Belarus Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Jessica Kiang However many books and movies take it as their subject, a historical travesty on the incomprehensible scale of the Holocaust must always contain within it an uncountable number of untold stories. Given this wealth of untapped dramatic potential, it’s all the more perplexing that American director Jake Paltrow should choose to refer to his family’s Jewish heritage (the Paltrows have Belarusian and Polish Jewish ancestry) with “June Zero,” a polished, well-performed but thinly stretched attempt to communicate the seismic impact of Adolf Eichmann’s 1962 execution on Israeli society.

Serena Williams is keeping it positive after her unexpected Wimbledon loss. The 40-year-old athlete made her comeback to the annual tennis tournament after pulling out of 2021's Wimbledon due to a leg injury she sustained during her match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus.Her time at the tournament was cut short, however, when she was defeated by France's Harmony Tan in her first singles match. The match went on for three hours and 11 minutes and marks the third time Williams failed to advance past the first round of a Grand Slam.On Tuesday, the tennis legend opened up about her return to the courts on Instagram, calling it «insane and intense.»«Not the result I came for, but my goodness I enjoyed that,» she wrote in the caption alongside a picture of herself waving to the crowd.

Serena Williams is back on the court! The tennis champion has officially returned to the game since she pulled out of 2021's Wimbledon after injuring her right leg during her match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus.On Tuesday, the 40-year-old earned a win alongside Ons Jabeur in the Eastbourne International doubles tournament. The duo defeated Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo and Czech player Marie Bouzková in three sets.After the match, Williams told the BBC she had feared for her career while recovering from the 2021 injury.The mother of one admitted that she had experienced doubts about whether she would be able to return during the past year, saying, «I would be dishonest if I said it wasn't.

Serena Williams is getting back to the tennis courts! It's been almost a year since the 40-year-old tennis champion last competed in a major tennis tournament —  she pulled out of 2021's Wimbledon after injuring her right leg during her match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus.The injury followed Williams' announcement that she would not compete at the Tokyo Olympics, which were held in July and August. Then in December, the Twitter account for the Australian Open shared a statement from Williams announcing her decision to withdraw from the January event on medical advice.Now, the four-time Olympic gold medalist is hinting to fans that she’ll be back at Wimbledon this year to compete in the major tournament!On Tuesday, Williams posted a photo of her sneaker-clad feet, writing, «SW and SW19.

Serena Williams is not quite ready to hang up her racket and walk away! Despite rumors that she might not return to the tennis court, she will in fact be making a comeback, and to the most famous court of them all.MORE: Serena Williams revisits unbelievable spring fashion – including stunning backless dressDespite being excluded from the original entry list, the star has confirmed she will be participating in Wimbledon for the 21st time, as a wildcard.Tennis fans weren't convinced she would be joining the iconic competition after an injury at last year's games, which forced her out of her first-round match with Aliaksandra Sasnovich.WATCH: Serena and daugter Olympia are matchy-heavenMORE: Serena Williams celebrates daughter Olympia's achievement with husband Alexis OhanianSerena has not been active in competitive tennis since the ankle injury a year ago. However, both the official Wimbledon page as well as Serena confirmed her participation.Aliaksandra, the tennis player competing against Serena when she slipped and injured herself, is from Belarus, and is one of the players banned by Wimbledon this year because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has been supported by Belarus.The athlete celebrated the news of her comeback on Instagram with a photo of her Nike shoes as she stood on grass, which she captioned with: "SW and SW19.

LIVE – Updated at 09:58Day Two of the French Open featured an all-star line-up with Emma Raducanu making her senior debut on clay as she overcame an almighty scare against Czech qualifier Linda Noskova. Raducanu trailed by a set and a break at one stage in a gruelling match that lasted over two and a half hours, but the Briton eventually prevailed 6-7 7-5 6-1 to seal her place in the second round. There was good news on the British front for Cameron Norrie too, who made it safely through to the second round with a straight sets victory over Manuel Guinard.

The International Coalition For Filmmakers At Risk (ICFR) has demanded “an end to a growing environment of fear and insecurity” in Iran after two documentary creators were arrested then released on bail, preventing them from travelling or working.

UPDATED with WTA, ATP, All England Club statements: Exactly one month ago the All England Club, which puts on Wimbledon, announced that in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine it would not allow Russian or Belarusian players to take part in this year’s event.

Pussy Riot’s Masha Alyokhina has escaped from Russia as president Vladimir Putin continues to crack down on dissidents in the country.Alyokhina, along with her bandmates, has been arrested and imprisoned multiple times over the past decade and more for publicly protesting Putin’s rule, most recently last year when she was detained for 48 hours after attending protests encouraging others to protest on social media.Amid the continued Russian invasion of Ukraine, a new story in The New York Times reveals that Alyokhina was under house arrest and, when authorities decided to turn that into a 21-day jail sentence last month, she decided to flee Russia.The story outlines Alyokhina’s escape, which included posing as a food courier and being placed on Russia’s wanted list after being refused entry into Belarus on account of her Russian passport having been confiscated by authorities.The report then reveals that Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson was able to assist Alyokhina in getting her a travel document from a European country that allowed her to travel freely from Russia to the EU. It adds that she has now travelled to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.“I still don’t understand completely what I’ve done,” she said in the piece.

Vladimir Putin has sparked further rumours that his health is deteriorating, after footage seemed to show him suffering hand and leg tremors in a recent meeting.

Novak Djokovic is not happy with Wimbledon.

Naman Ramachandran Russian and Belarusian players will not be allowed to participate in this year’s Wimbledon tennis championship in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “Given the profile of the championships in the United Kingdom and around the world, it is our responsibility to play our part in the widespread efforts of government, industry, sporting and creative institutions to limit Russia’s global influence through the strongest means possible,” the All England Lawn Tennis Club and the committee of management of the championships, said in a statement on Wednesday.“In the circumstances of such unjustified and unprecedented military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players with The Championships.

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Belarus’ support of the war, Wimbledon is reportedly planning to bar Russian and Belarusian players from the Grand Slam tennis tournament which begins in London on June 27. Sportico reported that the event, organized by the All England Club, will break from the rest of the tennis world by refusing to allow Russians to compete — this would include current world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev. The New York Times, citing a highly placed international tennis official, said the ban is expected to extend to Belarusian players as well.

Pink Floyd have come back together and released a new track in order to raise funds for Ukraine Humanitarian Relief. The track is called ‘Hey, Hey, Rise Up’ and features a sample of Andriy Khlyvnyuk, singer with the Ukrainian band Boombox.From the classic Pink Floyd line-up, David Gilmour and Nick Mason are both involved in the new recording.

Dozens of people have reportedly been killed in a rocket strike on an eastern Ukrainian train station used for evacuating civilians. More than 30 people have been killed and dozens injured in the Donetsk region, in the city of Kramatorsk, when two rockets hit the station, according to the head of Ukraine’s railways Olexander Kamyshin.

Hey Hey Rise Up,” will debut online at midnight in the U.K., with all proceeds going to Ukrainian humanitarian relief.The vocals are by Andriy Khlyvnyuk of Ukrainian band Boombox, whose viral March 30 Instagram video featured him singing a Ukrainian protest song from World War I in Kyiv’s Sofiyskaya Square. The single takes its title from the last line of “The Red Viburnum In the Meadow,” which translates as “Hey, hey, rise up and rejoice.”“It’s a really difficult and frustrating thing to see this extraordinarily crazy, unjust attack by a major power on an independent, peaceful, democratic nation.

Steam,  Valve has explained that it’s an issue with the company’s own bank. Earlier in the month, Ukrainian Steam developers started receiving emails from Valve that  read: “Due to the current environment, we are unable to send bank payments to Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.”One such developer based in Ukraine, Stas Shostak, has since received another email from Valve, which apologised and explained the situation. According to the company, Valve’s bank has started requiring “intermediary bank information” for payments to accounts in Ukraine and Russia, as the bank “will no longer be allowing payments to Belarus.”So Valve clarified, it really is a technical problem and it's gonna be okay till April payment.

Eurovision is back and, potentially, bigger than ever.

the band’s Twitter account states.The included works that are set to be leaving Russian and Belarusian streaming platforms are Pink Floyd studio albums “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” (1987), “The Division Bell” (1994) as well as 2014’s “The Endless River.” Gilmour has released four solo studio albums in his career, the most recent being “Rattle That Lock” in 2015. His entire solo discography is also being removed from streamers.Last week, Gilmour tweeted in support of Ukraine, writing, “Russian soldiers, stop killing your brothers.

Pink Floyd and David Gilmour are removing their music from streaming services in Russia and Belarus to show their support for Ukraine.Ukraine officially severed diplomatic ties with Russia and declared martial law after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation on February 24. At the time of writing, the Russian invasion has killed at least 549 citizens, including 41 children.

Mila Kunis have thanked fans in an emotional video as their goal to reach $30 million in aid for Ukraine has almost been reached.READ: How to talk to your children about the Ukraine/Russia conflict"We have raised over 20 million dollars in less than a week and I say 'we' as it is all of us together," said Ashton in the video, adding: "But we are not done, our goal is 30 and we want to get there."WATCH: Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher share emotional video as they raise astonishing sum for UkraineMila, who was born in Ukraine, shared her thanks to the "56,000 of you who were able to donate and support us, whether it was $5, $10, $1000"."It means so much to us and it does bring in a community and sense of belonging and ability to help," she said.MORE: 5 ways to cope with news-induced anxiety right nowMORE: What can you do to help Ukraine?"The first humanitarian aid is already on the ground…AirBnb is already taking in refugees," added Ashton of where the money is going. The money is supporting Flexport.org and Airbnb.org, two organizations who are actively on the ground providing immediate help to those who need it most.

Roman Abramovich has become the latest Russian oligarch to be sanctioned as part of the British government’s response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Amazon and Meta Platforms are ramping up efforts in support of Ukraine, with Amazon’s measures including pulling the plug on Prime Video and shipments in Russia.

As NATO began to respond the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia's President Vladimir Putin warned anyone "who might be tempted to meddle in the ongoing events" would face "consequences you have never encountered in your history".

Take-Two Interactive has stopped its business with the Russian market amid the country’s invasion of Ukraine.According to GamesIndustry.biz all game sales, marketing and services have been pulled from Russia and Belarus. According to Newzoo data shared with GamesIndustry.biz, Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto 5 – which is owned by Take-Two – is the third most popular game in Russia based on monthly users.Take-Two’s decision follows the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24 and sees the company joining the likes of EA, Microsoft, CD Projekt Red and Epic Games in its decision to stop market dealings with Russia.Take-Two vice president of corporate communications Alan Lewis said: “We have watched recent events unfold in Ukraine with concern and sadness.”“After significant consideration, last week, we decided to stop new sales, installations, and marketing support across all our labels in Russia and Belarus at this time.”The Nintendo eShop has also stopped processing payments and gone into what is being called “maintenance mode” in Russia, although as of publication it is unclear if this is Nintendo’s sole doing or that of a third party.Elsewhere, Take-Two has been served a lawsuit concerning the use of loot boxes in its NBA 2K games, with the plaintiff seeking £3.7million in damages.The case says that the “defendant’s unfair, deceptive and unlawful practices, including illegal gambling practices, deceive, mislead and harm consumers”.

Subscription streaming service Netflix has joined the Russia boycott.

Russian and Belarusian athletes have been banned from the Winter Paralympics in Beijing in a stunning u-turn taken 24 hours after they were given the greenlight to compete, as the invasion of Ukraine enters its second week.

Slipknot have announced that their upcoming July shows in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus are being postponed in light of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.The Iowan metal band took to social media on Wednesday (March 2) to break the news, saying that new dates will be arranged for the three postponed concerts in Kyiv, Moscow and Minsk. Slipknot will seemingly proceed with the rest of their summer Europe tour as planned.pic.twitter.com/DyDD7lEdwR— Slipknot (@slipknot) March 2, 2022“We had looked forward to reuniting with our fans in these incredible cities, coming back together after global lockdown.

Roman Abramovich, the Russian owner of England’s Chelsea FC, one of soccer’s biggest clubs, said Wednesday that he is selling the franchise, with the proceeds to go to a foundation that will benefit war victims in Ukraine.

Naman Ramachandran Global rights management company Eccho Rights has licensed “Servant of the People,” the 2016 series created by and starring Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, to Channel 4 in the U.K., MBC in the Middle East, ANT 1 in Greece and PRO TV in Romania, in solidarity with Ukraine and Zelensky.Fredrik af Malmborg, managing director at Eccho Rights, said: “Eccho Rights stands in solidarity with our friends and partners in Ukraine. It is our position that the best support the global television industry can offer to Ukraine today is to share this story.”Three seasons of the series and feature film are available to license from Eccho Rights.Nicola Söderlund, managing partner at Eccho, said: “The series is a comedy but also an important document of where Zelensky comes from.