A film inspired by the love affair between a ballerina and Russia's last czar is having its Moscow premiere despite sparking outrage from some Russians.
Hard-line nationalists and some Orthodox believers see "Matilda" as blasphemy against Emperor Nicholas II, who is glorified as a saint in the Russian Orthodox Church.
The controversy has highlighted the increasing assertiveness of radical religious activists and a growing conservative streak in Russia's society.
The film loosely tells the story of Nicholas II's infatuation with ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya.
What started out nearly a year ago as a petition campaign to protest the film took violent turns in recent months. Molotov cocktails were thrown at the director's film studio and his lawyer's car set on fire.
Director Alexei Uchitel calls Tuesday's premiere "a victory for all reasonable people."
California governor signs law to protect children from social media addiction
California will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent beginning in 2027 under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Friday.
California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year allowing parents to block their kids from getting social media posts suggested by a platform's algorithm. Utah has passed laws in recent years aimed at limiting children's access to social media, but they have faced challenges in court.
The California law will take effect in a state home to some of the largest technology companies in the world. Similar proposals have failed to pass in recent years, but Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law in 2022 barring online platforms from using users' personal information in ways that could harm children. It is part of a growing push in states across the country to try to address the impacts of social media on the well-being of children.
"Every parent knows the harm social media addiction can inflict on their children — isolation from human contact, stress and anxiety, and endless hours wasted late into the night," Newsom said in a statement. "With this bill, California is helping protect children and teenagers from purposely designed features that feed these destructive habits."
The law bans platforms from sending notifications without permission from parents to minors between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m., and between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays from September through May, when children are typically in school. The legislation also makes platforms set children's accounts to private by default.
Opponents of the legislation say it could inadvertently prevent adults from accessing content if they cannot verify their... Read More