At least 10 people were killed in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic as creeks and rivers swollen by days of heavy rains burst their banks, destroying buildings, dams and bridges, officials said.

At least 127 people have been confirmed dead in rain-triggered mudslides on August 8 in a northwest China county, while rescuers are racing against the clock to search nearly 1,300 others who are still missing.

At least 127 people have been killed in landslides triggered by heavy rain late Saturday in north-west China and 2,000 are missing, say reports on state-run media.

The Republic of Korea's President Lee Myung-bak has nominated Kim Tae-ho to be the new Prime Minister as part of a Cabinet reshuffle, state media said on August 8.

Former Cuban President Fidel Castro made his first institutional appearance in four years on August 7, addressing a special session of the communist nation's National Assembly.

Juan Manuel Santos was sworn in on August 7 as Colombia's new president, vowing to unify his country around the goals of prosperity for all and of thwarting the nation's leftist rebels.

Russian health officials are warning people in Moscow to stay inside and avoid physical exertion as smog from the worst wildfires in modern Russian history smothers the city.

More heavy rain in Pakistan is frustrating efforts to help about 12 million people affected by severe flooding in much of the country.

Gunmen killed 10 medical workers, including eight foreigners, in Afghanistan's remote northeast, police and officials said on August 7, and the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

An explosion, which is said to have been caused by a power generator, has killed at least 14 people and injured at least 35 in a market in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.