Human Rights Watch said Wednesday that one of its senior staff members was targeted last year with spyware designed by the Israeli hacker-for hire company NSO Group.

The New York-based rights group said the software was used against Lama Fakih, the director of its Beirut office who also oversees its crisis response in several countries, including Syria, Myanmar, Israel and the Palestinian territories, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and the United States.

U.S. and European officials are coordinating with natural gas suppliers around the globe to cushion the impact if Russia were to cut off energy supplies in the conflict over Ukraine, Biden administration officials say.

The U.S. and European allies have promised punishing economic and political sanctions if Russia moves its military into Ukraine, but worry about repercussions for Europeans from any such sanctions, including Russia potentially cutting off delivery of its natural gas to Europe at the height of winter.

President Joe Biden will host the ruling emir of Qatar at the White House on Monday, a visit that comes as U.S. and European allies are scrambling to put together contingency plans to meet Europe's energy needs should supplies be impacted by Russia further invading Ukraine.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani planned to discuss Middle East security, ensuring the stability of global energy supplies and the situation in Afghanistan, where humanitarian conditions have deteriorated in the aftermath of the U.S. military withdrawal and Taliban takeover last year.

With another Australian Open semifinal spot secured after a four-hour, five-set victory, Rafael Nadal looked toward his support team in Rod Laver Arena and nodded his head.

It was like he was just confirming the plan: Five wins down, two to go in his bid for a men's record 21st major title.

Mario Balotelli is back in the Italy squad more than three years after his last appearance in an Azzurri shirt.

Italy coach Roberto Mancini included the striker in a 35-man squad announced Monday for a three-day training camp this week, ahead of the World Cup playoffs in March.

The descendants of Native American tribes on the Northern California coast are reclaiming a bit of their heritage that includes ancient redwoods that have stood since their ancestors walked the land.

Save the Redwoods League planned to announce Tuesday that it is transferring more than 500 acres (202 hectares) on the Lost Coast to the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council.

The sight can be jarring during extreme drought: snowmaking guns lined up on a mountainside, blasting precious crystal flakes on a ski run while the rest of the land goes thirsty.

Snowpack in the U.S. West has decreased by about 20% in the last century, making man-made snow more vital each year to opening ski resorts and fueling ski town economies as they head into an uncertain future.

Business confidence in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, has picked up unexpectedly after a six-month slide, a closely watched survey showed Tuesday.

The Ifo institute said its monthly confidence increased to 95.7 points in January from 94.8 in December. Economists had forecast another slight dip to 94.5.

North Korea on Tuesday test-fired two suspected cruise missiles in its fifth round of weapons launches this month, South Korean military officials said, as it displays its military might amid pandemic-related difficulties and a prolonged freeze in nuclear negotiations with the United States.

One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department rules, said South Korean and U.S. intelligence officials were analyzing the launches, but didn't provide further details. Another military official, who requested anonymity over similar reasons, said the tests were conducted from an inland area, but didn't specify where.

uropean stocks opened higher Tuesday after a day of steep losses in Asia as markets waited to hear from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell after a two-day policy meeting that ends Wednesday.

The possibility of conflict between Russia and Ukraine and concern over coronavirus outbreaks also were adding to uncertainties.