Cannes Blocks Russian Delegations From Attending Festival ‘Unless the War of Assault Ends’ in Ukraine

Artem Chigvintsev has broken his silence on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Russian-born Dancing with the Stars pro took to his Instagram Stories on Wednesday (March 9) to condemn the catastrophic events unfolding near his homeland, where he still has family and friends residing.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSpotify has suspended premium service in Russia after the country launched its war on Ukraine — a move that the audio streaming powerhouse expects to result in a loss of about 1.5 million paying customers in the first quarter of 2022.That’s according to Spotify CFO Paul Vogel, who spoke at Morgan Stanley’s 2022 Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on Wednesday. According to a Spotify spokesperson, the loss of its business in Russia is not material: The country represents less than 1% of total revenue.Vogel also alluded to the recent controversy over podcaster Joe Rogan, which has spurred calls to boycott the streamer (but Vogel didn’t identify Rogan by name).Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Vogel, Spotify was trending ahead of its Q1 guidance of adding a net 8 million total users, including 3 million paying customers.

Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska took to her Instagram to show some of the horrific attacks that Russian forces have made against Ukraine, including a maternity hospital and medical center that was destroyed by an airstrike on Wednesday March 9. The videos she shared showed the debris from the attack, as well as some people trying to help, and a few people could be seen leaving the scene. In the background, men and women could be heard yelling in Ukrainian.

Sting performs a song that he would rather have kept in the past.

invaded that country on Feb. 24.Host Ken Jennings read the $800 clue in the category “Bordering Russia”: ”The Kerch Strait — along with serious border issues — separates Russia from this country on the Black Sea.”The answer, of course, was Ukraine.The 1.9-mile-long strait separates Russia from Crimea to its west and Ukraine to the north. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and subsequently built a bridge across the strait to connect the two in 2018.

Ellise Shafer The Toronto Film Festival has banned all official Russian delegations from its 2022 edition following the country’s invasion of Ukraine, but will welcome work from independent Russian filmmakers into their programming.“As an arts organization dedicated to transforming the way people see the world through film, we support artists and their freedom of expression. TIFF will continue to include films from independent Russian filmmakers in our programming at the Toronto International Film Festival and year-round at TIFF Bell Lightbox,” festival organizers said in a statement to Variety on Thursday.

Russian-born model Irina Shayk shared her support for Ukraine on Monday via Instagram. Shayk, 36, shared a photo of a black and white peace sign on her personal Instagram account as Russia continues to invade Ukraine. "No To War," she wrote, adding prayer and broken heart emojis.

Naman Ramachandran Russian-Israeli billionaire Roman Abramovich is selling his Chelsea FC Premier League soccer club, with the proceeds going to Ukraine war victims. “I would like to address the speculation in media over the past few days in relation to my ownership of Chelsea FC. As I have stated before, I have always taken decisions with the Club’s best interest at heart.

The Cannes Film Festival has taken a position on the war in Ukraine, and will bar Russian delegations at its 75th edition this May. "As the world has been hit by a heavy crisis in which a part of Europe finds itself in a state of war, the Festival de Cannes wishes to extend all its support to the people of Ukraine and all those who are in its territory," reads a statement released on Tuesday.

Cannes Film Festival has released a statement in response to the war in Ukraine saying it will not accept “Russian delegations” this year. Scroll down to read it in full.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentThe Cannes Film Festival has issued a statement commenting on calls for a boycott of Russian cinema and said it will bar Russian delegations but not filmmakers. “As the world has fallen into a grave crisis and sees a part of Europe in a state of war, the Cannes Film Festival would like to express all its support to the Ukrainian people and to all those who are currently in Ukraine.” “As modest as it can be, we are joining out voice to all those who are opposing this unacceptable situation and are denouncing the stance of Russia and its leaders.” “We have a particular thought for the artists and professionals within the Ukrainian film words, as with their families whose lives are now in danger.” The festival said it will not welcome official Russian delegations and “will not accept even the smallest presence of any institutions linked to the Russian government.” Cannes said however that it praised the courage of all those in Russia who are taking risks to protest against the agression and invasion of Ukraine.” “Among them are artists and professionals who have never stopped fighting against the current regime and would never be associated to this intolerable acts and those who are bombarding Ukraine,” said Cannes.

Ukraine, the German city's mayor said Tuesday.Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter announced the decision after Gergiev didn't respond to Reiter's demand that the 68-year-old Russian conductor change course.“I had expected him to rethink and revise his very positive assessment of the Russian leader,” Reiter said. “After this didn’t occur, the only option is the immediate severance of ties."Gergiev has been Munich’s chief conductor since the 2015-16 season.A day earlier, the Verbier Festival said Gergiev resigned as music director at its request.Gergiev, a friend and supporter of Putin, is the music director of the Mariinsky Theatre in St.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefMeta, the tech giant that controls the Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram social media platforms, said that it has restricted access to Russian state media within the European Union. The moves are intended to limit the spread of Russian propaganda during the country’s invasion of Ukraine.“We have received requests from a number of governments and the European Union to take further steps in relation to Russian state-controlled media.

Joe Rogan is backtracking after getting duped by a fake news story.

attempted invasion of Ukraine. The faux report — which was Photoshopped rather well — included a picture of the "Under Siege" star in military fatigues. The description of the meme said, "Intelligence agencies around the world have spotted American actor Steven Seagal among Russian special forces positioned around the outskirts of Gostomel airfield near Kyiv captured by Russian airborne troops."Social media was quick to recognize that the image in the fake news story was not from the front lines of the real world conflict, but rather from Steven's 2016 thriller "Sniper." However, the former "Fear Factor" host saw the report and shared it on his Instagram and Facebook."If I had to guess the plot of this f***** up movie we're living through I would say we are about 14 hours from the arrival of the aliens," the podcaster, 54, wrote alongside the meme.The ridicule came almost immediately."This is obviously photoshopped though," one person wrote, according to a New York Post screengrab.