Each year, the European Tree of the Year competition elicits votes from the public to name Europe’s best tree. 2017’s winner is the 650-year-old Oak Józef, in Wis´niowa, Poland, which two Jewish brothers hid in during WWII and which was once depicted on the 100-złoty bill. For descriptions, histories and GPS coordinates of the 2017 candidates and former winners, visit www.treeoftheyear.org.

The cave paintings at Ennedi, northern Chad, were defaced with graffiti on an unknown date. The art at the site in the Sahara depicts human and animal forms and dates back more more than 8,000 years, before the area became desert. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016. The graffiti was written in French and Arabic, and Chadian officials believe that locals are responsible. Restorationists are unsure if the graffiti can be removed without damaging the original images.

A new high-speed train route connecting the city of Shanghai, on China’s eastern coast, to the city of Kunming, in China’s most southwesterly Yunnan Province, began operating in January 2017. The train travels up to 205 miles per hour along the 1,400-mile route, making the trip in roughly 11 hours. Previously, trains took 34 hours to make the one-way journey.Shanghai-Kunming trains depart four times daily and, in addition to stopping in Shanghai and Yunnan provinces, also stop in...