Stephen Hawking, cosmology's brightest star, dies aged 76
Stephen Hawking, the brightest star in the firmament of science, whose insights shaped modern cosmology and inspired global audiences in the millions, has died aged 76.
President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday he was pulling the Philippines out of the treaty underpinning the International Criminal Court, which is examining his deadly drug war.
Cora Currier
The physicist and author of A Brief History of Time has died at his home in Cambridge. His children said: ‘We will miss him for ever’
Stephen Hawking, the brightest star in the firmament of science, whose insights shaped modern cosmology and inspired global audiences in the millions, has died aged 76.
His family released a statement in the early hours of Wednesday morning confirming his death at his home in Cambridge.
Hawking’s children, Lucy, Robert and Tim, said in a statement: “We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today. He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years. His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humour inspired people across the world.
Gina Haspel: Who is the woman Donald Trump nominated to take over the CIA?
Ms Haspel commands deep respect within the agency, but has a controversial history
When Donald Trump made his surprise announcement naming CIA director Mike Pompeo as secretary of state, he left a void at the intelligence agency that may – for the first time – be filled by a woman: Gina Haspel.
Mr Trump announced Ms Haspel's nomination as CIA director in a crowded tweet, in which he also announced current Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's departure, and the nomination of Mr Pompeo to take his place.
“Congratulations to all!” Mr Trump tweeted.
Ms Haspel is a widely respected CIA veteran, but one with a controversial history. Below is everything you need to know about the deputy director and her coming Senate confirmation hearing.
El Salvador releases second woman jailed over abortion
A Salvadoran woman serving time over an alleged abortion has been released halfway through her 30-year sentence. International campaigners say two dozen women remain behind bars under the country's strict abortion laws.
Maira Figueroa (top photo, center) was released from the Ilopango women's prison in the Salvadorian capital, San Salvador, on Tuesday having served 15 of her 30-year sentence for aggravated homicide over an alleged abortion.
Figueroa is the second woman jailed under the country's anti-abortion laws to see her sentence commuted by the Supreme Court this year after Teodora Vasquez was freed in February, having served 11 years of a 30-year sentence.
Vasquez was among those waiting to greet Figueroa on her release, and the two women embraced outside the prison walls.
Philippines' Duterte moves to quit International Criminal Court
President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday he was pulling the Philippines out of the treaty underpinning the International Criminal Court, which is examining his deadly drug war.
"I therefore declare and forthwith give notice... that the Philippines is withdrawing its ratification of the Rome Statute effective immediately," Duterte said in a statement.
The Hague-based ICC announced last month it was launching a "preliminary examination" of Duterte's bloody anti-drug crackdown that has drawn international concern.
Police say they have killed nearly 4,000 drug suspects as part of the campaign, while rights groups claim the toll is around three times the numbers given by authorities.
Global warming puts nearly half of species in key places at risk: report
Updated 0801 GMT (1601 HKT) March 14, 2018
About half of all plants and animals in 35 of the world's most biodiverse places are at risk of extinction due to climate change, a new report claims.
"Hotter days, longer periods of drought, and more intense storms are becoming the new normal, and species around the world are already feeling the effects," said Nikhil Advani, lead specialist for climate, communities and wildlife at the World Wildlife Fund in London (WWF).
The report, a collaboration between the University of East Anglia, the James Cook University, and the WWF, found that nearly 80,000 plants and animals in 35 diverse and wildlife-rich areas -- including the Amazon rainforest, the Galapagos islands, southwest Australia and Madagascar -- could become extinct if global temperatures rise.
THE ART OF THE WALL
Cora Currier
DONALD TRUMP’S VISIT to San Diego today to tour border wall prototypes will be political theater, allowing a president who loves props to wave at some very big ones. The wall is Trump’s signature issue, and it’s easy to envision him thoroughly enjoying a walk through the eight giant, concrete-and-steel test sections placed for his perusal.
There’s been a smaller storm brewing around another tour of the prototypes, staged by the Swiss artist Christoph Büchel. In December, Büchel began a project to have the wall sections designated a national monument, declaring that they “have significant cultural value and are historical land art.” He launched a petition to preserve the prototypes under the American Antiquities Act on both historical and aesthetic grounds, citing as precedents Stonehenge and the mass-produced “readymades” of Marcel Duchamp. “This is a collective sculpture; people elected this artist,” Büchel told the New York Times. In the meantime, he has been organizing $25-a-head excursions to the site.
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