International
California wildfire threatens Yosemite’s giant sequoia trees
AFP
A wildfire that has been burning out of control in California’s Yosemite National Park for three days is threatening its giant sequoia trees.
The fire, reported on the Washburn Trail of the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, “is currently 1,591 acres (644 hectares) with no containment,” Yosemite National Park said Sunday, adding that 360 firefighters were battling the blaze.
Firefighters “are proactively protecting” the grove, which is home to over 500 giant sequoias, according to the incident summary.
One crew is preparing the grove’s “Grizzly Giant” — the most renowned sequoia in the park — for the approaching flames by dousing it in water.
“Standing at 209 feet it is the second largest tree in the Yosemite,” the park said, captioning footage shared to social media of its efforts.
The Washburn Fire’s cause is under investigation.
US fire chiefs warned that 2022 looks set to be a terrible year for wildfires.
“Given the fuel conditions, the fire conditions that we’re here talking about, I foresee a very tough four, five, six months in front of us,” Orange County, California Fire Chief Brian Fennessy said in June.
Scientists say global warming, which is being driven chiefly by humanity’s unchecked burning of fossil fuels, is making extreme weather events more likely.
The giant sequoias are the world’s largest trees by volume. Their relatives, the California redwoods, can grow taller — well over 100 meters — but are not as wide.
Both kinds of tree are adapted to fires, with thick bark that protects them from heat.
In their lifetimes, which are measured in thousands of years, they typically endure lots of fires, the heat from which helps their cones to open, allowing the seeds to disperse.
But longer, hotter and more aggressive fires can damage them, sometimes irreparably, and California has recently seen multiple severe fire seasons in a row.
Around 10,000 of them — up to 14 percent of the world’s total — perished in a huge fire in 2020.
International
Netanyahu orders shortened preparation for Gaza city operation against Hamas
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday ordered a “shortening” of the preparation period before troops enter Gaza City, where around one million Palestinians are taking refuge.
“In anticipation of the approval of plans for the operation in Gaza City, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the timelines to be shortened for taking the last terrorist strongholds and defeating Hamas,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
The brief text, which may serve as a pressure tactic on both Hamas and the displaced Palestinian population, does not specify any dates.
The Israeli military has also not provided details beyond reiterating that “preliminary operations” have already begun in some neighborhoods of Gaza’s capital.
Military spokesperson Effie Defrin said in an online briefing that “the army now controls the gates of Gaza City” and that forces are stationed in the southern Zeitoun neighborhood and the northern Jabalia area.
“Additional forces will join the fighting in the near future,” Defrin added.
According to Gazan sources, attacks and bombings have increased in these two locations, along with the demolition of homes. The military has also called up 60,000 reservists, according to a Defense Ministry statement.
International
UN official urges international action against U.S. sanctions on ICC judges
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said on Thursday that the U.S. imposition of new sanctions on judges and deputy prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC) should prompt the international community to take measures to protect them.
“The relentless escalation of U.S. reprisals against international institutions and their personnel must stop,” Türk said in a statement issued from his office in Geneva.
The ICC itself condemned Trump’s actions against two prosecutors and two judges investigating Israel for crimes in Gaza, asserting that it will not be intimidated by pressure or threats.
The UN High Commissioner called for the removal of sanctions against this group of magistrates, as well as those previously imposed on four other judges and a prosecutor from the same institution, and on the UN Human Rights Council-appointed rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese.
Practically, Türk noted that other governments could protect them by urging companies operating under their jurisdiction not to enforce these sanctions.
“States must step forward to defend the institutions they created to uphold human rights and the rule of law. Those who work to document, investigate, and prosecute serious violations of international law should not work in fear,” he emphasized.
International
Trump threatens to cut California school funding over trans policies
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to cut funding to schools in California that do not comply with his policies regarding the transgender community, which have sought to restrict rights since his return to the White House.
“Any school district in California that does not follow our policies on transgender individuals will not receive funding,” he wrote in a brief post on his Truth Social account.
One such grant has already been canceled by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
A representative from the Administration for Children and Families, part of HHS, told Fox News that the grant for California’s sex education program was withdrawn due to the state’s refusal to remove what the federal office called “radical gender ideology” from its curriculum.
“California’s refusal to comply with federal law and remove the abhorrent gender ideology from federally funded sex education materials is unacceptable,” said Andrew Gradison, acting secretary of the office.
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