The film “Joker” has topped the nominations for the British Academy film awards announced Tuesday.
                   
The movie about the origins of the comic book villain received 11 BAFTA nominations including best film, best actor for Joaquin Phoenix, and best director.
                   
Martin Scorsese’s gangster epic “The Irishman” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” were close behind with 10 nominations, including best picture, and Sam Mendes’ war film “1917” also earned a best picture nomination two days after winning that award at the Golden Globes.
                   
The Korean film “Parasite” also is on the best picture list.
                   
In addition to Phoenix, best actor contenders include Leonardo DiCaprio, Adam Driver, Taron Egerton and Jonathan Pryce.
                   
The best actress will be chosen from Scarlett Johansson, Saoirse Ronan, Charlize Theron, Renee Zellweger and Margot Robbie.
                   
The awards will be announced at a gala event hosted by Graham Norton on Feb. 2.
…

A strong earthquake struck Puerto Rico early Tuesday morning, the latest in a series of quakes to hit the U.S. territory in recent days.The 6.4-magnitude quake was located near the southern coastal city of Ponce, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, revising its initial reading of 6.6-magnitude. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an alert immediately after the quake was reported, but it was later cancelled.The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority says power was been shut off across the the entire island after the auto protection systems in all of its power plants were activated.  Governor Wanda Vazquez says all non-essential government employees have been given the day off.  The island has been shaken by numerous quakes of varying degrees since the night of December 28.  A 5.8-magnitude quake on Monday leveled several homes in the southern coastal town of Guanica and destroyed a coastal rock formation known as Punta Ventana in nearby Guayanilla.  The formation, shaped like a round stone window, was a popular tourist attraction. 
…

The U.S. is standing firmly with Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, as both he and a rival lawmaker, Luis Parra, claim to be the country’s parliamentary speaker after two separate votes.  The constitutional crisis in Venezuela has deepened after security forces loyal to socialist leader Nicolas Maduro blocked Guaido from entering the National Assembly chamber on Sunday ahead of a leadership vote. VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department.
…

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido and his new rival, lawmaker Luis Parra, called for competing legislative sessions Tuesday after both claimed to be the country’s parliamentary speaker.On Sunday, Venezuelan security forces with riot shields blocked Guaido from entering the National Assembly chamber where he was expected to be re-elected head of the opposition-dominated legislature. Instead, Parra, who is backed by socialist leader Nicolas Maduro, proclaimed himself speaker after claiming to have been elected with 81 votes in the 167-member chamber. Guaido has the support of much of the international community.Opposition lawmakers later re-elected Guaido in a hastily arranged session at the headquarters of El Nacional newspaper, the last remaining newspaper in Caracas critical of Maduro and his ruling Socialist Party. A tally showed that 100 of Parliament’s 167 legislators voted for Guaido.Elliott Abrams, U.S. envoy for Venezuela, said Monday the U.S. is considering additional sanctions on Venezuela after what he called a “brutal and corrupt campaign” by Venezuela’s government to deny lawmakers access to the National Assembly.”Obviously if the regime had the votes, it would not have ordered soldiers to keep elected deputies out of the National Assembly,” he told reporters at the State Department.He said Guaido won the election with a proper quorum, and said the United States is looking at new ways to support him.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement Sunday that Venezuelan officials supporting Maduro are trying to “destroy the last democratic institution in Venezuela, the National Assembly.” He described the session in which Parra claimed himself speaker as a “farcical vote,'” and said no quorum was present.Lawmaker Luis Parra gives a press conference at the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 6, 2020. Guaido has led the opposition to Maduro since the National Assembly elected him speaker. In that role, he declared himself acting president on Jan. 23, 2019, after Parliament called Maduro a “usurper.””We defeated the dictatorship again. We overwhelmingly defeated the dictatorship, the ambitions of the dictatorship,” Guaido said Sunday after his supporters re-elected him.The European Union said Sunday it would continue to recognize Guaido, while the Lima Group regional bloc said Monday it backed Guaido’s re-election.His re-election “represents a rejection of the reckless actions by Nicolas Maduro’s regime that sought to prevent his appointment,” said a statement by the group signed by Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Bolivia.Argentina’s new center-left government also criticized blocking Guaido from the National Assembly.”To impede by force the functioning of the legislative assembly is to condemn oneself to international isolation,” Argentina’s Foreign Minister Felipe Sola said on Twitter.Russia argued that the vote to elect Parr was a democratic action.”We consider the election of the new leadership of Parliament to be the result of a legitimate democratic procedure,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.Parra is one of several lawmakers who recently broke away from Guaido. He has since been expelled from his party for alleged involvement in a corruption scandal involving Maduro.Guaido is recognized by the United States and nearly 60 other countries as the legitimate president of Venezuela.Guaido’s international backing rests on the fact that as assembly president, he is Venezuela’s highest-ranking official to have been democratically elected.  Opposition lawmakers hold 112 seats in Venezuela’s National Assembly.  
…

The Lima Group regional bloc said on Monday it backed the re-election of opposition leader Juan Guaido as head of Venezuela’s Congress after Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government forced a separate vote imposing a new leader of the legislative body.Luis Parra was installed as the new head of Congress on Sunday after armed troops blocked opposition legislators from entering parliament, in a move condemned by dozens of nations as
an assault on democracy.
Opposition legislators responded by re-electing Guaido in a session at the headquarters of a pro-opposition newspaper.
Guaido is recognized by dozens of nations as Venezuela’s rightful leader.
The Lima Group, minus members Mexico and Argentina, said they welcomed Guaido’s re-election as the leader of Congress and as the country’s interim president, repeating a condemnation of
“force and intimidation tactics” used against lawmakers.
The re-election of Guaido “represents a rejection of the reckless actions by Nicolas Maduro’s regime that sought to prevent his appointment,” said the group, which was set up to
find a way out of the Venezuelan crisis.
The Lima Group statement was signed by Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Bolivia, the last of which joined the bloc in December after the resignation of leftist leader Evo Morales.
Argentina’s new center-left Peronist President Alberto Fernandez has been walking a tightrope between key trade partners including Brazil and the United States and potential leftist allies including Venezuela.
The South American country has given asylum to socialist former Bolivian leader Morales and welcomed a senior official from Maduro’s government to Fernandez’s inauguration in
December, prompting criticism from the United States.
But Argentina’s foreign minister, Felipe Sola, said on Twitter that his government rejected the move in Venezuela to block the proper functioning of the legislative assembly which
would only lead to “international isolation.”
“The assembly must elect its president with full legitimacy,” he wrote.
  
…

A 5.8-magnitude quake hit Puerto Rico before dawn Monday, unleashing small landslides, causing power outages and severely cracking some homes. It was one of the strongest quakes yet to hit the U.S. territory that has been shaking for the past week.
                   
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
                   
Another quake measured at magnitude 5.1 struck later Monday, at 10:51 a.m. (1451 GMT), shaking power lines and frightening residents of southern Puerto Rico who had been waiting outside their homes due to fears the buildings were damaged and unstable.
                   
The first quake struck at 6:32 a.m. (1032 GMT) just south of the island at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Service. There was no tsunami threat, officials said.
                   Earthquake epicenterPower outages were reported in some parts of Puerto Rico following the quake, Angel Vazquez, emergency management director for the southern coastal city of Ponce, told The Associated Press.
                   
“This is one of the strongest quakes to date since it started shaking on Dec. 28,” he said. “It lasted a long time.”
                   
Residents in southern coastal towns began posting pictures of partially collapsed homes and large boulders blocking roads as officials urged people to remain calm.
                   
Dr. Sindia Alvarado, who lives in the southern coastal town of Penuelas, said she was petrified.
                   
“My entire family woke up screaming,” she said. “I thought the house was going to crack in half.”
                   
At a hotel in the southwest coastal town of Guanica, people panicked as they tried to flee in their cars, only to realize that large boulders were obstructing the only highway heading north to the capital of San Juan, attorney Jose Francisco Benitez told the AP.
                   
“There was a state of panic,” he said. “There were even people in their underwear walking around the hotel.”
                   
He said he and his girlfriend were in the room when the quake struck.
                   
“I have never felt anything like this,” he said. “It was like a giant grabbed our room and shook it.”
                   
The flurry of quakes in Puerto Rico’s southern region began the night of Dec. 28, with quakes ranging in magnitude from 4.7 to 5.1. Previous quakes of lesser magnitudes in recent days have cracked homes and led to goods falling off supermarket shelves.
                   
Victor Huerfano, director of Puerto Rico’s Seismic Network, told the AP that shallow quakes were occurring along three faults in Puerto Rico’s southwest region: Lajas Valley, Montalva Point and the Guayanilla Canyon. He said the quakes overall come as the North American plate and the Caribbean plate squeezes Puerto Rico, and that it was unclear when they would stop or if bigger quakes would occur.
                   
One of the largest and most damaging earthquakes to hit Puerto Rico occurred in October 1918, when a 7.3-magnitude quake struck near the island’s northwest coast, unleashing a tsunami and killing 116 people.
…

Britain’s Prince Charles will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz becoming the most senior British royal to visit Israel and the Palestinian Territories later this month.Charles will attend the World Holocaust Forum on Jan 23 in Jerusalem, his office said on Monday, to honor the victims of the Holocaust. Auschwitz-Birkenau in southern Poland was the largest Nazi death camp in World War II.
Charles will then travel to the Palestinian Territories.FILE – Britain’s Prince William pays respects during a ceremony at the Hall of Remembrance at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, Israel, June 26, 2018.
Prince William and his wife Kate became the first British royals to visit the area in an official capacity in 2018.
En route to the Middle East, Charles will stop off at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to deliver a keynote address to launch the Sustainable Markets Council, designed to
find ways to decarbonize the global economy. 
…

French President Emmanuel Macron says he wants to reach a “quick compromise” in talks this week with worker unions as nationwide protests and strikes rage on against the government’s plans to overhaul the pension system.
                   
During a Cabinet meeting on Monday, Macron insisted that the new system must be financially sustainable, according to government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye.
                   
Talks between the prime minister and worker unions are to resume Tuesday, including on the financing of the retirement system. Macron also said that people doing physically demanding or dangerous work should be allowed to retire early.
                   
“We want to end this crisis rapidly,” Ndiaye said.
                   
The government plans to formally present the bill by the end of the month ahead of a debate in parliament, so that the law can be voted on this summer.
                   
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told France Inter radio that “a compromise has never been so close.”
                   
Yet several unions called for nationwide protests on Thursday and Saturday. The hard-left union CGT union also called for workers to disrupt the country’s oil depots and refineries later this week.
                   
The national rail company, SNCF, said train traffic was improving Monday across the country, with 8 out of 10 high-speed trains running.
                   
Yet the Paris metro was still severely disrupted, with most of lines open only for a limited amount of time and several stations closed.
                   
In his televised New Year’s address, Macron vowed to carry out the overhaul of the pension system.
                   
Macron wants to unify France’s 42 different pension schemes, some of which grant early retirement, into a single one. Plans include raising the eligibility age for full pensions from 62 to 64, the most criticized measure.
                   
Macron says the new system will be fairer and financially sustainable.
                   
Unions fear it will make people work longer for lower pensions. Recent polls show a majority of French people still support the protest movement.
…

Croatia’s ruling conservatives said Monday they will analyze why their candidate lost a presidential election to a leftist challenger in order to prevent this from happening again at the upcoming parliamentary vote later this year.”The aim of the analysis and its conclusions is for us to come out stronger and not repeat at the parliamentary election whatever turned out to be a flaw or a mistake during this campaign,” said Davor Bozinovic, the interior minister and a senior member of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union, or HDZ, party. “We are not looking for culprits, but reasons why.”
The conservative party’s candidate, outgoing President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic, was beaten Sunday by liberal opposition challenger and former Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic.Zoran Milanovic, the liberal opposition candidate, addresses supporters after his headquarters claimed victory in a presidential elections in Zagreb, Croatia, Jan. 5, 2020.Milanovic won 53% of votes while Grabar Kitarovic had 47%. Croatia’s state election authorities on Monday formally confirmed Milanovic’s victory.
The loss of the presidency is seen as a major blow for the ruling party, which has been a dominant political force in Croatia since the country’s 1991 independence from Yugoslavia. It also marks a rare triumph of a leftist politician vying for a top post in populist-dominated Central Europe.
Sunday’s vote was held just days after Croatia’s conservative government took over the European Union’s rotating presidency for the first time since joining the bloc in 2013. Croatia will preside over Britain’s divorce from the EU and the start of post-Brexit talks.
Croatia is deeply divided among the conservatives and the left.
The voting on Sunday also resulted in around 4.3% invalid ballots, suggesting discontent with mainstream politics, particularly on the right, analysts say.
Most of the invalid ballots are believed to belong to the right-wing supporters of singer Miroslav Skoro, who won nearly a quarter of ballots in the first round on Dec. 22. He refused to support any of the front-runners in Sunday’s runoff.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, a moderate who has sought to position the HDZ at the center-right of the political specter, said it was an “enormous number” for Croatian elections.
Plenkovic said he will cooperate with the new president “in accordance with the constitution and the law.”
“We will do all we can so that HDZ win again at the parliamentary election,” said Plenkovic.
      
The 53-year-old Milanovic was Croatia’s prime minister until early 2016. During his term, Croatia approved EU membership in a referendum and brought some liberal reforms — including boosting rights of same-sex couples — in the staunchly Catholic nation.
A veteran politician, Milanovic was known for a sometimes populist style and fiery temperament. He reinvented himself for the presidential vote as a calm, mature leader who has learned from his own mistakes and is ready to respond with wisdom to any challenges.
Support for Grabar Kitarovic has ebbed following a series of gaffes in the election campaign. The 51-year-old had a career in diplomacy and in NATO before becoming Croatia’s first female president in 2015. Going into the runoff, Grabar Kitarovic tried to evoke Croatia’s unity during the 1991-95 war in a bid to attract far-right votes.
Though an EU member, Croatia still has corruption problems and economic woes — issues that haven’t been resolved since its devastating 1991-95 war to break free of the Serb-led Yugoslav federation.  
…

Thousands of Orthodox Christian worshippers plunged into the icy waters of rivers and lakes across Bulgaria on Monday to retrieve crucifixes tossed by priests in Epiphany ceremonies commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ.
By tradition, the person who retrieves the wooden cross will be freed from evil spirits and will be healthy throughout the year. After the cross is fished out, the priest sprinkles believers with water using a bunch of basil.
The religious holiday of Epiphany is also celebrated in some Western Christian churches as Three Kings Day, which marks the visit of the Magi, or three wise men, to the baby Jesus, and closes out the Christmas season.Pope Francis leaves at the end of an Epiphany Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Jan. 6, 2020.At the Vatican, Pope Francis urged the faithful to reject “the god of money” as well as consumerism, pleasure, success and self. In his Epiphany homily Monday in St. Peter’s Basilica, Francis encouraged people to focus on serving others, not themselves.
He urged the faithful to concentrate on the essentials by getting rid of what he calls “useless things and addictions” that numb hearts and confuse minds. Francis said believers should aid those suffering on life’s margins, saying Jesus is present in those people.
In Milan, city officials served a hotel lunch to 200 homeless people to mark the day.
In the sleepy mountain city of Kalofer in central Bulgaria, dozens of men dressed in traditional white embroidered shirts waded into the icy Tundzha River on Monday waving national flags and singing folk songs.
Led by the town’s mayor, inspired by bass drums and bagpipes and fortified by homemade plum brandy, they performed a slow “mazhko horo,” or men’s dance, stomping on the rocky riverbed.
Braving sub-zero temperatures, the men danced for nearly half an hour, up to their waists in the freezing water, pushing away chunks of ice floating on the river.
The town of Kalofer has applied to the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO for this traditional ritual to be inscribed as part of the “intangible cultural heritage of humanity.”
 Greek Orthodox faithful Nikolaos Solis, a pilgrim from Agrinio, Greece, retrieves a wooden crucifix as he swims in the Golden Horn during the Epiphany ceremony in Istanbul, Jan. 6, 2020.In Istanbul, more than a dozen Orthodox men jumped into the frigid waters of the Golden Horn amid heavy rains in a ceremony led by Patriarch Bartholomew I.
Nikolaos Solis from Agrinio in Greece retrieved the wooden cross, the fourth time he has done so. Another Greek man lost consciousness and had to be pulled out of the frigid water and taken to an ambulance.
The Patriarchate in Istanbul is considered the heart of the Orthodox world and dates back to the Byzantine Empire, which collapsed when the Muslim Ottomans conquered the city in 1453.
Epiphany marks the end of the 12 days of Christmas, but not all Orthodox Christian churches celebrate it on the same day.
While the Orthodox Christian churches in Greece, Bulgaria and Romania celebrate the feast on Jan. 6, Orthodox Churches in Russia, Ukraine and Serbia follow the Julian calendar, according to which Epiphany is celebrated on Jan. 19, as their Christmas falls on Jan. 7.    
…

A 5.7-magnitude quake jolted Puerto Ricans out of their beds Monday morning, the strongest quake yet to hit the U.S. territory that has been shaking for the past week.There were no immediate reports of casualties.The home on the left is from Guayanilla and the one on the right from Guánica, #puertorico. Cars parked underneath were crushed. #TemblorPR M5.7 pic.twitter.com/A1jBhPd50b— John Morales (@JohnMoralesNBC6) January 6, 2020The quake struck just south of the island at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers (over 6 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Service. There was no tsunami threat, officials said.
Power outages were reported in some parts of Puerto Rico following the quake, Angel Vazquez, the emergency management director for the southern coastal city of Ponce, told The Associated Press.
“This is one of the strongest quakes to date since it started shaking on Dec. 28,” he said. “It lasted a long time.”#FuerteSismo | Les presentamos primeras imágenes de los daños que se reportan en Guayanilla tras el fuerte #sismo M5.8 de esta mañana en #PuertoRico ?? Información en desarrollo. ?: the_island_drone#Internacional#Temblorpic.twitter.com/GRlZWMqj9P— Sn (@Sn_MediaGroup) January 6, 2020No injuries or structural damage were immediately reported, although some residents reported small landslides that prompted crews to temporarily close roads along parts of Puerto Rico’s south coast.
Dr. Sindia Alvarado, who lives in the southern coastal town of Penuelas, said she was petrified.
“My entire family woke up screaming,” she said. “I thought the house was going to crack in half.”
The flurry of quakes in Puerto Rico’s southern region began the night of Dec. 28, with quakes ranging in magnitude from 4.7 to 5.1. Previous quakes of lesser magnitudes in recent days have cracked homes and led to goods falling off supermarket shelves. ​
…

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will travel to Moscow on Saturday to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin amid growing tensions in the Middle East and elsewhere.Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said Monday that the chancellor will discuss “current international questions” with Putin. Those will include Syria, Libya, Iran, Iraq, Ukraine and bilateral issues.Seibert said that “Russia is an important player on the world stage and as a permanent member of the (U.N.) Security Council it’s indispensable when it comes to solving conflicts in the world.” Germany is currently a non-permanent member of the Security Council.Germany and Russia are among the world powers that have been trying to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran after the U.S. withdrew from the agreement unilaterally in 2018.Foreign Minister Heiko Maas will accompany Merkel to Moscow, Seibert said.
…

Eastern European delicacies like borscht and pierogi have earned their place on American menus, especially in large and culturally-diverse cities. But it’s taken some time for these kinds of dishes to find their way to rural places like North Dakota. But that’s changing thanks to the great grandson of some Ukrainian immigrants. Iryna Matviichuk traveled to North Dakota for this story narrated by Anna Rice.
…

Iranians flooded the streets Sunday as the body of Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian general killed in a US drone strike, has been brought back Sunday to Iran for burial. Also Sunday Iran said it will no longer limit itself to the restrictions set forth in 2015 by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saying it will continue to work with international nuclear agencies and will return to JCPOA limits “once all sanctions are removed from the country.”  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi tries to make sense of the chaos
…

The blowback over the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general mounted Sunday as Iran announced it will no longer abide by the limits contained in the 2015 nuclear deal and Iraq’s Parliament called for the expulsion of all American troops from Iraqi soil.The twin developments could bring Iran closer to building an atomic bomb and enable the Islamic State group to stage a comeback in Iraq, making the Middle East a far more dangerous and unstable place.Iranian state television cited a statement by President Hassan Rouhani’s administration saying the country would not observe limits on fuel enrichment, on the size of its enriched uranium stockpile and on its research and development activities.“The Islamic Republic of Iran no longer faces any limitations in operations,” a state TV broadcaster said.In Iraq, meanwhile, lawmakers voted in favor of a resolution calling for an end to the foreign military presence in the country, including the estimated 5,200 U.S. troops stationed to help battle the Islamic State group. The bill is nonbinding and subject to approval by the Iraqi government but has the backing of the outgoing prime minister.The two decisions capped a day of mass mourning over Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad on Friday. Hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets in the cities of Ahvaz and Mashhad to walk alongside the casket of Soleimani, who was the architect of Iran’s proxy wars across the Mideast and was blamed for the deaths of hundreds of Americans in suicide bombings and other attacks.Iran insisted that it remains open to negotiations with European partners over its nuclear program. And it did not back off from earlier promises that it wouldn’t seek a nuclear weapon.However, the announcement represents the clearest nuclear proliferation threat yet made by Iran since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 and reimposed sanctions. It further raises regional tensions, as Iran’s longtime foe Israel has promised never to allow Iran to produce an atomic bomb.Iran did not elaborate on what levels it would immediately reach in its program. Tehran has already broken some of the deal’s limits as part of a step-by-step pressure campaign to get sanctions relief. It has increased its production, begun enriching uranium to 5% and restarted enrichment at an underground facility.While it does not possess uranium enriched to weapons-grade levels of 90%, any push forward narrows the estimated one-year “breakout time” needed for it to have enough material to build a nuclear weapon if it chose to do so.The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations watchdog observing Iran’s program, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, Iran said that its cooperation with the IAEA “will continue as before.”Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi earlier told journalists that Soleimani’s killing would prompt Iranian officials to take a bigger step away from the nuclear deal.“In the world of politics, all developments are interconnected,” Mousavi said.In Iraq, where the airstrike has been denounced as a violation of the country’s sovereignty, Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said that the government has two choices: End the presence of foreign troops or restrict their mission to training Iraqi forces. He called for the first option.The majority of about 180 legislators present in Parliament voted in favor of the troop-removal resolution. It was backed by most Shiite members of Parliament, who hold a majority of seats. Many Sunni and Kurdish legislators did not show up for the session, apparently because they oppose abolishing the deal.Asked shortly before the vote whether the U.S. would comply with an Iraqi government request for American troops to leave, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would not answer directly. But he said the U.S. “is prepared to help the Iraqi people get what it is they deserve and continue our mission there to take down terrorism from ISIS and others in the region.”Amid threats of vengeance from Iran, the U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq said Sunday it is putting the battle against IS militants on hold to focus on protecting its own troops and bases.A U.S. pullout could not only cripple the fight against the Islamic State but could also enable Iran to deepen its influence in Iraq, which like Iran is a majority-Shiite country.Soleimani’s killing has escalated the crisis between Tehran and Washington after months of back-and-forth attacks and threats that have put the wider Middle East on edge. Iran has promised “harsh revenge” for the U.S. attack, while Trump has vowed on Twitter that the U.S. will strike back at 52 targets “VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. ”The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia warned Americans “of the heightened risk of missile and drone attacks.” In Lebanon, the leader of the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah said Soleimani’s killing made U.S. military bases, warships and service members across the region fair game for attacks. A former Iranian Revolutionary Guard leader suggested the Israeli city of Haifa and centers like Tel Aviv could be targeted should the U.S. attack Iran.Iranian state TV estimated that millions of mourners came out in Ahvaz and Mashhad to pay their respects to Soleimani.The casket moved slowly through streets choked with mourners wearing black, beating their chests and carrying posters with Soleimani’s portrait. Demonstrators also carried red Shiite flags, which traditionally symbolize both the spilled blood of someone unjustly killed and a call for vengeance.The processions marked the first time Iran honored a single man with a multi-city ceremony. Not even Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic, received such a processional with his death in 1989. Soleimani on Monday will lie in state at Tehran’s famed Musalla mosque as the revolutionary leader did before him.Soleimani’s remains will go to Tehran and Qom on Monday for public mourning processions. He will be buried in his hometown of Kerman.
…

Pro-government legislators seized control of Venezuela’s opposition-dominated legislature Sunday, moving to install a backer of President Nicolas Maduro as National Assembly president while government security forces blocked opposition lawmakers from entering the building.
 
The move, denounced as illegitimate by the opposition, is seen as a bid to undermine the authority of Assembly President Juan Guaidó, whose rival claim to the office of national president is recognized by nearly 60 countries including the United States.
 
“At this time, Venezuela has no parliament in place,” Guaidó told reporters after being unable to enter the Assembly. Other opposition lawmakers denounced the pro-government ploy as a “parliamentary coup.”FILE – Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido.Guaidó had been expected to be re-elected to a second one-year term as Assembly president in a scheduled vote Sunday, given the opposition’s strong majority in the chamber.
 
Instead he found himself trying unsuccessfully to clamber over a spiked fence to reach the Assembly, tearing his suit jacket and tussling with security forces.
 
He then delivered a lengthy denunciation of the government move during an impromptu news conference in the street outside the Assembly.
 
Inside the building, Maduro-controlled state television was broadcasting the swearing-in as Assembly president of Luis Parra, a former opposition politician who recently broke with Guaidó after being accused along with other opposition legislators in a corruption scandal.
 
It was not immediately clear whether the pro-Maduro lawmakers actually voted before the swearing-in ceremony. Guaido’s supporters in the legislature — at least some of whom were also held at bay by security forces — insisted that any vote was invalid anyway because there were not enough legislators present to form a quorum.
 
That view is shared by the U.S. government, which has led international support for Guaidó. Acting Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Michael Kozak, rejected the installation of Parra as illegitimate in a Sunday tweet.The desperate actions of the former Maduro regime, illegally forcibly preventing Juan Guaido and the majority of @AsambleaVE deputies from entering the building, make this morning’s “vote,” which lacks quorum and does not meet minimum constitutional standards, a farce.— Michael G. Kozak (@WHAAsstSecty) January 5, 2020 “The desperate actions of the former Maduro regime, illegally forcibly preventing Juan Guaidó and the majority of @AsambleaVE deputies from entering the building, make this morning’s “vote,” which lacks quorum and does not meet minimum constitutional standards, a farce,” he said.
 
The day’s events left severe doubts about the future of the Assembly, which many had considered the last remaining legitimately elected government body in Venezuela. The nation may now be confronted with not only two rival claims to the presidency but also to the National Assembly leadership.
 
Guaidó’s international backing rests on the fact that, as Assembly president, he is Venezuela’s highest-ranking official to have been democratically elected.
 
However, Maduro has used increasingly authoritarian means to cling to power in the face of widespread opposition to his rule and a catastrophic economic collapse. Millions of refugees have fled the country due to the unavailability of basic commodities, creating a crisis for neighboring countries. Maduro’s ability to remain in power owes much to the support of the armed forces, which have remained loyal despite efforts to recruit them to the opposition cause. The nation’s courts are also largely supportive of Maduro, complicating any effort to have the Assembly takeover declared illegal. 
…

The French general who is overseeing the reconstruction of the fire-devastated Notre Dame Cathedral says the Paris landmark is not saved yet.Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin told French broadcaster CNews on Sunday that “the cathedral is still in a state of peril” after last year’s fire, which destroyed its roof and collapsed its spire as the cathedral was undergoing renovations.”Notre Dame is not saved because … there is an extremely important step ahead, which is to remove the scaffolding that had been built around the spire” before the fire, he said.The rector of Notre Dame, Monsignor Patrick Chauvet, told the AP last month that the cathedral is still so fragile there’s a “50% chance” the structure might not be saved, because the scaffolding may fall onto its fragile vaults.A former chief of staff of France’s armed forces, Georgelin was named by French President Emmanuel Macron to lead the reconstruction effort for Notre Dame.He said the actual condition of the cathedral’s vaults is not fully known, which means he could not guarantee that “it won’t fall apart.”Still, Georgelin says “reassuring” observations have been made on the 12th-century cathedral since the April 15 inferno, he said.”So we feel quite confident,” he added.The scaffolding on Notre Dame should be removed by mid-2020 and the restoration work should start next year, he said. 
…

Spain’s Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez failed on Sunday in a first attempt to get parliament’s backing to form a government, leaving him two days to secure support to end an eight-month political gridlock.Sanchez has been acting prime minister since a first inconclusive election in April and November did not produce a conclusive result. He needed an absolute majority of at least 176 votes in his favor in the 350-seat house to be confirmed as prime minister but failed to get it.He obtained 166 votes in favor and 165 against, with 18 abstentions, while one lawmaker did not attend.On Tuesday, Sanchez will only need a simple majority – more “yes” than “no” votes. He is likely to get that after securing a commitment from the 13 lawmakers of Catalonia’s largest separatist party, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), to abstain.Earlier this week, Socialist Party leader Sanchez and Pablo Iglesias, head of the far-left party Unidas Podemos, restated their intention to form the first coalition government in Spain’s recent history.The two parties together have 155 seats, short of a majority, so Sanchez is reliant on the votes of small regional parties.In a sign of how close the race could be on Tuesday, a member from the small regional party Coalicion Canaria, Ana Oramas, voted against Sanchez instead of abstaining as her party had agreed on Friday.During Sunday morning’s debate, Sanchez stressed that a Socialist-Podemos coalition would take a progressive approach.Sanchez and Iglesias have said they will push for tax hikes on high-income earners and companies and also intend to roll back a labor reform passed by a previous conservative government.The morning was marked by tension during the speech of Mertxe Aizpurua of pro-independence Basque party EH Bildu.Aizpurua called the conservative and right wing parties People’s Party, Vox and Ciudadanos “Francoists”, a reference to late dictator Francisco Franco, and criticized the Constitution and King Felipe.
She was met with boos and shouts of “murderers”. 
…

Austria’s Foreign Ministry is facing a “serious cyberattack,” it said late Saturday, warning another country could be responsible. 
 
“Due to the gravity and nature of the attack, it cannot be excluded that it is a targeted attack by a state actor,” the ministry said in a statement shortly before 11 p.m. (2200 GMT), adding that the attack was ongoing. 
 
“In the past, other European countries have been the target of similar attacks,” the statement continued. 
 
Immediate measures had been taken and a “coordination committee” set up, it said without elaborating. 
 
The attack came as Austria’s Greens on Saturday gave the go-ahead to a coalition with the country’s conservatives at a party congress in Salzburg, removing the last obstacle to the unprecedented alliance. 
 
The German government’s IT network in 2018 was hit by a cyberattack. 
 
Last year, the EU adopted powers to punish those outside the bloc who launch cyberattacks that cripple hospitals and banks, sway elections, or steal company secrets or funds. 
…

Bulgarian veterinary authorities say they will cull 24,000 additional pigs amid signs of an outbreak of African swine fever at a pig farm in the northeast part of the country. 
 
The report Friday represented a continuation of an outbreak that was first detected at six breeding farms in the summer and led to the culling of more than 130,000 pigs in August. 
 
The latest outbreak was detected at a farm in the village of Nikola Kozlevo in the region of Shumen, food safety officials said. 
 
Health officials said there were 42 registered outbreaks of African swine fever in the country in 2019. 
 
The disease does not affect humans but is highly contagious among pigs. 
 
In August, industry officials expressed concerns that the virus could hit the nation’s entire pig herd of 500,000 and cause more than $1.1 billion in damage. 
 
The European Commission has set aside about $10 million to help fight the disease. Bulgarian lawmakers have approved legislation for 2020 intended to regulate conditions for raising domestic pigs and enhance biosecurity measures. 
 
This article contains material from Reuters and The Sofia Globe. 
…

Oil executives say they have reached agreement to restart Russian crude oil supplies to Belarus following a cutoff over transit fees that occurred Wednesday. 
 
Belarus agreed to abandon a supplier’s premium on the oil that it imports from its much larger neighbor, Belarus state energy firm Belneftekhim said in a statement Saturday. 
 
The deal should allow for continuous operation of Belarusian refineries in January, they said. 
 
“Documents are being drawn up today together with a Russian company to pump the first batch of oil, purchased at a price without premium,” Belneftekhim’s statement said. 
 
The halt in Russian oil supplies left oil bound for Europe unaffected but could have carried a wallop for Belarus, which depends on Russia for more than 80% of its energy. 
 
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Belarusian Prime Minister Syarhey Rumas reportedly spoke by telephone earlier Saturday to try to break the impasse. Key transit route
 
Belarus is heavily dependent on Russia for fuel and cash, and it’s a key transit route for Russian energy supplies to Europe. 
 
Russia and Belarus reached a two-month deal on natural gas prices hours before a December 31 deadline, avoiding a gas shutoff at the start of the year. 
 
Minsk has been locked in a disagreement with Moscow over oil transit prices for some time against a backdrop of increasing pressure by President Vladimir Putin on Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenko to deepen integration between the two countries. 
 
Belarusians have protested in recent weeks against closer ties to Russia and perceived secrecy around talks following up on a 1999 agreement on a unified state. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 
…

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has canceled a visit to Montenegro amid a dispute over a new Montenegrin religious-rights law. 
 
“I decided not to go, and that was agreed with [Serbian Patriarch] Irinej,” Vucic said Saturday at a news conference in Belgrade. “We respect their independence.” 
 
Vucic had been planning to visit Serbian churches in Montenegro on Orthodox Christmas, which is celebrated January 7. Montenegrin officials had said the visit would add fuel to the existing tensions in the small Balkan state. 
 
Last month, Montenegro’s parliament passed a law under which religious communities must prove property ownership from before 1918, the year when predominantly Orthodox Christian Montenegro joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. FILE – Police guard the parliament building in Podgorica, Montenegro, Dec. 26, 2019, during a protest against a then-proposed law regarding religious communities and property.Serbs say the new law will lead to the impounding of Serbian Orthodox Church property in Montenegro. Montenegrin officials have repeatedly denied the claim. 
 
In 2006, Montenegro split from much larger Serbia following a referendum. About one-third of the small Balkan country’s 620,000 citizens declared themselves Serbs and want close ties with Belgrade. 
 
On Saturday, Vucic also accused Montenegrin and unspecified Western officials of launching “a hysteric campaign of lies” when he announced the visit. 
 
He said he canceled it because of possible “clashes” that would “hurt the Serbian people in Montenegro.” Daily protests
 
Led by Orthodox priests and fueled by Serbian state media, daily protests have been staged in Montenegro by thousands of Serbs demanding that the law be annulled. 
 
Serbian ultranationalists have also held protests against Montenegro’s pro-Western government in the Serbian capital, Belgrade. 
 
Thousands of soccer hooligans tried to burn the Montenegrin flag, threw flares and chanted “Set it on fire” during a protest Thursday in front of the Montenegrin Embassy in Belgrade. FILE – The Montenegrin flag at the Montenegrin Embassy is targeted with fireworks by Serbian ultranationalists during a protest against a religious-rights law adopted by Montenegro’s parliament last month, in Belgrade, Serbia, Jan. 2, 2020.Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic called the embassy attack an “uncivilized” act and said it was “stunning” Serbian police did not protect the embassy during the incident, as well as at other recent protests. 
 
Vucic said the embassy was protected and accused Markovic of “telling notorious falsehoods,” though he did not appear to comment on the flag burning itself. 
 
U.S. Ambassador to Montenegro Judy Rising Reinke expressed shock over the attack. 
 
“Shocked at the image of the desecrated #Montenegro flag at the country’s Belgrade Embassy,” she said Friday on Twitter. “Attack on a diplomatic mission is absolutely unacceptable. Difference of opinions must be resolved through dialogue, not violence or acts of vandalism.” Vucic responds
 
In his comments to the press Saturday in Belgrade, Vucic took aim at the U.S. ambassador’s remarks. 
 
“U.S. Ambassador to Montenegro [Judy Rising Reinke] was vocal yesterday, saying she was horrified by the scenes she witnessed in. Right, but [Rising Reinke] is not horrified by what’s happening in Montenegro? She is not horrified when people are getting arrested just for carrying the Serbian flag?” Vucic said. “There are 30% of them there. She is not horrified that the Serbian language is not permitted there? She is not horrified that [the Montenegrin government] is stealing [the Serbian Orthodox] Church property? She is not horrified by any of that.” 
 
The embassy attack in Belgrade followed a basketball game between Serbia’s Red Star and Germany’s Bayern Munich. 
 
Many of those taking part were members of the Serbian soccer fan group known as “delije.” 
 
Members of delije, Serbian for “tough boys,” are known for their close ties with Serbia’s ruling nationalist party and the secret police. 
 
Members of delije were behind attacks against Western embassies in Belgrade in 2008, when the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade was set on fire as police stood close by. The group was protesting against Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia. 
 The Associated Press contributed to this report. 
…

Mexico’s former top security official pleaded not guilty Friday to charges he accepted a fortune in drug-money bribes from kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s notorious Sinaloa cartel to let it operate with impunity.Genaro Garcia Luna, 51, was indicted in New York on three counts of cocaine trafficking conspiracy and a false statements charge.During his brief appearance in a Brooklyn courtroom, Garcia Luna shook his head “no” as prosecutors outlined the charges against him.A judge ordered him detained after Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Reid argued that he would pose an “unacceptable risk of flight” if released. Garcia Luna’s lawyer, Cesar de Castro, said he would ask the court later for his client to be granted bail.Former drug war point manGarcia Luna was viewed as the point man in then-President Felipe Calderon’s 2006-2012 war on drugs. As public safety secretary, he was one of the most feared members of Calderon’s government, but for years was dogged by allegations about his ties to drug traffickers.Calderon’s government was criticized for not going after the Sinaloa cartel with the same energy as the cartel’s rivals. Calderon always rebuffed that criticism.Briefcases of cashU.S. prosecutors said in a court filing this month that Garcia Luna had accepted “tens of millions of dollars” in bribes — often briefcases full of cash — to protect the cartel.“Because of the defendant’s corrupt assistance, the Sinaloa Cartel conducted its criminal activity in Mexico without significant interference from Mexican law enforcement and imported multiton quantities of cocaine and other drugs into the United States,” prosecutors wrote.They added that Garcia Luna “prioritized his personal greed over his sworn duties as a public servant and assured the continued success and safety of one of the world’s most notorious trafficking organizations.”De Castro declined to comment on the charges.During Guzman’s 2018 New York trial, jurors heard former cartel member Jesus Zambada testify that he personally made at least $6 million in hidden payments to Garcia Luna, on behalf of his older brother, cartel boss Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.It’s alleged that during the time Garcia Luna protected the Sinaloa Cartel in exchange for bribes, the cartel, at the direction of Chapo Guzman, Mayo Zambada and other leaders, sent multiton drug loads to New York and other American cities, including the federal district covering Brooklyn and Queens, according to court documents.Garcia Luna lived in Miami, Florida, before his arrest last month in Texas. From 2001 to 2005, he led Mexico’s Federal Investigation Agency and from 2006 to 2012 served as Mexico’s secretary of public security before relocating to the U.S., authorities said.
…

The United States and its allies have suspended training of Iraqi forces because of the increased threat they face after a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad on Friday killed a top Iranian general, the German military said in a letter seen by Reuters. 
 
In the letter to German lawmakers, a senior German officer said U.S. Lieutenant General Pat White had decided to further increase the level of protection for the forces deployed in Iraq under Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), which he commands. 
 
“Thus, the training for the Iraqi security and armed forces throughout Iraq is temporarily suspended,” German Lieutenant General Erich Pfeffer wrote to members of the Bundestag defense and foreign relations committees in the letter, dated January 3. 
 
“The directive is binding for all partner nations involved in OIR at the training sites in Iraq,” he added. 
…