RUSSIA

Talks with CIA chief in Moscow confirmed

Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, said on Thursday that he had held a "working-level meeting" with CIA director John Ratcliffe in Moscow earlier this week and that they had discussed unspecified and sensitive matters falling within the remit of their respective intelligence services. The same day, the Kremlin dismissed as "scare stories" US media reports suggesting that Russia could attack NATO. The Wall Street Journal and CBS News reported that Ratcliffe had sought to dissuade Russia from attacking NATO members. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "A lot of such scare stories are being published right now. Of course, they have nothing to do with reality."

ALGERIA

Wildfires leave 12 dead, 54 injured

Twelve people were killed in wildfires that swept through several Algerian provinces, Interior Minister Said Sayoud said late on Wednesday, amid a severe heat wave gripping North Africa. The fatalities included five people in Jijel Province, four in Bejaia and three in Tizi Ouzou. Sayoud said that 54 people had suffered burn injuries, including six in critical condition who are currently in intensive care. Algeria's civil protection services recorded 154 wildfires across the country on Wednesday. Thirty-six fires were reported in Bejaia Province alone, of which 18 had been brought under control.

JAPAN

'Polka dot queen' artist Yayoi Kusama dies at 97

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, who splashed her signature polka dots on paintings, sculptures and museum installations around the world, has died, her studio said on Thursday. She was 97. Kusama died Aug 14 at a hospital in Tokyo, Yayoi Kusama Studio said, without specifying the cause of death. Kusama insisted she drew the way she saw the world — covered with spots, part of the hallucinations she said she had from childhood. In 2008, Christie's auctioned her work for $5.8 million.

AGENCIES-XINHUA