A GUN battle between rival drug gangs in western Mexico has left 29 men dead.

A gun battle between rival drug gangs in western Mexico has left 29 men dead.

At least 13 people were killed today after gunmen opened fire at a car wash in western Mexico, officials said.

Gunmen burst into a party in western Mexico and killed eight youths and left another person wounded.

A bus carrying tourists – including passengers of a US flight from Phoenix - crashed in western Mexico this morning, killing at least 17 and injuring 14, authorities said.

Hurricane Felix rapidly strengthened into a dangerous Category 5 storm as it headed through the Caribbean Sea towards Central America, where forecasters said it could make landfall with “potentially catastrophic” effect.

Hurricane Felix gathered strength early today and became a Category 2 storm, the US National Hurricane Center said. It was forecast to pass just north of the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba.

Weather forecasters have predicted Hurricane Emily will hover over Mexico for the next three days bringing strong winds and floods to some of the country's top holidays resorts.

An explosion inside the ever-smouldering summit of western Mexico’s Volcano of Fire sent ash and gases nearly three miles into the sky late yesterday, but did not cause any immediate evacuations.

A truck collided with a bus on a main road in western Mexico, killing at least 12 people.

US Treasury Secretary John Snow has appealed to finance ministers from 19 other countries to donate money to rebuild war-torn Iraq.