Why Trump‘s diplomacy leaves Ukraine no closer to peace
One week after US President Donald Trump’s meeting withis Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alka, the war in Ukraine is no closer to ending.
The main and most immediate takeaway from Alaska was Mr Trump’s unexpected decision to drop US demands for a ceasefire, a US-proposed policy supported by Ukraine and Europe, and instead support Russia’s demand to go straight to peace talks.
Grove of giant sequoia trees burns in California’s Sierra National Forest
Firefighters assess giant sequoia trees as the Garnet Fire burns through the McKinley Grove of Big Trees, in the Sierra National Forest on Monday. Noah Berger/APFresno, CaliforniaAP —
A lightning-sparked wildfire in California’s Sierra National Forest burned Tuesday through a grove of giant sequoias and set some of the ancient towering trees on fire.
Wildland firefighters with tree-climbing experience were being sent in to put out the fire burning in the canopies of the beloved trees, said Jay Tracy, a spokesperson for the Garnet Fire ablaze in Fresno County.
To protect the majestic trees, some estimated to be 3,000 years old, fire crews laid sprinkler lines to increase ground moisture, wrapped the trunks with fire-resistant foil blankets, raked flammable material away from trees and patrolled the area looking for hotspots, he said.
‘Block Everything’ Protest Rocks France, 200 Arrested, Vehicles Set On Fire
Protesters blocked roads, set blazes and were met with volleys of police tear gas on Wednesday in Paris and elsewhere in France, seeking to heap pressure on President Emmanuel Macron by attempting to give his new prime minister a baptism of fire.
The interior minister announced nearly 200 arrests in the first hours of the planned day of nationwide demonstrations.
Although falling short of its self-declared intention to “Block Everything,” the protest movement that started online over the summer caused widespread hot spots of disruption, defying an exceptional deployment of 80,000 police who broke up barricades and swiftly made arrests.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said that a bus was set on fire in the western city of Rennes and that damage to a power line blocked trains on a line in the southwest. He alleged that protesters were attempting to create “a climate of insurrection.”
