ZHUZHOU, Hebei (AP) — China’s capital has recorded its heaviest rainfall in at least 140 years over the past few days after being deluged with heavy rains from the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri.

The city recorded 744.8 millimeters (29.3 inches) of rain between Saturday and Wednesday morning, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said Wednesday.

Aug 1 (Reuters) - Ukraine and Poland called in the ambassadors from each other's countries on Tuesday as a dispute escalated after a foreign policy adviser to Poland's president said Kyiv should show more appreciation for Warsaw's support in its war with Russia.

The adviser, Marcin Przydacz, also said the Polish government must defend the interests of the country's farmers - a reference to a ban on imports of Ukrainian commodities which will expire next month.

MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/:  The dollar exchange rate rose by 1 kopeck since Tuesday’s close, selling at 92.34 rubles on the Moscow Exchange as the trade opened on Wednesday.

The euro grew by 19 kopecks, reaching 101.37 rubles.

In turn, the yuan rate gained 1.7 kopecks, trading at 12.86 rubles.

ANKARA, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to continue the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Türkiye's presidency said in a statement.

During a phone call with Putin, Erdogan underlined the importance of the initiative, which he identified as a "bridge of peace," saying its long-term shutdown "will not benefit anyone" and the low-income countries in need of grain will suffer the most.

COLOMBO, Aug 2 (NNN-XINHUA) – A woman died and 15 others were injured, when a passenger bus collided with a truck, in Thulhiriya town, north of the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, today, the local police said.

The Colombo-bound bus departed from the city of Anuradhapura in North Central province. The police said, the injured were rushed to local hospitals.

In a separate accident, at least 18 were injured when a state-owned bus veered off the road and fell into a precipice, at Watawala, in central Sri Lanka, during the early hours of yesterday morning.

WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - North Korea has offered a very brief response to the United Nations Command about a U.S. soldier who dashed over the heavily-guarded border with South Korea on July 18 and was immediately taken into custody, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

However, Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said that North Korea only acknowledged the U.N. Command's request for information about U.S. Army Private Travis King and stopped short of offering detailed information about him.

TUNIS, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian President Kais Saied has removed Najla Bouden Romdhane from her post as prime minister and immediately appointed a new head of the government.

Ahmed Hachani, the new prime minister, was already sworn in on Tuesday evening, according to a statement released by the presidency late Tuesday.

Before this appointment, Hachani worked at the Central Bank of Tunisia.

On Sept. 29, 2021, Saied appointed Bouden as prime minister, making her the first woman to lead a government in the North African country. 

MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a telephone conversation agreed to prepare for a potential personal meeting, the Kremlin press service reported.

"[The sides] agreed to continue contacts at various levels, including in the context of preparations for the potential meeting between the two leaders," the statement said.

The Turkish leader’s office earlier said that Erdogan and Putin had agreed on the Russian president’s visit to Turkey.

NEW DELHI, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Traffic was lighter than usual on Wednesday and some streets deserted in the Gurugram business hub south of the Indian capital New Delhi as authorities said the death toll from two days of Hindu-Muslim clashes in the region had mounted to seven.

The violence erupted during a religious procession by Hindus in the Muslim-dominated Nuh district on Monday, resulting in the death of four people, including two police personnel, and around 60 people were injured.

By Wednesday morning, two more civilians had succumbed to injuries, officials said.

TEHRAN, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Iran and Mexico on Wednesday discussed the deepening of consular cooperation in their first online joint consular meeting, the official news agency IRNA reported.

The webinar was co-chaired by Director General of the Consular Affairs at Iranian Foreign Ministry Alireza Mahmoudi and the Mexican Foreign Ministry's Director General of Consular Services Jaime Vazquez Bracho.

The two sides also exchanged views on sharing experiences in the areas of immigration, providing consular supports, and expanding bilateral judicial cooperation.

MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/: The Kiev regime’s terrorist methods aggravate the Ukrainian crisis and delay a peace settlement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing.

"The use of terror methods by the Kiev regime is a factor that aggravates the Ukrainian crisis and delays a peace settlement. Also, it is known that weapons and equipment supplied to Ukraine by Western sponsors are often used to carry out terrorist attacks, which makes them direct accomplices to all these crimes," she said.

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Pope Francis challenged Europe to retake its role as a peacemaker and bridgebuilder as he arrived Wednesday in Portugal to open World Youth Day, hoping to inspire the next generation of Catholics to work together to combat conflicts, climate change and other problems facing the world.