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Actor Paul Walker, best known for his hit roles in the Fast and the Furious movie franchise, has been killed in a fiery car crash in California.

The 40-year-old actor was a passenger in a Porsche that lost control and crashed in Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles, killing both occupants.

A post by the actor's team on Facebook says he had been attending an event for his charity to raise money for people affected by Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the Philippines last month.

"We appreciate your patience as we too are stunned and saddened beyond belief by this news," the post said.

"Thank you for keeping his family and friends in your prayers during this very difficult time."

Universal Pictures, the studio behind The Fast and the Furious movies, has released a statement saying it is "heartbroken".

"Paul was truly one of the most beloved and respected members of our studio family for 14 years, and this loss is devastating to us, to everyone involved with the Fast and Furious films, and to countless fans," it said.

Celebrity news website TMZ, which first reported news of the death, says the car hit a post or tree and was quickly engulfed in flames.

The identity of the driver of the car is not known.

Walker's career began on the small screen, with roles in shows including The Young and the Restless and Touched by an Angel.

He rose to fame after starring in the 1999 hit film Varsity Blues, but is best known for starring as undercover agent Brian O'Conner in a string of the Fast and Furious movies.

He appeared in all but one of the six movies in the series as one of the leading protagonists, along with Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez.

Filming was still ongoing for the latest film in the series, Fast & Furious 7, which was expected to hit cinemas late in 2014.

Media site Gulf News last month reported Walker and other actors were due to film scenes of the movie in Abu Dhabi in January.

His other film credits include Pleasantville, Into the Blue, She's All That and Takers.

He is survived by his teenage daughter Meadow.

Nelson Mandela dies aged 95

Former South African president Nelson Mandela, one of the greatest freedom fighters and political leaders of the 20th century, has died aged 95 after a year-long battle with a lung infection.

South African president Jacob Zuma announced on national television that Mr Mandela had passed away peacefully at his Johannesburg home, surrounded by family members and friends.

"He's now at peace. Our nation has lost its greatest son, our people have lost a father. Although we knew this day would come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss," Mr Zuma said. "This is the moment of our deepest sorrow."

More than a dozen cars had brought visitors, including two of his grand-daughters, and military personnel to his house in the hours before the announcement. In London, his daughter Zindzi had said her father was "fine" as she attended the premiere of a new film about his life. According to British news reports she "seemed to be overcome" once inside.

Hundreds of South Africans gathered outside the house in the middle of the night for an impromptu vigil, dancing the "Madiba jive", singing anti-apartheid songs and shouting "Viva Mandela!". Some were draped in flags, others still wore their pyjamas.

Mr Zuma said there would be a state funeral and ordered flags be flown at half-mast.

South Africa's archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu said Mr Mandela had healed a divided nation. "We are relieved that his suffering is over, but our relief is drowned by our grief. May he rest in peace and rise in glory," he said.

Mr Mandela, who was elected as South Africa's first black president in 1994, was an iconic figurehead in international protests against South Africa's system of racial segregation known as apartheid.

He was imprisoned for 27 years for his militant opposition to the regime, including 18 years in the notorious Robben Island prison.

Mr Mandela - who was often referred to in his home country by his clan name Madiba - was widely revered around the world for his efforts to unify South Africa after the end of apartheid. After his release from prison in 1990, he led negotiations to make the country a fully representative, multi-racial democracy.

Born Rolihlahla Mandela in South Africa's Transkei region in 1918, Mr Mandela's early years were spent herding cattle.

His father's death forced him to move into his uncle's home at the age of nine, but he eventually ran away from the family to avoid an arranged marriage.

He was the first member of his family to go to school. The name Nelson was bestowed by one of his teachers.

Mr Mandela studied law, qualifying in 1942 and meeting Oliver Tambo, who later became his partner in a small law firm and a key member of the anti-apartheid struggle in his own right.

He joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1944 and become part of the active resistance to apartheid after the National Party, which was dominated by white, Afrikaans-speaking South Africans, came to power in 1948.

A prominent figure in ANC campaigns, Mr Mandela was one of 150 people tried for treason between 1956 and 1961. He was acquitted, but the ANC was then banned, prompting Mr Mandela to argue for the creation of a military wing of the organisation.

In 1961, the ANC executive decided that it would not stop members who wished to join Mr Mandela's campaign, and the ANC's armed wing, dubbed Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), was created.

With Mr Mandela at the helm, Umkhonto we Sizwe began a sabotage campaign against government targets, and worked to raise funds abroad for a possible guerilla war.

Another ANC member, Wolfie Kodesh, later explained that even though the campaign - which included deadly bombings, attacks on power infrastructure, and crop burning - had been designed to "blast the symbolic places of apartheid", every effort was made to avoid causing deaths or injuries.

Mr Mandela himself described the move to an armed struggle as a last resort.

Mr Mandela was arrested in August 1962 after living on the run for more than a year. He was sentenced to five years' imprisonment with hard labour for leading workers to strike and leaving the country illegally, a charge stemming from a trip to Algeria for military training.

In 1963, Mr Mandela was brought to stand trial alongside fellow leaders of the ANC and Umkhonto we Sizwe for plotting to overthrow the government by violence.

On the stand, he gave an impassioned speech that would resonate around the world.

"During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people," he said. "I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.

"It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

Eight of the men on trial, including Mr Mandela, were eventually sentenced to life imprisonment.

Mr Mandela served most of his jail sentence on Robben Island, off the coast of Cape Town, and refused offers of release subject to him renouncing violence and living in a special administrative tribal area.

As the years dragged on, Mr Mandela became an increasingly potent symbol of opposition to the National Party's apartheid regime, both inside South Africa and internationally. "I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances," Mr Mandela once said.

The "Free Nelson Mandela" slogan echoed from stages and rallies around the world and became the rallying cry of the anti-apartheid movement.

Freedom finally came for Mr Mandela in 1989, after the then-South African president, PW Botha, suffered a stroke. Botha's replacement, FW de Klerk, ordered Mr Mandela's release on February 11, 1990, 27 years after he was jailed.

Mr de Klerk revoked the ban on the ANC, which once again became a legitimate political party headed by Mr Mandela.

Mr Mandela and Mr de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Mr Mandela was also named Time magazine's man of the year.

"He was a great unifier and a very, very special man in this regard beyond everything else he did," Mr de Klerk told CNN after Mr Zuma's address. "This emphasis on reconciliation was his biggest legacy."

He came to power a year later as South Africa's first democratically elected president, taking office aged 76. Mr de Klerk was named first deputy president with Thabo Mbeki serving as second deputy of a national unity government.

Mr Mandela committed his presidency to pursuing national reconciliation, delivering a new constitution among wider legal and social reforms. Welfare and healthcare spending was increased, education programs were extended and infrastructure improvements were delivered to poor communities.

He established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which spent two years hearing the stories of those persecuted under the former regime and offered amnesties to some of their persecutors. He also took a lead role in African affairs and was a fixture on the world stage, hosting international leaders as well as celebrities including Michael Jackson and the Spice Girls.

The 1995 Rugby World Cup provided the iconic moment of his presidency. Having urged his countrymen to back the Springboks, traditionally hated by black South Africans as a symbol of the regime, Mr Mandela famously donned the green jersey of Francois Pienaar to hand the South African captain the trophy after an epic win over the All Blacks in the final.

The moment was featured in the film Invictus, starring Morgan Freeman as Mr Mandela. "(He) was a man of incomparable honour, unconquerable strength, and unyielding resolve - a saint to many, a hero to all who treasure liberty," Freeman said.

However some have been critical of his time in office, saying he was a better revolutionary than president. His desire to engage the white South African population put some ANC supporters offside, while some broad employment and economic programs were shelved due to budget constraints.

Asked about such criticisms, Mr Mandela replied: "It helps to make you human".

While he may not have fulfilled his promise as a president, he was widely commended for resisting the lure of power and stepping down in 1999.

After stepping down from the presidency, Mr Mandela maintained a heavy schedule of public engagements.

He set up the Nelson Mandela Foundation to identify areas in which he could make a difference, including international politics, poverty and children's rights. The elder statesman was involved in a number of diplomatic negotiations, including the signing of a peace deal in Burundi.

In 1994 he set up the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund in an effort to change the way society treats children. "No words can adequately describe this enormous loss to our nation and to the world," the foundation said.

Mr Mandela made few public appearances since he retired from public life in the same year.

In July 2001 he was diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer with a seven-week course of radiation.

One of his most influential acts in recent years was in 2005, following the death of his only son, Makgatho, from AIDS. Mr Mandela urged South Africans to talk about AIDS "so to make it appear like a normal illness". This was enormously significant in a country where AIDS had been seen as taboo.

In 2008, the year of his 90th birthday, artists such as Queen, Will Smith, Amy Winehouse and Annie Lennox marked the occasion with a huge concert in London's Hyde Park which drew more than 40,000 people.

The following year, Mr Mandela's birthday was recognised by the UN as Nelson Mandela International Day, and is now celebrated every year in his honour. In July 2010, global leaders and ordinary people in South Africa and abroad committed to devoting 67 minutes of their time to community service to mark the number of years Mr Mandela spent in politics.

His last public appearance was the closing ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Johannesburg, when he waved at adoring football fans before the final match kick-off. "When he was honoured and cheered by the crowd ... it was as a man of the people, a man of their hearts," FIFA boss Sepp Blatter said, describing the late president as "one of the great humanist of our time".

Mr Mandela had campaigned for the country to host the event, but the death of his 13-year-old great-granddaughter on the eve of the tournament's opening forced him to cancel his planned appearance.

Mr Mandela was taken to hospital in January 2011. He again went into hospital in December 2012, to get treatment for a lung infection. His third wife Graca Machel said at the time that it was painful to see her husband ageing, and to witness some of his spirit and "sparkle" fading.

In the wake of his death, those closest to him said his example of would live on among all South Africans. "The sun will rise tomorrow, and the next day and the next... It may not appear as bright as yesterday, but life will carry on," archbishop Tutu said.

Australian Nobel Prize winner John Cornforth dies

Professor Sir John Cornforth, the only Australian to win the Nobel Prize for chemistry, has died aged 95.

Cornforth won the 1975 Nobel Prize for work on enzyme-catalyzed reactions.

He was born in Sydney on September 7, 1917, and despite going completely deaf by the age of 20, rose to the top of his profession.

He spent his childhood in both Sydney and Armidale, NSW, and he was only ten years old when he experienced the first signs of deafness.

The professor entered Sydney University at the age of 16, where he began laboratory work in organic chemistry.

He was the recipient of numerous scholarships, medals and awards, including the 1851 Exhibition scholarship, which he shared with wife-to-be, Rita Harradence.

He was knighted in 1977, then awarded the Copley medal by the Royal Society of London in 1982.

In 1975 he was awarded a Nobel prize, which he shared with Bosnian chemist Vladimir Prelog for ''their efforts to relate molecular structure to the properties of chemical compounds''.

John Cornforth is survived by his children Brenda, John and Philippa, grandchildren Catherine and Andrew, four great-grandchildren and nine nieces and nephews. Rita died in 2012.