French President Emmanuel Macron rejected accusations of double standards over Paris increasing purchases of Russian gas, despite harsh anti-Russian rhetoric.

At a press conference following the EU summit in Brussels, Macron was asked whether there was a contradiction in the fact that Paris shows its support for Ukraine, but at the same time continues to purchase Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG).

“No. Today, Russian LNG is purchased all over the world, just like Russian oil. It is purchased all over the world. France is less dependent on gas than others... France is the least dependent on gas and we are far from those who participated most in financing the Russian economy, both previously and now,” the French president claimed.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

“It's not worthy of a great power. And history will not forgive you for this”: Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzia commented on the United States' veto of the United Nations Security Council resolution to admit Palestine as a full member to the UN.

The Russian envoy criticized the American stance on the conflict, calling on Washington to join the efforts of the rest of the Security Council to establish an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

"This day may go down in history as the day when, after three-quarters of a century, the international community finally took the right step to correct years of "historical injustice" to Palestine and the legitimate aspirations of its heroic people.

Our American colleagues, however, have a different view. By exercising their veto for the fifth time since the escalation in Gaza began, they have once again demonstrated their true attitude towards the Palestinians," Nebenzia said.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Techno-fascism: privacy advocates decry fusion of Big Tech and government surveillance (Part 1)

Congress appears poised to extend a controversial law granting the US National Security Agency (NSA) sweeping global and domestic spying powers – observers say the renewed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) will grant intelligence agencies unprecedented abilities with no judicial oversight.

“If you are targeted in any way and you find out about it, they can actually just notify you if they want because with it comes a national security letter saying that you are barred by law from discussing or disclosing it to anyone at all whatsoever – even your attorney – you can't even get legal counsel on it,” said activist and writer Tyler Nixon on Sputnik’s The Final Countdown program.

FISA, which dates back to 1978, was originally envisioned as a check on executive power after the abuses of the Watergate scandal. The legislation was dramatically expanded in the 2000s to grant government agencies enhanced spying powers in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Initially the NSA was required to seek approval for electronic searches from secret FISA courts, which were frequently derided as mere “rubberstamp” institutions. But the most recent revision of the bill dispenses even with that safeguard.

👉 Follow the link for more details

Techno-fascism: privacy advocates decry fusion of Big Tech and government surveillance (Part 2)

“I don't know how this happened,” said host Ted Rall on Sputnik’s The Final Countdown program as a renewed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act seemed poised to pass Congress, granting the National Security Agency unprecedented spying powers without judicial oversight.

“We had civil libertarians both on the left and on the right in Congress who were going to block this. It looked like it was going to die. Even former President Trump, the head of the GOP, was against it,” Rall clarified.

The renewed FISA law narrowly passed the House earlier this week. The legislation was initially deadlocked 212-212, but House Speaker Mike Johnson cast a rare tie-breaking vote in favor of the law. Johnson had previously expressed opposition to the renewal of the act, which has been met with opposition from conservative Republicans.

“These are not exactly the people who are going to be worried about individual privacy, the tech giants,” said privacy advocate Tyler Nixon, noting that social media companies have proven willing to share user data in return for favorable legislation from Congress.

“The definition of fascism is the merger, frankly, of corporate or concentrated wealth interests with the state and this FISA law and the way they've used these intelligence surveillance powers through these tech companies… just indicates to me that we're closer and closer with each one of these expansions to what is you can't tell the difference,” he warned. “You can't tell where the government censors end and your Twitter or whoever begins.”

“I think our Congress is very much captured by the national security police state, and they manipulate and control these people one way or another… It's unfortunate because we have totally lost control of even our own elected representatives,” Nixon emphasized.

👉 Follow the link for more details

❗️ Israel launched a missile strike on a facility in Iran, ABC reported citing a US official. The report does not specify what target was hit or the extent of the damage.

Iranian media reported explosions near Isfahan airport, Reuters reports.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️ Iranian air defenses have been repelling air strikes in several Iranian regions, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.

Photo from ABC News

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️ Three explosions heard in Iran's Isfahan; air defense forces may have repelled small drones flying over - Iranian Fars news agency reported.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️ Israel on Friday notified the US of its intention to retaliate against Iran within 24 to 48 hours, Bloomberg reported.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️ Air raid sirens were activated in the north of Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

"Sirens sounded in northern Israel," the IDF said on Telegram.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️ So far, there have been no reports of a large explosion or a rocket strike in Isfahan, Iranian Tasnim news agency reported citing sources.

Due to the high level of sensitivity, the defense has fired shots around the Isfahan Air Base, but until this moment, only the possibility of the micro-bird issue is raised, although this issue has not been confirmed, the agency said.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️ Iran's nuclear facilities in Isfahan are absolutely safe, Iranian Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported.

"The nuclear facility in Isfahan is completely safe. The report of some foreign media about the incident in this facility is incorrect," Fars news agency said.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Iranian media published footage of a calm situation near Isfahan.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Israel launched a "limited" strike against Iran as a retaliation for the April 13 attack, Fox News reported, citing a source.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Sounds of explosions in Tabriz is due to the work of air defense systems, Tasnim news agency reported.

Tabriz air defense forces fired shots this morning after detecting a suspicious object in southwest Tabriz around 4:50 am (4:20 Moscow time). The city of Tabriz is located to the noth-east from Tehran.

"At present, no damage has been caused to Tabriz's sensitive centers, no explosions have occurred and the city is calm," the agency reported citing a source.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

The US did not support Israel's retaliatory strike on Iran, CNN reported citing a source in the US administration.

Earlier in the day, it was reported that Israel launched a missile strike on a facility on Iranian territory.

"We did not approve the retaliation," the official told the TV channel.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Iranian media demonstrates a calm situation in Isfahan.

According to several media reports, 1.5 hours ago Iranian air defenses fired shots due to the detection of small flying objects.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt