Pence calls on Trump to restore sanctions, scrap Russia diesel deal - The Hill

The world faces a “narrowing window” to restore forests essential for food security and resistance to the climate emergency, a United Nations report has warned. More than 489m hectares (1.2bn acres) of forests have been cleared since 1990, while an even greater area is degraded, the world body said in a call for governments to make forest restoration a national priority. The State of the World’s Forests report acknowledges recent steps forward in protection and tree planting around the globe but says action has not kept pace with commitments. Over the past two decades, national, regional and global initiatives have promised to place more than 1bn hectares of land under restoration, but barely a fifth of that is actually being restored, the report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) notes, saying: “Progress is uneven, and it is insufficient to meet growing global needs.”Graph showing annual rate of forest expansion and deforestation from 1990 to 2025Forests, which cover 4.14bn hectares (about a third of Earth’s land surface), store 714 gigatonnes of carbon and host up to 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity.

In a social media post ahead of Israel’s October 27 election, Trump calls Netanyahu a ‘Strong, Brave, and Brilliant’ leader. United States President Donald Trump has issued an endorsement of Israel’s incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing a close race in parliamentary elections scheduled for October 27. In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump praised the Israeli leader for being an ally of the US in its war on Iran. He added that he was giving his “Complete and Total Endorsement” to Netanyahu. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3In Israel, Netanyahu’s ultimate legacy is the opposition he has forgedlist 2 of 3The Israeli politicians seeking to replace Netanyahulist 3 of 3Despite long history with Netanyahu, Trump hedges as Israel vote nearsend of list“BIBI NETANYAHU WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Trump wrote. The US president’s backing comes nine days before the Israeli election — and after speculation that it might not come at all. Trump had refused to endorse Netanyahu earlier this month, when asked repeatedly about the Israeli leader’s job performance in an interview with Time magazine.

Tom Homan, Donald Trump’s “border czar”, has said that the Republican presidential administration could “of course” strip Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar of her citizenship and deport her. Homan’s comments during a Saturday appearance on Fox News were the first remarks explicitly mentioning denaturalization and deportation in connection with Omar that were attributed by name to a top Trump administration official since federal agents raided the Minnesota US House representative’s home on 12 October. The search of Omar’s home sparked major backlash and accusations that the Trump administration was weaponizing the federal government to target a political rival whom the president and his supporters have openly fantasized about denaturalizing and deporting. The federal government’s investigation into the most prominent Somali American in the US is to see whether Omar or her family violated any laws when obtaining her citizenship. The investigation was launched only weeks before the November midterm elections, in which Omar is on the ballot.

The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has denounced the settler attack that left the Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine badly beaten and needing surgery as a “despicable act of terror” and called for the arrest and prosecution of those responsible. Levine, an award-winning journalist who lives in Israel, was set upon last Friday by masked Israeli settlers who used clubs and other weapons to attack Palestinian people attempting to harvest their olives in occupied West Bank towns. The 63-year-old photographer, who is in a hospital in Petah Tikva near Tel Aviv recovering from hand surgery, broken ribs and other injuries she sustained in the attack, said she was beaten for more than 10 minutes by the settlers, who also stole her camera, passport and phone. American photojournalist recounts Israeli settler attack in the occupied West Bank – video“I was attacked, pushed to the ground,” Levine said. “Luckily, I had my flak jacket and helmet, otherwise I probably wouldn’t even be here, because they just kept kicking and kicking me.” She added the attack ended when her Palestinian colleagues intervened to save her.

At this moment, no one is clear on what tomorrow will bring, says Albanian journalist Lindita Karadaku. Violent protests have rocked Albania’s capital Tirana for the sixth consecutive day as Prime Minister Edi Rama, who is serving his fourth term, ruled out resigning. Hundreds of protesters gathered again on Sunday in front of the Ministry of Education, chanting “Rama, resign” in a tense standoff with the police, who later used rubber bullets, water cannons and tear gas to hold back the crowds. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Albania’s PM blames ‘foreign hands’ for protestslist 2 of 3Albanian police fire rubber bullets as protests against Rama escalatelist 3 of 3Protesters allege police brutality as violent clashes rage on in Albaniaend of listShops and institutions in the centre of the city have secured their doors and windows with metal shutters, while city workers removed paving stones to prevent their use by protesters. Lindita Karadaku, a journalist for Albanian news outlet TV Klan, told Al Jazeera on Sunday that it was difficult to see how the unrest could unfold or how long it could last.