Новости за 14.03.2018

WASHINGTON ― Early in their efforts to push through tax reform last year,

The United States said Wednesday that Russia was "responsible" for a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in England, and urged the UN Security Council to hold Moscow accountable. "The United States believes that Russia is responsible for the attack on two people in the United Kingdom, using a military-grade nerve agent," US Ambassador Nikki Haley told an emergency council meeting.

Jeremy Corbyn was yesterday accused of being an "apologist for Russia" after suggesting Moscow may not be responsible for a nerve agent attack, as furious Labour MPs turned on him in the House of Commons.  The Labour leader and his spokesman Seumas Milne repeatedly failed to accept that Russia is responsible for the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter and later called British intelligence "problematic", warning another state could be to blame.  Labour MPs called for Mr Milne's resignation... Читать дальше...

The Atlantic reports President Trump broke his silence on the GOP PA-18 defeat at a closed-door fundraiser, insisting that Democrat Conor Lamb won because he said, "Oh, I'm like Trump." Did the audience buy it?

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations says Russia must fully cooperate with the U.K.'s investigation into the assassination attempt of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal.

By Dustin Volz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pennsylvania's tight congressional special election underscores the need for states to replace aging voting machines and use paper ballots as backups to ensure the integrity of vote counts ahead of pivotal November U.S. midterm elections, election security advocates said on Wednesday. Democrat Conor Lamb led Republican Rick Saccone by only a few hundred votes out of nearly 230,000 cast in the closely watched U.S. House of Representatives election on Tuesday in western Pennsylvania. Читать дальше...

WASHINGTON ― Andrew McCabe, who took over as acting head of the FBI after

A European Parliament delegation said Wednesday it has been conducting secret talks with North Korea over the last three years to try to persuade Pyongyang to negotiate an end to its nuclear programme. The group led by British MEP Nirj Deva has met senior North Korean officials, including ministers, 14 times and plans another meeting in Brussels in the near future. News of the below-the-radar diplomacy effort comes after the surprise announcement that US President Donald Trump plans a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un... Читать дальше...

Accused Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz was arraigned in a Florida court. Cruz faces the death penalty in the shooting deaths of 17 people.

LONDON (AP) — Physicist and author Stephen Hawking possessed an uncanny ability to come up with memorable phrases and sayings that summed up his world view. Here is a selection of his famous observations:

By Polina Nikolskaya and Darya Korsunskaya THE KERCH STRAIT/SEVASTOPOL, Crimea (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Crimea on Wednesday, touting his annexation of the peninsula to voters days before an election all but guaranteed to deliver him a second consecutive term in power. Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine drew international condemnation and sanctions, but many Russians saw it as restoring Moscow's rule over a region they regard as being historically Russian. Читать дальше...

Germany's new foreign minister, Heiko Maas, criticized Russia on Wednesday over its stance towards a nerve agent attack in England for which the British government has blamed Moscow and he said it could not go unpunished. In his first speech as foreign minister shortly after taking up the post in Germany's new coalition government, Maas also criticized Russia's behavior in Ukraine but said he still hoped to improve relations with Moscow through dialogue.

By Tuomas Forsell and Alastair Macdonald HELSINKI/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May has a week to rally wary European Union leaders behind punitive measures against Moscow over the poisoning of a Russian former spy but will struggle to secure major EU action at an EU summit next Thursday. Despite talk of "full solidarity" with London after a "brutal attack inspired most likely by Moscow" from summit chair Donald Tusk and others in Brussels, there is profound caution in Paris and Berlin... Читать дальше...

Senator Rand Paul: ‘To really appoint the head cheerleader for waterboarding to be head of the CIA?. The Republican senator Rand Paul said on Wednesday he would oppose Donald Trump’s nomination of Gina Haspel for director of the CIA, accusing her of having shown “joyful glee” during the torture of terrorism suspects.

The bigger fight in the midterm elections this fall is unlikely to be a carbon copy of what just happened for a number of reasons.

By Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines said on Wednesday it is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC) due to what President Rodrigo Duterte called "outrageous" attacks by U.N. officials and violations of due process by the ICC. The decision marks a stunning about-face by Duterte, who has repeatedly dared the ICC to indict him and said he was willing to "rot in jail" or go on trial to defend a war on drugs that has killed thousands of his own people. Читать дальше...

Who wouldn't want to understand the universe?

"I think most Republicans realize we're running into a very serious headwind — hurricane-force wind," Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., said of the improbable victory.

WASHINGTON ― Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Wednesday he intends to oppose

The bill would ease how experimental drugs are used to treat terminal illnesses

Haley confirmed the Trump administration stands in solidarity with Great Britain and urged the attack be addressed immediately for fear of chemical weapons being used in other cities.

President Trump won Pennsylvania’s 18th district by 20 points in 2016, but a Democrat won the Congressional seat by a few hundred votes in the state’s competitive special election.

In 1974, long before Stephen Hawking was the famous cosmologist he became, he developed his most influential theory.  That concept, which came to be known as Hawking radiation, explained how energy and even matter could escape the immense gravitational pull of a black hole. On Wednesday, Hawking died at the age of 76, but his scientific theory lives on. And in fact, Hawking himself will make sure of it, even in death.  SEE ALSO: Stephen Hawking, beloved author of 'A Brief History of Time,' dies at 76 In 2002... Читать дальше...

From aliens to the apocalypse, Hawking had strong opinions.

"I'm not afraid of death, but I'm in no hurry to die"