The Israeli tech company NSO Group has filed a libel lawsuit against an Israeli newspaper after it published a series of explosive articles claiming Israeli police unlawfully used its spyware on dozens of public figures.

The articles by the Israeli business newspaper Calcalist published over recent weeks triggered an uproar over what the newspaper claimed was the police's unfettered use of sophisticated phone hacking software on a broad swath of figures. An investigation into the reports, which were unsourced, found no indication of abuse.

Qatar paid more than $10 million to a company staffed by former CIA operatives in an attempt to silence criticism from the head of German soccer against the wealthy Arab nation's hosting of the 2022 World Cup, an investigation by The Associated Press has found.

The multi-year covert influence operation, codenamed "Project Riverbed," targeted Theo Zwanziger, a former FIFA executive committee member and president of the German soccer federation who was an outspoken critic of the 2010 decision to award the planet's most popular sports tournament to Qatar, according to internal company records reviewed by the AP.

Deadly with extreme weather now, climate change is about to get so much worse. It is likely going to make the world sicker, hungrier, poorer, gloomier and way more dangerous in the next 18 years with an "unavoidable" increase in risks, a new United Nations science report says.

And after that watch out.

The Russian military says its nuclear deterrent forces have been put on high alert in line with President Vladimir Putin's order.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has reported to Putin that command posts of all of Russia's nuclear forces have been boosted with additional personnel. The Defense Ministry said that the high alert status applies to all components of Russian nuclear forces — the Strategic Missile Forces that oversee land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, the Northern and Pacific Fleets that have submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles, and the long-range aviation that has a fleet of nuclear-capable strategic bombers.

Outgunned but determined Ukrainian troops slowed Russia's advance and held onto the capital and other key cities — at least for now. In the face of stiff resistance and devastating sanctions, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia's nuclear forces put on high alert, threatening to elevate the war to a terrifying new level.

Explosions and gunfire that have disrupted life since the invasion began last week appeared to subside around Kyiv overnight, as Ukrainian and Russian delegations met Monday on Ukraine's border with Belarus. It's unclear what, if anything, those talks would yield.

Russia's central bank sharply raised its key rate Monday in a desperate attempt to shore up the plummeting ruble and prevent the run of banks amid crippling Western sanctions over the Russian war in Ukraine.

The bank hiked the benchmark rate to 20% from 8.5%. That followed a Western decision Sunday to freeze Russia's hard currency reserves, an unprecedented move that could have devastating consequences for the country's financial stability.

In a dramatic escalation of East-West tensions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear deterrent forces put on high alert Sunday in response to what he called "aggressive statements" by leading NATO powers.

The order means Putin has ordered Russia's nuclear weapons prepared for increased readiness to launch, raising the threat that the tensions could boil over into a nuclear war. In giving it, the Russian leader also cited hard-hitting financial sanctions imposed by the West against Russia, including Putin himself.

Lebanon has wheat reserves sufficient for one month at the most, with Ukraine accounting for up to 60 percent of the crisis-hit country's wheat market, the economy minister said on Friday.

Concerns about wheat reflect the rippling effect of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Lebanese government is in talks with other countries like the United States, India and Canada to provide wheat amid concerns of global disruption to wheat supply during the crisis, the Minister, Amin Salam, said.

The Kremlin says prospects for possible peace talks between Russia and Ukraine look uncertain due to apparent differences over a venue.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to send a delegation for talks with Ukrainian officials in Minsk, Belarus, where President Alexander Lukashenko runs a pro-Russian government.

U.S. and European officials are holding one key financial sanction against Russia in reserve, choosing not to boot Russia off SWIFT, the dominant system for global financial transactions.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine caused a barrage of new financial sanctions Thursday. The sanctions are meant to isolate, punish and impoverish Russia in the long term. President Joe Biden announced restrictions on exports to Russia and sanctions against Russian banks and state-controlled companies.