🇰🇪Kenya’s President Ruto denounces Supreme Court’s decision in favor of LGBTQ freedoms

▪️The government will not allow Kenya to head in that direction and won't support calls to legalize the LGBTQ community as the country has its own values that should be respected, the president William Ruto has said.

🗣"We respect the Court but… I will not allow it in Kenya. We have our culture and traditions, we respect our constitution and all our religions," he said, adding: "We can’t travel the road of women marrying women or men marrying men. That will not happen under my watch."

▪️Last week, the East African nation’s Supreme Court ruled that a board overseeing non-government organizations was discriminatory when refused an activist to register a pro-LGBTQ rights entity

Subscribe to @sputnik_africa

UK Embassy Sought to Pay Sudanese Students to Protest Against Russia — Report

The Brits allegedly used a combination of bribes and promises of protection in an effort to create an astroturf anti-Russian street movement in the East African nation.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

'F**k This Guy': Ex-Bernie Supporters Slam US Lawmaker for Spouting ‘Neocon Propaganda’ About Russia

Former supporters of US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) took to social media Friday to express their disgust after the former peace candidate expressed support for the Biden administration’s anti-Russian stance.

Read more

Russian Embassy: UK Fabricated Skripal Poisoning as 'Trial Balloon' for Future Moscow Demonization

The embassy pointed out that many details of what really happened in the Wiltshire city remain unknown, and many questions have still gone unanswered by UK authorities.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

‘Saving Private Ryan’ Actor Tom Sizemore Dies at 61

Last month, famous blockbuster actor Tom Sizemore was hospitalized from his home in Los Angeles after suffering a brain aneurysm.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Russian Foreign Ministry: Moscow insists on an unbiased investigation of the Salisbury incident and condemns London's attempts to hold Russia responsible for it.

EU Defense Industry Should Switch to Wartime Economy: European Commissioner

"I believe it is time that the European defence industry moves to a wartime economy model to cater for our defence production needs," the official said.

Read more

West May Be Deliberately Concealing Findings of Probes Into Nord Stream Blasts, Says French General

The mere fact that there have been no conclusions presented from three Western investigations into the explosions at the Nord Stream 1 and 2 natural gas infrastructure may evidence that their findings have been swept under the rug, the general said.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Greek railway workers have extended by 48 hours a strike launched on March 2 because of the recent train accident that killed at least 57 people, Greek railway company Hellenic Train said.

"Due to the 48-hour strike announced by the railway workers' unions, all Hellenic Train services are suspended for Saturday, March 4, and Sunday, March 5," the company said in a statement.

On Tuesday, a passenger train collided with a freight train near the city of Larissa. The passenger train had switched to the freight train's lane before the accident, which brought them both on the same track and resulted in a head-on collision.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall is currently holding "promising" talks with Kiev on the construction of a tank plant worth 200 million euros ($213 million) in Ukraine, Armin Papperger, the head of the company, said.

Such a plant will be able to produce up to 400 Panther tanks per year, the company's chief said. He expressed hope that a final decision on the deal would be made "in the next two months."

Ukraine needs from 600 to 800 tanks to win in the conflict with Russia, so even if Berlin gives Kiev all 300 Leopard 2 tanks from the reserves of the German armed forces, this will still "not be enough," Papperger added.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic has been denied entry to the United States to participate in two tournaments as he is not vaccinated against COVID-19, Florida Senator Rick Scott said.

"We have been told that the Department of Homeland Security just denied Novak Djokovic's vaccine waiver request, making him ineligible to compete in the US next week in CA & the Miami Open," Scott said on Twitter.

He also urged the US government to lift the mandatory vaccination requirement for everyone arriving in the US, adding that the situation with the Serbian tennis player "makes no sense," as "Joe Biden says COVID-19 is over but still bars Novak Djokovic from competing at the Miami Open."

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

China is increasing its defense budget to meet complex security challenges and fulfill the country's obligations, Wang Chao, a spokesman for the first session of the 14th National People's Congress, said.

The spokesman added that the scale of the military spending was also determined by the basic needs of defense construction and the level of development of the national economy. At the same time, Wang refused to specify how much China would increase its defense spending in 2023

China steadily increases its defense budget every year, although Beijing adheres to the defensive nature of its military doctrine and does not participate in wars or military conflicts. In 2022, China planned to raise its military budget by 7.1% year-on-year to 1.45 trillion yuan ($209.9 billion).

Subscribe to @SputnikInt