£1.2bn) real-estate venture that would, she said, wreak havoc on virgin coastline. Opposition to the project has spurred a wave of unprecedented unrest known as the “flamingo revolution” amid mounting calls for the resignation of the Albanian prime minister, Edi Rama. Interviewed by the Guardian, Strik said: “If Rama is really serious about his EU ambitions, he should step back from this trajectory and say to the Trump clan: ‘Sorry, the EU is my first priority.’ “Right now, they’re endangering a process that is so dear to them … they’re playing with fire.” Not since the collapse of communism more than 30 years ago has any policy attracted such overwhelming support from Albanian citizens as EU membership: an estimated 92% back the goal. Rama, who won a historic fourth term in office last year, has vowed to get Albania – one of the poorest countries in Europe – into the 27-member bloc by 2030. Buoyed up by progress made in completing often complex negotiations, he had set the goal of December 2027 to wrap up an accession process. EU officials had welcomed the self-imposed deadline, although they described it as ambitious. That timeline could now be in jeopardy if Rama insists on pressing ahead with the Kushner-backed project to develop what were once environmentally protected areas in the country’s south. Kushner has spoken of creating a mega resort on Sazan, Albania’s only island, while also building along a slice of pristine shoreline on the Zvërnec peninsula opposite, billing it as the sort of place he would happily enjoy with family and friends. Alarmed by the scale of the project – and the protests it has prompted – the European parliament made its distaste clear last month. In a resolution, MEPs not only endorsed the demonstrators but called for an immediate halt to construction in protected zones. They also demanded the withdrawal of legislation that allowed “predatory capitalists” to obtain permits as strategic investors in regions regarded as wildlife safe zones and ecologically unique. Speaking at the end of a four-day trip which included visits to the areas earmarked for development, Strik said: “If they go ahead, they’ll have a big problem with the EU during the negotiations – especially on chapter 27 where they have to meet all the benchmarks of EU environmental policies. The planned construction of such large-scale real estate in such a fragile area is an immense threat.” The MEP emphasised that works already carried out on the Zvërnec peninsula – including the destruction of forests, ancient dunes and the construction of a 7km-long gravel-topped road – had caused considerable damage and were in clear violation of EU directives. The visiting parliamentarians were “encouraged and reassured by the Albanian people” who, Strik said, were out on the streets defending European values and demanding accountability. But they had been left less than impressed by government officials, she said, citing talks with the environment minister, Sofjan Jaupaj, who had implied that the works would continue until Albania was obliged to comply with EU standards. She also voiced concern over allegations of corruption that had clouded the issuance of construction permits and sale of land plots in Zvërnec. Opponents have decried the lack of transparency and public debate around the project. “I left today’s meeting with the impression that they intend to continue with this project before they have to be aligned with EU law and this, of course, is not a way of loyal cooperation,” she said. “They cannot say now: ‘We can do more damage and then we’ll see at the end of next year where we stand.’ That’s not a way to go and we will call upon the EU commission to follow this up very strongly with the Albanian government.” Albania has won widespread support from Euro-MPs for its candidacy, and the GreenLeft MEP said she was very much in favour of the tiny Balkan state joining the bloc. “I come away with the feeling that the Albanian people really want to become members of the EU, in fact they already feel they belong there,” Strik said. She said the daily demonstrations were not only about the threat to the environment but had grown into a much wider movement about basic rule of law. “Albanians are protesting every day because they want to have a proper democracy, which really strengthens my trust in the process and in their desire for accession. “What I am not so sure about is whether the government of Albania is taking at all seriously the concerns of the Albanian people, of us [MEPs] and the European Commission – which is why I have called on it to change course and take its citizens seriously.”

The Harvard astronomer dubbed Trump’s chief alien hunter starts by assuming UFOs human-made

A controversial Harvard University cosmologist who has suggested alien lifeforms could be sailing into the solar system disguised as meteors is leading the Trump administration’s secretive new scientific advisory panel on security risks posed by UFOs. Avi Loeb and his hand-picked committee have already begun looking into the origins of mysterious flying craft, now known as unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and last month asked the Pentagon for dozens of videos, images and documents of reported encounters and incidents, the Associated Press reported. The panel, which meets in private, will report its findings to the White House, which has already begun opening the government’s UFO files with three public releases so far of previously classified material. Loeb, an Israeli American astrophysicist who previously led Harvard’s astronomy department, told the Associated Press that he saw his appointment as a chance to educate a notoriously science-averse administration into what could be perfectly logical explanations for UAP. “My impression is the government is baffled by not being able to infer the nature of some of these objects,” he said. “At a time when science is not so much celebrated, this is an opportunity to actually do good for all sides involved.” He did, however, tell the AP that he was starting his work as Donald Trump’s chief alien hunter with the assumption that UAP was the work of humans, and approaching the task from a national security perspective. Some analysts say Loeb’s unconventional thinking about alien life, and fringe theories including a hypothesis last year that a comet passing close to Mars was a relic from a civilization in another celestial neighborhood, make his leadership of such an important and influential committee questionable at best. “I don’t know what’s going to come of this, but we’re not going to get any closer to answering these questions with him in charge,” said Steve Desch, professor of astrophysics in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, and a long-time Loeb critic. In a 2023 interview with the Guardian, Loeb, who also used to lead Harvard’s Black Hole Initiative studying one of the least understood astronomical objects, said his critics were merely jealous. “Childlike bullying is more prevalent than childlike curiosity in academia,” he said. “People just try to step on every flower that rises above the grass level. This negativity is very damaging because it suppresses innovation.” Even so, it is not only Loeb’s presence that concerns observers. Like health secretary Robert F Kennedy’s choice of fellow vaccine skeptics to mold a government health advisory panel on immunizations to his way of thinking, Loeb has surrounded himself with apparently similar minds. One panel member is Timothy Gallaudet, a retired navy rear-admiral who is convinced UFOs of alien origin have visited Earth. “The nonhuman intelligence that operates them or controls them are absolutely real,” he said in April. “We’ve recovered crashed craft. We don’t know if they’re extraterrestrial in origin.” In 2024, Gallaudet told a congressional oversight committee that in 2015, while he was commander of the navy’s meteorology and oceanography operations, UAPs were interacting with humanity almost at will. He also made claims of a government cover-up. “UAP-related information is not only being withheld from senior officials and members of Congress, but elements of the government are engaging in a disinformation campaign to include personal attacks designed to discredit UAP whistleblowers,” he said. Also on the panel is Ben Lamm, a 44-year-old billionaire and entrepreneur best known for his genetics company’s efforts to revive long-extinct animals such as the dodo, the Tasmanian tiger, and the dire wolf. Lamm also has a history of trying to find UFOs, using satellites pointed towards Earth. His outside-the-box scientific thinking fits well with Loeb’s unorthodox approach and decades-long quest for alien life, detailed in hundreds of papers, and a bestselling book, Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth. For example, Loeb’s mission to Papua New Guinea, ostensibly to determine if a meteor discovered in 2014 was part of an interstellar spaceship, epitomized his perspective. Ultimately, an object Loeb theorized could be of “extraterrestrial technological origin” turned out not to be, and spherules – tiny glassy beads of metal and rock – he recovered from the ocean floor were unconnected to the meteor, at least in the view of other scientists. Perhaps most alarming to critics is that Loeb and his team might have access to sensitive Pentagon materials. Sean Kirkpatrick, a physicist who previously investigated UAP at the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, said Loeb is “not viewed favorably” in the scientific community and lacks national security experience. He said the makeup of Loeb’s team suggests the White House is more interested in fringe theories than hard science. Ultimately, however, Loeb’s background and unconventional theories might not matter if the committee can present new information to satiate a curious public. Eight in 10 respondents in a CBS News/YouGov poll published last month said the government knew more than it was telling about the existence of extraterrestrial life, 63% believe there is life on other planets, and more than one in five is convinced aliens have already visited Earth.

How extreme heat is exposing extreme inequality

Call it a tale of two heatwave experiences. As brutally hot conditions brought much of western Europe to its knees, an American writer living in Paris asserted that, for many, the heat was not “nearly as apocalyptic” as most media were suggesting. He said he had yet to buy a fan, instead relying on closed shutters, misting sessions and open windows in the evening to keep his ground-level flat cool. Less than 20km away, in a southern suburb of Paris, Aboubakar, 60, wept as he explained that temperatures had climbed as high as 40C inside his fourth-floor flat. “I’m suffocating,” he told the Guardian. “I can’t afford to buy a fan. There are no shutters on my flat. At night I can’t sleep, it’s like a furnace.” It’s a glimpse of a disparity that researchers in Europe and beyond have increasingly sought to highlight as the climate crisis intensifies. As scorching summer temperatures become the new normal, those living in poverty are disproportionately bearing the brunt. Julio Díaz Jiménez, a professor at Madrid’s Carlos III health institute, told me when I first started to dig into this: “It’s common sense. A heatwave is not the same when you’re in a shared room with three other people and no air conditioning, as when you’re in a villa with access to a pool and air conditioning.” This disparity burst into view in recent days, as the most severe heatwave on record swept across much of Europe, leaving up to 150 million people, from Bordeaux to Budapest, grappling with days of record-breaking temperatures. As the mercury soared past 40C at times, people got creative: heat-choked Parisians took to sleeping in parks, police in Berlin deployed water cannon to cool people down and households in Amsterdam hung curtains outside their windows to block out the sun. It soon became clear, however, that not everyone was equally exposed, or able to access such strategies. In the UK, hotels reported a surge in demand from people booking air-conditioned rooms. In the richest area west of Paris, some towns banned access to their municipal swimming pools for anyone coming from other areas, while in Germany, a public swimming lake turned away visitors who did not speak German. Others, including those who live in the half of French homes that have insufficient protection from high temperatures, said they had little choice but to suffer through the heat. Some live in heat-trap homes or concrete-heavy areas with little access to green spaces; many rely on crowded, hot buses to get around the city. Many spoke of struggling to access adequate healthcare, leaving them more likely to suffer conditions that could be exacerbated by extreme heat or working in sectors where they are regularly exposed to high temperatures, such as agriculture and construction. *** The hardest hit As Asad Rehman, chief executive of Friends of the Earth, told the Guardian, the heat “throws a grenade into every vulnerability you already have”. The sharp divergence in experiences should set off alarm bells for policymakers across Europe, the world’s fastest-warming continent. As my colleague Ajit Niranjan pointed out in a climate crisis Q&A this week: “Each year heat kills 10 times more people than murderers in Europe.” The point was underlined by recent research suggesting that the combination of extreme temperatures and inequality could be responsible for more than 100,000 deaths a year in Europe. Instead, the heatwave laid bare just how unprepared much of Europe is for extreme heat, with most people left to their own devices to cope. A fuller picture of the consequences of this most recent heatwave is now beginning to emerge, as France’s national public health agency said about 1,000 additional deaths were recorded between 24 and 27 June, while in Spain, a public institute suggested that the heatwave could be linked to more than 600 deaths. It’s a bleak display of how the climate crisis is exacerbating inequalities, argued the leftwing Democracy in Europe Movement 2025, launched by Greece’s former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis in a stark social media post. “This heat is not only a climate emergency, but it is also a class war,” it said. “The rich burn the planet, then buy air conditioning, private pools and second homes while workers are left in overheated flats, unsafe jobs, failed public services and burning cities.” To receive the complete version of This Is Europe in your inbox every Wednesday, please subscribe here.

Bayeux tapestry tickets generate nine-hour online queues as public scramble for access

People keen to see the Bayeux tapestry faced online queues of up to nine hours when tickets went on sale for the first time on Wednesday morning. The British Museum, which is hosting the wool-on-linen artwork from September, saw huge traffic to its ticketing website as a scramble for access began. There were reports of 40,000 people queueing by mid morning, with that figure ballooning to almost 80,000 by mid afternoon. Those queueing online were told: “We’re currently experiencing high levels of demand. Booking online is still recommended however wait times may extend up to nine hours.” Those waiting were asked to “be patient” and were advised queueing online was still a better option than contacting the museum’s “exceptionally busy” phone lines or email inbox. Ticket sales today would be for slots between the show’s opening in September and December. Two other releases will follow in October and January for the remainder of the tapestry’s historic stay in Britain, which runs until July 2027. Tickets are priced at £33 during peak times, which is almost triple the €12 (£10) charged where it is normally on display in Normandy. Off-peak tickets will cost adults £27; it is estimated that the British Museum could generate more than £8.6m from the exhibition. The museum’s director, Dr Nicholas Cullinan, defended the ticket prices in advance of the sale. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Well, £33 are the peak tickets. “The majority of tickets are off-peak, so they’re less and all children under 16 will see it for free. We felt it was very important to make this something that all young people have access to.” The tapestry’s arrival in Britain is one of the most anticipated cultural moments of the year and is closely tied to the soft power agenda of both Britain and France. In exchange for allowing the British Museum to show the tapestry – which is almost 1,000 years old and depicts William the Conqueror’s victory over King Harold II of England at Hastings in 1066 – the Lewis chessmen, the Sutton Hoo helmet, the Mold gold cape and the Dunaverney flesh hook will travel to Normandy. The 70-metre-long cloth has not been seen in England since it was created in the 11th century and has been insured for £800m before the British Museum exhibition. It is covered under the Government Indemnity Scheme, an alternative to commercial insurance that allows art and cultural objects to be shown in the UK. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has faced a backlash for allowing the loan to go ahead, critics saying he ignored expert advice that said the artefact was too fragile to be transported to UK. French campaigners sought to block the loan by taking their case to the Conseil d’État, France’s highest court for determining the legitimacy of executive power. Despite those efforts the tapestry will come to the British Museum from September 2026 to July 2027, and joins France’s 1963 loan of the Mona Lisa to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York as one of the most high-profile loans ever. The piece will be transported in a specially designed container made to absorb any shocks and vibrations from potholes, while humidity levels will be closely monitored.

EU must keep promises on Ukraine accession talks, says Zelenskyy, as Ireland takes presidency – as it happened

We are now closing the blog. Here is your summary of the day so far: Ireland’s prime minister Micheál Martin has pledged to “give it our all” as Ireland begins its six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union and lead the bloc’s discussions on the next EU budget, Ukraine, and accession talks (15:24). Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union will be one of the central issues of the presidency, with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy urging the bloc to “show that the EU keeps its promises” (15:39). Ever an optimist, the European Council president António Costa said “we will be counting on the Irish humour and charm to see us through” (15:46). In other news, At least five people were killed and more injured in a fire in a 10-storey apartment tower in the Belgian city of Antwerp (13:07, 13:35), with the country’s monarch and prime minister set to visit the scene later today (16:49). A rebel group of ultra-conservative Catholics has defied Pope Leo by ordaining bishops without his consent, which they declared a “sacred duty” despite it causing their automatic excommunication. Canada will join the Eurovision song contest in 2027, becoming the first new ⁠participant since Australia in 2015, organisers have announced. If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com. I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.