AMERICAN endurance swimmer Diana Nyad has begun her attempt to become the first person to swim the shark-filled Florida Straits without the aid of a safety cage.

Rain from Tropical Storm Ernesto swept across parts of the vulnerable Florida Keys today as residents hurried to fill petrol tanks, gather emergency supplies and board up windows before the main body of the storm strikes.

Fidel Castro, who took control of Cuba in 1959, rebuffed repeated US attempts to oust him and survived communism’s demise almost everywhere else, temporarily relinquished his presidential powers to his brother Raul last night because of surgery.

Hurricane Rita strengthened into a Category 4 storm packing 135-mph winds as it churned into the Gulf of Mexico early today.

Hurricane Rita strengthened into a Category 4 storm packing 135-mph winds as it churned into the Gulf of Mexico early today.

Hurricane Rita strengthened to a dangerous Category 3 storm early today, sparing the Florida Keys but prompting mandatory orders to once again evacuate New Orleans as well as the Texas city of Galveston.

Hurricane Rita strengthened into a Category 3 storm with 115 mph winds early today after lashing the Florida Keys and sparking anxiety as it headed into the Gulf of Mexico.

A GROUP of Cubans making the third bid in two years to reach the United States in a vintage American car converted into a boat were intercepted by the US Coast Guard, relatives said on Wednesday.

Hurricane Charley gathered strength and advanced toward Florida today where officials in Tampa urged almost two million people to evacuate and avoid the path of a storm that could submerge parts of the city.

The Cuban government was tonight threatening to storm a hijacked ferry to free hostages being held by armed men who tried to force the crew to sail it too Florida.

Armed hijackers seized a ferry off Cuba’s coast and threatened to toss passengers overboard if they cannot go to the United States, sparking a negotiating drama on the high seas.

A migrant-smuggling boat on a night run from Cuba to the US capsized in rough seas, dumping more than two dozen people in the water, the US Coastguard said.

A student pilot, on his first solo flight from a Florida airport, stole the plane and flew to Havana, crash landing the Cessna on a rocky coastline.