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LIVE: Russian Teams Get Banned Even in Video Games

  • Image of a soccer game in a video game.

    Image of a soccer game in a video game. | Photo: Twitter/ @grgory_smal

Published 8 March 2022
Opinion

FIFA 22 players will no longer be able to compete in this video game using the Russian national team, CSKA Moscow, Lokomotiv Moscow, and Spartak Moscow.

On Monday, Russia and Ukraine failed to achieve major breakthrough during their third round of peace talks in Belarus. A negotiator, however, said the fourth round will take place in "the very near future." Below are the main developments of this conflict as they happen.

RELATED:

Russia Denounces Ukraine at UN Over Humanitarian Corridors

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MARCH 8

Russia gets banned even in video games. Citing solidarity with Ukraine, the U.S. EA Sports company announced that "FIFA 22" players will no longer be able to compete in this video game using Russian teams.

In this way, the millions of users that this franchise has around the world will no longer be able to choose either the Russian national team or the three licensed teams in the game, such as CSKA Moscow, Lokomotiv Moscow and Spartak Moscow. .

The veto will be extended to all EA Sports FIFA products, that is, "FIFA 22", "FIFA Mobile" and "FIFA Online", three titles in which any trace of football related to Russia will disappear.

RT France challenges the suspension of its activity before the European courts. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) announced that the French section of Russia Today (RT) challenged the decision of the European Union to suspend its broadcasts in community territory.

This measure came into force on March 2 and affects the broadcasting activities of Sputnik, Russia Today and their associated media, which were accused by the European authorities of "carrying out disinformation actions". As a result of this ban, RT broadcasts cannot be broadcast in English, French, Spanish, and German.

The prohibition encompasses any means of transmission or distribution, such as cable, satellite, IP television, Internet service providers, video sharing platforms or applications.

Bosnia-Herzegovina wants to join the European Union (EU). Zeljko Komsic, the Croat member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, asked EU authorities to grant his country the status of a candidate for admission to the community club.

"Today more than ever European unity is needed as well as a clear sign that the Western Balkans are part of Europe," he said and recalled that his country has added to the EU sanctions against Russia.

Although Komsic admitted that Bosnia and Herzegovina does not meet some of the requirements to be part of the European Union, he considers that the granting of "candidate status" would constitute further support for his country's sovereignty, security, and stability.

Since 2015, Bosnia-Herzegovina has a "Stabilization and Association Agreement" with the EU. So far, however, political discrepancies between the leaders of the three Bosnian peoples have slow down the reforms necessary for the country to obtain the status of a candidate to join the EU.

Zelensky is ready to agree on Crimea, Donetsk, and Lugansk. Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky announced his readiness to reach an agreement on the status of Crimea, Donetsk, and Lugansk.

"We can discuss and find a compromise on how these territories will continue to live. I am ready for a dialogue, not for a surrender," Zelensky said and denounced the "promises" broken by Western countries.

In recent days, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the military operation can end "at any time" if Ukraine meets the conditions set by Russia. One of them is that Ukraine officialy recognizes Crimea as Russian territory and accepts the independence of the republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.

The United Nations confirms 474 deaths so far. According to data with a cut to March 8, the conflict in Ukraine has left 474 deaths, including 29 children; and 861 people injured, including 44 minors. These data correspond to people whose identity has been duly verified.

Of the total number of injured and dead people, 409 cases occurred in the Lugansk and Donetsk regions controlled by the Ukrainian government. In the rest of Ukraine, the victims rise to 790.

The United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) maintains that the real figures for injuries and deaths are surely higher. However, information flows with difficulty especially from cities where fighting is raging like Mariupol, Volnovakha and Izium.

China supports the Franco-German attempt to achieve a ceasefire. President Xi Jinping supports the attempt by France and Germany to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine and ensure that the civilian population has access to humanitarian aid coordinated by the United Nations.

On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held a video conference with Xi, who recalled Beijing's position on "the importance of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of states. Xi had previously called on Macron and Scholz for "maximum restraint to prevent a large-scale humanitarian crisis" in Ukraine.

The European Union prepares fourth package of sanctions against Russia and Belarus. The European Union (EU) will analyze on Tuesday the imposition of new sanctions, among which it is contemplated to add more Russian businessmen and politicians to the blacklist and disconnect several Belarusian banks from the SWIFT system. Another possibility is that of vetoing the export of naval equipment and software from the EU.

So far, the European Union has expelled seven Russian banks from the interbank system, among which are not Sberbank, the country's largest entity, nor Gazprombank, because they process a large part of the energy operations with European countries.

Russia declared a "silence regime." The opening of humanitarian corridors for the safe evacuation of civilians in Ukraine starts 0700 GMT on Tuesday.

"Humanitarian corridors from Kiev, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkov and Mariupol are being opened," Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said. On the same day, Ukraine started evacuating residents from the northeastern city of Sumy through a humanitarian corridor as agreed with Russia. 

During the third round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine on Monday, both sides addressed the issue of civilian evacuation, and the Ukrainian side assured Russia that the humanitarian corridors would start working.

"Humanitarians' top priorities are allowing civilians to leave areas under fire in Ukraine and getting desperately needed aid to these areas," UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths Martin Griffiths told the Security Council on Monday.

Zelensky criticizes the West for broken promises. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced the unfulfilled promises of the West to defend Ukraine from the special military operation.

"We have been listening to promises for thirteen days, thirteen days that they are telling us that there will be help in the sky, that there will be planes, that they will give it to us," Zelenski said in a video message posted on his office's Telegram account.

"The fault lies with the occupiers, but the responsibility for this also falls on those who, somewhere in the West, for thirteen days in some office, have obviously not been able to make a necessary decision," he added.

"Anti-missile defense is vital. It is vital!" said Zelensky, who announced that he would "appeal directly to the citizens of the world if international leaders do not make every effort to stop this war."

Greece prepares a contingency plan for refugees. Since the beginning of the Russian special military operation, Greece has received 5,421 Ukrainian citizens, 722 of whom arrived in the last 24 hours, announced the government spokesman Yannis Ikonomu, who added that his country is preparing the necessary facilities to receive to the refugees.

"There is complete coordination of all the services involved, and all the data on the reception process at each point of entry into the country is constantly being examined," he said, adding that an accelerated identification process will start from April 4, when Ukrainians will be able to receive a special biometric document that will allow their stay for 12 months.

Ikonomu also mentioned that the Health Ministry is preparing a special device for the vaccination of non-immunized refugees, the Education Ministry is organizing school capacities to receive the children of Ukrainian refugees, and the Ministries of Labor, Agriculture, Development, and Tourism are identifying the labor market's needs that could offer employment opportunities for Ukrainian refugees.

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