Stephen Hawking Official Blog

Thursday 11 August 2016

London schoolgirl who travelled to Syria to join IS 'feared dead'

One of three schoolgirls who left east London last year to join so-called Islamic State (IS) is believed to have been killed in a Russian air strike in Syria, her family solicitor has said.

Kadiza Sultana was 16 when she left Bethnal Green along with two friends.

Her family's lawyer, Tasnime Akunjee, told News they heard a report of her death in Raqqa a few weeks ago.

But he said they had not been able to independently confirm it because of the nature of information from Syria.

Mr Akunjee said the teenager had grown disillusioned and wanted to leave IS and return to the UK - but had decided not to risk being captured and facing a "brutal" punishment from the terror group.

He told the programme the family were "obviously devastated".

Mr Akunjee added: "There's nothing worse than finding out your sibling or family member's been killed and by all accounts she was a young girl with a very promising future - and it's a great loss to us all really.

"Every effort was made from the very beginning to try and avoid this fateful news and despite all efforts it's unfortunate that we find ourselves with the loss of a young life."

Kadiza Sultana and schoolfriends Shamima Begum and Amira Abase, both 15 at the time, flew from Gatwick to Turkey on 17 February 2015 after telling their parents they were going out for the day.

The Bethnal Green Academy pupils later entered Syria and were thought to be living in Raqqa, a stronghold for the so-called Islamic State.

They had been studying for their GCSEs at the school in Tower Hamlets, east London - where they have been described as "straight-A students".

Mr Akunjee said of Kadiza Sultana: "She had expressed a desire to come back. The problem with that was the risk factors around leaving are quite terminal also, in that if ISIS [IS] were able to detect and capture you then their punishment is quite brutal for trying to leave.

"In the week where she was thinking of these issues a young Austrian girl had been caught trying to leave ISIS territory and was by all reports beaten to death publicly, so - given that that was circulated in the region as well as outside - I think Kadiza took that as a bad omen and decided not to take the risk."

Asked why she had wanted to leave, Mr Akunjee added: "I think she found out pretty quickly that the propaganda doesn't match up with the reality."

A fourth girl from the school is believed to have travelled to Syria in December 2014.

Last year, a solicitor for the families said two of the girls had got married, without identifying which ones.

The Bethnal Green schoolgirls were among more than 800 Britons who are believed to have left the UK to join IS or other militant groups in Syria and Iraq,

Thailand blasts: Explosions target tourist towns.

A series of coordinated blasts across Thailand has targeted tourist towns leaving four dead and many injured, with reports of more explosions.

In the popular resort town of Hua Hin four bombs exploded over the past 24 hours. Several blasts also hit the island of Phuket on Friday.

No group has said it carried out the attacks, but suspicion is likely to fall on separatist insurgents.

The timing is sensitive as Thais mark a long weekend for the queen's birthday.

Police on Friday ruled out international terrorism and said that any links to the southern insurgency were unclear.

10-year-old outsmarts Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking in an IQ test from India.

This 10-year-old British-Indian boy has beaten Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking in an IQ test.

Dhruv Talati secured 162, highest possible score in Mensa's Cattell III B Paper, while Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking scored 160. Mensa, oldest and largest high IQ society in the world, has only eight percent members who are under 16. The test Dhruv attempted has 150 questions and assesses comprehension through passages of texts.

Resident of Barkingside in Ilford, London, Dhruv goes to Fullwood Primary School in London, did not find the test tough. "The test was not that difficult, but the time made it a challenge", said the whizz kid.

The 10-year-old also plays tennis and cricket and at the age of 5 was selected to play and train at LTA's Compete Tennis, one of the 19 High Performance Centre's for Tennis in the UK.

Dhruv dreams of being a robotics expert and a cricketer. His mother is a teacher and his father is an investment banking consultant who are ready to make every effort to encourage Dhruv's talent.

The 10-year-old scored the maximum possible score for under under-18s.

Wednesday 6 May 2015

Live: Salman Khan held guilty in 2002 hit-and-run case, sentenced to five years in jail

An Indian court has sentenced Bollywood star Salman Khan to five years in jail for killing a homeless man in a 2002 hit-and-run driving incident in Mumbai.
The man was among five people who were run over in the incident. The actor was charged with culpable homicide.
Khan had said his driver was behind the wheel, but the judge said the actor was driving the car and was under the influence of alcohol at the time.
Legal experts expect the actor to appeal against the verdict.
He could have been jailed for 10 years

ISIS claim responsibility for shooting at Texas Muhammad cartoon contest

The Islamic State terror group (ISIS) Tuesday issued a claim of responsibility for Sunday's attack on a Texas cartoon contest featuring images of the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

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The claim was made in an audio message on the group's Al Bayan radio station, based in the Syria city of Raqqa, which ISIS has proclaimed to be the capital of its self-proclaimed caliphate. It is the first time ISIS has taken credit for an attack on U.S. soil, though it was not immediately clear whether the group's claim was an opportunistic co-opting of a so-called "lone wolf" attack as its own.

The message described the shooting suspects as "two soldiers of the caliphate" and added "We tell America that what is coming is more bitter and harder and you will see from the soldiers of the Caliphate what harms you."

The message also said the contest, which was being put on by a group known for controversial rhetoric about Islam, "was portraying negative images of the Prophet Muhammad."

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told Fox News Tuesday that the attack was terrorism and at the very least inspired by ISIS.

McCaul also said in the days leading up to the attack, a joint FBI and Homeland Security bulletin was circulated and security for the event had been ramped up as a result, in Garland understanding that it was a target.

An investigation following the attack revealed a striking connection between at least one of the gunmen and a Twitter account based overseas, suggesting that ISIS operatives had knowledge of the attack beforehand and that the same fighters encouraged the shooters, a counterterrorism source told Fox News.

One British-based jihadi in Syria who does not tweet on a regular basis sent out a message within an hour of the attack, praising both men.

Another established ISIS Twitter account suggested he had been in contact with one of the gunmen just prior to the attack, using messages such as he tried to reach him but just missed him. The source said the social media appeared to show encouragement and mentoring.

The contest had been expected to draw outrage from the Muslim community. According to mainstream Islamic tradition, any physical depiction of Muhammad — even a respectful one — is considered blasphemous, and drawings similar to those featured at the Texas event have sparked violence around the world.

Authorities say the suspects, identified as Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, drove up to the building where the contest was being held in the Dallas suburb of Garland and opened fire. An unarmed school district security guard was wounded before a Garland police officer returned fire and killed both men.

Soofi had a long standing hatred of police and had studied overseas in Islamabad, Pakistan, according to a Facebook account that has since been disabled.

He once owned a pizza and hot wings restaurant in Phoenix called Cleopatra, but sold it years ago as it was struggling, the New York Times reports.

Public records showed that Soofi and Simpson were living in the same apartment complex in Phoenix, but it was not clear if they lived together, according to the newspaper.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said in a statement Monday that law enforcement authorities are investigating the men's motives and all circumstances surrounding the attack.

Court documents show that Simpson had first been noticed by the FBI in 2006 due to his ties to a a former U.S. Navy sailor who had been arrested in Phoenix and was ultimately convicted of terrorism-related charges. In 2010, Simpson was arrested one day before he was scheduled to fly to South Africa to undertake what he claimed were religious studies at a madrassa. Recordings played at Simpson's trial indicated that he was using his studies as an excuse to travel to Somalia to link up with militant fighters there.

Despite the more than 1,500 hours of recorded conversations, including Simpson's discussions about fighting nonbelievers for Allah, whom he referred to as "kuffars" the government prosecuted him on only one minor charge — lying to a federal agent. He faced three years of probation and $600 in fines and court fees.

There have been numerous attacks in Western countries believed related in some way to the group, which holds roughly a third of Iraq and Syria.

Lucy Hawking: Stephen Hawking's daughter writes impassioned open letter to Katie Hopkins about rights of disabled people

The Sun columnist was urged to reconsider her attitude towards disabled people after Hopkins described Labour leader Ed Miliband as looking like someone "on the spectrum".

Writing in the Guardian, Hawking said: "I hoped that now, no disabled person would encounter this kind of behaviour – and that they would be treated with respect and dignity."

Hawking's father has motor neurone disease, which has left him wheelchair bound and only able to speak via a computer.

She went on: "I have an autistic son. He’s very sweet, polite, hard-working, kind and generally lovely. But yes, he does stare at people from time to time.

"When we are on the tube, occasionally I have to say to a member of the public that my son is autistic and that I’m sorry he is staring. The reaction is always kind and compassionate."

Accusing Hopkins of making a "laughing stock" out of anybody not exactly like herself, Hawking asked her to "please stop".

The Sun columnist was urged to reconsider her attitude towards disabled people after Hopkins described Labour leader Ed Miliband as looking like someone "on the spectrum".

Writing in the Guardian, Hawking said: "I hoped that now, no disabled person would encounter this kind of behaviour – and that they would be treated with respect and dignity."

Hawking's father has motor neurone disease, which has left him wheelchair bound and only able to speak via a computer. However, this wasn't the only reason Hawking was standing up for the rights of disabled people.

She went on: "I have an autistic son. He’s very sweet, polite, hard-working, kind and generally lovely. But yes, he does stare at people from time to time.

"When we are on the tube, occasionally I have to say to a member of the public that my son is autistic and that I’m sorry he is staring. The reaction is always kind and compassionate."

Accusing Hopkins of making a "laughing stock" out of anybody not exactly like herself, Hawking asked her to "please stop". Hopkins provided Twitter commentary during the leaders' debate in early April, and asked Miliband to "act off the spectrum" and said he looked "just plain weird".

The columnist has made a name for herself out of expressing controversial opinions. She described refugees fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa as "cockroaches". Hopkins and The Sun's editor David Dinsmore were reported to the Metropolitan Police for incitement to racial hatred.

Tuesday 4 November 2014

The Theory of Everything Movie Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Salz7uGp72c

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