U.K.'s Sycamore Gap tree, featured in "Robin Hood" movie, chopped down in "deliberate act of vandalism"
CBSN
London — Britain's iconic Sycamore Gap tree, set in a dip in the ancient Hadrian's Wall in an otherwise treeless landscape, was chopped down Thursday in what police have called "a deliberate act of vandalism." A 16-year-old male was arrested and authorities appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
The famous tree was hundreds of years old and was already a beloved local landmark when it featured in the 1991 movie "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," with Kevin Costner climbing atop the ruins of the ancient Roman wall next to it to deliver a few lines.
In 2016, it was voted "English Tree of the Year."
Tel Aviv — After more than a year of bombing and homelessness, Gazans are looking to a new administration in Washington for help. President-elect Donald Trump's election victory has raised hopes and fears among the five million residents of the Palestinian territories — the warn-torn Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Johannesburg — It's often called the forgotten conflict, but the civil war that has torn Sudan apart for 19 months is fueling the world's biggest humanitarian crisis. In just over a year and a half, 13 million people have been displaced from their homes. At least one overcrowded camp for displaced civilians is already dealing with famine, while other parts of the country are suffering though famine-like conditions.
Tropical Storm Sara formed in the Caribbean on Thursday, becoming the 18th named storm of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season. The system, previously called Tropical Depression 19, developed in the western Caribbean earlier this week and intensified while traveling westward on a path toward Central America.
Paris — Security forces were on high alert Thursday in Paris ahead of a soccer match between France's national soccer team and the visiting Israeli side. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators held protests in the city Wednesday night, and there has been fear of a possible repeat of last week's violence and antisemitic attacks against Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam.