Russia

White House officials had sought the help of the bureau and other agencies investigating the Russia matter to say that the reports were wrong and that there had been no contacts, the officials said. The reports of the contacts were first published by The New York Times and CNN on February 14.

Journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who works for pro-democracy group Open Russia, became ill earlier this month.

He has now recovered enough to leave the country to seek further treatment, his lawyer Vadim Prokhorov said on Facebook on Sunday.

The activist nearly died when he suffered sudden kidney failure in 2015.

Mr Trump accused the National Security Agency (NSA) and FBI of giving out information illegally.

Some US media say top Trump aides were in constant communication with Russian officials during the election campaign.

Intelligence officials previously said they believed Russia tried to influence the vote in favour of Mr Trump.

Moscow has dismissed the claim as unsubstantiated.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the latest reports of contacts with Trump aides were "not based on any facts".

The move is just the latest in a string of Russian provocations in the early days of the Trump administration, which has called for warmer relations with the Kremlin.

The traditional US adversary has also positioned a spy ship off the coast of Delaware and carried out flights near a US Navy warship, concerning American officials. The administration has not officially drawn any links between the three events.

Yevgeniya Zakhar posted an ad on her social media page last year offering to ink abused women for free after she heard about a Brazil tattoo artist already offering the service.

Soon, she was flooded with requests.

Hearing her clients' stories of beatings and burnings, though, was so stressful that she had to limit the number of women she sees to one day a week.

"I didn't expect to be inundated with visits," said Ms Zakhar, who works in Ufa, a city about 1,200 kilometres east of Moscow.

Mr Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will speak on Saturday, according to the White House and Kremlin.

They are expected to discuss bilateral affairs and national security in the first call since the inauguration.

But Mr Trump said it was "very early" to talk about the sanctions imposed on the country by his predecessor.

He was asked about his plans in a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Theresa May on her visit to Washington - the first national leader to be welcomed by the president.

Fallon's remarks were made Wednesday as UK warships and warplanes tracked Russia's only aircraft carrier through the English Channel.

The carrier and its escort, the guided missile cruiser Petr Velikiy, are on their way back to Russia after participating in airstrikes in Syria. They left the Mediterranean Sea earlier this month.

In his first news conference since winning the election, a combative Trump made clear he will not mute his style when he is inaugurated in nine days. He lashed out at media and political foes alike in a bravura performance.

It's part of a tough anti-tobacco strategy the country's politicians are trying to make a reality.

The ban on the sale of tobacco to this generation and younger would continue even after they reach adulthood.

It's only being considered at the moment but it could mean smoking eventually becomes illegal for all Russians.

Russian news site Izvestia says it has seen a policy document titled "concept for the state policy to counter tobacco consumption in the years 2017-2022 and beyond".

The exchange appeared to raise the prospect of a new arms race between the two nuclear superpowers, which between them boast more than 14,000 nuclear warheads, the still deadly legacy of their four-decades long Cold War standoff.

But the comments by Putin, who is presiding over a project to restore Russia's lost global power and influence, and Trump, who will shortly become the US commander-in-chief, did not spell out exactly what each side is proposing or whether a major change of nuclear doctrine is in the offing.