🇫🇮 Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto on Tuesday handed over the document on the country's accession to NATO, making it the 31 member of the alliance.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇺🇬🌍 Africa should "provide the lead" to save the world from homosexuality, Ugandan President urges

🗣 "Africa should provide the lead to save the world from this degeneration and decadence, which is really very dangerous for humanity. If people of opposing sexes stop appreciating one another then how will the human race be propagated?" Yoweri Museveni, the Ugandan President said.

▪️Museveni complimented Ugandan parliamentarians for passing a law against homosexuality and vowed "never to allow the promotion and publicization of homosexuality in Uganda," stressing that "it will never be tolerated".

▪️His comments came after a two-day inter-parliamentary conference hosted at the State House in the central Ugandan city of Entebbe on "Family Values and Sovereignty" which was attended by members of parliament and delegates from 22 African countries

Subscribe to @sputnik_africa

❗ Court arrests Daria Trepova, accused in the case of the terrorist attack in St. Petersburg

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

International affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda joined us to discuss the formalization of Finland’s membership in NATO

🎧Listen to more of Sleboda’s analysis in our podcast Political Misfits

Elijah Magnier, veteran war correspondent, joined us to discuss the general public’s discontent with the EU governments

🎧Listen to more of Magnier’s analysis in our podcast Fault Lines

⚡️Trump leaves New York residence en route to Manhattan Criminal Court, a Sputnik correspondent reports from the scene.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📽WATCH: Trump arrived to Manhattan Criminal Court, a Sputnik correspondent reports from the scene.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

⚡Trump under arrest ahead of his arraignment hearings in NYC court

🛍 Zara will be rebranded as Maag in Russia, along with two other popular brands, Pull&Bear (renamed DUB) and Bershka (renamed Ecru), according to an announcement by the Daher Group. The new outlets are set to open in April of this year, after being delayed due to earthquakes in Turkiye.

The company is currently in the process of recruiting 4,500 personnel across 240 stores throughout Russia, with some former employees also being invited to return to the company.

The stores will feature clothing produced at factories in China and Turkiye, and the company's employees have stated that there are no plans to increase prices.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗Former US President Donald Trump has entered a Manhattan courtroom to be arraigned on charges linked to alleged hush money payments to pornography actress Stormy Daniels, to which he is expected to plead not guilty.

An Alabama school has installed a bulletproof shelter in the classroom to protect students and teachers from gun attacks. The idea was devised by Kevin Thomas, owner of the company KT Security Solutions.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

⚡️Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts. He leaves Manhattan court after arraignment without addressing media.

Elijah Magnier, veteran war correspondent, joined us to discuss the US model of establishing connections by occupation and the alternative

🎧Listen to more of Magnier’s analysis in our podcast Fault Lines

US Parks Carrier Group Off Syria’s Coast as Iran Vows Revenge Over Killings of IRGC Advisors

The US has deployed a carrier group closer to Syria's coast in response to attacks on US forces by Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated groups. This comes amid escalating tensions between Syria and Iran on one side and the US and Israel on the other, related to Washington's ongoing occupation of parts of Syria. Recent US and Israeli airstrikes in Syria have resulted in the deaths of two IRGC military advisors, and Iran has vowed revenge. The tensions come as peace negotiations are ongoing in the region.

“We saw increased attacks from IRGC-affiliated groups targeting our service members in Syria, and so as a precaution we did move the carrier to be slightly closer, but it’s still under the purview of EUCOM [United States European Command, ed.],” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters Monday.

Read more

🔺Strengthening ties: An official delegation from Syria is in Russia ahead of a four-way summit including Iran and Turkiye
🔺Why is Macron visiting China?
🔺Russia will beef up its forces in the northwest as Finland joins NATO

The Critical Hour will cover these and more stories! Tune in to Radio Sputnik at 6pm EST|3pm PST|12am CET via the website or app

📻 Also in the United States at 105.5FM, 104.7FM, 102.9FM, 1390AM, 1140AM

Robert Fantina, journalist and Palestine activist, joined us to discuss the reunion between Syria and the Arab community

🎧Listen to more of Fantina’s analysis in our podcast The Critical Hour