The leaders of Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Poland have arrived in Kyiv for meetings with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, a symbol of a united European position to publicly pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Friedrich Merz, the new German Chancellor, French President Emmanuel Macron, Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk arrived together Saturday morning at Kyiv’s main railway station, where they were met by Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

The meetings are a sign of a renewed diplomatic urgency aimed at achieving a ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine, which is grinding on despite US efforts to broker peace.

“There is much work to be done and many issues to discuss. This war must be ended with a just peace. Moscow must be forced to agree to a ceasefire,” Yermak wrote on his Telegram channel.

The first stop for the European leaders was Kyiv’s Independence Square where they stood to honor fallen Ukrainian soldiers.

Ukraine, supported by the Europeans, has been calling for an immediate unconditional 30-day ceasefire, something that US President Donald Trump is also demanding.

Russia has so far refused to commit, saying it supports the idea of a 30-day ceasefire in principle but insists there are what it calls “nuances” that need addressing first.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in an interview with ABC News on Saturday suggested that one of these “nuances” was putting a halt to the supply of US and European weapons to Ukraine.

Putin has often spoken about the need to address what he calls “root causes” – which are taken to mean, among others, the eastward expansion of NATO.

In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump wrote that “if the ceasefire is not respected, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions,” adding to a sense he is growing frustrated with Russian stalling.

The inauguration of Trump in January ushered in a complete change in the US’ diplomatic focus on the war, with Ukraine and key allies fearful of a significant tilt in US policy towards Moscow.

European leaders have convened a series of meetings in response, aimed both at showing the US that Europe can do more to support Ukraine militarily, as well as providing a single voice urging the US president not to take Russia’s side in the war.

“A just and lasting peace begins with a full and unconditional ceasefire. That is the proposal we are advancing with the United States,” French President Macron wrote on his X account Saturday morning.

“Ukraine accepted [the ceasefire proposal] on March 11. Russia, however, delays, sets preconditions, plays for time, and continues its war of invasion. If Moscow continues to obstruct, we will step up the pressure—together, as Europeans and in close coordination with the United States. We welcome President Trump’s call to move forward in this direction,” Macron added.

Around 160,000 people in Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region were warned to stay inside on Saturday after a fire at an industrial estate caused a toxic cloud of chlorine over a wide area, emergency services said.

The blaze at a swimming pool cleaning products company started at 2.20 a.m. local time (8:20 p.m. Friday ET) in Vilanova i la Geltru, a town 48 kilometers (30 miles) south of Barcelona and caused a huge plume of chlorine smoke over the area.

“If you are in the zone that is affected do not leave your home or your place of work,” the Civil Protection service said on social media site X.

No one has been hurt in the fire, Catalan emergency services said on Saturday, but residents in five towns were sent a message on their mobile phones telling them to remain inside.

“It is very difficult for chlorine to catch fire but when it does so it is very hard to put it out,” the owner of the industrial property, Jorge Vinuales Alonso, told local radio station Rac1.

He said the cause of the fire might have been a lithium battery.

Trains which were due to pass through the area were held up, roads were blocked and other events were canceled.

The fire was under control, Civil Protection spokesperson Joan Ramon Cabello told the TVE television channel.

For the first time in history, the majority of humans live in cities — spaces often defined by concrete, glass and a disconnect from the natural world. Access to nature is no longer guaranteed.

In 2020, Miles founded Nature Is a Human Right, a campaign advocating for daily access to green spaces to be recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Frustrated by the slow pace of institutional change, Miles says she “lost faith in the top-down process.” So she took matters into her own hands. Her weapon? Not protest banners or petitions, but seeds and shovels.

She became a so-called guerrilla gardener — “Grassroots planting in a public place, with a purpose,” Miles explains. “Think of it like graffiti, but with wildflowers instead of spray paint.” This form of urban activism involves transforming neglected or overlooked spaces — cracks in pavements, roadside verges, abandoned lots — into mini-oases for people, pollinators and biodiversity.

What began during the Covid pandemic — when parks were shut and access to green space became scarce — grew into a weekly ritual. Miles and her neighbors would meet on Sunday mornings, armed with bulbs and trowels, planting in overlooked corners of the London Borough of Hackney.

Guerrilla gardening

In the UK, guerrilla gardening occupies a legal gray area: while planting on public land without permission is not technically lawful, authorities often turn a blind eye — so long as it doesn’t cause damage, obstruction or a public nuisance.

According to the Royal Horticultural Society, guerrilla gardeners should ensure their planting doesn’t inconvenience others and be careful to not restrict public access or create trip hazards. It’s also important that anything planted is removable, and that the roots won’t cause structural damage to sidewalks and buildings.

Guerrilla gardening dates back to the 1970s, when the Green Guerrillas, founded by Liz Christy in the US, transformed vacant lots into community gardens. The movement has since spread worldwide, from Ron Finley, the “Gangsta Gardener” in Los Angeles, to Ta Mère Nature in France, and the Ujamaa Guerrilla Gardening Collective in South Africa.

Miles has brought the underground movement into the spotlight on TikTok and other social media. Her upbeat videos demystify the process, showing everything from creating seed bombs to planting moss graffiti — a form of street art where living moss is used to create patterns or words on walls. “I wasn’t a gardener. I was learning as I went along,” she admits. “But I just wanted the streets to be greener.”

As Miles’ seeds grew, so did her online following. “Young people today are very awake to issues like climate change, inequality, and mental health,” Miles says. “Guerrilla gardening intersects with all of that. It’s something you can do with your own two hands and see the impact immediately.”

“A lot of activism can feel intangible,” she adds. “With guerrilla gardening, you see the results. It’s empowering.”

And it’s more than just symbolic: “It’s been shown that having access to green spaces is as vital to your mental and physical health as regular exercise and a healthy diet,” says Miles. “We need it around us. We need the phytoncides (compounds plants release into the air) that plants produce. The experience of having plants around us calms us.”

A study of 20,000 participants by the UK’s University of Exeter found that people who spent at least 120 minutes a week in green spaces reported significantly better physical health and psychological well-being than those who didn’t. For young children, access to green spaces has been linked to reduced hyperactivity and improved attention spans. Communities can benefit too: a US study showed that greening vacant lots can lead to lower crime rates.

Miles’ message is simple: anyone can get involved. “It’s spring now,” she continues. “Find native wildflowers, scatter them when it’s raining then you won’t even have to water them.” For those who want to go further, Miles has written a book on the subject and teaches a free four-week online course through the nonprofit Earthed, which has attracted over 300 participants. She advises gardening as a group — community is key.

Her vision is bold but refreshingly practical: “Why aren’t all our sidewalks lined with hedges?” says Miles. “Our buildings could be covered in plants. Our rooftops and bus stops could be buzzing with flowers. It’s a no-brainer.”

Two men have been found guilty of criminal damage for felling a landmark sycamore tree in northern England.

Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, were each found guilty of two counts of criminal damage, one relating to the tree and the other to Hadrian’s Wall that the tree fell on, according to the UK’s PA Media news agency on Friday.

The verdict was handed down following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court in northeast England. Both men will be sentenced on July 15.

The tree had stood sentinel on Britain’s Roman-built Hadrian’s Wall for more than 200 years before being “deliberately felled” in September 2023 in what authorities at the time called an “act of vandalism.”

The sycamore tree, located in the Northumberland National Park in northern England, was made famous to millions around the world when it appeared in Kevin Costner’s 1991 blockbuster movie “Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.”

The tree – at a spot known as “Sycamore Gap” – was located on the historic UNESCO World Heritage listed Hadrian’s Wall, which was constructed around 1,900 years ago to guard the furthest northwestern frontier of the Roman Empire.

During the trial, prosecutor Richard Wright KC said the felling was an act of “mindless vandalism.” He detailed how the two men drove 30 miles (48 kilometers) at night to reach the tree before one cut it down while the other filmed it.

The jury determined Graham and Carruthers caused £622,191 (about $826,000) of criminal damage to the tree and £1,144 ($1,500) of damage to Hadrian’s Wall, according to PA Media.

Jurors heard how the two men sometimes worked together and had experience of cutting down large trees. Although originally the “best of pals,” the two defendants now appear to have fallen out and their friendship has “unravelled,” the court was told.

During testimony, Graham told the court that Carruthers had told him that the tree “was the most famous tree in the world” and had spoken about cutting it down, reports PA Media.