Chabahar, IRNA – The project to desalinate water from the Sea of Oman and transfer it to Sistan and Baluchestan province and other eastern provinces is 12% complete, Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade, Abbas Aliabadi has announced.

The government has allocated over $3.2 billion for the project, which will provide fresh water to people in the eastern provinces, Aliabadi.

Aliabadi plans to visit the strategic project that transfers desalinated water from the Sea of Oman to cities and villages in the eastern provinces, especially Sistan and Baluchestan.

PLUM, Pa. (AP) — Four people were dead and a fifth was unaccounted for following a house explosion in western Pennsylvania that destroyed three structures and damaged at least a dozen others Saturday morning, authorities said.

Allegheny County officials said three people were taken to hospitals after the blast shortly before 10:30 a.m. in the borough of Plum, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of Pittsburgh.

TEHRAN, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Iran's crude oil output has risen to approximately 3.2 million barrels per day (bpd) and is projected to hit 3.3 million bpd by the end of August, the country's Oil Minister Javad Owji said on Sunday.

The minister also mentioned that Iran currently produces about 700,000 to 800,000 barrels of gas condensates daily, according to the Shana News Agency, which is connected to the oil ministry.

Also on Sunday, Iran announced its oil exports have surpassed the governmental target of 1.4 million bpd, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

BELGOROD, August 13. /TASS/: An apartment block and 15 passenger cars were damaged in Belgorod presumably in a drone attack, Belgorod Region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Sunday.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A gunman opened fire Sunday night at a prominent shrine in southern Iran, killing one person and wounding eight others in an attack that followed another assault there months earlier, authorities said.

Officials offered no immediate motive for the attack in the city of Shiraz at Shah Cheragh, which draws Shiite pilgrims to its domed mosque and the tomb of a prominent member of the faith from its earliest days.

LONDON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Britain on Sunday warned citizens going to Sweden of possible terrorist attacks following Koran burnings by anti-Islam activists that have outraged Muslims.

In updated travel advice, Britain's foreign ministry said Swedish authorities had successfully disrupted some planned attacks and made arrests.

"You should be vigilant at this time," it said, adding that "terrorists are very likely to try and carry out attacks in Sweden" with places visited by foreigners potential targets.

ALGIERS, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- A landmark Algerian highway built to connect 17 provinces has been completed with China's CITIC Construction delivering its final 84-km segment on Saturday.

As the final leg of the ambitious East-West Highway project, the 84-km project stretches from Drean in the easternmost province of El Tarf to the town of Raml Souk bordering Tunisia.

MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/: The Russian naval ship Vasily Bykov forcibly stopped the Palau-flagged dry cargo ship Sukru Okan heading for the Ukrainian port of Izmail for inspection, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Sunday.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentines were voting Sunday in a primary election that will act as a bellwether ahead of October general elections and give a hint at how eager citizens are for a change in a country that is suffering one of the world’s worst inflation rates.

The primary will determine who will be the presidential candidate in the main center-right opposition coalition in which Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta is facing off against former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich.

COLOMBO, Aug 13 (NNN-XINHUA) – Sri Lankan President, Ranil Wickremesinghe, emphasised the necessity of implementing a well-structured strategy, aimed at attaining an annual export revenue of at least two billion U.S. dollars from the gem and jewellery industry, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said, today.

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — One week after a deadline passed for mutinous soldiers in Niger to reinstate the country’s ousted president or face military intervention, the junta has not acquiesced. No military action has been taken and the coup leaders appear to have gained the upper hand over the regional group that issued the threat, analysts say.

PATRIOT PARK /Moscow Region/, August 13. /TASS/: The Kalashnikov Group unveiled a new AK-19 short-barreled assault rifle, a TASS correspondent reported from the scene.

The AK-19 is based on the 5.45mm AK-12 assault rifle and is chambered for the NATO-standard 5.56mm round. The AK-19 is the latest export version of the Kalashnikov assault rifle engineered for the 5.56x45mm cartridge. This model differs from previous generations by its refined ergonomics and adapted use round-the clock and boasts increased accuracy of fire.