IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Bahrain

US diplomat 'unwelcome'

Bahrain has told a senior US diplomat who met with representatives of the country's opposition that he was "unwelcome" in the kingdom and should "leave immediately". The foreign ministry accused US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Tom Malinowski, of meddling in Bahrain's internal affairs, in a statement published by the official BNA state news agency.

Iran

Leader reveals nuclear gap

Iran's supreme leader revealed on Tuesday that his country ultimately wants 190,000 nuclear centrifuges - a huge figure that lays bare the massive gap between Teheran and world powers negotiating a deal. The comments, published on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's website, represent a dramatic intervention in the talks for a nuclear accord currently taking place in Vienna between Iran and the P5+1 group of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany.

Hungary

Anthrax found in tainted beef

An infection of deadly anthrax has been identified in beef in Heves county in eastern Hungary. One person showing symptoms is receiving medical treatment, the country's veterinary authority said in a statement on its website late on Monday. It said the disease was identified in a cow slaughtered at a home. Last week, anthrax was identified in frozen beef in a different part of Hungary after two cattle were slaughtered illegally on a farm.

Venezuela

Stolen Matisse work returned

A painting believed to be a 1925 work by French artist Henri Matisse, worth around $3 million, was returned to Venezuela from the United States on Monday, more than a decade after it was stolen from a museum in Caracas, Venezuela's government said. The Odalisque in Red Pants is thought to have been stolen from the Caracas Museum of Contemporary Art in 2002, but its disappearance went unnoticed for some time because the thieves put a fake in its place.

United States

Citizens subject to govt probes

The US Justice Department has opened fewer than a hundred investigations into US citizens who may have traveled to Syria or Iraq to fight, the US Attorney General said on Tuesday. "I would say it is less than 100 at this point. It is not precise," Eric Holder said. "We are concerned about our citizens leaving our shores to go to Syria, to Iraq, to be involved in the fight there and to potentially come back to the United States and do something of a criminal nature in our country."

AP - AFP - Reuters

(China Daily 07/09/2014 page12)