The deal marks the first time that a U.S. pay-TV operator was given the flexibility by a media company to offer its content over the web via smartphones, tablets and computers.

"The Dish/Disney deal appears to set the stage for a new wave of broadband-delivered video services. Disney has protected "the bundle" but we will soon see the first of many virtual MVPDs," Richard Greenfield, BTIG analyst, said.

The companies said Dish gets the right to stream "linear and video on demand content" from channels such as ABC broadcast stations and cable networks such as Disney Channel and ESPN as part of an internet-delivered IP-based multichannel offering.

Until now, content owners have not granted cable or satellite TV operators the digital rights to sell their shows outside of a pay-TV subscription.

It was "one of the most complex and comprehensive" deals they have ever undertaken, said Anne Sweeney, co-chairman, Disney Media Networks.

While Dish did not give details on what its potential TV subscription over the Internet might look like or cost, there is likely a big market waiting for such a product.

North American consumers will spend $6 billion in 2014 on entertainment from over-the-top services such as Netflix, more than twice what they spent in 2010, according to PwC's annual entertainment and media forecast.

Sony Corp has been working on an Internet TV service that is expected to come out this year. Intel's efforts to launch one was recently bought by Verizon.

LAWSUITS SETTLED

Dish's chairman Charlie Ergen, long seen as a disrupter to the cable TV industry, has talked about the need to suit viewer's changing habits and has acknowledged that a small but growing number of customers are "cutting the cord" or cancelling traditional TV and just subscribing to Internet service.

Ergen had ruffled the feathers of the broadcasters by rolling out a service called "AutoHop" that lets viewers automatically skip commercials on recorded programming on its DVRs, but discontinued the service for ABC programming as part of the deal announced on Monday.

Oppenheimer, 51, who joined Apple in 1996 and has been CFO since 2004, will start handing over in June to Maestri, who joined in 2013 from Xerox Corp.

"When we were recruiting for a corporate controller, we met Luca and knew he would become Peter's successor," Cook said.

Apple's shares were up 0.6 percent in early trading.

Maestri, a 50-year-old born in Italy, spent 20 years at General Motors where he worked as CFO of several units including GM Europe. Before joining Xerox, he was CFO of network equipment maker Nokia Siemens Networks.

"The transition doesn't come as too much of a surprise to us as Mr Maestri left his position as Xerox's CFO to become Apple's corporate controller, which we felt was an indication that there must be an eventual path to CFO," Wells Fargo Securities analyst Maynard Um said in a research note.

"While we view Mr Oppenheimer's retirement as a loss to the company, we expect the transition to be fairly seamless."

Oppenheimer, who was named to the board of Goldman Sachs Group Inc on Monday, said he would use some of his free time to complete his pilot's license.

Cross Research analyst Shannon Cross said Oppenheimer's move had nothing to do with his new role at Goldman Sachs.

"There is nothing there. This was absolutely a 100 percent planned transition," Cross told Reuters.

Cook noted that Apple's revenue had risen to $171 billion from $8 billion during Oppenheimer's tenure as CFO.

Maestri will take over his new role at a time when Apple has been under pressure from investors such as Carl Icahn to return much of its huge cash pile to investors and to come up with the next big thing to emulate the success of iPhone and iPad.

The company had about $160 billion cash at the end of 2013.

Apple has said it will return $100 billion to shareholders by the end of 2015 through dividends and share repurchase.

The company said in February that it had bought more than $40 billion of its shares over the past 12 months, helping to satisfy Icahn, at least for now.

Security firm Trend Micro outlines the popular methods used by Chinese gangs to make money from the mobile web.

It details how cheap some mobile malware kits can be - from as little as 100 yuan (£9.70).

Such underground forums are thriving worldwide, particularly in Russia, China and Brazil.

The Mobile Cybercriminal Underground Market report outlines some of the key businesses operating in this vast and sophisticated network. Spam devices It includes the selling of premium-rate phone numbers, which can be bought from 220,000 yuan (£21,400).

Such numbers are used in conjunction with malicious apps that reply to text messages and then delete confirmation messages so users end up paying vast sums to cybercriminals without realising.

Spam is big business in a country where 81% of Chinese internet users went online using their mobile phone in 2013.

At the end of 2013 there were 500 million mobile internet users in China, according the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).

To launch spam campaigns, cybercriminals often use a GSM modem, a device attached via USB to a computer, which can send out text messages to multiple users.

A 16-slot GSM modem, are available for approximately $425 (£254) each, can send up to 9,600 text messages per hour.

This spam can be used to advertise various products as well as tricking users into visiting malicious websites.

The report also talks about SMS forwarders - which are Trojans designed to steal authentication or verification codes sent via text messages.

They monitor text messages sent from online payment service providers and banks and intercept authentication or verification codes which are then forwarded to cybercriminals.

Currently they only run on Android phones.

Boosting apps Apple users are also being targeted via iMessage spammers that are able to buy 1,000 spam services for as little as 100 yuan (£9.60).

Also operating on the mobile underground are app-rank boosting services, which can promote a malicious app by creating several dummy accounts to download and write good user reviews for it.

To boost an iPhone app into the top five of Apple's China app store can cost 60,000 yuan (£5,800).

The metal bilayer needs only a small shift in temperature to dramatically alter its magnetism - a tremendously useful property in electronic engineering.

"No other material known to man can do this. It's a huge effect. And we can engineer it," said Ivan Schuller, of the University of California, San Diego.

He presented his findings at the American Physical Society meeting in Denver.

The material combines thin layers of nickel and vanadium oxide, creating a structure that is surprisingly responsive to heat.

"We can control the magnetism in just a narrow range of temperature - without applying a magnetic field. And in principle we could also control it with voltage or current," said Prof Schuller.

"At low temperatures, the oxide is an insulator. At high temperatures it's a metal. And in between it becomes this strange material," he said.

Although it's too early to say exactly how it will be used, Prof Schuller sees an obvious opportunity in computing memory systems.

"A problem with magnetic memory is reversibility - you want it to be reversible but also stable.

"Today's best systems are heat-assisted, but they use lasers, which involves a lot of heat. But with this new material, you barely need to heat it by 20 degrees (Kelvin) to get a five-fold change in coercivity (magnetic resistance)," he told the conference.

Another potential use is in electricity networks. Prof Schuller envisions a new type of transformer which can cope with sudden surges in current - such as during a lightning strike or a power surge.

But he points out that new phenomena such as this often lead to entirely unexpected technologies.

He gave the example of giant magnetoresistance - a discovery that radically miniaturised hard drives in digital devices, and won the 2007 Nobel prize.

"Without it, that computer you're writing on would not work," he told the meeting.

"So if you want to find the next transformative technology, this is the type of research you do. We don't know what the best application is yet," he said.

The proposed budget for the 2015 fiscal year that begins on October 1 would also create automatic retirement accounts known as IRAs for some 13 million workers.

Although the blueprint has little chance of getting enacted, it codifies the president's policy priorities ahead of November congressional elections, in which Democrats hope to keep control of the U.S. Senate and Republicans hope to expand their majority in the House of Representatives.

The budget signals a shift away from last year's emphasis on deficit cutting to a more pronounced focus on poverty reduction, a legacy-oriented goal the president is highlighting as he faces less than three years left in office.

The debate over Obama's controversial healthcare reform law is likely to feature prominently in the elections, but poverty reduction and Americans' slow recovery from the 2007-2009 recession will dominate as well.

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, a potential Republican presidential contender in 2016, argued in a report on Monday that the government had barely made a dent in combating poverty over the past 50 years despite massive spending.

They disagree on government's larger role in poverty reduction, but Ryan and Obama share support for the Earned Income Tax Credit, an anti-poverty measure that is meant to encourage low-income Americans to work.

Obama's budget proposes expanding the program to cover some 13.5 million people who do not have children. It would also make the program available to younger workers who are not currently eligible, the White House said.

The expansion, which would cost $60 billion, would be funded by closing loopholes such as the tax break for "carried interest," profits earned by wealthy investors who run private equity and other funds.

Obama has long sought to end that tax break, which allows financiers to treat such income as capital gains, making it subject to a tax rate of only 20 percent, instead of the nearly 40 percent top rate on ordinary income paid by the highest earners.

Representative Dave Camp, the Republican chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, also proposed last month to "clean up" the carried interest deduction, but tax reform is not expected to get traction in Congress this year.

SAVINGS, NO OLIVE BRANCH

Russia could use all options to protect compatriots who were living in "terror" in Ukraine, Putin told his first news conference since the crisis began, but force was not needed for now. His comments lifted Russian bond markets after a panic sell-off on Monday.

Putin said Western sanctions under consideration against Russia would be counter-productive. A senior U.S. official said Washington was ready to impose them in days rather than weeks.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Kiev on his first visit since the overthrow of Russian-backed President Victor Yanukovich, describing the experience as "moving, distressing and inspiring".

He announced a $1 billion economic package and technical assistance to support for the new government.

Putin said there had been an unconstitutional coup in Ukraine and Yanukovich, who fled to Russia last week, was still the legitimate leader. No Ukrainian government elected under current circumstances, with "armed terrorists" in control, would be legitimate, he said.

The February 22 ousting of Yanukovich after months of street protests in Kiev, and Russia's bloodless seizure of Ukraine's Crimea region, have prompted the most serious confrontation between Moscow and the West since the end of the Cold War.

Western governments have been alarmed at the possibility that Russia may also move into eastern and southern Ukraine, home to many Russian speakers, which Putin did not rule out.

"There can be only one assessment of what happened in Kiev, in Ukraine in general. This was an anti-constitutional coup and the armed seizure of power," he said, looking relaxed as he sat before a small group of reporters at his residence near Moscow.

"As for bringing in forces. For now there is no such need but such a possibility exists," he said. "What could serve as a reason to use military force? It would naturally be the last resort, absolutely the last."

Earlier on Tuesday, Putin ordered troops involved in a military exercise in western Russia, close to the border with Ukraine, back to their bases. He said armed men who had seized buildings and other facilities in Crimea were local groups.

Yet Atacama is not devoid of life. Microorganisms called endoliths have found a way to cling on, by hiding themselves inside the pores of rocks, where there’s just enough water to survive. “They support a whole community of organisms that eat the byproducts of their metabolism,” says Jocelyne DiRuggiero, a microbiologist at Johns Hopkins University. “And they’re all just sitting right there in the rocks – it’s quite fascinating.”

Life, it seems, has an incredible knack for finding ways to persist. Indeed, microorganisms have been around for nearly four billion years, giving them ample time to adapt to some of the most extreme conditions in the natural world. But are there places left on Earth so harsh that they are rendered sterile? Heat is a good starting point for answering this question. The record for heat tolerance is currently held by a group of organisms called hyperthermophile methanogens, which thrive around the edges of hydrothermal vents in the deep sea. Some of these organisms can grow at temperatures of up to 122C (252F).

Most researchers believe that around 150C (302F) is the theoretical cut-off point for life, however. At that temperature proteins fall apart and chemical reactions cannot occur – a quirk of the biochemistry that life on Earth (so far as we know) abides by. This means that microorganisms can thrive around hydrothermal vents, but not directly within them, where temperatures can reach up to 464C (867F). The same

is true for the interior of an active volcano on land. “I really think temperature is the most hostile parameter,” says Helena Santos, a microbial physiologist at the New University of Lisbon and president of the International Society for Extremophiles. When things get hot enough, she says, “It’s impossible – everything is destroyed.”

MtGox filed for bankruptcy in Japan on Friday. It came after the site had closed down after losing an estimated 750,000 of its customers' bitcoins.

"Illegal access through the abuse of a bug in the bitcoin system" meant a "high probability" the bitcoins had been stolen, it said in a statement.

Investigations are under way, it added.

Much of the statement released on MtGox's website confirmed details contained in a leaked document that surfaced just days before the bankruptcy application.

'Crimes punished' As well as the 750,000 customers' bitcoins that were lost, the company also said it had lost approximately 100,000 of its own. This amounts to nearly $500m (£300m).

It also said MtGox accounts held with financial institutions currently held approximately 2.8bn yen (£16.5m) less than the amount MtGox users had deposited. To "establish the truth" about what had happened a "huge amount of transaction reports" would need to be investigated, the statement said. Because of this MtGox could not give an exact amount of missing deposit funds or the total amount of bitcoins that had disappeared.

MtGox also said that it had appointed an expert to look at the possibility of criminal proceedings.

"We will make all efforts to ensure that crimes are punished and damages are recovered," it said.

The possibility of continuing as a business in order to pay back creditors was also being explored, the company said.

Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) announced partnerships with a number of major automakers Monday on a new system that integrates the iPhone with in-car entertainment systems.

Known as CarPlay, the setup includes a console touchscreen as well as buttons on the steering wheel that activate Siri, Apple's voice command system. CarPlay allows drivers to make calls, listen to voicemails, hear and dictate text messages, get directions via Apple Maps and access Spotify and other music services.

The first vehicles featuring CarPlay will debut later this year from Volvo, Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz. It will be available "down the road" from automakers including BMW, Ford (F, Fortune 500), GM (GM, Fortune 500), Honda (HMC), Hyundai and Toyota (TM), Apple said.

Ferrari called CarPlay a "smarter, safer and more fun way to use iPhone in the car." Volvo said the partnership with Apple "promises to transform the in-car experience." CarPlay users enable the system by connecting their iPhones to their cars using Apple's lightning charger cable. The system is only compatible with the iPhone 5, 5c and 5s.

Apple's announcement marks a push ahead of its tech-industry competitors working to integrate smartphone technology into cars. Related: Blackberry stock rises on Ford tie-up reports

In January, Google announced a partnership with Audi, GM, Honda and Hyundai promising to bring its Android operating system to cars starting this year. Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of iPhone and iOS product marketing, said CarPlay "lets drivers use their iPhone in the car with minimized distraction." Cell-phone use is a leading contributor to "distracted driving" accidents, which killed 3,328 people and injured 421,000 in 2012, according to government statistics. A number of states have enacted laws in recent years banning texting or talking on cell phones while driving. In 2009, President Obama issued an executive order prohibiting federal employees from doing so while on the job.

Part of the reason cell phone use is dangerous for drivers is because it can force them to take their eyes off the road and their hands off the steering wheel. But the National Safety Council warns that even hands-free cellphone use can significantly increase the potential for accidents.

His comments came after Daimler's Mercedes-Benz said it would make cars compatible with new software developed by Apple, known as CarPlay.

Daimler will also be offering compatibility to Android-based devices, the company added.

"Virtually no product, including the automobile, is purchased or used in a vacuum," Zetsche said at a Daimler event in Geneva, on the eve of the city's motor show.

"We all know that the iPod for example, was not just a game changer based solely on design or technology. It is also about the convenient connection to iTunes," Zetsche said, adding that "customers are buying the total package."

Mercedes unveiled a new service brand "Mercedes me" which allows clients to gain access to a raft of mobility services including its car-sharing business car2go, or myTaxi.

It also allows people to find out where their car is parked or to book a service appointment using their mobile phone.

The offering is part of a raft of initiatives from carmakers aimed at using software to make their vehicles more appealing to drivers.

Ola Kaellenius, Mercedes-Benz board member responsible for sales and marketing, said Daimler wanted to get away from the idea that service only meant "maintenance."

"One important aspect here is that we no longer expect our customers to come and find us. We go and find them," Kaellenius said, adding a smartphone was one of the main ways to connect to them.

"As early as this summer, we will begin to equip our cars with the hardware necessary to connect them to our customers' digital life and make them virtually accessible, all the time and everywhere."

Separately, Daimler said global sales of Mercedes-Benz luxury vehicles had risen by a double-digit percentage in February.

There are no signs that Maduro, who says the protests are part of a U.S.-backed coup plot, could be ousted in a Ukraine-style overthrow despite widespread discontent with soaring inflation and chronic product shortages.

Government leaders have urged Venezuelans to skip the protests and make their traditional trips to the beach during the Carnival holiday. State television was filled with images of packed beaches and smiling holidaymakers.

Opposition marchers that ranged from students to middle-aged professionals and senior citizens filled a square in the east of Caracas to protest problems including 56 percent annual inflation and one of the world's highest murder rates.

"We have nothing to celebrate at the beach," said Carlos Torres, 34, an engineer. "Going on vacation would give credence to the government's version that there's nothing going on."

The unrest evolved from sporadic regional protests into nationwide movement after three people were shot dead following a February 12 march. At least 17 people have been killed in the South American nation's most violent unrest in a decade.

Maduro sought to take the steam out of the protests by extending the usual four-day Carnival holiday by two days.

Opposition moderates question the demonstrator's tactics of blocking streets, setting up barricades and exchanging volleys of rocks with police and security forces. They say this may backfire and boost support for Maduro.

Violent street protests helped briefly drive late socialist leader Hugo Chavez from power in a 2002 coup.

The opposition repeatedly staged street protests later that year as well as in 2004, but they fizzled out as protesters grew weary of blocked streets and barricades made from smoldering trash.

PUSH FOR SOLIDARITY AT OSCARS

Maduro's adversaries, tweeting to stars under the hashtag #OscarsforVenezuela, sought to persuade Hollywood stars, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Penelope Cruz, to make statements of solidarity during Sunday's broadcast of the Academy Awards.

Celebrities including Madonna and Cher have chimed in over social media, criticizing the government for what they called excessive use of force against protesters.