Russian hackers targeted 21 US state election systems in the 2016 presidential race and a small number were breached but there was no evidence any votes were manipulated, a Homeland Security Department official told Congress on Wednesday.

Russia face a stress test of its readiness to host the 2018 World Cup as the Confederations Cup kicks off amid concerns over hooliganism and security.

Russia's Defense Ministry says it was checking information that a Russian air strike near the Syrian city of Raqqa may have killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in late May.

A new ferry between isolated North Korea and Russia docks for the first time at the Pacific port of Vladivostok, in spite of US calls for countries to curtail relations with Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programs.

A top organiser of Russia's World Cup dismissed the threat of hooliganism as "overblown" and "fake" on Thursday despite concerns after Russian fans went on the rampage at Euro 2016.

US President Donald Trump defends his decision to disclose information to Russian officials during a White House meeting last week, saying he had an "absolute right" to share "facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety."

A Russian-owned group of companies agrees to pay nearly $6 million to settle US civil allegations that the firms laundered proceeds of a $230 million tax fraud, ending a politically charged case days before it was set to go to trial.

French prosecutors are investigating the decision by global soccer body FIFA to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar, a source close to the investigation said on Thursday.

Lewis Hamilton will arrive in Sochi ahead of this weekend's Russian Grand Prix determined not to lose any more ground in his tightly-contested battle with Sebastian Vettel in this year's title race.

Only a fraction of the tickets for the Confederations Cup in Russia have been snapped up, Moscow said on Tuesday, admitting the lack of interest in the World Cup dress rehearsal was a worry.

The chairman of the House intelligence committee announces that he is temporarily stepping aside from the panel's probe into Russian meddling in last year's presidential election.

The United Nations is holding an emergency meeting as the world expresses horror at the suspected chemical weapons attack in northern Syria that killed dozens of people and left others gasping for breath and convulsing in the streets and overcrowded hospitals.

Russia will miss August's World Athletics Championships in London after their doping ban was extended on Monday, world governing body president Sebastien Coe said.

Maria Sharapova said Wednesday she refused to feel sorry for herself during her doping ban, occupying her time by studying at Harvard, writing a book and even learning how to box.

The draw for the 2018 World Cup finals hosted by Russia will take place in the Kremlin on December 1, the country's Football Union (RFU) chief Vitaly Mutko said Monday.

Norwegian Magnus Carlsen extended his dominance over the chess world by winning the World Chess Championship for the third consecutive time on Wednesday, beating his Russian challenger Sergei Karyakin in a tiebreaker.

Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has been ruled out of Bayern Munich's trip to Russia to face Rostov in the Champions League on Wednesday, the German champions said in a statement.

Russian investigators say they have detained the former deputy governor of Saint Petersburg over suspected fraud during the construction of a World Cup venue.

Russia has chosen a goggled wolf as mascot for the 2018 World Cup.

Mo Farah, Rafael Nadal and Justin Rose are among athletes targeted in the latest leak of confidential medical documents that the world anti-doping agency (WADA) says were hacked by a Russian cyber espionage group.