Russia

Sir Michael, writing in the Sunday Times, said the Kremlin was responsible "by proxy" as the "principal backer" of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

It comes after Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson cancelled a visit to meet his opposite number in Moscow.

The attack has been widely blamed on the Syrian government.

At least six people are reported to have been killed in the US missile strikes early on Friday.

Syria's ally Russia accused the US of encouraging "terrorists" with its unilateral actions.

"I'm disappointed in that response," said US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

"It indicates their continued support for the Assad regime and, in particular, their continued support for a regime that carries out these type of horrendous attacks on their own people.

"So I find it very disappointing, but, sadly, I have to tell you, not all that surprising," he added.

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.

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.

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.

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."

"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".