Ko wins New Zealand Open
World No.1 Lydia Ko has won her second New Zealand Women's Open with a four-shot victory at Clearwater Golf Club. Second title in as many weeks »
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The Dress That Sent The Internet Into Meltdown
The seemingly innocent design sent the internet into complete meltdown as people argued over whether the dress was in fact blue and black or white and gold. "But on the black background some might see it as white." He even speculated, perhaps jokingly, that the white-gold prejudice favors the idea of seeing the dress under strong daylight.
marie claire -
Samsung ditches plastic design, HTC One improves camera
Samsung has unveiled a stylish new flagship phone that ditches its signature plastic design for more stylish metal and glass. The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge will both include technology for mobile payments, though Samsung isn't unveiling a service to rival the iPhone's Apple Pay until this summer. Although the resolution of the phones' rear camera remains at 16 megapixels, cameras on both sides will have wider openings to let in more light.
Associated Press -
Pakistan keep World Cup hopes alive
When Pakistan needed to stand tall, it seemed appropriate that it was giant quick Mohammad Irfan who inspired a 20-run World Cup win over a plucky Zimbabwe at the Gabba. The 2.16m Irfan - the tallest bowler to play both first-class and international cricket - lifted Pakistan with a match-changing 4-30 on Sunday night. "He showed his class today and we expected he would come out the way he did," Zimbabwe wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor said of Irfan.
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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.
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Lambie threatened with beheading
A poison pen letter claiming that terrorists plan to behead outspoken Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie has been referred to police, it's been reported. The letter includes images of a man being beheaded and warns the senator she is the enemy of the Islamic State group, "therefore, I will take the honour in beheading you", News Corp Australia reported on Sunday. Senator Lambie's office has conceded the letter could be a fake threat, linked to opponents of a new mosque in Adelaide, but they have referred it to Australian Federal Police.
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Jury: Billionaire looted mining firm; trial eyed huge home
Billionaire Ira Rennert plundered a now-bankrupt mining company to pay for personal luxuries, jurors found Friday after a trial that spotlighted one of the world's biggest private homes. MagCorp's bankruptcy trustee argued the billionaire built the mansion with money improperly milked from the company.
Associated Press -
Australia must play swing better - Clarke
Australia captain Michael Clarke said his side had to bat better against swing bowling if they were to win the World Cup after a top-order collapse ultimately proved decisive in a dramatic one-wicket defeat by New Zealand. Clarke's men were bundled out for just 151 after he won the toss in a Pool A clash against fellow tournament co-hosts New Zealand at Auckland's Eden Park on Saturday, with left-arm swing bowler Trent Boult taking a career-best five for 27. "We were extremely poor, there is no doubt about that," said Clarke.
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Tributes pour in for Leonard Nimoy, aka Mr Spock
"Long before being nerdy was cool, there was Leonard Nimoy," said Obama, who recalled meeting the Boston-born Nimoy with the Vulcan salute in 2007. More than a household name, Nimoy was a "lifelong lover of the arts and humanities, a supporter of the sciences, generous with his talent and his time," the president added. "I loved Spock," said Obama.
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Chan spends precious time with family
FIRST ON 7: Video has emerged of Andrew Chan sharing tender moments with his family inside Bali's Kerobokan prison. The 31-year-old is one of two Australians on death row in Indonesia for attempting to smuggle drugs from the country in 2005. The pair, dubbed the Bali Nine duo, are waiting for authorities to order their transfer from prison to their place of execution on Nusakambangan island, where the firing squad has been heard training at night.
Yahoo and Agencies -
Wyly brothers ordered to give up $299 million in fraud suit
A judge has ordered a prominent Texas businessman and his brother's estate to pay $299 million after a federal jury New in York found they engaged in a massive fraud to evade taxes. U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin (SHIHND'-lihn) issued a final order Thursday in the Securities and Exchange Commission's suit against Sam Wyly and the late Charles Wyly. SEC official Andrew Ceresney says the agency is pleased with the judgment and will work to enforce it.
Associated Press -
Dozens dead as Qaeda militants in Syria seize rebel base
Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate on Saturday drove US-backed rebels out of a strategic northern military base in fierce fighting that left dozens dead, a monitor said. At least 29 fighters from the Western-armed Hazm movement were killed along with six Al-Nusra Front jihadists, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It said fierce fighting had broken out on Friday night for Base 46, west of the city of Aleppo.
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Obamacare case seen as big threat for hospitals
For more than a year, hospitals have been enjoying a cash influx from treating newly Obamacare-insured patients. But those same hospitals are now facing the prospect of losing out on billions of dollars of money from those patients because of a major Supreme Court case due to be argued next Wednesday. Among those worried about that possible fallout are the nation's largest for-profit and nonprofit hospital operators. The facilities of both those hospital operators are primarily based in states that will be directly affected the high court's decision in the case called King v. Burwell. Plaintiffs in that case claim that federal financial aid that helps most Obamacare customers in 37 states served by federally run HealthCare.gov pay for their insurance is illegal under the Affordable Care Act.
CNBC -
Russian opposition leader Nemtsov's murder 'meticulously planned'
The murder of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov was carefully planned, investigators said Saturday, pointing to details of the weapon used and the killers' knowledge of his movements. "There is no doubt that the crime was meticulously planned, as well as the place chosen for the murder," the powerful Investigative Committee, which has been put in charge of the probe, said in its first detailed statement on the drive-by shooting of the 55-year-old politician. Investigators said they believed Nemtsov was shot in the back from a car using a Makarov pistol, used by the Russian military and police.
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Gas prices soar in California as supply shrinks
Gas prices are soaring in California in a classic example of supply and demand after an explosion stopped gasoline production at an Exxon Mobil refinery while another remains offline due to labor unrest. Average retail gas prices in the state have surged 25 cents a gallon in less than a week, from $2.98 per gallon for regular on Monday to $3.23 per gallon on Friday. In some areas of Southern California, gas station owners were forced to pass price hikes of 24 cents per gallon along to consumers on Thursday after seeing wholesale prices shoot up.
Associated Press -
14,600 blighted properties demolished in Ohio under program
More than 14,600 blighted properties around Ohio have been demolished in the past two years under a program aimed at benefiting areas affected by foreclosures, the state's attorney general said Friday. Ohio used $75 million from a national settlement with major mortgage servicers to create a grant program in 2012 to revitalize neighborhoods and eliminate abandoned structures. Attorney General Mike DeWine released a report on the results of the demolition program at a news conference Friday.
Associated Press -
Hamilton fastest on penultimate day of testing
World champion Lewis Hamilton was fastest on the third day of the final Formula One pre-season test in Barcelona as Mercedes proved they remain well ahead of the chasing pack on Saturday. Hamilton eased to the fastest lap of the day once he changed onto soft tyres, although his time of 1min 23.022sec was nearly three tenths off the quickest time set by teammate Nico Rosberg on Friday. Rosberg will take over the wheel for the final day on Sunday and Hamilton admitted he would have liked to have more laps under his belt heading to the first race of the season in Melbourne after being affected by an illness at the second test last week.
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Google's Blogger reverses porn policy after user backlash
Apparently Google bloggers like to post porn. Just three days after saying sexually explicit material would be banned from public Blogger forum sites, Google is backing down. Faced with "a ton of feedback," Google said Friday that it instead will "step up enforcement" against commercial and illegal porn.
Associated Press -
Warren Buffett says Berkshire has 'right person' as heir
Warren Buffett told investors on Saturday that Berkshire Hathaway Inc had found his successor, giving more details than ever about the heir to the company he has run for 50 years. "Both the board and I believe we now have the right person to succeed me as CEO – a successor ready to assume the job the day after I die or step down," the billionaire, 84, said in his annual letter to Berkshire shareholders. "In certain important respects, this person will do a better job than I am doing," Buffett added, as Berkshire Hathaway reported a 17 percent drop in fourth-quarter net income, coupled with an improvement in its operating results.
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Awesome Federer floors Djokovic in straight sets
Roger Federer's enduring class shone through again as the Swiss maestro beat world number one Novak Djokovic 6-3 7-5 to win the Dubai Championships for a seventh time on Saturday. The 33-year-old's serve is the least praised of his repertoire but it was his awesome delivery that blunted Djokovic's baseline game, taking his career ace haul past the 9,000 barrier with 12 more, several at vital moments. The match, the 37th in their rivalry which Federer now leads 20-17, proved to be a tale of chances taken and chances missed -- Federer converting his two break points with clinical efficiency, while Djokovic failed on all seven of his.
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Arguments set for Monday in Wyoming wild horse roundup case
Arguments in a federal lawsuit contesting the roundup of hundreds of wild horses in western Wyoming last fall will focus on a federal law that carries different rules for private and federal land. The 1,263 horses gathered in late September and early October roamed both types of land in a vast area of sagebrush desert featuring square-mile sections of private land interspersed with equal-sized sections of federal land. U.S. District Judge Nancy Freudenthal will consider Monday whether the U.S. Bureau of Land Management violated the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act with the roundup in the Checkerboard area east and south of Rock Springs.
Associated Press
