Tributes have been paid to Top Gun director Tony Scott after he jumped to his death from a bridge in Los Angeles.

British film-maker Tony Scott, who directed blockbusters including Top Gun, Days of Thunder and Beverly Hills Cop II, has died after jumping off a bridge in Los Angeles, authorities said today.

Tropical Storm Ernesto has weakened to a tropical depression as it moves inland over Mexico, killing seven people and dumping rains in the mountains of Mexico’s flood-prone southern Gulf region.

Tropical Storm Ernesto has hit Mexico, killing two people as it moved inland and began drenching the flood-prone southern Gulf region.

Several Filipinos have been nailed to wooden crosses to re-enact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a Good Friday rite that has been rejected by the Catholic church, but that draws thousands of tourists.

REBELS fighting to install Ivory Coast’s democratically elected president began besieging the main city of Abidjan yesterday after seizing a key seaport.

Rebels fighting to install Ivory Coast’s democratically elected president began besieging the main city of Abidjan today after seizing a key seaport.

Rebel forces supporting the internationally recognised leader of Ivory Coast have seized the strategic cocoa-exporting port of San Pedro, residents said.

CHILE’S president sent the army to help police attack looters yesterday and appealed for international help in the wake of an earthquake that shattered cities and killed at least 708 people.

Britney Spears reportedly burst into tears at the American Music Awards last night after taking offence to a joke host Jimmy Kimmel made at the expense of her estranged husband Kevin Federline.

UN peacekeepers battled attackers today before withdrawing from a western Ivory Coast town along with military observers and other UN staff.

THE owners of a shop which sells hallucinogenic 'magic' mushrooms defended their business yesterday.

Two people have today been arrested for allegedly turning an alligator loose in a city lake, prompting Los Angeles officials to bring in reptile wranglers, keep crowds at bay and impose heavy patrols.

The US Coast Guard is investigating the disappearance of Olivia Newton-John’s long-time boyfriend, who failed to return from an overnight fishing trip off the California coast seven weeks ago.

More than 100 Honduran gang members perished after a short-circuit started a fire that tore through an overcrowded prison block.

Rebels clashed with French forces in war-torn Ivory Coast today, firing mortars at positions held by the elite soldiers of the former colonial master.