World News Update, what you need to know

US and Yemeni forces recently tried unsuccessfully to rescue an American journalist held in Yemen by Al-Qaeda and who is now being threatened with execution, the Pentagon says.

ELSEWHERE:

WASHINGTON - A US federal probe has concluded that the police in Cleveland - where a 12-year-old boy was recently shot and killed by police - have engaged in a pattern of "using excessive force," Attorney General Eric Holder says.

NEW YORK - Protests have erupted in New York and other US cities after a white police officer was cleared in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man, a case that has drawn comparisons to the deadly police shooting in Ferguson, Missouri.

LONDON - Australia has called on the new Afghan government to deliver a "responsible budget" to avoid future fiscal difficulties.

MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of exploiting the Ukraine crisis to undermine an increasingly confident Russia.

CAPE CANAVERAL - The first test launch of NASA's new deep space capsule, Orion, has been postponed until Friday because of wind gusts and technical issues with the rocket.