PARIS — President Emmanuel Macron convened an emergency defense cabinet in Paris on Thursday to discuss US President Donald’s Trump’s stated intent to acquire Greenland and the forceful crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran.

In an overnight message on X, Mr. Macron said a first group of French military personnel were already headed to Greenland to participate in an exercise organized by Denmark and Greenland, an overseas Danish territory.

The crisis meeting, confirmed by a French official, was scheduled to begin at 0700 GMT.

Allied nations including Germany, Norway, and Sweden have begun deploying troops to Greenland in a show of support to Copenhagen and Nuuk.

The deployment follows a high-stakes meeting between US, Danish, and Greenlandic officials, indicated that there were still fundamental, if not intractable, differences between how Washington, Copenhagen, and Nuuk see the island’s future.

“At Denmark’s request, I have decided that France will participate in the joint exercises organized by Denmark in Greenland,” Macron said in his X post. “The first French military elements are already en route. Others will follow.”

Those deploying to Greenland were mountain specialists, Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, France’s ambassador to the Poles told France Info. The first batch numbered about 15 and were helping prepare the exercise dubbed Operation Arctic Endurance, he said.

Mr. Macron is due to deliver a New Year’s address to the armed forces later on Thursday. — Reuters

BANGKOK — A crane collapsed onto a road near Thailand’s capital on Thursday, crushing two vehicles and killing two people a day after a similar accident in the northeast caused the derailing of a train and the deaths of 32 passengers.

Thailand’s transport minister said construction firm Italian-Thai Development, whose crane fell onto the train in northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province a day earlier, was also involved in the crane accident near Bangkok.

Thursday’s incident took place in Samut Sakhon province, where the crane, which was being used in building an elevated highway, fell onto the road beneath and crushed two cars, according to local police, who said two people were also injured.

SERIES OF FATAL CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENTS
It was the latest in a series of fatal accidents caused by construction projects in Thailand, several involving Italian-Thai, including the collapse of a partially-built Bangkok tower last year that killed at least 89 people during a 7.7-magnitude earthquake and led to charges of negligence against 23 people, its president among those.

Italian-Thai declined to immediately comment on the latest incident and did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Images from the scene showed a mangled green crane and huge pieces of concrete that had crushed the vehicles below. Video from news outlet Thai Rath showed cars reversing to avoid the wreckage amid a cloud of dust from the collapsed concrete.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who was once president of his family’s construction firm Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction, said two incidents showed it was time for more action to ensure safety.

“We have to fix the law,” said Mr. Anutin, who had visited the site of the train disaster in the northeast on Wednesday.

“Instead of telling agencies to do this or that, we have to have a meeting and we will have to do something.”

Thailand, Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy, has been undergoing significant infrastructure development, from elevated highways and high-speed rail lines to major expansion of its elevated rail network in Bangkok.

‘OVER AND OVER AGAIN’
Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said it was crucial to determine whether these were caused by accidents or other factors.

“The incident happened over and over again. It was caused by the same contractor,” he said during a talk show interview with Channel 3 television, referring to Italian-Thai.

“I am confused about what is happening to the company.”

Authorities said an investigation into Wednesday’s accident in the northeast was ongoing.

As well as the 32 fatalities, 66 of the 195 passengers on the train were also injured after a crane involved in building structures for an elevated high-speed rail project collapsed onto an existing train line below.

The cross-country high-speed rail project will connect to China through Laos. The government said last year that more than a third of construction had been completed in the segment connecting Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima, with the whole line to Nong Khai at the border with Laos ready by 2030.

Italian-Thai, a firm founded in 1958 by Italian and Thai partners, in a statement said it accepted responsibility for compensating families of those impacted by the train derailment. — Reuters

MOSCOW — Russia on Thursday expelled a British diplomat who it said was an undeclared officer in Britain’s intelligence services, and warned London that Moscow would not tolerate such espionage activities on its territory.

The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, named the British diplomat, a second secretary at the Moscow embassy, and said he was working undercover for Britain’s spy service. Russian media carried pictures of the diplomat.

Russia said he has been given two weeks to leave Russia. Britain’s Foreign Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russia’s foreign ministry summoned Britain’s charge d’affaires in Russia, Danae Dholakia, to issue a formal protest about the situation.

“It was again stressed that Moscow would not tolerate the activities of undeclared British intelligence officers in Russia,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

“A warning was also issued that if London escalates the situation, the Russian side will give a decisive ‘mirror’ response,” it said.

Protesters at the foreign ministry chanted anti-British slogans in front of the British diplomatic car carrying the charge d’affaires.

Amid the war in Ukraine, Russia and the West have repeatedly accused each other of unfurling espionage campaigns of an intensity not seen since the depths of the Cold War.

Russia says that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, known as MI6, and France’s DGSE have all stepped up attempts to steal secrets, recruit Russians and sow discord inside Russia.

Western European spy chiefs say that the FSB, Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service and the GRU military intelligence service have mounted major cyber attacks and sabotage campaigns across the Western world, something Moscow denies. — Reuters

KAMPALA — Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is seeking to extend his rule into a fifth decade in an election on Thursday with internet restricted across the country following an often violent campaign.

Mr. Museveni is expected to fend off a challenge from the popular singer Bobi Wine, but the vote will be a test of the 81-year-old leader’s political strength and ability to avoid the kind of unrest that has rocked neighbors Tanzania and Kenya.

The longtime leader has campaigned on a slogan of “protecting the gains”, vowing to maintain peace and lift the country into middle-income status.

Mr. Wine, a 43-year-old pop star nicknamed the “Ghetto President” for his humble origins, has promised to end what he calls Mr. Museveni’s “dictatorship” and has appealed to young people angry about scarce economic opportunities. More than 70% of Uganda’s population is under the age of 30.

HUNDREDS ARRESTED, AT LEAST ONE KILLED
Security forces have repeatedly opened fire at Mr. Wine’s campaign events, killing at least one person, and have arrested hundreds of his supporters. Mr. Museveni’s government has defended the security forces’ actions as a justified response to what it called lawless conduct by opposition supporters.

The military has deployed heavily on the streets of the capital Kampala and authorities cut internet access and limited mobile access across the country on Tuesday to curb what they called “misinformation” about the vote.

The UN Human Rights Office said last week that the elections were taking place amid “widespread repression and intimidation”.

Besides Mr. Wine, six other opposition candidates are challenging Mr. Museveni – Africa’s third-longest-ruling head of state. Voters will also choose more than 500 members of parliament. Polls are due to close at 4 p.m. (1300 GMT) with results expected to be announced within 48 hours, i.e. by Saturday afternoon.

MUSEVENI IS A STRATEGIC PARTNER OF THE WEST
Mr. Museveni came to power at the head of a rebellion in 1986. He has changed the constitution twice to remove age and term limits, and his dominance of Ugandan institutions means there is little prospect of an election upset, political analysts say.

As president, he has positioned Uganda as a strategic partner of Western nations, sending troops to regional hotspots like Somalia and taking millions of refugees.

Economic growth, traditionally reliant on agriculture and tourism, is expected to surge into double digits when crude oil production from fields run by France’s TotalEnergies and China’s CNOOC begins later this year.

Mr. Museveni has faced criticism for alleged human rights abuses and unfair elections, charges his government has always denied.

The United States denounced his last election victory in 2021 – in which he defeated Mr. Wine with 58% of the vote – as neither free nor fair. Security forces killed more than 50 opposition supporters in the lead-up to that vote.

Similar criticism from President Donald Trump’s administration is unlikely this time after US diplomats were instructed in July not to comment on the integrity of foreign elections.

PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION IN FOCUS
Mr. Museveni is widely believed to favor his son, military chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, as his successor, though the president has denied grooming him for the role.

Mr. Kainerugaba, a prolific social media presence who often posts threats of violence against opposition leaders, has openly declared his presidential ambitions, but his status as heir apparent is not universally accepted within the ruling party, analysts say.

“While bringing stability, another term for the 81-year-old President Museveni will heighten succession risks, effectively kicking the can down the road on leadership transition,” said Jervin Naidoo, a political analyst at Oxford Economics.— Reuters

CHINESE authorities have told domestic companies to stop using cybersecurity software made by more than a dozen firms from the US and Israel due to national security concerns, three people briefed on the matter said.

As trade and diplomatic tensions flare between China and the US and both sides vie for tech supremacy, Beijing has been keen to replace Western-made technology with domestic alternatives.

The US companies whose cybersecurity software has been banned include Broadcom-owned VMware, Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet, while the Israeli companies include Check Point Software Technologies, two of the sources said. The third source said other companies whose software was banned included Alphabet-owned Mandiant and Wiz, whose purchase Alphabet announced last year, as well as US firms CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Recorded Future, McAfee, Claroty, and Rapid7.

Israeli firm CyberArk, whose purchase was announced by Palo Alto last year, was also on the list, as were Orca Security and Cato Networks, two Israeli firms, and Imperva, which was purchased by French defense firm Thales in 2023.

SHARES SLIDE FOLLOWING SOFTWARE BAN
Recorded Future said in an email that “Recorded Future does not do business in China, and has no intention to do business in China.” McAfee said it is a consumer-focused company whose technology “is not built for government or enterprise use.”

CrowdStrike said it did not sell into China and did not have offices, hire people or host infrastructure there, and thus could “only be negligibly affected.” SentinelOne said it had “no direct revenue exposure to China” as it did not sell to Chinese entities or resellers and had no offices there.

The other blacklisted companies did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Shares of Broadcom were down more than 5% in Wednesday afternoon trading, while Palo Alto’s shares slipped about 1%. Fortinet shares fell around 2%.

Reuters was unable to establish how many Chinese companies received the notice that the sources said was issued in recent days.

Chinese authorities expressed concern the software could collect and transmit confidential information abroad, the sources said. They declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation.

China’s internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.

PREPARATIONS UNDER WAY FOR TRUMP VISIT
The United States and China, which have been locked in an uneasy trade truce, are preparing for a visit by US President Donald Trump to Beijing in April.

While the West and China have clashed over China’s efforts to build up its semiconductor and artificial intelligence sectors, Chinese analysts have said Beijing has become increasingly concerned that any Western equipment could be hacked by foreign powers.

It has therefore sought to replace Western computer equipment and word processing software.

The country’s largest cybersecurity providers include 360 Security Technology and Neusoft.

Some of the US and Israeli companies facing a ban for their part have repeatedly alleged Chinese hacking operations, which China has denied.

Last month, Check Point published a report on an allegedly Chinese-linked hacking operation against an unidentified “European government office.” In September, Palo Alto published a report alleging a Chinese hacking effort targeted diplomats worldwide.

SIGNIFICANT CHINESE FOOTPRINT
Several of the firms do not conduct business with Chinese clients, but others have built a significant footprint in China.

Fortinet has three offices in mainland China and one in Hong Kong, according to its website. Check Point’s website lists support addresses in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Broadcom lists six China locations, while Palo Alto lists five local offices in China, including one in Macau.

The politics around foreign cybersecurity vendors has long been fraught. Such firms are often staffed with intelligence veterans, they typically work closely with their respective national defense establishments, and their software products have sweeping access to corporate networks and individual devices – all of which at least theoretically provides a springboard for spying or sabotage.

Suspicions about the origin and motive of Russian anti-virus firm Kaspersky, for example, eventually led to a purge of the software from US government networks in 2017. In 2024, sales of Kaspersky products were banned across the United States.— Reuters

WASHINGTON — Iran closed its airspace temporarily to most flights late on Wednesday, forcing airlines to cancel, reroute or delay some flights, amid concerns about possible military action between the United States and Iran.

Iran said in a notice posted by the US Federal Aviation Administration that it had closed its airspace to all flights except international ones to and from Iran with official permission at 5:15 p.m. ET (2215 GMT). The prohibition was set to last for more than two hours until 7:30 p.m. ET, or 0030 GMT, but the end time was an estimate, the notice said. It was still on the FAA website site 30 minutes after its estimated expiry.

Iranian airspace was almost completely empty of civilian airplanes at 7:15 p.m. ET except for two Mahan Air flights traveling between Iran and China, according to tracking data from FlightRadar24.

President Donald Trump has been weighing a response to the situation in Iran which is seeing its biggest anti-government protests in years.

The United States was withdrawing some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a US official said on Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official said Tehran had warned neighbors it would hit American bases if Washington strikes.

Missile and drone barrages in a growing number of conflict zones represent a high risk to airline traffic.

India’s largest airline, IndiGo said some of its international flights would be impacted by Iran’s sudden airspace closure. Air India said its flights were using alternative routes that could result in delays or cancellations.

A flight by Russia’s Aeroflot bound for Tehran returned to Moscow after the closure, according to Flightradar24 data.

Earlier on Wednesday, Germany issued a new directive cautioning the country’s airlines from entering Iranian airspace, shortly after Lufthansa rejigged its flight operations across the Middle East amid escalating tensions in the region.

The United States already prohibits all US commercial flights from overflying Iran and there are no direct flights between the countries.

Airline operators like flydubai and Turkish Airlines have canceled multiple flights to Iran in the past week.

“Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” said Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organization that shares flight risk information. “The situation may signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defense, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic.”

A Ukraine International Airlines jet was downed by Iran’s military in 2020, killing all 176 passengers and crew.

Lufthansa said on Wednesday that it would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace until further notice while it would only operate day flights to Tel Aviv and Amman from Wednesday until Monday next week so that crew would not have to stay overnight. Some flights could also be canceled as a result of these actions, it added in a statement.

Italian carrier ITA Airways, in which Lufthansa Group is now a major shareholder, said that it would similarly suspend night flights to Tel Aviv until Tuesday next week.—Reuters