Veteran Broadway, film and television actor Ben Gazzara has died in New York City at 81.

His powerful dramatic performances brought an intensity to a variety of roles including Brick Pollitt in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.

Long-time family friend Suzanne Mados said Gaz-zara died last Friday in Manhattan.

Gazzara was a proponent of method acting, taking on the thoughts and emotions of his characters. That helped him achieve stardom with two stirring Broadway performances.

In 1955 he originated the role of the failed football star in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. He later played drug addict Johnny Pope in A Hatful of Rain and earned a Tony Award nomination. In 1965 he moved on to TV stardom in Run for Your Life, a drama about a lawyer with a terminal illness.

Police search for toddler in Tiber

Italian police divers are searching the Tiber in Rome for a 16-month-old boy who witnesses said was thrown into the river by his father.

Police began searching after a witness reported seeing a man, standing on a bridge crossing the Tiber, toss a baby into the water some 30 feet below.

Police said they later found the man in another part of Rome and arrested him. Italian media reports said a relative told investigators that the man had argued with his wife before grabbing the baby and running out of his home.

The Italian news agency Ansa said the man, whose identity has not been made public, confirmed to police that he had thrown his son into the river.

Daredevil boss dies in plane crash

The head of memory chip maker Micron died when an experimental plane he was piloting banked steeply, stalled and crashed near an Idaho runway.

Steve Appleton, 51, long known for taking risks in stunt piloting, had survived a similar crash eight years ago and had a reputation as a hard-driving daredevil.

He was the only person aboard the plane when witnesses said it crashed shortly after its second take-off attempt in Boise, according to safety investigators.

Raul Castro visits Chavez

Cuban president Raul Castro has arrived in Venezuela for a meeting with President Hugo Chavez and other allies.

Mr Chavez greeted Mr Castro at Caracas airport, but it was unclear what they planned to discuss during their meeting. Neither spoke to reporters.

Mr Castro is joining leaders of the Bolivarian Alliance, or ALBA, bloc at the weekend summit. Haitian president Michel Martelly also arrived ahead of the meeting. The leaders of Nicaragua and Bolivia were also expected.