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For Immediate Release
July, 16 2018, 12:00am EDT
Contact:
Laura Meller, Arctic and Antarctic specialist, Greenpeace Nordic, phone +358 40 180 3322, Juha Aromaa, Communications Manager, Greenpeace Nordic, phone +358 50 369 6202, Greenpeace International Press Desk, pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org, phone: +31 (0) 20 718 2470
Trump-Putin Summit in Helsinki: Greenpeace Climbers in Church Bell Tower Call for Climate Action
While Presidents Trump and Putin are meeting in Helsinki, Finland, Greenpeace Nordic activists have unfolded two large banners in the high bell tower of Kallio church in Helsinki. The banners are calling the Presidents to "Warm Our Hearts, Not Our Planet". Greenpeace and the parish want to remind all those whose eyes are on Helsinki on this day that empathy and action are the keys to protecting the planet from climate change and environmental destruction.
Helsinki, Finland
While Presidents Trump and Putin are meeting in Helsinki, Finland, Greenpeace Nordic activists have unfolded two large banners in the high bell tower of Kallio church in Helsinki. The banners are calling the Presidents to "Warm Our Hearts, Not Our Planet". Greenpeace and the parish want to remind all those whose eyes are on Helsinki on this day that empathy and action are the keys to protecting the planet from climate change and environmental destruction.
"Climate change is the defining challenge of our generation and its impacts are felt by us today, putting our lives in danger. Everywhere in the world, people are determined to break free from fossil fuels. It is disappointing that presidents Trump and Putin are not helping us" said Sini Harkki, Greenpeace Nordic Programme Manager for Finland.
"But people power is the real superpower. Today, we are spelling this out: the change is already happening, with ordinary people leading and demanding a transition to clean, renewable energy worldwide and holding politicians and polluters to account", said Harkki.
While Trump wants US to leave the Paris climate agreement, many US states, cities and businesses are still committed to the agreement to stop climate change. The majority of US citizens support staying in the Paris Agreement.[1]
The activity was carried out in cooperation with the parish of Kallio of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. On Monday morning the activists hung the banners on two sides of Kallio church tower, well visible in the city of Helsinki.
"Greenpeace is committed to a peaceful world where the environment is protected. Real leaders put Planet Earth first and tackle urgent global threats such as climate change, destruction of forests and the unprecedented pressure on our oceans" said Harkki.
Greenpeace is a global, independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.
+31 20 718 2000LATEST NEWS
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"Courthouse arrests must stop immediately," said congressional candidate Brad Lander.
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US congressional candidate Brad Lander is demanding a congressional investigation and civil rights actions on behalf of hundreds of people who have been "illegally abducted" at immigration courts across the country after the US Department of Justice admitted it has been relying on a lie put forward by federal immigration officials as it defended agents' arrests at courthouses.
Jay Clayton, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, wrote a memo on Wednesday to a judge who last September ruled that courthouse arrests could continue, based on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) guidance which indicated that "ICE officers or agents may conduct civil immigration enforcement actions in or near courthouses when they have credible information" that a person eligible for deportation would be present at a court.
That guidance from May 27 of last year "does not and has never applied to civil immigration enforcement actions in or near Executive Office for Immigration Review immigration courts," reads Clayton's letter.
"The undersigned were specifically informed by ICE that the 2025 ICE Guidance applied to immigration courthouse arrests," Clayton wrote. "This regrettable error appears to have occurred because of agency attorney error."
The letter represented a "jaw-dropping admission" by the DOJ, said New York University law professor and Just Security editor Ryan Goodman.
The ICE guidance has been used to underpin numerous arrests at courthouses for more than a year—those of the husband of Monica Moreta-Galarza, who was violently thrown to the ground by an ICE agent when she protested the detention at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City; Dylan Lopez Contreras, a Bronx high school student who was arrested when he showed up for a legal asylum hearing last May and was only released this month; and others across the country whose names and stories haven't made national headlines.
Clayton said his office became aware of the far-reaching error on Tuesday when it received an email issuing a "reminder that the May 27, 2025 Guidance does not apply to Executive Office for Immigration Review (Immigration) courts, regardless of their location.”
The US attorney wrote that Castel's opinion from last September, in which the judge ruled ICE's guidance clearly allowed arrests at immigration courts, "will need to be reconsidered and re-briefed for the court to adjudicate Plaintiffs’ APA [Administrative Procedure Act] claims against ICE on the merits."
Clayton issued the filing as part of an ongoing case in which immigrant rights groups sued over the Trump administration's arrests at routine immigration court hearings.
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We just caught ICE in a bombshell lie.
They do NOT have the authorization they've claimed to arrest immigrants at 26 Federal Plaza.
Courthouse arrests must end now. There's never been a stronger case for why this rogue, lawless agency should be abolished. pic.twitter.com/MXIoJetffZ
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President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Wednesday to call for a "clean" extension of a key spying power as lawmakers across the political spectrum and privacy advocates throughout the United States demand reforms before Congress passes a reauthorization bill.
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) empowers the US government to spy on electronic communications of noncitizens located outside the country, without a warrant. It expires April 20. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) planned to try to push through legislation this week, but he delayed it due to a lack of support.
Trump noted Wednesday that Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) have been working to pass a clean extension. He said that "when used properly, FISA is an effective tool to keep Americans safe," and called for reauthorizing the power for 18 months.
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The controversial law known as FISA Section 702 is up for renewal in Congress. It allows government to spy on Americans’ communications without a warrant.Use our action center to tell Congress to reform Section 702 and end mass warrantless surveillance!
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— Freedom of the Press Foundation (@freedom.press) March 22, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Sharing Trump's Truth post on the social media platform X, Politico's Jordain Carney noted that "he's been telling people for a while privately this is what he wants."
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We won't allow President Trump and Stephen Miller to continue invading our privacy.Tell Congress to refuse to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which would expand the federal government's power to secretly spy on us.
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— ACLU (@aclu.org) March 24, 2026 at 9:31 AM
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