Tensions between London and Moscow haven't been this tense since the Cold War
Happy Wednesday everyone, I'm Anna and I will be getting you caught up on today's news.
Powerful message - UK Prime Minister Theresa May expelled 23 Russian diplomats on Wednesday over the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Salisbury, England, with a Russian-made nerve agent. She vowed to crack down on Russian spies and oligarchs in a move that raised tensions between the countries to levels not seen since the Cold War. Her statement to Parliament was prompted by Moscow rejecting a British deadline for Russia to explain itself over an attack on the former spy, Sergei V. Skripal, and his daughter.
A star dies - Stephen Hawking, a scientific icon whose work heavily influenced modern cosmology, has died aged 76. His family released a statement Wednesday morning confirming his death at his Cambridge home. 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. He once said: “It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.” We will miss him forever.’ Hawking was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 1963 at the age of 21, and was expected to live just two years more. However, he lived on for more than half a century, becoming one of the most loved and respected scientific voices on the planet.
Another fall from humanity - Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte is to withdraw the country from the international criminal court after it opened a crimes against humanity investigation into his brutal war on drugs. He accused the ICC and the UN of a crusade against him, refuting what he described as ‘baseless, unprecedented and outrageous attacks on my person’. ‘I therefore declare and forthwith give notice, as president of the republic of the Philippines, that the Philippines is withdrawing its ratification of the Rome statute [the treaty that established the ICC] effective immediately,’ said Duterte.
Neck and neck - Democrat Conor Lamb and Republican Rick Saccone are still battling it out and are currently neck and neck over who will represent Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District. Lamb is slightly ahead of Saccone with 100% of the Election Day vote tallied, but absentee and provisional ballots are still being counted. However, Lamb claimed victory in a speech to his supporters Tuesday night. ‘It took a little longer than we thought, but we did it,’ he said. ‘You did it.’ Saccone also said he wasn’t giving up though. ‘We are still fighting the fight. It's not over yet,’ Saccone told his supporters. If Lamb wins, it will be seen as a huge loss for Donald Trump.
Racist depictions - National Geographic has admitted that coverage of black and minority ethnic people in America and the wider world has been historically racist, often detailing caricatures of the ‘noble savage’ while barely featuring the America’s minority ethnic population. An internal investigation last year showed that until the 1970s, National Geographic almost ignored minority ethnic Americans who were not labourers or domestic workers, and portrayed non-white people around the world as ‘exotics, famously and frequently unclothed, happy hunters, noble savages – every type of cliche.’
A final warning - Former US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was fired yesterday, used his final moments in the spotlight to warn of Russia's ‘troubling behaviour and actions’. He made a point of not thanking Trump or praising any of his policies. The former ExxonMobil chief is said to have had a number of clashes with Trump and officials in the White House before being officially fired on Twitter.
Facing extinction - About 50% of plants and animals in 35 of the world's most biodiverse areas 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). 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 report claims.