Netflix suspends service in Russia

PTI, Mar 7, 2022, 8:05 AM IST

Washington DC: Netflix has said that it’s suspending its service in Russia.

A statement from the company cited on Sunday “circumstances on the ground” for its decision to suspend its Russian service but didn’t offer any additional details.

The announcement comes after TikTok said users on its platform in Russia have been blocked from posting and viewing videos shared from elsewhere in the world. American Express also announced earlier in the day it would suspend operations in Russia, as well as in Russian-allied Belarus.

NEW YORK — TikTok said Sunday that users won’t be able to post new videos in Russia in response to the government’s crackdown on social media.

“In light of Russia’s new fake news’ law, we have no choice but to suspend livestreaming and new content to our video service while we review the safety implications of this law,” the company said in a statement on Twitter. “Our in-app messaging service will not be affected.” _________ NEW YORK — American Express announced Sunday it is suspending all operations in Russia and Belarus.

Globally issued American Express cards will no longer work at merchants or ATMs in Russia, the company said in a statement. AmEx cards issued locally in Russia by the country’s banks will also no longer work outside of Russia.

JERUSALEM — Israel’s prime minister spoke Sunday evening by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a day after his snap trip to Moscow to discuss the more than weeklong Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Naftali Bennett also spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whom he visited in Berlin on Saturday as well, and French President Emmanuel Macron, his office said.

VIENNA, Austria — The International Atomic Energy Agency has said Russian forces are tightening their grip on the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant, Ukraine’s largest, that they seized last week.

The director general of the agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said Sunday Ukrainian staff members are now required to seek approval for any operation, even maintenance, from the Russians, and that they have impeded normal communications by switching off some mobile networks and internet at the site.

NEW YORK — The Russian military has warned Ukraine’s neighbouring countries from hosting its warplanes, saying Moscow may consider them a part of the conflict if Ukrainian aircraft fly combat missions from their territory.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov charged Sunday that some Ukrainian combat planes had redeployed to Romania and other Ukraine neighbours he didn’t identify.

PARIS — The French presidency said the call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday focused primarily on the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear plants.

The call was on request from Macron and lasted almost two hours, the Elysee said.

PARIS — European Union leader Charles Michel said Sunday closing Ukraine’s airspace could spark a world war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly called on NATO countries to stop the Russian onslaught on his country by imposing a no-fly zone. Western leaders have refused for fear of triggering a wider war in Europe. Deploying fighter jets over Ukraine could “in current circumstances” be considered as “NATO’s entry into the war and therefore risk World War III,” Michel said in an interview with the public broadcaster France Inter.

JERUSALEM — A group of 100 Ukrainian Jewish orphans who were evacuated from the country after Russia invaded have landed in Israel.

The children arrived Sunday a few hours before two flights carrying around 300 other Ukrainian Jewish immigrants landed.

WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the United States and its allies are having a “very active discussion” about banning the import of Russian oil and natural gas in the latest escalation of their sanctions in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine.

“We are now talking to our European partners and allies to look in a coordinated way at the prospect of banning the import of Russian oil while making sure that there is still an appropriate supply of oil on world market,” said Blinken. “That’s a very active discussion as we speak.” __ BERLIN — The UN human rights office says it has confirmed the deaths of 364 civilians in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24.

The Geneva-based office said that another 759 civilians had been injured as of midnight Saturday.

The rights office uses strict methodology and only reports casualties it has confirmed. __ NEW YORK — The Kremlin says President Vladimir Putin told his Turkish counterpart that Russia’s military action in Ukraine could be halted “only if Kyiv ceases hostilities and fulfils the well-known demands of Russia.” Putin has listed “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine, recognition of Russian-annexed Crimea as part of Russia and separatist regions in eastern Ukraine as independent states as the Kremlin’s main demands.

 MEDYKA, Poland — The head of the United Nations’ refugee agency says the international Red Cross and the UN are negotiating access to the cities in Ukraine most impacted by fighting since Russia invaded February 24.

Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees, said Sunday that “those discussions continue” with hope for success, but didn’t name specific cities.