Zelenskiy pushes for Ukraine support at Moldova summit

Zelenskiy's quest for security backing from NATO got no concrete commitments at the summit of European leaders in Moldova. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What The World is following Zelenskiy pushes for Ukraine support at Moldova summit Vadim Ghirda/AP Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's [quest for more political support and security backing from NATO]( got a warm welcome but no concrete commitments Thursday during the one-day summit of European leaders in Moldova. The summit aimed to quell regional conflicts and shore up European solidarity in the face of Russia’s war. Zelenskiy said the best security guarantee for Ukraine was membership in NATO and the European Union, and that any proposed peace plans to end the 15-month-old war in his country could not take into account Russian concerns. Russia [wants any ceasefire talks]( to address Ukraine’s request to join NATO. Moldova, cradled by Ukraine on three sides, also aspires to join the EU, and has consistently signaled its support for Ukraine and taken in refugees fleeing the war. Colombia The discovery in recent days of small footprints in a southern jungle-covered part of Colombia has [rekindled hope]( of finding alive four children who survived a small plane crash and went missing a month ago. Searchers found footprints Tuesday about 2 miles northwest of where the plane crashed May 1, with three adults and four Indigenous children aged 13, 9 and 4 and 11 months, Gen. Pedro Sánchez, commander of the Joint Command of Special Operations said. More than 100 members of Colombia’s special forces and more than 70 Indigenous people from the area have joined the search through virgin jungle in the Colombia Amazon. Some soldiers have walked nearly 1,000 miles in the search. Syria For the first time in Syria’s 12-year war, [people in every district are experiencing some degree of “humanitarian stress,”]( and a staggering 15.3 million — nearly 70% of the population — need humanitarian aid, the United Nations said this week. The humanitarian situation is dire as Syria’s President Bashar Assad was [welcomed back to the Arab League]( this month after a 12-year suspension. The February earthquake that devastated the rebel-held northwest compounded the situation. The US has accused Assad of trying “to seize on the outpouring of international support following the earthquakes to reclaim its place on the world stage." Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, said the new diplomatic activity with Syria “could act as a circuit breaker in the search for a political solution in Syria." --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [Cambodian American graduates: More than victims of genocide]( Ashley Balderrama/LAist Ariya Tok is one of nearly two dozen [Cambodian American graduates]( who took part in the Cal State Long Beach cultural ceremony, an event with special significance to the Cambodian Americans living in an area that has the largest such population in the United States. Nearly 50 years since a genocide in their home country brought thousands of Cambodians to Long Beach and other parts of the US, people in that community say the awarding of college degrees to this third generation of Cambodian immigrants symbolizes both a response to that genocide and the strengthening of a people they hope US society will begin to see in their full scope as human beings, not just the victims of genocide. [Brazilian Congress moves to limit Indigenous land claims]( ​​​​​​​A bill making its way through the Legislature in Brazil [could limit Indigenous land claims]( in the country, and potentially call into question large swaths of land already demarcated for Indian reservations. --------------------------------------------------------------- Calling all international students! School is out for the summer. ☀️📚🍎 But we have one more assignment for you! If you are a student or recent graduate of an American univerisity, we’d like to know why you chose to study in the US. - Was it all that you hoped for? What do you like, what do you not like? - When you graduate, will you return home? Record a voice memo with your story and email it to myworld@theworld.org. Remember to include your name and location. And we just might feature your story on the program! 🎙️ --------------------------------------------------------------- Double Take The world remembers [legendary Ghanaian author and feminst Ama Ata Aidoo](, who died at the age of 81 on May 31. Through her novels "The Dilemma of a Ghost," "Our Sister Killjoy," and "Changes," she opposed Western perceptions of the African woman as "a downtrodden wretch." 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