Latest news with #Cyrillic
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Europe holiday spot that's 'cheap as chips' with '80s prices' and top beaches
Simon Calder was speaking on ITV's This Morning as he discussed different destinations for Brits to consider over summer - and one place stood out in particular for value Travel expert Simon Calder has revealed the ultimate cost-effective hotspot for sun-seekers looking for a bargain break, tipping Bulgaria as a top budget-friendly summer destination. Simon waxed lyrical about the beauty spot, emphasising that savvy travellers can bask in all-inclusive luxury while enjoying prices reminiscent of a bygone era. "Bulgaria. It's a great, great destination. Cheap as chips," he raved. "This is an all-inclusive favourite. Great long beaches and prices which are kind of out of the 1980s." Reassuring that Bulgaria offers tremendous value, he said that it's roughly a third of the cost compared to a holiday in Italy, with just a slight language challenge thrown into the mix. "It's really cheap when you get there," Simon declared. "So whatever you want, whatever you'd be spending in Italy for instance, you just divide it by three and that's what you'd pay in Bulgaria. "You've got to master the Cyrillic alphabet though. Back to front Rs and all that but it's a three hour flight so just do that on the plane." According to Muveone, a pint of local beer in Bulgaria will only cost you around 3.00 BGN, which is roughly £1.50. The country offers popular destinations such as Burgas, a city on the Black Sea Coast. It boasts stunning beaches and is just a short distance from the lively Sunny Beach - a favourite amongst young Brits. Visitors can also explore the city's Sea Gardens, home to a vast array of sea plants from across the globe, designed by landscape artist Georgi Duhtev. Alternatively, head to Lake Atanasovsko for a relaxing dip in its black mud pools for a natural yet luxurious spa experience. Further south of Burgas lies the ancient seaside town of Sozopol. Here, the Old Town provides a glimpse into local history and the tranquil Kavatsite Beach. Sozopol offers breathtaking views of the Black Sea, and tourists can take a boat trip to St Ivan Island to spot monk seals and birds.
Euronews
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Sabotage causes power cut in Nice after Cannes
Following the Cannes festivities, the city of Nice experienced a power outage on Saturday night, leaving nearly 45,000 homes temporarily without electricity. According to the public prosecutor's office, a fire broke out at an electrical transformer in the Moulins district, in the west of Nice. Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi said the fire had been deliberately started and that he "strongly condemned these malicious acts that affect our country" in a post on X. He added that the city would be strengthening its security around electrical sites in the coming days and that a formal complaint would be filed following the incident. Power was restored around 6 a.m. on Sunday. The neighboring towns of Saint-Laurent-du-Var and Cagnes-sur-Mer were also affected by the blackout. The incident follows a blackout that struck Cannes and the surrounding region the previous day, affecting nearly 160,000 homes. Authorities say the outage was caused by deliberate acts of sabotage. A high-voltage substation was set on fire in the Var department, and a power pylon was sawn down in the Alpes-Maritimes. Despite the disruption, the Cannes Film Festival proceeded as planned on its final day, thanks to its independent power supply. Electricity was restored to the region by late afternoon. At this stage, there is no indication that the two incidents are connected. Bulgarians turned out en masse on Saturday to honour the legacy of Saint Cyril and Methodius, the founders of the Cyrillic alphabet, during one of their most important cultural and national holidays in the Balkan country. People gathered to lay flowers at the base of a statue of the two Orthodox Church saints in central Sofia. The two were born in today's Greece in the 9th century and are credited with creating Glagolic, an alphabet that was later adapted by multiple scholars across the Balkans and evolved into the Cyrillic alphabet. "The biggest and most significant gift that the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius left to Bulgaria was writing," Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Jelyazkov said during the formal ceremony in Sofia. The mayor of Sofia, who spoke at the ceremony, also reminded the crowd of the influence language holds. 'Let us remember not only what we say but how we say it – words have power. They can unite, they can heal, they can inspire,' Mayor Vasil Teziev said. St Cyril and Methodius left a legacy that goes beyond the development of the Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabets. In the Slavic world and Bulgaria alike, their work represents a watershed moment for the Orthodox Church and Balkan cultural heritage. Sometimes referred to in Bulgaria as "Spiritual Easter," 11 May and 24 May are now recognised as the "Days of Bulgarian Education and Culture and of the Slavic Alphabet." Today, the Cyrillic alphabet is used by Slavic, Turkic, Uralic, Caucasian and other nations, including Mongolia, which adopted it in 1941.
Euronews
7 days ago
- General
- Euronews
Bulgaria fetes Glagolitic script fathers on St Cyril and Methodius Day
Bulgarians turned out en masse on Saturday to honour the legacy of Saint Cyril and Methodius, the founders of the Cyrillic alphabet, during one of their most important cultural and national holidays in the Balkan country. People gathered to lay flowers at the base of a statue of the two Orthodox Church saints in central Sofia. The two were born in today's Greece in the 9th century and are credited with creating Glagolic, an alphabet that was later adapted by multiple scholars across the Balkans and evolved into the Cyrillic alphabet. "The biggest and most significant gift that the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius left to Bulgaria was writing," Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said during the formal ceremony in Sofia. The mayor of Sofia, who spoke at the ceremony, also reminded the crowd of the influence language holds. 'Let us remember not only what we say but how we say it – words have power. They can unite, they can heal, they can inspire,' Mayor Vasil Teziev said. St Cyril and Methodius left a legacy that goes beyond the development of the Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabets. In the Slavic world and Bulgaria alike, their work represents a watershed moment for the Orthodox Church and Balkan cultural heritage. Sometimes referred to in Bulgaria as "Spiritual Easter," 11 May and 24 May are now recognised as the "Days of Bulgarian Education and Culture and of the Slavic Alphabet." Today, the Cyrillic alphabet is used by Slavic, Turkic, Uralic, Caucasian and other nations, including Mongolia, which adopted it in 1941.
Euronews
24-05-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Bulgarians pay tribute to ancient founders of Slavic Script
Bulgarians turned out en masse on Saturday to honour the legacy of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the ancient founders of the Cyrillic alphabet, during one of their most important cultural and national holidays named after the two brothers. People gathered to lay flowers at the base of a statue of Cyril and Methodius in central Sofia, the capital. The saints were born in today's Greece in the 9th century and are credited with creating an alphabet for the Slavic people that was later adapted during the first Bulgarian Empire, which later evolved into the Cyrillic alphabet. "The biggest and most significant gift that the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius left to Bulgaria was writing," Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said during the formal ceremony in Sofia. The mayor of Sofia, who spoke at the ceremony, also reminded the crowd of the influence language holds. Saints Cyril and Methodius left behind a legacy that goes much beyond the development of the Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabets. In the Slavic world and Bulgaria's cultural and spiritual evolution, their work represents a watershed moment in the history of the Orthodox Church and the country's contribution to Christianity. Sometimes called a "Spiritual Easter," 11 May and 24 May are now recognised as the Days of Bulgarian Education and Culture and of the Slavic Alphabet. Today, the majority of Slavic nations use the Cyrillic alphabet, including Mongolia, which adopted the script in 1941. Syrians on the streets of Damascus on Saturday welcomed the move by the Trump administration to ease sanctions imposed on the war-torn country. Their celebration follows the formal easing of sanctions by the EU earlier this week and that of the US announced last week during US President Donald Trump's Middle East tour. 'Yesterday, when I read the news that the Caesar sanctions are actually being lifted, especially after the reports we heard in recent weeks, I honestly cried," a resident, Zeina Shahla, told local media. "We're finally seeing real steps toward the country's recovery,' she added. The sanctions relief follows the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. On Tuesday, the EU said it adopted a gradual and reversible approach in order to support Syria's transition and economic recovery, which followed the suspension of some economic sanctions in February. For the US, the congressional sanctions, known as the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, aimed to isolate Syria's previous rulers by effectively expelling those doing business with them from the global financial system. However, a Treasury Department action has now suspended enforcement of sanctions against anyone doing business with a range of Syrian individuals and entities, including Syria's central bank. And a measure by the State Department waived for six months a tough set of sanctions imposed by Congress in 2019. They specifically block post-war reconstruction, so while they can be waived for 180 days by executive order, investors are likely to be wary of reconstruction projects when sanctions could be reinstated after six months. US President Donald Trump granted Syria sweeping exemptions from sanctions in a major first step toward fulfilling his pledge to lift a half-century of penalties on a country shattered by 14 years of civil war. Syria's foreign ministry said Saturday that the country 'extends its hand' to anyone that wants to cooperate with Damascus, on the condition that there is no intervention in the country's internal affairs. On Friday, the Trump administration said the actions were 'just one part of a broader US government effort to remove the full architecture of sanctions.' Those penalties had been imposed on the Assad family for their support of Iranian-backed militias, their chemical weapons programme and abuse of civilians. Damascus resident Nael Kaddah said now that the sanctions are being eased, the country will flourish again. For Kaddah, Syrians will be able to transfer money freely, unlike in the past when there were several companies that monopolized the business and took large commissions on transfers. 'Now any citizen can receive a transfer from anywhere in the world,' he said. The EU and the US say the removal of sanctions aims to give the interim Syrian government a better chance of survival, a key decision that the administration in Damascus has welcomed.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Unpacking claim Zelenskyy called Vance an expletive at White House meeting
Following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's tense Oval Office meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Feb. 28, 2025, a rumor circulated online that Zelenskyy called Vance a Ukrainian expletive during the meeting. For example, one Feb. 28 X post (archived) read: ZELENSKY CALLED JD VANCE A B****! The mic caught it! He literally called JD Vance a B****. WOW (X user @MyLordBebo) Examples (archived) of the claim also appeared in other X posts (archived), as well as in multiple (archived) Reddit threads (archived). Snopes readers also searched our site and wrote in to ask for information about the claim. In short, the audio of the available recording of the meeting was not clear enough to prove without doubt what Zelenskyy said, other than that it began with an "s" sound. In other words, it's possible the Ukrainian president said "suka" — Ukrainian for "b****" — or a term including the word, but it's also possible that he said something completely different. Furthermore, even if Zelenksyy did say "suka," that wouldn't necessarily mean he was insulting Vance directly. The term can also be a general expletive in Ukrainian. We've reached out to Zelenskyy's office for comment and will update this story if we hear back. The moment in question can be seen around the 42:45 mark in the C-SPAN video embedded below. Just after Vance says, "I've watched and seen the stories, and I know what happens," Zelenskyy can be seen looking down and muttering what some internet users have interpreted as "suka," a word that means "b****" in both Ukrainian and Russian. (The word, spelled сука in Cyrillic characters, is sometimes also transliterated into Latin characters as "cyka.") The word "suka" — like the English word "b****" — means "female dog" in both Ukrainian and Russian, and often has a pejorative sense. The word can also be an all-purpose expletive aimed at a situation rather than an individual. Yuri Shevchuk, a senior lecturer in Ukrainian at Columbia University, said over email that he was not convinced that what Zelenskyy said was "suka." Shevchuk said he was unable to tell exactly what Zelenskyy said, but that he believed it was likely "something situationally equivalent to the English, 'Oh, not again!'" As context for his interpretation, Shevchuk said that in the moments leading up to Zelenskyy's muttered comment, Vance was "clearly repeating almost verbatim Kremlin talking points." Even if Zelenskyy did say the term, there's reason to think he might have been expressing frustration in general, rather than specifically calling Vance a "b****." Krystyna Golovakova, a lecturer in the Russian and Ukrainian languages at Cornell University, described "suka" as "a widely used profanity in Ukrainian." Over email, she said: "While it literally means 'female dog,' it is commonly used to express frustration, anger, irritation, or exasperation. Depending on context, it can be directed at someone as an insult, but just as frequently, it serves as a general outburst, like how English speakers might use certain curse words in reaction to a very frustrating situation." A 2022 blog post about Ukrainian profanity on the website of the language school Strommen described the term "suka" as "perhaps the most commonly heard and used curse word in online videos." In both languages, as various internet users pointed out, the word is frequently part of a longer term, "suka blyat" (сука блять, also transliterated as "cyka blyat"). That term — which, as a entry notes, has come into English usage through online gaming communities — is not a personal insult, but instead an expression of frustration roughly equivalent to the English terms "what the f***" or "f***ing hell." Ultimately, any claim that Zelenskyy said "suka," "suka blyat" or a completely unrelated term is mere speculation due to the audio quality of the recording of the meeting. As Shevchuk, the Ukrainian language instructor, said, "In the absence of a clearly audible 'сука,' one can hear there whatever one wants to hear." Cambridge Learner's Dictionary English-Russian with CD-ROM. Cambridge University Press, 2011. "Cyka Blyat Meaning | Translations by 21 Aug. 2018, Ninʹovsʹkyĭ, Vasylʹ. Ukrainian-English and English-Ukrainian Dictionary. Edmonton, Alta. : Ukrainian Bk. Store, 1990. Internet Archive, Strommen, Garrett. "Complete Vocab List of Ukrainian Curse Words - What Does Suka, Pizdets, Khuylo & Blyat Mean?" Strømmen Language Classes, 20 Nov. 2022, "What They Said: Trump, Zelenskyy and Vance's Heated Argument in the Oval Office." AP News, 28 Feb. 2025,
