Russia

US investigates possible Russia role in Syria chemical attack

The Pentagon is looking for any evidence that the Russian government knew about or was complicit in the attack in Idlib province that killed at least 80 people and injured dozens more, a senior US defense official said.

Russia arrests six 'IS recruiters' in St Petersburg

The suspects are from Central Asian countries and have been active since November, Russian officials add.

There is no evidence they are connected with Akbarzhon Jalilov, a Kyrgyzstan-born man suspected of bombing St Petersburg's metro.

Monday's attack killed 14 people and injured almost 50.

Those detained had been recruiting other Central Asian immigrants in St Petersburg "to carry out terrorist crimes" and to join "illegal armed groups", including IS, Russia's state investigative committee said in a statement.

Suspected gas attack in Syria reportedly kills dozens

Activists said the Syrian regime was responsible for the killings of at least 70 people -- 10 children among the dead -- leading the United Nations to replace a scheduled Security Council session for Wednesday morning with an emergency meeting.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military denied using chemical weapons and blamed rebels for the carnage. Russia, Syria's strong ally, said it had no warplanes in the vicinity.

Russia's prank voice message: 'Press 3 for election interference'

But that didn't stop the Russian Foreign Ministry poking fun at the claims in an April Fools' Day spoof.

On Saturday it published what it said was a new automated answering message for the switchboards of Russian embassies around the world.

"You have reached the Russian embassy, your call is very important to us," the audio message begins. "To arrange a call from a Russian diplomat to your political opponent, press 1."

"To use the services of Russian hackers, press 2," and "to request election interference, press 3."

Flynn seeks immunity for testimony

"Gen. Flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit. ... No reasonable person, who has the benefit of advice from counsel, would submit to questioning in such a highly politicized, witch-hunt environment without assurances against unfair prosecution," Robert Kelner, Flynn's lawyer, said in a statement late Thursday.

The daredevils feeding a dangerous Russian craze

What drives these extreme selfie daredevils?

He's got a camera strapped to his head and he teeters on the edge of the roof in a nine story apartment block in Siberia.

"Are you filming?" he asks, as a friend hands him a flaming torch. Orange flames engulf his legs and suddenly he jumps, somersaulting in the air like a stricken warplane before landing with a thud into a deep pile of snow.

'No evidence' of Trump-Russia links

Devin Nunes, head of the House of Representatives intelligence committee, made the remark on Fox News.

On Monday, FBI Director James Comey will testify before the committee.

The US intelligence community believes alleged Russian hacking during the presidential election was done to help Mr Trump defeat Hillary Clinton.

Mr Trump has branded suggestions that he or associates on his campaign had contact with Russian intelligence as "fake news".

Russia denies Yahoo hack involvement

Two FSB officers were accused of conspiring with two alleged criminal hackers in a Department of Justice indictment announced on Wednesday.

The charges are believed to be the first that the US has filed against Russian government officials.

Yahoo's 2014 breach affected 500 million user accounts.

"As we have said repeatedly, there can be absolutely no question of any official involvement by any Russian agency, including the FSB [intelligence agency], in any illegal actions in cyberspace," said spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Obama didn’t hack Trump’s phones, committee says

This is after lawmakers trying to investigate Russia's meddling in the US election say they've continued to see no evidence of President Donald Trump's claim that he was wiretapped by his predecessor.

The FBI's decision to brief the Senate Judiciary Committee comes after the committee's Chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley, threatened to not schedule a vote for Rod Rosenstein to be deputy attorney general unless his panel got the FBI briefing he and the committee's top Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, requested weeks ago.

Beauty and the Beast release postponed in Malaysia

The Emma Watson film was due to open on Thursday but has been put on hold due to an "internal review". No specific reason has been given for the decision.

The film courted controversy last week after it emerged it would feature a "gay moment".

Homosexual activity is illegal in Muslim majority Malaysia, although the tourism minister has said banning the film is "ridiculous".

"You don't ban a film because of a gay character," Seri Nazri Aziz told the Malay Mail.