Snapchat Parent Snap Inc. Waves Yellow And Blue Flag For Ukraine, Halts Ad Sales To Russian And Belarusian Entities

Team,Like many of you, I am closely following the devastating, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The resulting humanitarian crisis and its ripple effects on the lives of millions of people across Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and in Russia itself, is heartbreaking to witness.Since the beginning of this crisis, our teams across the world have been working around the clock to determine the best, and most importantly – safest – ways we as a business can show our support for all those impacted.

GSC Game World has renamed its upcoming game to Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl, and has also announced it will be cancelling physical pre-orders sold to fans in Russia.The change in title reflects how the area’s name is spelled in Ukrainian, and the new title is visible on Steam – however it’s yet to appear on the game’s Microsoft or Xbox storefront pages.GSC Game World, which is based in Kyiv, has not commented on the change. However, yesterday (March 14) the studio shared a post on Russian social media site VK that outlined its position on sales of Stalker 2 in Russia.The post confirmed that although existing digital pre-orders of Stalker 2 would be honoured, no further pre-orders from Russia would be accepted.Furthermore, all physical sales have been cancelled, even for those who have already paid.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe shares of China’s largest entertainment and tech companies plunged for a second day on Tuesday as Russia’s war in Ukraine, regulatory warnings and China’s slowing economy all combined to signal tougher times ahead.Alibaba shares crashed 11.7% to reach an all-time low of HK$71.2 in Hong Kong, where they have a secondary listing. Tencent shares plunged by 10.2% to HK$298, their lowest in several years. Both companies have in the past held the title of China’s largest enterprise and are major components of the Hang Seng Index of leading equities.The Hang Seng Index fell by more than 1,000 points and by nearly 6% on Tuesday to close at 18,415.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Documentaries about the conflict in Ukraine, the Cuban migrant situation and the Palestinian refugee crisis were among top winners at MiradasDoc, Spain’s foremost documentary film festival which wrapped its 15th edition on March 12. Based in Tenerife, Canary Islands, the festival was an in-person event running March 4-12, while its market (March 8-11) remained virtual for the second consecutive year.The best international documentary prize went to “Option Zero” (“La Opcion Cero”) by Cuban filmmaker Marcel Beltran while the best debut feature award was extended to “Trenches” by French journalist Loup Bureau who has covered the Arab Spring in Egypt, the Syrian War and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in the Donbas region. “Trenches” follows the intrepid young men and women who are fighting Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine’s Donbas region.

The Sarajevo Film Festival is the latest international film organization to show its support for Ukraine as the festival has announced it will include Ukrainian films and filmmakers in its regional programs. The beloved European festival originally started off as regional event for Balkan films and has since evolved to incorporate Southeast Europe and the Causcasus region.

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.

Artem Chigvintsev, who is originally from Russia, opened up for the first time about how he's been feeling since troops from his native country invaded Ukraine. In a statement posted to his Instagram Story on Wednesday, the "Dancing with the Stars" professional dancer said he's been having difficulty collecting his thoughts as the violence continues to unfold. "This hasn't been easy to write and really gather my thoughts on the devastating situation that's been happening right now in Ukraine.

Films Boutique and ICM Partners have launched sales on Jake Paltrow’s upcoming drama June Zero, with Films Boutique handling international rights and ICM overseeing distribution in North America.

Fortnite creator Epic Games has announced that it “is stopping commerce with Russia,” joining a growing list of companies that are boycotting the country over its invasion of Ukraine.On Saturday (March 5), Epic Games shared on Twitter that “it is stopping commerce with Russia in our games in response to its invasion of Ukraine.”However, the company added that it is “not blocking access for the same reason other communication tools remain online: the free world should keep all lines of dialogue open.”Epic is stopping commerce with Russia in our games in response to its invasion of Ukraine. We’re not blocking access for the same reason other communication tools remain online: the free world should keep all lines of dialogue open.— Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) March 5, 2022This means that although fans in Russia will still be able to access titles such as Fortnite, they won’t be able to make any in-game purchases.

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.

Belarus has joined Russia in its attack on Ukraine has become the second country to invade them, the Ukrainian government claims.

Lise Pedersen The Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival (CPH:DOX) has announced its full program, which includes some 200 new films and a whopping 76 world premieres.

A team of SAS veterans is set to join Ukraine's battle against the Russian invasion.

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

A crack team of SAS veterans will be joining Ukrainians as they fight against the Russian invasion.