Actors ratify deal in US

Members of the Screen Actors Guild voted overwhelmingly to ratify a two-year contract covering movies and prime time TV shows made by the major Hollywood studios, the union announced.

Around 78 per cent of those who voted were in favour of the deal, a show of unity following a bitter dispute that saw guild members fighting among themselves and left them further behind than where they started.

The new contract immediately raises actors' minimum pay by 3 per cent and grants another 3.5 per cent raise in the second year of the deal.