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"Turkey will accept offers of aid from foreign countries to cope with the aftermath of a 7.2-magnitude earthquake, officials say. The country has substantial experience of delivering relief after quakes and had, until now, rejected help. But officials now say they are in urgent need of housing. Some 2,000 homes have been destroyed."

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has decided to lift the military's ban on women serving in combat, a move that could open thousands of frontline warfighting jobs to female service members, a senior US defence official said.

"The number of people killed by months of flooding in northern Thailand has risen to more than 500, officials say." Governments are putting a $4 billion plan into action.

The number of people attempting to illegally cross the U.S-Mexico border has plummeted, but the number of migrants dying during the trek through the mostly desert region has not. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection continues its efforts to secure the border and prevent deaths in the area, Border Patrol officials said.

Hong Kong is bracing itself for the arrival of typhoon Usagi, which is expected to be the strongest storm to hit the city in more than 30 years. Officials have suspended activity at the port - one of the world's busiest - and cancelled most flights.

"At least 13 deaths and 72 illnesses have been linked to a listeria outbreak from Colorado cantaloupes, health officials say, in the deadliest food outbreak in more than a decade. Three other deaths may also be related to the tainted fruit, which are linked to a farm in Holly and have been recalled."

"A huge clean-up operation is under way in the Philippines after Typhoon Nesat battered the capital Manila and the main island, Luzon. The death toll rose to 18 with 35 still missing after heavy rain and powerful winds triggered storm surges. Most deaths occurred in and around Manila, officials said."

At least three people have been killed and several badly injured in a huge landslide in a rural area of the north-western American state of Washington, officials say. The landslide destroyed six houses and covered a road near the town of Oso, about 90km (55 miles) north of Seattle.