US says it tried and failed to rescue American in Yemen, but other hostages were freed

The United States on Thursday for the first time publicly disclosed a failed attempt last month to rescue a US citizen held hostage by Al-Qaeda's Yemen branch, and the group threatened to kill him in a new video posted on the Internet.

US officials said President Barack Obama last month authorised a secret raid to rescue Luke Somers (above), a 33-year-old journalist who was kidnapped in Yemen's capital Sanaa in September 2013.

Somers was not at the targeted location, although other hostages were freed, the officials said.

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Silicon Valley clears out 'Jungle' camp, full of people made homeless by rising rents

Authorities began Thursday dismantling a notorious homeless camp known as "The Jungle" in the heart of California's affluent Silicon Valley.

Municipal workers in white overalls and face masks moved into the camp along a creek in San Jose, where some 300 people live in tents and other makeshift lodging.

The encampment, only a few minutes away from the city's downtown district, is home to people forced out of an overheating rental market as lucrative tech companies moved in in recent years.

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South Africans remember Mandela, one year on

One year after the death of former president and Nobel peace laureate Nelson Mandela, South Africans are remembering his life.

Official commemorations on the anniversary on Friday will include an interfaith prayer service in Pretoria and the laying of a wreath by veterans from the country's struggle against apartheid.

On Friday, bells, hooters, vuvuzelas and sirens will chime, honk, blow and wail for three minutes and seven seconds - followed by three minutes of silence: a six-minute and seven-second dedication to Mandela's 67 years of public service.

At the weekend, poets will recite, musicians play, and bikers ride in honour of the anti-apartheid icon, who died on Dec 5 last year after a lengthy battle with illness.

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Golf: Tiger off to woeful start in latest comeback bid

Tiger Woods made a horrendous start to his latest injury comeback bid Thursday, making three bogeys and a double bogey in his first nine holes at the Hero World Challenge.

The former world No. 1 ended a four-month competitive layoff at par-72 Isleworth in the 18-player event, but quickly showed he still has plenty of work remaining to recapture the form that brought him 14 major titles, four shy of Jack Nicklaus' all-time record.

Woods fired a five-over 41 on the front nine - 10 strokes behind leader Jordan Spieth - at a course where he once shot a 59 in a full practice round alongside Mark O'Meara.

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New York police case fuels hip-hop feud between Azealia Banks and Iggy Azalea

A racially charged police case in New York has fuelled a storm between hip-hop artists, with white Australian star Iggy Azalea rejecting charges that she has ignored African-American concerns.

New York-raised rapper Azealia Banks took Azalea to task for not immediately raising her voice after a grand jury on Wednesday declined to charge a white police officer in the choking death of a black man.

It is "funny to see people like Igloo Australia silent when these things happen," Banks, who is black, wrote on Twitter. "Black Culture is cool, but black issues sure aren't huh?"

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