Category: General

The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) has announced a virtual gathering on a Minecraft server, where a giant bust of its late founder, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, has been created.

The upcoming event was proposed on Thursday by MP Andrey Svintsov in a social media post. He described Zhirinovsky’s effigy as a “200-meter monument to the founder of LDPR,” which unfortunately does not resemble the man that much due to the inherent limitations of the game.

Minecraft is a popular game in which the world is represented by cubic building blocks and characters. The engine is used by many people who seek to create art and architecture that transcends the game’s limitations.

The server advertised by Svintsov features a giant bust of the late LDPR founder placed on a pedestal with the party’s name on it. The MP said he expects the “unknown sculptor” to improve their work before May 1.

The politician urged supporters of the nationalist party to log on and hold a rally in front of the statue on International Labor Day. The proposed gathering “will confirm the image of the LDPR as the leading digital party,” he said.

Zhirinovsky, a veteran of the Russian political scene known for his incendiary rhetoric and flamboyant behavior, passed away in April 2022 from Covid-19 complications. A real-life statue of the politician was unveiled earlier this month at his grave in Moscow.

The LDPR previously announced plans to launch an AI-powered chatbot trained on the work and interviews of Zhirinovsky – which would be able to predict what he would have said about current events.

Source: Russia Today

Non-performing loans (NPLs) rose by pound 12.8 million in January 2023 compared with December 2022, amounting to pound 2.32 billion or 9.5% of total loans. According to data released by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC), total loans in January 2023 amounted to pound 24.3 billion, down by pound 24.36 billion in December 2022. Provisions against NPLs amounted to 47.2% in January 2023. Loans with amounts due over 90 days amounted to pound 1.84 billion, corresponding to 7.6% of total loans compared with pound 1.83 billion in the previous month (7.6%). According to the CBC, total restructured loans in January 2023 amounted to pound 2.71 billion compared with pound 2.73 billion in December 2022, whereas restructured facilities which continued to be classified as non-performing amounted to pound 1 billion. Of the total NPLs, the majority were held by households with pound 1.29 billion, while NPEs held by non-financial corporations amounted to pound 969 million, of which pound 835 belong to small and medium-sized corporations. The coverage ratio for corporate NPLs amounted to 63.2% whereas provisions for household NPLs stood at 34.5%, the CBC said.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Pope Francis took unprecedented decisions Wednesday for a pivotal bishops meeting, for the first time giving women the right to vote. The pontiff approved modifications to the norms governing the Synod of Bishops, a Vatican body that gathers the world’s bishops together for periodic meetings, the Vatican said in a statement. Changes also include allowing the participation of 70 non-bishop members – half of them women – at the synod set for Oct. 10. They too will have a vote. Ever since the Second Vatican Council, the 1960s meetings that modernized the church, popes have invited bishops from all around the world to Rome for a few weeks at a time to discuss specific issues. At the end of the meetings, the bishops vote on particular proposals and put them to the pope, who then prepares a document paying regard to their ideas. Catholic women’s groups have long criticized the church for relegating women to a secondary role. They praised the pope’s changes as steps in the right direction.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Train drivers in Britain are set to hold fresh strikes in May and June after rejecting a “risible pay offer” which could hit the FA Cup Final and Eurovision Song Contest. Workers at 16 train companies will stage three-day walkouts on May 12-13, June 3, as the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) union rejected the 4% pay rise offer from the Rail Delivery Group (RDG). “The proposal – of just 4% – was clearly not designed to be accepted as inflation is still running north of 10% and our members have not had an increase for four years,” Mick Whelan, general secretary of ASLEF, said in a statement on Thursday. He noted that the RDG rejected the union’s proposals to modernize Britain’s railways and help them run more efficiently, for passengers and for businesses, in the 21st century. “We do not want to go on strike – we do not want to inconvenience passengers, we have families and friends who use the railway, too, and we believe in investing in rail for the future of this country,” added Whelan. Meanwhile, the RDG said the new strike decision by the ASLEF is “disappointing news,” pointing out that the strikes “senselessly targeting” both the final of Eurovision and the FA Cup Final is “disappointing” for all those planning to attend. Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Liverpool on May 9, 11, and 13 (first semi-final, second semi-final, and grand final respectively), while FA Cup Final between Manchester City and Manchester United will take place at Wembley Stadium, on June 3. “We urge the ASLEF leadership to re-join us at the negotiating table and work with us to find a solution to the issues our industry faces so we can give our people the pay rise we have always said we wanted to do,” a Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said in a statement.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Moscow backs third-party contact with Kiev that seeks a political settlement to the Ukraine conflict but sees its objectives as sacrosanct, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained on Thursday.

His comments came a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, Vladimir Zelensky, for the first time since Moscow launched its military operation in the neighboring state more than a year ago.

“We are ready to welcome anything that can bring the conflict in Ukraine closer to an end and, naturally, the accomplishment of all of Russia’s goals,” Peskov told journalists.

The spokesman added that conversations between leaders are the “sovereign [right]” of each country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin cited the need to protect the people of Donbass and Kiev’s failure to implement the 2014-2015 Minsk peace accords as reasons for launching Russia’s operation against Ukrainian forces in February 2022. He also said Russia was seeking the “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine.

Peskov pointed out that the Kremlin is aware of the 12-point roadmap for peace publicly unveiled by China in February. According to the proposal, the conflict must be resolved through negotiations and in accordance with international law, while the “independence and territorial integrity of all countries must be effectively upheld.”

Moscow, however, has accused Ukraine of effectively rendering potential negotiations useless by demanding that Russia surrender newly acquired territories.

In 2014, Crimea voted to leave Ukraine and join Russia in the wake of the coup in Kiev that year. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, did the same after holding referendums in September. Kiev considers these territories to be illegally occupied by Russia.

Unlike many Western countries, China has refused to condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Xi praised the strategic partnership with Russia during a trip to Moscow last month. During his call with Zelensky, the Chinese leader reiterated that dialogue was “the only viable way forward.”

Source: Russia Today

The Cyprus Meteorological Service has issued a yellow thunderstorm warning for Friday, valid between 1100 local time until 1900. The forecast says that local showers and isolated thunderstorms, probably with hail are expected to affect mainly inland and mountainous areas. Precipitation rate is expected to range between 35 and 55 millimetres pre hour.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday thanked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for his contributions to Trkiye’s first nuclear power plant, the Turkish presidency said. The phone call between Erdogan and Putin came shortly before the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in Trkiye’s southern Mersin province was officially granted a nuclear facility status. Besides bilateral relations and regional developments, the leaders also exchanged views on the developments in the Russia-Ukraine war and the Black Sea grain deal. Erdogan told Putin that new initiatives can be worked on through the proposed working group, according to the presidency. The leaders also discussed the developments in Syria. Meanwhile, Putin conveyed his get-well wishes to Erdogan after he suffered from an upset stomach on Tuesday.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Trkiye’s Akkuyu nuclear power plant gained official nuclear facility status with the arrival of its first nuclear fuel, the Energy and Natural Resources Minister said on Thursday. The nuclear fuel, uranium pellets, were brought to Adana Airport from Russia on Wednesday night under strict security measures. Each weighing 4.5 grams, the uranium pellets were then loaded onto three trucks and transported to the Akkuyu plant in southern province of Mersin. The first step was taken in 2010 for the country’s first power plant, and construction began in 2018. The four reactors are currently under construction. The country’s energy and natural resources minister declared that a new energy resource has been added to diversify the nation’s energy portfolio. “Nuclear energy is no longer a distant target for Trkiye. Hopefully next year we will start generating electricity from nuclear energy,” he said. According to Donmez, the four reactors will provide reliable, uninterrupted, sustainable and environmentally friendly energy continuously under an operation plan of 60 years with the option for a 20-year extension. The country will meet 10% of its electricity needs from the nuclear plant once all reactors are operational.

Source: Anadolu Agency

On this episode of The Cost of Everything, we take a closer look at the battle between milk versus non-dairy milk and how the non-dairy category has expanded. Host Christy Ai explores what is best for the consumer’s health, wallet, and the environment when it comes to dairy and non-dairy consumption with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, scientific director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University in Canada.

Source: Russia Today

Cyprus President, Nikos Christodoulides, is traveling to Athens today, where he will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Piraeus and will participate in the Delphi Economic Forum, organized on a private initiative, with the participation of heads of state and government. According to an announcement by the Presidency, President Christodoulides will travel to Athens today, where at 17:00, in a special ceremony, he will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the Department of European and International Studies of the School of Economics, Business and International Studies of the University of Piraeus. President Christodoulides will deliver a speech and then the Rector of the University of Piraeus will host a dinner in honour of the President of the Republic of Cyprus. On Friday, April 28, the President will go to Delphi, where he will attend an event organised by Invest Cyprus, on the sidelines of the Economic Forum, while at 19:00, he will address the Forum and a discussion will follow. President Christodoulides is to depart the same evening for Cyprus. The Cypriot delegation includes the Government Spokesman, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, the Director of the Office of the President, Charalambos Charalambous and other officials.

Source: Cyprus News Agency