BEIJING: Chinese military officials will face audits before they can retire or get promotions, state media reported on Tuesday, although a lack of transparency could limit the effectiveness of the latest measure against corruption.

MEXICO CITY: The death toll from heavy flooding across much of Mexico rose to 130 on Tuesday, while authorities warned that more heavy rains could soak areas that have already suffered some of the worst storm damage in decades.

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama made an impassioned plea on Sunday for Americans to overcome their "creeping resignation" about gun violence and demand tougher gun laws following the country's latest mass shooting.

BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives triumphed in Germany's election on Sunday, and could even win the first single party majority in more than 50 years. Her centre-right coalition partners risked ejection from parliament for the first time in their post-World War II history.

BEIJING: Typhoon Usagi killed at least 25 people after crashing ashore in southern China, throwing the region's transport systems into chaos and leaving tens of thousands of airline passengers stranded in Hong Kong on Monday.

MEXICO CITY: At least 80 people have died in Mexico in the recent days following tropical storms that hit the country last weekend, the government statistics have revealed.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's government has increased security of the father of the country's nuclear programme Abdul Qadeer Khan amid fears of an Abbottabad-type raid which killed Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden.

WASHINGTON: The White House said on Thursday it was possible that President Barack Obama would meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in New York next week if Tehran signaled it was serious about giving up its nuclear programme.

ISLAMABAD: A day after a top general was killed in a Taliban bombing, army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Monday said militants cannot coerce Pakistan into accepting their terms as the military has the "will to take the fight to the terrorists".

LONDON: Nobel laureate and Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has met Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on the sidelines of a human rights conference in Prague.