Trump's team 'was warned Russians could blackmail' Michael Flynn

The White House was warned that Donald Trump's national security adviser Michael Flynn "could be blackmailed" after apparently lying to his bosses about contacts with Russian officials.

The former acting attorney general Sally Yates has spoken publicly for the first time about her concerns over Mr Flynn's conduct in the early days of the Trump administration.

Her testimony to a hearing of a Senate sub-committee investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election was the most detailed account yet of events that led to Mr Flynn leaving the White House in February.

The Trump administration, including vice president Mike Pence, had repeatedly insisted that the former US Army general had not discussed American sanctions in conversations with the Russian ambassador to the US.

But Ms Yates went to the White House to warn officials that they had been misled about the nature of those calls between Mr Flynn and Sergey Kislyak, which took place before Mr Trump was inaugurated.

It took 18 days before he was relieved of his duties, after the story was revealed by the Washington Post.

Ms Yates told the hearing: "We felt like it was critical that we get this information to the White House, in part because the vice president was making false statements to the public and because we believed that General Flynn was possibly compromised.

"This was a problem because not only did we believe that the Russians knew this but that they likely had proof of this information.

"And that created a compromise situation where the national security adviser could be blackmailed by the Russians."

The conversation took place two days after the FBI interviewed Mr Flynn about those contacts. He is also facing questions about business connections to Russia and Turkey.

Ms Yates was fired by Mr Trump after refusing to enforce the president's controversial travel ban on people from a number of majority Muslim countries.

The hearing took place hours after former Obama administration officials revealed that the outgoing president had warned Mr Trump against hiring Mr Flynn during an Oval Office meeting after the 2016 election.

The hearing brought the issue of the Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russian officials back into the public eye.

The president himself had earlier tweeted that it was Obama administration which had given Mr Flynn "the highest security clearance" when he worked at the Pentagon. Mr Flynn had been fired by the Obama administration in 2014.

Mr Trump has dismissed FBI and congressional investigations into his campaign and Russia as a "hoax". He says he has no ties to Russia, but the investigations are expected to last into next year.

The former director of national intelligence, James Clapper, told the hearing that Russia had interfered in the 2016 election.

"They must be congratulating themselves because this exceeded their wildest expectations," he said.

He said the lessons of 2016 should be a "clarion call" for vigilance and action in future elections.

Royal Navy ship shadows Russian submarine in English Channel

A Royal Navy warship has shadowed a Russian submarine through the English Channel.

HMS Somerset located the Kilo-class Krasnodar vessel off the east coast of the UK on Friday morning.

The Plymouth-based Type 23 frigate then followed it through the Strait of Dover over the weekend.

Commander Tim Berry, who is in charge HMS Somerset, said: "Policing the sea both in home waters and further afield is core business for the Royal Navy.

"Escorting foreign warships, in this case a Russian submarine, through UK waters is just part of our ongoing effort to protect our island nation."

Somerset's sister ship HMS Sutherland also escorted two Russian warships as they sailed close to UK waters lat month.

The ships' weapons include a 4.5in main gun that can fire 40kg shells more than a dozen miles away, and a Hapoon missile than travels at Mach 0.9 and can hit targets at a distance of 80 miles.

RAF jets are also often scrambled to watch Russian military planes that fly close to UK airspace.

In February, Typhoons were deployed from Lossiemouth in Scotland and Coningsby in Lincolnshire to monitor two nuclear-capable Tupolev TU-160 Blackjack bombers

United Airlines flies woman to San Francisco instead of France

United Airlines has found itself apologizing yet again, this time for sending a French woman on

Lucie Bahetoukilae was recently scheduled to fly from Newark, N.J., to Paris, but instead found herself flying to San Francisco after she was inadvertently allowed to board the wrong plane, reports WABC.

According to Bahetoukilae, who speaks only French and allowed her niece to speak on her behalf, the airline changed the flight’s gate at the last minute, and failed to notify the passengers via email. Furthermore, Bahetoukilae claims the airline did not announce the gate change in French, despite the original flight being bound for Paris.

UNITED CEO APOLOGIZES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AT HOUSE HEARING

"If they would have made the announcement in French, she would she have moved gates," Bahetoukilae’s niece, Diane Miantsoko, told WABC.

Bahetoukilae, not knowing any better, gave her ticket to the gate agent, who then scanned it and allowed Bahetoukilae to board.

Upon arriving at her row, however, Bahetoukilae found another passenger seated in her spot. Confused, she showed her ticket to a flight attendant, who, instead of noticing the airline’s error, simply sat Bahetoukilae in an empty seat.

Bahetoukilae then embarked on a 7.5-hour flight in the wrong direction. When she arrived in San Francisco, Bahetoukilae then endured an 11-hour layover as United tried to place her on another flight to France. In total, she spent more than 28 hours trying to reach her initial destination.

According to Bahetoukilae and her niece, however, the scariest part of the ordeal is that Bahetoukilae was able to board the flight in the first place.

"With everything going on this country people have to be more careful," said the woman’s niece. "They didn't pay attention. My aunt could have been anyone. She could have been a terrorist and killed people on that flight," she added.

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United has since taken responsibility for their mishap, and the company has already issued an apology.

"We deeply apologize to Ms. Bahetoukilae for this unacceptable experience," United said in an emailed statement to Fox News. "When she arrived in San Francisco, we ensured she got on the next flight to Paris and refunded her ticket. Our customer care team has reached out to her directly to ensure we make this right. We are also working with our team in Newark to prevent this from happening again."

The airline — which recently settled with David Dao, the 69-year-old passenger who was forcibly removed from a flight in early April — had also offered Bahetoukilae a full refund and a voucher for another United flight, reports WABC.

Bahetoukilae’s niece, on the other hand, said she merely wants United to get “serious with their employees” so an incident like this never befalls another United Airlines passenger.

Bouncy castle explodes in Spain, killing girl, 6, and injuring six other children

A six-year-old girl has died after being thrown 45 feet (13m) into the air when a bouncy castle exploded at a restaurant in northeast Spain.

The girl was playing on the inflatable with six other children behind the Mas Oller restaurant outside the city of Girona on Sunday afternoon.

She suffered serious injuries and died a few hours later in the intensive care unit of a nearby hospital.

The six other boys and girls, aged between three and 11, were also injured.

A nine-year-old boy was one of three taken to hospital by helicopter, while a seven-year-old girl is reported to be in a stable condition after undergoing surgery. Both are said to have suffered multiple injuries.

Four other children, including a seven-year-old, suffered minor injuries such as cuts and bruises.

It is understood a valve failed on the inflatable and pressure built up, causing the explosion. The children were sent high into the air before crashing down onto tarmac or grass.

Parts of the bouncy castle reached the roof of the restaurant and some debris was found more than 120 feet (37m) away.

Parents of the injured children were having their lunch as they played on the inflatable.

Seven ambulances and two helicopters as well as police and five fire crews attended the scene, just outside the town of Caldes de Malavella.

Some customers in the restaurant said they heard "a loud bang" just before the castle rose off the ground.

The Mayor of Caldes de Malavella Salvador Balliu said the bouncy castle was new and described the explosion as "very, very strong".

Investigators have collected the remains of the inflatable and the motor for analysis and will also assess whether it was properly anchored.

It is reported the restaurant's owner, Jaume Matas, who was not present at the time, confirmed the inflatable castle was new and had been in use for less than two months, having opened on 14 March.

Labour vows to ban junk food ads during kids' favourite shows

Adverts for junk food and sweets during TV programmes popular with children would be banned by a Labour government.

The ban, part of a proposed childhood obesity crackdown, would affect shows such as The X Factor, Hollyoaks and Britain's Got Talent.

Adverts for unhealthy products high in fat, salt or sugar are already banned on children's TV, but Labour wants to extend the ban to all programmes before the 9pm watershed.

The party is also promising to create a £250m-a-year fund to employ more school nurses with the aim of making UK youngsters the healthiest in the world.

Labour says its goal is to halve the number of overweight children within 10 years in an effort to curb the £6bn annual cost to the NHS of tackling obesity.

The party is also planning to match Theresa May's pledge to tackle child mental health problems by boosting counselling services in primary and secondary schools.

:: Conservatives to tear up Mental Health Act

"The scandal of child ill-health is a long-standing, growing and urgent challenge," says shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth, who is launching the new policy.

"It should be matter of shame that a child's health is so closely linked to poverty and that where and in what circumstances you grow up can dramatically affect your life chances."

He added: "When it comes to our children we should be ambitious. It's time we invested properly in the health of the next generation. That means the sort of bold action we are outlining today to tackle obesity and invest in mental health provision.

"Labour will put children at the heart of our health strategy and put measures in place to make Britain's children the healthiest in the world."

Vote 2017: Tories stick to 'tens of thousands' immigration pledge in manifesto

The pledge to reduce net migration to tens of thousands will be included in the Conservative Party manifesto, Sky News can reveal.

Two Conservative sources have disclosed the target, originally set by David Cameron and retained by Theresa May, would continue to be party policy, despite hints by the Home Secretary at the weekend that it would not be retained.

Mr Cameron and Mrs May, who was then Home Secretary, repeatedly failed to deliver on the promise to bring net migration to under 100,000.

Under Mr Cameron's premiership, the level of net migration rose to a record 330,000, however, he and Mrs May steadfastly refused to abandon the target.

Ministers have refused to be drawn on whether the "tens of thousands" benchmark would be retained in the General Election manifesto.

Last month, Culture Secretary Karen Bradley told Sky News the immigration issue was "not about putting a number on it".

At the weekend, when asked whether the "tens of thousands" figure contained in the 2015 manifesto would be in the 2017 one, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said: "It's not going to be identical to the last one. We're setting it out for hopefully a five-year term.

"We've got a lot to think through to work out what's the best way to deliver on our priorities."

It led to speculation the Conservatives were preparing to drop the figure in favour of a promise only to reduce net migration to "sustainable levels".

The disclosure that the target will remain comes as UKIP outlines its "one in, one out" immigration policy, which will see the number of people coming to the UK cut from 600,000 a year to 300,000 a year, over five years.

Unveiling the policy at an event in central London, the party's leader, Paul Nuttall, said the Tories had failed to deliver on their promises.

He said that a city the size of Newscastle comes to the UK net every year and added: "This is clearly unsustainable and this is clearly unfair, particularly to inner city communities."

UKIP's immigration spokesman John Bickley accused the Tories of being "completely at sea" on the issue.

He said: "They know that last year's referendum result was driven in a large part by our country's desire to take back control of immigration but there is no will in the Tory Party to deliver this.

"Either they maintain their policy created by Theresa May of tens of thousands, a promise they have failed to deliver in seven years, or they drop it and admit that they have no intention to deliver what the country demands."

Facebook to print newspaper ads to stop fake news

Facebook is turning to newspapers in its latest bid to tackle fake news.

The tech firm will run adverts in British newspapers from Monday advising Facebook users to be "sceptical of headlines" and check other reports on the same subject before believing a story.

The move comes after criticism of the social network for failing to deal with fake news content on its website, with MPs among those saying it needed to do more.

Last month Facebook placed a notice on its users' news feeds warning about fake news, after claims that fake stories supporting Donald Trump may have helped him win the US election.

Simon Milner, the tech firm's director of policy in the UK, said: "People want to see accurate information on Facebook and so do we.

"That is why we are doing everything we can to tackle the problem of false news.

"We have developed new ways to identify and remove fake accounts that might be spreading false news so that we get to the root of the problem."

:: Tom Cheshire - Facebook's fake news threatens democracy

Mr Milner said Facebook was working with fact-checking organisations to analyse content around the General Election.

"To help people spot false news we are showing tips to everyone on Facebook on how to identify if something they see is false," he said.

"We can't solve this problem alone so we are supporting third party fact checkers during the election in their work with news organisations, so they can independently assess facts and stories."

Last week, Facebook said it was looking to hire an extra 3,000 staff to combat extremist and distressing content, especially in videos