Russia

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.

Maria Sharapova: Drugs-ban return generating mixed reaction

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.

Russia urged to ban 'Beauty and the Beast' remake over gay 'propaganda'

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.

Russian, Syrian planes hit US-backed fighters

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

FBI refuses White House request

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.

'Poisoned' critic Vladimir Kara-Murza leaves Russia for treatment

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.

Trump hits back on Russia contacts

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".

Russia deploys missile in apparent treaty violation

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.

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