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The Netherlands has expelled two alleged Russian spies who were working in the country as diplomats, its intelligence service says.

They are accused of targeting the high-tech sector and building a “substantial network of sources” in the industry. The two individuals were working for Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Dutch officials said.

Russia described the accusations as “unfounded” and said the decision to expel its citizens was “provocative”.

The expelled Russians were accredited diplomats working from the country’s embassy in The Hague, Dutch officials said on Thursday. They have been declared persona non grata and must now leave the Netherlands. Both were part of a “substantial espionage network” that was “recently rolled up”, the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) said in a statement.

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French President Emmanuel Macron has said there is an “urgent need” to reform the security forces, following weeks of protests over police violence.

He will hold a summit next month to review community relations and the working conditions of the police. “I want to move quickly and concretely,” Mr Macron said in a letter to a leading police union on Monday.

It follows weeks of nationwide demonstrations over a controversial draft security law.

The bill, as initially introduced last month, prohibited taking and sharing photos of police “with malevolent intent”, but opponents said this would make it difficult to document police brutality.

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US President-elect Joe Biden has chosen retired General Lloyd Austin as his defence secretary, US media report.

If approved, the 67-year-old who retired in 2016 would become the first African-American to lead the Pentagon. He would need a congressional waiver as seven years are required between active duty and becoming military chief.

Mr Biden has been facing calls including from Democratic Asian, Black and Latino caucuses to nominate minorities to senior cabinet posts.

Veteran Pentagon official Michèle Flournoy, who would have been the first woman to hold the position, had also been considered a front-runner – as well as Jeh Johnson, a former Pentagon general counsel and former secretary of homeland security.

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A satellite-controlled machine-gun with “artificial intelligence” was used to kill Iran’s top nuclear scientist, a Revolutionary Guards commander says.

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was shot dead in a convoy outside Tehran on 27 November.

Brig-Gen Ali Fadavi told local media that the weapon, mounted in a pick-up truck, was able to fire at Fakhrizadeh without hitting his wife beside him. The claim could not be verified.

Iran has blamed Israel and an exiled opposition group for the attack.

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The top US intelligence official says China is the “greatest threat to democracy and freedom” since World War Two.

Writing in the Wall St Journal, John Ratcliffe said China was growing its power by stealing US secrets and then replacing US firms in the market.

The Trump administration has taken a hard line on China, imposing tariffs on Chinese goods and accusing Beijing of intellectual property theft. China has not yet responded.

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