RIYADMEDIA

Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Istanbul Wednesday to inaugurate a new gas pipeline between the two countries. Energy cooperation is the foundation of a growing rapprochement between Russia and Turkey, which is a NATO member. As Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, during the visit the Russian and Turkish leaders are expected to address growing differences in their bilateral relationship, on issues ranging from Syria to Libya.
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Venezuelan photojournalist Jesus Medina was released late Monday from a military prison southwest of Caracas following 16 months in detention, according to Venezuela-based rights organization Foro Penal.Medina, a photographer for the Florida-registered black market dollar website Opposition leader Juan Guaido speaks at the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 7, 2020. Guaidó and lawmakers who back him, pushed their way into the legislative building on Tuesday.On Tuesday, Guaido, recognized by the United States and dozens of its allies as Venezuela’s legitimate president, took his place in the Parliament speaker’s seat.Some observers call the decision to release the prisoners part of a broader strategy to further marginalize Guaido, whose demands for their release has been a prominent part of his opposition platform.Foro Penal said Venezuela had 388 political prisoners behind bars as of Dec. 30, 2019, a figure the Maduro government denies.According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, Medina was one of three journalists jailed in the Americas in 2019, with the other two held in Honduras and Cuba.In its 2019 annual World Press Freedom Index, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders ranks Venezuela 148 out of 180 countries, in which 1 is considered the freest.Some information in this report is from Reuters. 
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Poland’s president said Tuesday that he won’t attend a commemoration in Israel to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp because he is not allowed to speak at the forum, in contrast to the presidents of Russia and Germany.President Andrzej Duda is not on the list of speakers for the Jan. 23 World Holocaust Forum at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial.Duda has voiced concerns about recent remarks from Russian President Vladimir Putin that imply that Poland was partly responsible for World War II.The war officially started in Sept. 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Soon after, the Soviet Union annexed parts of eastern Poland as part of a non-aggression pact signed with Nazi Germany.
 
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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.A number of powerful aftershocks followed the quake, including one measure 6.0.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an alert immediately after the quake was reported, but it was later canceled.The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority says power was been shut off across the the entire island after automatic protection systems at all of its power plants were activated.  The authority said one of the country’s primary power plants near the quake’s epicenter had been damaged but that power was expected to be restored to the island later Tuesday.At least one person was killed in Tuesday’s quake. A Ponce city official said a 77-year-old was killed in his home after a wall fell on him.The quakes have caused heavy damage in some areas. The Ponce official said many buildings were damaged. In the southern coastal town of Guayanilla, the church in the public plaza collapsed, the mayor said in an interview on a local radio station.Governor Wanda Vazquez says all non-essential government employees have been given the day off, as more aftershocks are anticipated throughout the day.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. 
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Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido entered the country’s legislative building Tuesday, two days after the ruling Socialist Party installed its own parliamentary leadership, the latest development in an effort to gain control of Venezuela’s last democratic institution.Guaido and a handful of opposition lawmakers forced their way into the National Assembly after a standoff with President Nicolas Maduro’s security forces initially prevented them from entering.After the half-hour confrontation with troops, Guaido made his way toward his seat and led lawmakers in the singing of the national anthem. Shortly thereafter, the electricity went out, dimming the building and rendering microphones unusable.Lawmakers were forced to shout as they declared Guaido the legitimate president of the legislature, prompting opposition accusations of a “parliamentary coup.”Just minutes before Guaido gained entry, a brief parliamentary session led by Luis Parra had already ended. Parra was sworn in as the head of Parliament on Sunday by Maduro’s allies.Parra claims to have captured 81 votes, an assertion refuted by the opposition, which says 100 lawmakers, a majority, voted for Guaido in a legislative session that was held later Sunday at the offices of a Venezuelan newspaper. There are 167 seats in the legislature.Guaido, who has served as National Assembly president for the past year, has tried to oust Maduro from the presidency during that period. Serving as head of the legislature has been the foundation of Guaido’s claim to be Venezuela’s legitimate interim leader.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Syria on Tuesday and met with officials including President Bashar Assad, Syrian state media and a Kremlin spokesman reported.Putin’s visit is the second to the war-torn country, where his troops have been fighting alongside Syrian government forces since 2015.The visit comes amid heightened tensions between Iran — a key Syrian ally — and the United States, following the killing of a top Iranian general in a U.S. airstrike in neighboring Iraq.Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani’s death has sparked calls across Iran for revenge against America.U.S. troops are based in eastern Syria, making the country a potential site of conflict with Iran.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin visited the Russian command post in Damascus and met President Bashar Assad there. The two leaders were presented with military reports on the situation in different regions of Syria.In his conversation with Assad, Putin said that “a huge distance has been covered in terms of restoring Syria’s statehood and territorial integrity,” Peskov said.State news agency SANA gave no further details about Putin’s visit only saying that he met with Assad in a Russian military base in the capital.The last time Putin visited Syria was in 2017 when he declared that mission for Russian troops has been accomplished. Russia has been a main backer of Assad and has tipped the balance of power in his favor over the past four years with government forces now in control in most of the country.Syria’s conflict that began in March 2011 has left more than 400,000 people dead.Last week U.S. warplanes attacked bases of Iran-backed Iraqi fighters in western Iraq and eastern Syria killing 25 and wounding dozens others.The U.S. government warned ships of an unspecified threat from Iran across all the Mideast’s waterways, crucial routes for global energy supplies.Meanwhile, the U.S. Air Force launched a drill with 52 fighter jets in Utah, just days after President Donald Trump threatened to hit 52 sites in Iran. 
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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.
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Charlie Hebdo’s editor hasn’t gone out by himself since Jan. 7, 2015. The widow of one of the satirical newspaper’s cartoonists can’t bear to pull down a note her husband stuck to the door that morning: “Have a good day, darling. See you in a bit.”France on Tuesday commemorated the fifth anniversary of the extremist attack on Charlie Hebdo that killed nine of its editorial staff, a guard, a visitor to the building and a patrol officer in the street outside. The killers were a pair of French brothers, supporters of al-Qaida who claimed the attack was revenge for caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.
Two days later, an accomplice who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group seized hostages inside a kosher supermarket. In all, 17 people died before near-simultaneous police raids killed the three gunmen. The trial of a network of people accused in the plot begins this May.
Riss, the editor, who goes by his pen name, was wounded in the attack and lives to this day under constant police protection.
“I’m here. We’re here. Charlie Hebdo is still here. Still standing and just as determined,” he told France Info radio on Tuesday ahead of a somber memorial service at the site of the first attack. “We never stopped laughing because that’s part of life.”
Maryse Wolinski, whose husband Georges stuck a note to the door before he left for the editorial meeting that morning, keeps it up along with dozens of his drawings. She is still in mourning.
“It’s not because five years have passed that I’m not going to be angry anymore. I want to express that during the trial. Talk to these people, why they did that. I think it’ll be better after the trial. I hope so,” she told RMC television.Charlie Hebdo’s latest issue is dedicated to freedom of expression, five years after the death of most of its editorial staff.   
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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.
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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. 
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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.
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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.  
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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.
  
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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.
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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. 
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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.
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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.  
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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.    
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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. ​
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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. 
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