Greece has signed deals worth some 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) to buy three navy frigates and six additional Rafale fighter jets from France, as Athens strengthens its armed forces in response to tension with neighboring Turkey.

France's defense minister wants to learn from her Israeli counterpart what, if anything, Israel knew about the clients of the spyware company NSO who possibly targeted the cellphones of French President Emmanuel Macron and other members of his government.

French President Emmanuel Macron has held an emergency cybersecurity meeting to weigh government responses after reports that his cell phone may have been targeted by spyware.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, right, speaks with French Defense Minister Florence Parly, during their meeting in Athens on Monday Jan. 25, 2021. Greece signed a 2.3 billion euro ($2.8 billion) deal with France Monday to purchase 18 Rafale fighter jets to address tension with neighbor Turkey. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)ATHENS – Greece signed a 2.3 billion-euro ($2.8 billion) deal with France on Monday to purchase 18 Rafale fighter jets, as tensions remain high with neighbor Turkey. Greece and Turkey have agreed to restart talks aimed at resolving the dispute peacefully. Parly, who also met Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, announced that France would join two Greek military exercises later this year, participating with Rafale jets from the French air force.

PARIS – French military forces fighting Islamic extremists in West Africa killed more than 50 jihadists and detained four in an operation last week in Mali, French officials said. Parly visited Mali’s capital, Bamako, on Monday and Tuesday, and met with the head of the transitional government. France, which has suffered repeated deadly Islamic extremist attacks, has thousands of troops in a force called Barkhane in West Africa to help fight extremist groups there. Islamic extremist rebels were forced from power in northern Mali after a 2013 French-led military operation, but regrouped in the desert and now launch frequent attacks on the Malian army and its allies. Under international pressure, the junta appointed a civilian-led government to lead the country through an 18-month transition period to new elections.

Water is sprayed on a French-made Rafale fighter jet during its induction ceremony at the Indian Air Force Station in Ambala, India, Thursday, Sept.10, 2020. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)NEW DELHI The Indian air force inducted into service five French-made Rafale fighter jets Thursday amid heightened tensions with China along their disputed frontier. The fighter jets are part of a $8.78 billion deal signed with France in 2016 as India seeks to modernize its military. The Rafale have 13 custom features and long-range missiles, providing the Indian air force capabilities like long-range strikes, air defense and interdiction, defense analyst Rahul Bedi said. The Rafales are the first foreign fighters to join the Indian air force after the Russian Su-30MKIs were inducted into service in 1997, Bedi said.

(CNN) - It vanished Jan. 27, 1968, but the wreckage of the French submarine Minerve has finally been found about 28 miles off the southern coast of France, near the port of Toulon. The search was made possible thanks to "recent technological advances in underwater exploration, including the use of new sonars and research drones," French Defense Minister Florence Parly said in a statement Monday. The United States-based exploration company Ocean Infinity was then able to help identify the Minerve based on an initial sea-bottom mapping by L'Institut Franais de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer. "I sincerely hope that this discovery will help them to mourn, more than 50 years after this tragedy that has marked the French navy and all our fellow citizens," Parly said. The wreck will stay where it is, serving as the sailors' final resting place, the French navy said.