Obama meets parents of slain US hostage Kayla Mueller
US President Barack Obama on Friday expressed his condolences to the parents of American hostage Kayla Mueller, who died while held by the Islamic State group.
The White House said Obama met Carl and Marsha Mueller, parents of Kayla Mueller as well as her brother during a visit to a Phoenix military veterans' hospital.
Islamic State in Iraq and Syria fighters claimed Mueller, who was seized in the Syrian city of Aleppo in August 2013, was killed in a Feb 6 coalition air strike that buried her in rubble.
Read more here
World's first successful penis transplant performed in South Africa: Doctors
South African doctors announced on Friday that they had performed the world's first successful penis transplant, three months after the ground-breaking operation.
The 21-year-old patient had his penis amputated three years ago after a botched circumcision at a traditional initiation ceremony.
In a nine-hour operation at the Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town, he received his new penis from a deceased donor, whose family were praised by doctors.
Read more here
Hamas Twitter campaign #AskHamas backfires with torrent of abuse
Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched a campaign on Twitter on Friday aimed at improving its image, but was immediately hit by a barrage of sarcastic and mocking messages.
The movement, which controls the Gaza Strip and fought a 50-day war with Israel last summer, said its English-language initiative #AskHamas was designed so officials could answer questions from social media users.
"If a tree falls in the woods, and there's no one to hear it fall, is it still Israel's fault," one user asked.
Read more here
Golf: Woods to miss next week's Arnold Palmer Invitational
Tiger Woods said Friday he won't play in next week's Arnold Palmer Invitational as he continues to work on his game in the hope of being ready for the Masters.
The 14-time major champion, chasing Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major titles, has plummeted to 79th in the world rankings after suffering a series of injuries and a severe slump in form.
On Feb 11, he used his website to announce he was taking a break from tournament golf in a bid to get his faltering game in shape, and on Friday he said he's not there yet.
Read more here
Jackie Chan's ex-lover Elaine Ng 'arrested on suspicion of child cruelty'
The former lover of movie star Jackie Chan has been arrested after allegedly hitting her daughter.
Elaine Ng Yi-lei was "arrested on suspicion of cruelty" to a child, a police source said on Friday, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.
The source said Ng's daughter, Ng Cheuk-lam, told staff at her school that she had been assaulted by her mother and that they reported the case to the police.
Ng claims that Cheuk-lam is Chan's child.
Read more here
