Whole house goes missing overnight
An entire house has disappeared overnight leaving police baffled as to its whereabouts. Brazen theft »
Cricket World Cup
Black Caps v Australia
Join our live discussion of the World Cup match between the Black Caps and Australia from Eden Park.
-
S. Africa family reunited with child snatched in 1997
A baby stolen from her sleeping mother's arms shortly after birth has been found by the family through an astonishing coincidence 17 years later, her biological family and South African police said Friday. A 50-year-old woman has been arrested and charged with kidnapping after pupils noticed a remarkable likeness between the 17-year-old and her younger biological sister who started attending the same school this year. DNA tests have confirmed that the older girl is the daughter of Celeste and Morne Nurse, who was snatched from Groote Schuur hospital as a three-day-old baby named Zephany in April 1997, local media reported.
AFP -
The dress that broke the Internet
By some reckonings, Buzzfeed invented "viral," but its deputy news director, Jon Passatino, appeared truly surprised by just how many clicks the dress generated. Neetzan Zimmerman, formerly an editor at another viral content machine, Gawker, and widely considered an expert in virality, tweeted that the dress is a "viral singularity." It appears to have started with a Tumblr post of the photo, headlined "what colors are this dress," and spread from there as those who saw white-and-gold engaged in pitched battles with the blue-and-black camp.
CNBC -
Islamic State under pressure as Kurds seize Syrian town
Kurdish forces dealt a blow to Islamic State by capturing an important town on Friday in the latest stage of a powerful offensive in northeast Syria, a Kurdish militia spokesman said. Islamic State has been forced into retreat across parts of the strategic region, a land bridge between territory it controls in Syria and Iraq, even as its fighters have mounted new raids this week on Assyrian Christian villages, abducting more than 200 people. The capture of Tel Hamis was announced by the Kurdish YPG militia and confirmed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the country's civil war.
Reuters -
Russian opposition leader Nemtsov shot dead: official
Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, a fierce critic of President Vladmir Putin, was shot dead in central Moscow late Friday ahead of a major opposition rally this weekend, investigators and police said. "In central Moscow, a man with documents in the name of Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov was killed," an interior ministry spokesman told AFP early Saturday, declining to give further details. Russia's Investigative Committee confirmed the death, saying it had opened a criminal probe.
AFP -
N. Korea vows 'merciless' war against US
North Korea vowed to wage a "merciless, sacred war" against the United States on Thursday, days before the launch of annual joint South Korea-US military exercises that have incensed Pyongyang. "Nuclear weapons are not a monopoly of the US," the ruling party's official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, warned in an editorial carried by the state KCNA news agency. North Korea "will wage a merciless sacred war against the US now that the latter has chosen confrontation", the Rodong Sinmun said.
AFP -
New volcano island getting big in Japan
Famously crowded Japan is getting a bit more space as a newly-formed volcanic island just keeps on growing. New footage of the remote Nishinoshima, some 1,000 kilometres south of Tokyo, shows a volcano erupting up to six times a minute, spewing huge volumes of magma -- and scientists say there is plenty more still to come. A tiny islet emerged in November 2013 right next to the original Nishinoshima, when molten rock cooled and began to poke its head just above the water.
AFP -
Billionaire's 'secret' daughter gets $20 million
Looks like Olivia Mead will be able to afford her Mexican walking fish and jewelry-encrusted bass guitar-lots of them, in fact. Mead, the "secret daughter" of the late Australian billionaire Michael Wright, became a minor Web sensation in early February after demanding more from her father's estate, worth $3.1 billion Australian dollars ($2.4 billion). "The starting point in reaching that conclusion is the size of the estate," Master Craig Sanderson said in his judgment.
CNBC -
Liam Gallagher brands Kanye West 'Utter S***'
Liam Gallagher has branded Kanye West "Utter S***" following a performance of his track 'All Day' at the BRIT Awards.
Bang Showbiz -
Paris Hilton sent car by fan
Paris Hilton has been sent a classic car by an obsessive fan.A man named Johnny delivered the Cadillac to the 34-year-old socialite's Beverly Hills gated community on Sunday (22.02.15) but when the security guard at the gate called the blonde beauty and
Bang Showbiz -
Barker 'gutted' by Team NZ's treatment
Dean Barker's been dropped as Team NZ's helmsman and the former skipper says he's "gutted" at the way he's been treated.
NZ Newswire -
Zelda Williams: 'No Point' Asking Why Robin Williams Took His Own Life
Six months after Robin Williams took his own life, his daughter Zelda is opening up about what hers is like now that he's gone.
Yahoo Entertainment -
Federer earns a meeting with Croatian wunderkind
Dubai (AFP) - Roger Federer's bid to extend his record of Dubai Open titles to seven carried him into the semi-finals with record-breaking speed and to a meeting with the new wunderkind of tennis.
AFP -
PM phones Widodo over Bali Nine pair
Preparations haven't stopped for the executions of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran despite a phone call between the Indonesian and Australian leaders.
AAP -
NZ dollar gains vs. Aust dollar after data points to diverging economies
The kiwi rose to 96.22 Australian at 5pm in Wellington from 95.53 cents yesterday. New Zealand government figures showed an unexpected trade surplus in January and a new record gain in annual net migration as fewer New Zealanders depart for Australia and as more Indians arrive to study. New Zealand's strong net migration has been a key feature the Reserve Bank has been watching, as it is seen as placing pressure on an already hot housing market in the country's biggest city, Auckland. "Strategists are extremely bearish on the Australian economy, and the capex data proves that," said Tim Kelleher, head of institutional FX sales NZ at ASB Institutional in Auckland.
BusinessDesk -
Truckie 'avoids bridge toll with Bond-inspired device'
A truckie accused of using a James Bond-style retractable bumper to evade a $95 toll on the George Washington Bridge in New York City has been charged with using burglary tools, police said. Hauling a load of sweets across the bridge toward New York City on Wednesday, Pablo Ortega flipped a switch on his dashboard as he approached the toll gates over the Hudson River.
Reuters -
Psychology on order: How restaurants get you to spend more
Restaurant menus are a complicated mixture of psychology, art and sales pitches. Greg Rapp, a menu consultant in California, says he advises restaurants and fast-food chains to leave those off when listing prices on a menu. "Dollar signs remind people of money," Rapp said.
Associated Press -
Bill Nighy 'got busted' smuggling Marmite
Bill Nighy "got busted" trying to sneak Marmite through airport security. The 65-year-old actor, who stars alongside Dame Judi Dench in 'The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel', has revealed his love of Marmite and Yorkshire Tea, both of which he tried to take with him to India when filming the new movie. "The problem is that I'm addicted to Yorkshire Tea, and for me, nothing else can really hit the spot.
Bang Showbiz -
6 women accuse hot yoga founder of sex assaults, groping
A yoga guru who founded a rigorous routine of exercises practiced in steamy rooms around the world is facing lawsuits by six women who claim he sexually assaulted them. The most recent case, filed Feb. 13 in Los Angeles Superior Court, said Bikram Choudhury raped a Canadian woman who had shelled out $10,000 from her college fund for a nine-week class so she could teach the 26-pose technique to others. "Throughout the sexual abuse, defendant Bikram Choudhury offered multiple explanations and justifications for his behavior," the lawsuit said.
Associated Press -
Gisele Bundchen Reveals Wedding Dress
Supermodel Gisele Bundchen has given the world a rare glimpse into her wedding day, sharing a snap of herself and husband Tom Brady on Instagram to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary. In the picture, which already has more than 168,000 likes, you can see Bundchen’s sequined wedding dress with a flared, fishtail hem. It’s one of the only photos of the dress in the public domain (and one of the only photos of NFL player Brady on his wedding day, in a tonal cream-hued three piece suit).
marie claire -
McLaren break down again, Massa fastest
Barcelona (AFP) - Williams' Felipe Massa was fastest as McLaren's embryonic relationship with engine supplier Honda suffered another blow on the first day of the third pre-season test in Barcelona on Thursday.
AFP
