Authorities in California's Santa Barbara County are still trying to reach new areas and dig into the destruction to find dead, injured or trapped people after a powerful mud flow swept away dozens of homes.

From marksmanship classes following the Civil War, the NRA has grown into a beast that decries any talk of gun control, writes Bette Browne.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman has removed a prominent prince who headed the National Guard, replaced the economy minister and announced the creation of a new anti-corruption committee.

Hurricane Nate is now expected to be a Category 2 hurricane when it makes landfall on the US central Gulf Coast in the coming hours.

At least 22 people have died in Central America as Tropical Storm Nate dumped heavy rain across the region.

Latest: Catalonia "has won the right to become an independent state", the Spanish region's leader Carles Puigdemont said.

A weakened but still dangerous Irma - downgraded to a tropical storm over Florida but still packing winds near hurricane force - has pushed inland as winds and floodwaters created hazards for rescuers.

Sam Speights takes medication for extreme anxiety and panic attacks, but there is no pill for a hurricane - especially when you venture into it at the height of its fury.

Charlotte's police chief has said he plans to show video of an officer shooting a black man to the slain man's family, but the video will not be immediately released to the public.

The jet was plunging towards the Earth at a speed of around 1,200 kms/hr.

A judge has acquitted a police van driver of all charges in the death of black detainee Freddie Gray.

A blizzard with hurricane-force winds brought much of the US East Coast to a standstill today, dumping as much as three feet of snow, stranding tens of thousands of travellers and shutting down Washington and New York City.

Baltimore residents were cleaning up the wreckage from rioting and fires that erupted after the funeral of a 25-year-old black man who died after suffering a spinal injury in police custody.

BRITAIN: Saturday evening is the most dangerous time to be at home, with four accidents in the UK every second, a study has found.

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has been admitted to hospital for medical tests.

Clashes have broken out between police and protesters at a top-flight American football game over the Ferguson shooting.

The white police officer who killed Michael Brown has resigned from the Ferguson Police Department, nearly four months after the fatal confrontation with the black 18-year-old that led to protests across the US.

Police officers have ordered protesters off the streets of Ferguson after what had been several hours of largely peaceful demonstrations.

Violence as police officer is cleared of shooting black teen

Police cars have been vandalised and several gunshots have been heard on the streets of Ferguson after the announcement that a white police officer will not be indicted over the shooting death of an unarmed black 18-year-old.

The white officer who shot dead an unarmed black teenager does not expect to face criminal charges from a Missouri grand jury investigating the case, a police union has said.

The American town of Fergusoni is bracing itself for further violence ahead of a ruling on whether a police officer who shot dead a black teenager should be charged.

Missouri’s governor has declared a state of emergency and mobilised the National Guard as a grand jury is poised to decide whether a white police officer will be charged over the fatal shooting

Barack Obama has conceded it "may be appropriate" to choose an Ebola "tsar" to lead the US response against the disease.

US President Barack Obama has authorised the Pentagon to call up reserve and National Guard troops if they are needed to assist in the US response to the ebola outbreak in Africa.

Ukraine has claimed that its forces have captured 10 Russian soldiers in an eastern region where Ukrainian troops are fighting pro-Russia separatists.

Missouri governor Jay Nixon has ordered the US state’s National Guard to begin withdrawing from Ferguson, where nightly scenes of unrest have erupted since a white police officer fatally shot an unarmed black 18-year-old.

US Attorney General Eric Holder sought to reassure the people of Ferguson about the inquiry into the shooting death of a black 18-year-old by a white police officer.

Residents of Ferguson were urged to stay home after dark, after days of clashes with police following the shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old.

US police officers in St Louis shot and killed a 23-year-old man who they say was wielding a knife and refused to drop it. 

Activists are asking protesters to clear the streets of the Missouri suburb where teenager Michael Brown was shot dead by police.

Missouri governor Jay Nixon lifted the curfew for the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson yesterday and began deploying National Guard troops to help quell days of rioting and protests spurred by the fatal shooting of a black unarmed teenager by a white policeman. 

The Governor of Missouri ordered the National Guard to a suburb of St Louis today, hours after police used tear gas to clear protesters off the streets following a week of demonstrations against the fatal police shooting of a black teenager.

US officials say a National Guard soldier was mauled by a bear while participating in a training exercise at a military base in Alaska.

A five-year-old child was killed and at least 19 other people injured when a powerful storm with tornadoes ripped through north-east Nebraska, hospital and emergency officials said.

In another devastating blow to Ukraine’s armed forces, rebels shot down a troop helicopter, killing at least 12 soldiers.

Authorities in Ukraine say government forces have reclaimed a television tower during a security operation to quell pro-Russian rebel activity in the eastern town of Kramatorsk.

Three pro-Russian militants have been killed and 13 wounded after Ukrainian troops repelled an attack on a National Guard base in the Black Sea port of Mariupol in the south east of the country.

With beautiful beaches, a sunny climate and cheap prices, Tunisia is winning tourists back.

The soldier who killed three people before committing suicide in an attack on the same Texas military base where more than a dozen people were shot dead in 2009 had shown no recent risks of violence, officials say.

The Crimean parliament has voted that the Black Sea peninsula will declare itself an independent state if its residents agree to split off from Ukraine and join Russia in a referendum.

A university student beauty queen was mourned yesterday in the provincial Venezuelan city where she was killed this week during a political protest.