Russia

"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 five-times champions beat Paraguay 3-0 yesterday for their eighth successive win in the South American qualifying competition.

That in itself was not enough to confirm their participation in Russia but Peru's surprise 2-1 win over Uruguay in a later game guaranteed Brazil a top-four finish.

With four rounds of fixtures remaining, Brazil have 33 points, followed by Colombia (24), Uruguay and Chile (23). Argentina (22) are currently in fifth place, which earns a two-legged playoff against the top-ranked Oceania region side.

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.

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".

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.

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.

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.

Players including men's No. 1 Andy Murray, seven-time grand slam winner Venus Williams, twice grand slam winner Angelique Kerber and former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki have all weighed in on whether the five-time grand slam winner and one of the world's most recognizable athletes should benefit from wildcards as she tries to rebuild her tennis career.

The complaint was detailed in a letter sent by Vitaly Milonov to the Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky and reported by state-run news agency Ria Novsti. It says the movie should not be shown in Russia if the ministry found "elements of propaganda of homosexuality."

The Ministry of Culture has not yet issued a ruling on the film, which stars Emma Watson and is scheduled to open in Russia March 16.

Russia's Defense Ministry denied the claim, state-sponsored Sputnik News said.