Physicist Stephen Hawking steps down as Lucasian professor at Cambridge, in UK

October 14th, 2009 Report: Brother of physicist denies al-Qaida linkPARIS — The charges against a French physicist detained last week on suspicion of links to al-Qaida are "completely false," his brother said according to a report Tuesday. Halim Hicheur was quoted in a news report posted on science journal Nature's Web site as denying that his brother — whom he identified as Adlene Hicheur — corresponded with members of al-Qaida's North African offshoot, as French judicial officials allege.

October 11th, 2009 LONDON - British government laboratories had employed a physicist to work for Cern, Europe's world-renowned particle accelerator facility, who has now been arrested on charges of terrorism. Adlene Hicheur, 32, who is alleged to have links with Al-Qaeda, worked for the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in Oxfordshire where he collaborated with some of its leading researchers.

October 6th, 2009 LONDON - The first chief of British intelligence agency, MI5, had conveyed the gravity of a Nazi threat to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain by saying that Hitler called him "a*******", a new book has revealed. Written by Cambridge historian Professor Christopher Andrew, 'The Defence Of The Realm' is the first of its kind book which reveals the secrets of 100 years of obscure world of spying in Britain.

September 30th, 2009 Hawking to step down as Lucasian professorLONDON — Physicist Stephen Hawking is stepping down as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University. The roughly 350-year-old post has been held by such luminaries as Isaac Newton and Charles Babbage, one of the fathers of modern computing.

August 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, a team of scientists at Dartmouth university has proposed a new way of creating a reproduction black hole in the laboratory on a much-tinier scale than their celestial counterparts. The new method to create a tiny quantum sized black hole would allow researchers to better understand what physicist Stephen Hawking proposed more than 35 years ago: black holes are not totally void of activity; they emit photons, which is now known as Hawking radiation.

July 31st, 2009 LONDON - Stephen Hawking, Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, is among the 16 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. US President Barack Obama announced yesterday the complete list and said that it showed "an incredible diversity of backgrounds" but added: "Each has been an agent of change.

July 25th, 2009 LONDON - President Barack Obama has been urged by American police unions to tender an apology after he accused an officer of "acting stupidly" by arresting leading Black scholar, Professor Henry Louis Gates. Police representatives queued up at a press conference to insist race had played no part in the incident and the president should retract his "disgraceful" comments and apologise to Sgt James Crowley, The Telegraph reports.

July 2nd, 2009 LONDON - Stephen Hawking says he is 'flattered' by a Cambridge University poll voting "A Brief History of Time" as the publication most likely to have the same impact as Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species for future generations. The online poll was run by the University in preparation for its eagerly-awaited Darwin Anniversary Festival, from July 5-10.

June 17th, 2009 LONDON - A team of physicists have created an artificial black hole in their lab that traps sound instead of light, in an attempt to detect the theoretical Hawking radiation. The radiation, proposed by physicist Stephen Hawking more than 30 years ago, causes black holes to evaporate over time.

June 13th, 2009 LONDON - Nobel laureate Amartya Sen was conferred the honorary Doctor of Letters degree by the University of Cambridge. The degree was conferred on him on Friday by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, at the 800th Anniversary Honorary Degree Congregation at the Senate House in Cambridge.

April 21st, 2009 LONDON - British physicist Stephen Hawking is expected to make a 'full recovery' after undergoing a series of tests in a hospital in Cambridge, a spokesman for Cambridge University said Tuesday. The 67-year-old scientist, who is wheelchair-bound and speaks with the help of a voice synthesizer as a result of a motor neuron disease, was rushed to hospital Monday and described as being 'very ill'.

April 20th, 2009 LONDON - British physicist Stephen Hawking, the world-renowned author of 'A Brief History of Time', was admitted to hospital in the university city of Cambridge Monday where he was described as being 'very ill'. The 67-year-old scientist, who is wheelchair-bound and speaks with the help of a voice synthesiser as a result of motor neurone disease, was taken to hospital for tests.

March 30th, 2009 LONDON - Oxford defeated Cambridge in the 155th annual boat race. Fortunes change quickly in the Boat Race, and Saturday's was no exception.

March 12th, 2009 LONDON - In a unique study, a British scientist is trying to pinpoint the origins of creativity by examining the lives of more than 100 eminent 20th-century scientists, historians and explorers. According to a report in the Independent, the study, one of the biggest of its kind, is currently led by Professor Alan Macfarlane of Cambridge University.

January 4th, 2009 LONDON - The vice-chancellor of Cambridge University is set to visit India this month to broaden the scope of partnerships between the university and Indian industry. Alison Richard’s visit between Jan 8 and 18 will see her touring Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, according to a Cambridge University press release.