Johnson shot back, repeating his innocence and condemning the report as 'rubbish', 'a lie' and 'a charade', and accusing committee members of waging a vendetta against him.

The allegation by Defence Minister Yoav Gallant came as tensions between the regional foes surge afresh over Iran's nuclear drive and support for Palestinian and Lebanese militias.

Vadym Novynskyi, whose wealth is estimated by Forbes at US$1.4 billion, is one of the country's richest men, an ex-lawmaker and a sponsor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The Chinese balloon, which Beijing denies was a spy vessel, spent a week flying over the US and Canada before President Joe Biden ordered it shot on Feb 4.

Fighting for re-election against veteran leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the far-right president has been swept up in a firestorm over his remarks about the underage Venezuelan girls, whom he called 'very pretty'.

At least 240 other Starbucks in the US have unionised over the past year, and the company has been accused of illegal labour practices at dozens of locations.

The FSB says the consul was declared persona non grata after he was caught 'red-handed' receiving secret information on the effects of Western sanctions on the economic situation in Russia's far east.

The Secret Service has disputed that accusation, saying some phone data was lost during a routine device migration, but that all of the requested texts had been saved.

Depp is suing Heard for US$50 million after she accused him of abuse before and during their roughly two-year marriage.

The Russian defence ministry made the assertion after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded tough new sanctions over killings in the town of Bucha that have prompted international condemnation.

Russia instead accuses the Azov Battalion of blowing up the building after holding hostages there and using the upper floors from which to fire at Russian forces.

New Delhi's declaration came after Moscow said Indian students in Kharkiv were being used as a 'human shield' by Ukrainian security forces.