Deep in Taiwan’s misty mountains, researchers have confirmed the tallest tree in the country: a thousand-year-old fir tree higher than a 20-story building, which they’ve named “the heaven sword of the Da’an River.” Climbers scaled the tree and dropped a measuring tape from the top to the forest floor during the Lunar New Year holiday in January 2023. The tree measured 84.1-meters (276-feet). The findings have been published in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. A team of ecologists, geologists, remote-sensing specialists, professional climbers and Indigenous people that calls itself the “Taiwan tree seekers” began the search in 2014. “The common characteristics [of the team] are probably that we are all tree lovers and like adventures,” Rebecca Chia-Chun Hsu, lead author from Division of Forest Ecology, Institute of Taiwan Forestry Research, told CNN. ‘The Heaven Sword’, Taiwan’s tallest tree, measures 84.1 meters. Photo courtesy of Steven Pearce. Taiwan is one of the few places on Earth where trees can grow this tall. The island sits where the tropics meet the subtropics, and its mountains host several giant conifer species. The species behind the new record, Taiwania cryptomerioides, is known to the Indigenous Rukai people as “the tree that hits the moon.” Although nearly 60% of Taiwan is covered in forest, loggers cleared much of the island’s old-growth forest between 1912 and 1991. However, its steep slopes were too dangerous to reach, and pockets of ancient forest survived. Still, finding the tallest tree amid the rugged terrain was a task. Taiwan…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Britain, France, and Germany backed Ukraine's terms for ending the war after meeting its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in London, according to their joint statement. They endorsed Kyiv's push for direct talks with Moscow and an immediate ceasefire, while spelling out what a lasting peace would require. The leaders also called for tightening the squeeze on Russia's war economy and scaling up Ukraine's air defenses.

Five conditions for peace

Meeting on 7 June, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz set out five conditions for a just and lasting peace. The E3, as the three are known, are Ukraine's leading European backers. Their terms:

• An immediate, complete ceasefire, which they urged Putin to accept.
• The current front line as the starting point for talks, with no borders changed by force and Ukraine free to choose its alliances.
• Robust, legally binding security guarantees once a ceasefire holds, building on the allies' December 2025 Berlin and January 2026 Paris commitments, including a multinational force in Ukraine. 
• Russian assets remain immobilized until Moscow ends its aggression and compensates Ukraine.
• European interests safeguarded, with any EU- or NATO-related terms requiring both blocs' consent.

Backing for direct talks with Moscow

The leaders commended Ukraine's president for his 4 June letter to Putin calling to end the war. They backed direct Ukraine-Russia dialogue, with the US and Europe actively taking part, to secure a ceasefire. Europe must play a role in any settlement, they said, working closely with Kyiv, the rest of Europe, and Washington.

Pressure on Russia and more air defense

They denounced Russia's barrage of missiles and drones, including repeated strikes with the Oreshnik, a Russian missile. They also condemned dangerous Russian drone incursions into NATO territory and offered condolences to the victims. The leaders welcomed Ukraine's recent battlefield gains, from liberated territory to advances in drone warfare. They agreed to coordinate more support at the coming G7 summit in Evian, the next Coalition of the Willing meeting, and the NATO summit in Ankara. That includes choking off more of Russia's wartime revenue and a bigger military pledge at the NATO talks. They also urged scaling up interceptor production and co-developing anti-ballistic and deep-strike weapons.