Composer Richard M Sherman, who wrote songs for Disney film classics such as Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has died aged 95 in Beverly Hills.

Sherman partnered with his late brother Robert, and the pair won two Oscars in 1965 for their work on Mary Poppins.

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Some of the brothers' best-known scores include the Jungle Book's Trust in Me and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang's Truly Scrumptious.

His death was announced in a statement by Disney, which said Sherman passed away "due to age-related illness" at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

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The Sherman brothers were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005 and received the US National Medal of the Arts in 2008.

The Aristocats, Bedknobs and Broomsticks and the Winnie the Pooh shorts were among other Disney productions to feature their words and music.

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The brothers were portrayed in the 2013 film Saving Mr. Banks, which told the story behind the making of Mary Poppins.

Released one year after his brother's death, in March 2012, the film saw actors Jason Schwartzman and B. J. Novak play the two brothers as they composed and co-wrote the film's hit songs.Their catchy and energetic song “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” became a pop hit, entering the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965.

Across his 65-year career, Sherman became part of Walt Disney's "inner circle of creative talents", the entertainment company said.

He was born in New York City on 12 June 1928 and won three Grammy awards and received 24 gold and platinum albums, the Disney statement added.

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His service to the arts industry also led to a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

As reported by US media, the Sherman brothers wrote more than 150 songs at Disney, including scores for the 1961 film Parent Trap, which had a new lease of life in 1998 starring a young Lindsay Lohan.

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American ex-fighter pilot accused of illegally training Chinese aviators can be extradited to U.S., Australian judge says

A Sydney judge on Friday ruled that former U.S. Marine Corps pilot Daniel Duggan can be extradited to the United States on allegations that he illegally trained Chinese aviators, leaving the attorney-general as Duggan's last hope of remaining in Australia.

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Magistrate Daniel Reiss ordered the Boston-born 55-year-old to remain in custody awaiting extradition.

While his lawyers said they had no legal grounds to challenge the magistrate's ruling that Duggan was eligible for extradition, they will make submissions to Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus on why the pilot should not be surrendered.

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"The attorney will give us sufficient time, I'm quite sure, to ventilate all of the issues that under the Extradition Act are not capable of being run in an Australian court," Duggan's lawyer, Bernard Collaery, told reporters outside court.

Dreyfus' office said in a statement the government does not comment on extradition matters.

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Duggan's wife and mother of his six children, Saffrine Duggan, said the extradition court hearing was "simply about ticking boxes."

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