RIYADH, Aug 27 (NNN-SPA) – The Saudi Heritage Commission, yesterday made significant archaeological discoveries at the Al-Abla site, in the south-western Asir region.

The discoveries included evidence of residential and industrial units with gypsum-coated walls and floors, and reservoirs constructed underneath for residential and production use, according to the Saudi Heritage Commission.

Rainwater was channelled down the specially-designed roof, and through the gypsum-lined or pottery channels to be stored until needed, said the commission.

26 August 2023; MEMO: The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas – condemned on Friday Britain’s stance to oppose International Court of Justice (ICJ) addressing the legality of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader on Sunday alleged “blatant and gigantic fraud” in the country’s election after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner and international observers reported an atmosphere of intimidation against voters.

The returns from the latest troubled vote in the southern African nation were announced Saturday night, two days earlier than expected. Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa’s Citizens Coalition for Change party said it would challenge the results as “hastily assembled without proper verification.”

BUCHAREST, Aug 27 (Reuters) - One person died and 57 were injured after two explosions at a liquefied petroleum gas station in the Romanian town of Crevedia near the capital Bucharest on Saturday.

After the first explosion, the fire spread to two fuel tanks and a nearby house, leading authorities to evacuate everyone within a radius of 700 meters, while traffic on the main road nearby was blocked, according to the government's emergency response unit (IGSU).

BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 jolted Northern Chile at 14:02:09 GMT on Wednesday, the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 100.7 km, was initially determined to be at 20.52 degrees south latitude and 69.24 degrees west longitude.

MOSCOW, August 27. /TASS/: The Russian Investigative Committee said it had completed genetic examinations of the people that were killed in the recent plane crash north of Moscow, identifying all of them, including Yevgeny Prigozhin.

"As part of the investigation into the plane crash in the Tver Region, molecular genetic examinations have been completed. According to their results, the identities of all 10 victims have been established. They correspond to the list stated in the flight manifest," the agency said in a statement.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A United States Marine Corps aircraft with 23 Marines aboard crashed on a north Australian island Sunday, killing at least three and critically injuring at least five during a multinational training exercise, officials said.

Three had been confirmed dead on Melville Island and five were flown in serious condition 80 kilometers (50 miles) to the mainland city of Darwin for hospital treatment after the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey aircraft crashed around 9:30 a.m., a statement from the Marines said.

DAMASCUS, Aug 27 (NNN-SANA) – Eleven Syrian military personnel were killed, and 20 others were injured yesterday, in a rebel attack in the country’s north-western province of Idlib, a war monitor reported.

The attackers carried out an assault and detonated explosive devices, concealed in tunnels beneath the Syrian army positions, in the southern countryside of Idlib, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

OKUMA, Japan (AP) — At a small section of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant’s central control room in northeastern Japan, the treated water transfer switch is on. A graph on a computer monitor nearby shows a steady decrease of water levels as treated radioactive wastewater is diluted and released into the Pacific Ocean.

MEXICO CITY, Aug 26 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge has canceled a hearing on a $10 billion lawsuit filed by Mexico seeking to hold U.S. gun manufacturers responsible for facilitating arms trafficking to drug cartels, Mexico's foreign ministry said on Saturday.

The ministry, which has been urging a U.S. appeals court to revive the case, said that the hearing, due to take place on Monday, had been canceled last Thursday.

MANILA, Aug 27 (Reuters) - China's "aggressive behaviour" in the South China Sea, including the use of water canon by its coast guard against a Philippine vessel, must be challenged and checked, the commander of the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet said on Sunday.

Vice Admiral Karl Thomas assured the Philippines of U.S. backing in the face of "shared challenges" in the region, saying: "My forces are out here for a reason."

MOSCOW, August 27. /TASS/: BRICS leaders deal with real issues while Western politicians and reporters tend to mostly wag their tongues, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in remarks for a Rossiya-1 television program.

"It shows that they wag their tongues, while we use our heads and [engage in] concrete issues," the minister said of Western politicians and reporters who had spoken condescendingly about the BRICS.