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Cars, cots and plastic chairs became temporary beds for hundreds of families who lost their homes in southwest Puerto Rico as a flurry of earthquakes struck the island, one of them the strongest in a century.The magnitude 6.4 quake that struck before dawn on Tuesday killed one person, injured nine others and knocked out power across the U.S. territory. More than  250,000 Puerto Ricans remained without water on Wednesday and another half a million without power, which also affected telecommunications.In addition, more than 1,000 people  were staying in government shelters in the island’s southwest region as U.S. President Donald Trump declared an emergency and Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vazquez activated the National Guard.The hardest hit municipality was the southwest coastal town of Guanica. More than 200 people had taken shelter in a gymnasium after a quake on Monday, only for the latest shake to damage that structure — forcing them to sleep outside.Among them was 80-year-old Lupita Martinez, who sat in the dusty parking lot with her 96-year-old husband by her side. He was sleeping in a makeshift bed, a dark blue coat covering him.
“There’s no power. There’s no water. There is nothing. This is horrible,” Martinez said.
The couple was alone, lamenting that their caretaker had disappeared and was not answering their calls. Like many Puerto Ricans affected by the quake, they had children in the U.S. mainland who urged them to move there, at least until the earth stops shaking.
 Governor Wanda Vazquez inspect an earthquake-damaged house in Guanica, Puerto Rico, Monday, Jan. 6, 2020. A 5.8-magnitude quake hit Puerto Rico before dawn Monday, unleashing small landslides, causing power outages and severely cracking some homes. …While officials said it was too early to estimate the total damage caused by the string of quakes that began the night of Dec. 28, they said hundreds of homes and businesses in the southwest region were damaged or destroyed. Just in Guanica, a town of roughly 15,000 people, nearly 150 homes were affected by the quake, along with three schools, including one three-story structure whose first two floors were completely flattened.
In Guanica itself, “We are confronting a crisis worse than Hurricane Maria,” said Mayor Santos Seda, referring to the 2017 storm that devastated the island. “I am asking for empathy from the federal government.”
He said officials believe the homes of 700 families in his municipality are close to collapsing.
Tuesday’s quake was the strongest to hit Puerto Rico since October 1918, when a magnitude 7.3 quake struck near the island’s northwest coast, unleashing a tsunami and killing 116 people.
More than 950 quakes and aftershocks have been recorded in the area of Tuesday night’s event since Dec. 31, though most were too weak to be felt, according to U.S. Geologic Survey.
The USGS said that while it’s virtually certain there will be many aftershocks in the next week, the chance of a magnitude 6 quake — similar to Tuesday’s — or stronger is around 22 percent.
In Guanica, some people dragged mattresses outside their homes or set up small tents.
Authorities were trying to figure out where to shelter them all as they handed out blankets, food and water to families gathered at the gymnasium for a second night in a row. Many had their belongings in large garbage bags as they sat haphazardly on unstable plastic chairs. Some slept. Others cradled their dogs and many simply stared listlessly into the distance. One elderly man spent an entire day in his wheelchair, refusing to lay down on a cot.
Meanwhile, a handful of people slept in their cars, in chairs or on the ground as cots ran out.
“Now I’m afraid of the house,” said 49-year-old Lourdes Guilbe as she wiped away tears and confided that she felt overwhelmed caring for the nearly dozen relatives gathered around her, including her more than 90-year-old grandfather, who sat in a wheelchair wearing green pajamas and socks.
Guilbe said her home is cracked and her daughter’s home collapsed, so they weren’t sure where they would live in upcoming days.
Psychologists met with Guilbe and dozens of other people affected by the earthquakes, going door-to-door on Monday in affected neighborhoods and then visiting people in shelters on Tuesday. Among them was Dayleen Ortiz, who set up a speaker on the roof of her car to blast uplifting salsa music and provided crayons and paper to children and urged adults to shake their fears.
“There is a lot of uncertainty,” she said. “We don’t know if this is going to continue.”
One young girl tapped Ortiz on her leg repeatedly: “I want to play beautician,” she said.
Ortiz dug behind cases of water bottles, chairs and blankets in her car and produced eight small new nail polishes and the girl smiled wide. It’s a trick the psychologist learned to entertain children after Hurricane Maria hit, causing an estimated 2,975 deaths and more than $100 billion in estimated damage.
Reconstruction has been slow, and the earthquake was the newest blow to an island where thousands of people have been living under a blue tarps since the hurricane and the power grid remains fragile.
 
“I can’t stand this,” said 64-year-old Zenaida Rodriguez as she sat under a tree and the ground again rumbled. “Did you feel that?”  
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed his government will get answers after a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed, killing 63 Canadians, just minutes after taking off from Iran’s capital.
                   
Trudeau said Wednesday his foreign minister is in touch with the government of Ukraine and his transport minister is reaching out to his international counterparts. Getting answers from Iran might prove difficult as Canada closed its embassy in Iran in 2012 and suspended diplomatic relations.
                   
The crash of the Ukraine International Airlines plane came hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases housing U.S. soldiers, but Iranian officials said they suspected a mechanical issue brought down the 3-year-old Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Ukrainian officials initially agreed, but later backed away and declined to offer a cause while the investigation is ongoing.
                   
“I join Canadians across the country who are shocked and saddened to see reports that a plane crash outside of Tehran, Iran, has claimed the lives of 176 people, including 63 Canadians,” Trudeau said in a statement.
                   
“I offer our deepest condolences to those who have lost family, friends, and loved ones in this tragedy. Our government will continue to work closely with its international partners to ensure that this crash is thoroughly investigated, and that Canadians’ questions are answered.”
                   
The plane carried 167 passengers and nine crew members from different nations.
                   
It’s one of the worst loss of life for Canadians in an aviation disaster. In 1985 a bomb exploded and killed 329 people aboard an Air India flight. Air India Flight 182 from Montreal to New Delhi exploded over the Atlantic Ocean near Great Britain on June 23, 1985. Most of the victims were Canadian.
                   
Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau said Canada is offering technical assistance to the upcoming investigation in Iran.
                   
The Tehran to Toronto route via Kyiv is an affordable route for Iranian Canadians. There are no direct flights.
                   
Hamid Gharajeh, of the Iran Democratic Association of Canada, said he’s spoken to families and friends of some of the victims. Many aboard were students on their way back to Canada after the holiday break, he said.
                   
“Our hearts go out for all these young people who are just trying to get back to their lives,” Gharajeh said in Toronto. “It’s unfortunate.”
                   
Payman Paseyan, a member of the Iranian-Canadian community in Edmonton, Alberta said multiple people from the city, including many international students, were on the flight and he knew many of the passengers.
                   
“They leave behind families and people they love and they come to Canada and often they’re second-guessing, `Should I leave my family behind to do this?’” Paseyan said. “Then they move here and they do all this just to board a plane and have it all washed away. It’s devastating.”
                   
“Iran does not recognize dual nationality and Canada will not be granted consular access to dual Canadian-Iranian citizens,” Global Affairs said.
                   
Paseyan said members of the Iranian-Canadian community learned of the crash while being glued to the news after Tuesday’s missile attacks in Iraq.
                   
“Many were expecting their friends and families members to come back” and were aware of the flight they were on, said Paseyan, a former president of the Iranian Heritage Society of Edmonton. “They were worried about their family members that were in Iran, and now this has compounded that with worry for the community.”
                   
Canada is urging Canadians to avoid non-essential travel to Iran due to the volatile security situation, but the travel advisory makes no mention of the plane crash.
                   
“There are no words. 176 lives lost. 63 Canadians won’t be coming home,” Opposition New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh tweeted. “These families deserve clear answers, but whatever the case, this is devastating.”
                   
Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to Canada, also expressed condolences.“My heart is broken. We will have to go through this terrible pain together with our Canadian brothers and sisters,” he tweeted.
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President Donald Trump is viewed negatively by the public in many countries, but the image of the U.S. itself is generally favorable, according to a survey published on Wednesday by the Pew Research Center.Sixty-four percent of those surveyed outside the US said they do not have confidence in Trump to do the right thing in foreign affairs, while just 29 percent expressed confidence in the U.S. leader.The survey looked at public opinion in 33 nations and was conducted among 37,000 people between May and October 2019.Trump is viewed particularly poorly in Western Europe, Pew said.Only 13 percent of those polled in Germany said they had confidence in Trump, 18 percent in Sweden, 20 percent in France, 21 percent in Spain, 25 percent in the Netherlands and Greece and 32 percent in Britain.In Russia, 20 percent said they have confidence in the U.S. president to do the right thing in world affairs.In Mexico, 89 percent do not have confidence in Trump, Pew said.In some countries, the public did express support for Trump: India (56 percent), Nigeria (58 percent), Kenya (65 percent), Israel (71 percent) and the Philippines (77 percent).There was overall disapproval, however, of some of Trump’s signature foreign policy initiatives.Researchers used the median — the middle value in any list of numbers — to summarize non-U.S. opinion on Trump’s performance.A median of 68 percent opposed his imposition of tariffs, 66 percent opposed the withdrawal from climate change agreements and 60 percent were against the U.S.-Mexico border wall.Trump’s direct negotiations with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un met with 41 percent support and 36 percent disapproval.Pew also asked respondents for their views on other world leaders.Germany’s Angela Merkel received top marks with 46 percent expressing confidence in her leadership, followed by France’s Emmanuel Macron (41 percent), Russia’s Vladimir Putin (33 percent) and China’s Xi Jinping (28 percent).Overall attitudes towards the United States, however, were favorable, Pew said.The most positive reviews in Europe came from Poland, where 79 percent said they have a favorable attitude towards the United States, followed by Lithuania (70 percent) and Hungary (66 percent).The lowest ratings for the United States in Europe came from the Netherlands (46 percent), Sweden (45 percent) and Germany (39 percent).  
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The president of the European Commission warned Britain on Wednesday that it won’t get the “highest quality access” to the European Union’s market after Brexit unless it makes major concessions.
               
In a friendly but frank message to the U.K., Ursula von der Leyen said negotiating a new U.K.-EU trade deal will be tough. She also said the end-of-2020 deadline that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has imposed on negotiations makes it basically impossible'' to strike a comprehensive new agreement in time.
               
Von der Leyen, who  took over as head of the EU's executive branch on Dec. 1, is visiting Johnson at 10 Downing Street in London later Wednesday for the first time since the British leader's election victory last month.
               
Johnson's Conservatives won a substantial parliamentary majority in Britain's Dec. 12 election, giving him the power to end more than three years of wrangling over Brexit and take the U.K. out of the EU on Jan. 31. It will be the first nation to ever leave the bloc.
               
Britain's departure will be followed by a transition period in which the U.K.-EU relationship will remain largely unchanged while the two sides negotiate a new trade arrangement.
               
Johnson says the U.K. is seeking a free trade deal, but doesn't want to agree to keep EU rules and standards. Britain wants to be free to diverge from EU regulations in order to strike new trade deals around the world.
               
Downing St. said when Johnson meets von der Leyen, he “will likely underline that the upcoming negotiations will be based on an ambitious FTA (free trade agreement), not on alignment.”
               
That could cause problems. Speaking at the London School of Economics before her meeting with Johnson, von der Leyen warned that “without a level playing field on environment, labor, taxation and state aid, you cannot have the highest quality access to the world's largest single market.”
               With every choice comes a consequence. With every decision comes a trade-off,she warned.
               
International trade agreements typically take years to complete, but Johnson has ruled out extending the post-Brexit transition period beyond the end of 2020, although  the EU has offered to prolong it until 2022.  Downing Street said Wednesday thatboth British and EU citizens rightly expect negotiations on an ambitious free trade agreement to conclude on time.”
               
Von der Leyen said the time frame was “very, very tight” and made it basically impossible'' to negotiate anything but a skeleton deal.
              
 “The more divergence there is, the more distant the partnership has to be,” she said. “And without an extension of the transition period beyond 2020, you cannot expect to agree on every single aspect of our new partnership. We will have to prioritize.”
               
The German EU chief who studied in Britain in the 1970s and has proclaimed herself a friend and fan of Britain, did have some encouraging words for Johnson. She said the bloc was ready to strike a tariff-free and quota-free trade deal with Britain, anda partnership that goes well beyond trade and is unprecedented in scope.”
               
She said the new relationship could encompass “everything from climate action to data protection, fisheries to energy, transport to space, financial services to security. And we are ready to work day and night to get as much of this done within the time frame we have.”
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Many Puerto Ricans woke up on Wednesday to a second day without electricity after the island’s worst earthquake in over a century knocked out its biggest power plant, collapsed homes and killed at least one person.
Puerto Rico’s schools were closed on Wednesday and all public employees except police and health workers stayed home as engineers checked the safety of buildings after Tuesday’s 6.4 magnitude quake and powerful aftershocks.
Some Puerto Ricans in the hard-hit south of the island moved beds outside on Tuesday night and slept outdoors, fearful their homes would crumble if another earthquake hit after a week of tremors, governor Wanda Vázquez told reporters.
Nearly all of the island’s more than 3 million people lost power and only 100,000 customers had energy by late Tuesday night, according to the AEE electricity authority.
The agency scrambled to restart power plants that automatically shut down for safety during the quake. The large
Costa Sur plant suffered “severe damage” and was put out of service, Vázquez said after declaring a state of emergency.
Power should return to most of the island within 24 to 48 hours, so long as there are no more quakes, she said.
“All of Puerto Rico has seen the devastation of this earthquake,” said Vázquez, who took office in August after
Ricardo Rossello stepped down in the face of massive street protests against his administration.
Around 750 people spent the night in shelters in southern towns hit hardest by the earthquake, the government reported.A home is seen collapsed after an earthquake in Guanica, Puerto Rico, Jan. 7, 2020.Television images showed flattened homes and apartment buildings with deep cracks running down their exteriors in communities like Guánica and Ponce.
Bottled water, batteries and flashlights ran low at supermarkets in the capital San Juan and long lines formed
outside gas stations. Backup generators kept the city’s international airport functioning.
Puerto Ricans are used to dealing with hurricanes but powerful quakes are rare on the island.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty, this is the first time this has happened to us,” said Patricia Alonso, 48, who lost power
and water at her home and headed to her mother’s apartment building with her 13-year-old son as it had a generator.
Puerto Rico is still recovering from Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 that killed about 3,000 people and destroyed a significant amount of infrastructure. The island is also working through a bankruptcy process to restructure about $120 billion of debt and pension obligations.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said on Tuesday that aid had been made available for earthquake response efforts.
Tuesday’s magnitude 6.4 quake struck at a depth of 6 miles (10 km) at 4:24 a.m. (0824 GMT) near Ponce, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
A 73-year-old man died after a wall fell on him, and a Costa Sur power plant worker was hospitalized after he was hit by debris, the governor said. 
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said there were no survivors from a Ukraine International Airlines plane that crashed Wednesday shortly after taking off from Iran’s capital.
The flight was bound for Kyiv, and Ukraine’s prime minister said it was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members.One of the engines of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, a Boeing 737-800 plane that crashed after taking off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport on January 8, 2020, is seen in this still image taken from Iran Press footage.Ukraine International Airlines President Yevhen Dykhne said at a briefing that the plane was one of the best the airline had, “with an amazing, reliable crew.”The airline is indefinitely suspending flights to Tehran following Wednesday’s crash.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said the dead included 82 people Iran, 63 from Canada, 11 from Ukraine, 10 from Sweden, four from Afghanistan, and three each from Germany and Britain.
He said Ukraine expresses its condolences and is continuing to investigate the crash.
The plane’s manufacturer, Boeing, said it is aware of reports of the crash and is gathering more information.
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The Trump administration is sending an assessment team to Bolivia this week to discuss possible resumption of foreign aid to the Andean nation following the ouster of leftist leader Evo Morales, according to two people with knowledge of the visit.The team organized by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the development branch of the State Department, is looking to assist Bolivia’s interim government run a smooth presidential election May 3 that it hopes will end months of political turmoil following a vote last year that observers said was marred by fraud.The mission will also discuss longer-term areas of cooperation, according to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity Tuesday because the mission hasn’t yet been announced.Morales expelled the USAID from Bolivia in 2013, accusing it of political interference by support for groups and local governments that that opposed him.Interim President Jeanine Anez has been driving a conservative backlash against policies implemented by Morales, the nation’s first indigenous president, during almost 14 years of leftist rule. She has been looking to improve relations with the U.S. and take a tougher line on coca farmers.But critics says she’s overstepping her caretaker mandate and say the U.S. should be wary of backing an interim government accused of targeting Morales’ allies, who still wield plenty of political power even with their leader living in exile, in neighboring Argentina.”The Trump administration has clearly picked sides,” said Kathryn Ledebur of the nonprofit Andean Information Network in Bolivia. “But it should also highlight concerns about human rights violations and erosion of democratic rights.’’The White House on Monday announced that it was lifting a longstanding ban on foreign aid to Bolivia imposed for its failure to cooperate in U.S. anti-narcotics efforts.The U.S. first decertified Bolivia as a partner in the drug war shortly after Morales – former head of a coca growers’ union – expelled then U.S. Ambassador Phil Goldberg and the Drug Enforcement Administration in 2008. But it received wavers for several years after that, permitting aid to continue.On Monday, the Trump administration reinstated a waiver that would allow aid to resume flowing to the Andean nation, finding that it is “vital to the national interests of the United States.’’Before Morales came to power, the country had been receiving more than $150 million in economic and security aid, much of it focused on anti-narcotics programs.Aid had dropped to about $100 million in 2008 and to $28 million in 2012.When Morales expelled the agency a year later, USAID said its programs were helping tens of thousands of Bolivians, particularly children and new mothers in rural areas who have benefited from health, nutrition, immunization and reproductive services.
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A Ukrainian commercial jet crashed shortly after taking off from an airport in Iran’s capital on Wednesday killing everyone on board.
Iranian state media reported the plane was carrying 170 passengers and crew, and quoted emergency officials and the head of Iran’s Red Crescent saying there were no survivors.One of the engines of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, a Boeing 737-800 plane that crashed after taking off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport on January 8, 2020, is seen in this still image taken from Iran Press footage.Authorities are investigating what caused the plane to go down.  The state media reports said mechanical issues were the suspected cause, but there has been no official confirmation.
The plane’s manufacturer, Boeing, said it is aware of reports of the crash and is gathering more information.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting Istanbul Wednesday, where he will meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Bilateral relations have dramatically improved much to Ankara’s western allies’ concern, but escalating regional differences threaten to sour those bilateral ties.Putin is officially going to Istanbul to inaugurate a key new gas pipeline between Russia and Turkey.The Turk Stream pipeline will supply Istanbul with Russian gas.  “This ceremony tomorrow will mark a new beginning of Russian gas supply increasing to Turkey and European markets,” says Mehmet Ogutcu, head of the London Energy Club.Turkey, as a market and transit country for Russian energy, is widely seen as the bedrock of deepening bilateral ties.Former Turkish ambassador Mithat Rende says personal chemistry can facilitate efforts to resolve escalating tensions. (Dorian Jones/VOA)”Cooperation in the field of energy is high on the agenda of Turkish Russian agenda,” said former Turkish ambassador Mithat Rende, who is now an energy expert. “It’s important because we are not oil-rich or gas-rich, and we are quite dependent on gas and oil.”While energy cooperation continues to deepen, there are rising bilateral tensions.  Turkey is facing a new Syrian refugee crisis, because of a Russian-backed offensive by Damascus forces, against the rebels’ last enclave in the Idlib province.”We are seeing signs of friction over Syria, the Idlib situation is quite worrisome, and Russia is bombing there, and there is a huge exodus of people fleeing toward the Turkish border,” said Ogutcu. “If you have another 250,000 refugees crashing the border and coming, that will have serious domestic implications for Erdogan, as well.”With Turkey already hosting more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees, there is growing Turkish public discontent. A series of recent local election setbacks suffered by Erdogan’s ruling AKP Party is widely blamed on a toxic combination of a slowing economy and anger over the ongoing presence of refugees.More than 3 million people are trapped in Idlib, and analysts suggest it will top the agenda of Erdogan’s talks with Putin.Truckloads of civilians flee a Syrian military offensive in Idlib province on the main road near Hazano, Syria, Dec. 24, 2019.”Idlib is the biggest issue,” concurs Huseyin Bagci of Ankara’s Middle East Technical University “Idlib will remain an unresolved conflict between Russia and Turkey. Idlib is a big threat to Turkey; there is a real fear of a huge wave of refugees.”The Libyan civil war is another potential flashpoint. Erdogan is sending soldiers in support of the Tripoli-based government, which is fighting forces of General Khalifa Haftar backed by Russian mercenaries linked to the Kremlin.”It looks like General Haftar gets a very strong push by forces supported by Putin. So it seems the regime supported by Turkey is losing,” said Ogutcu.”So Erdogan will be looking for common ground so that Turkey, Russia, Algeria, Tunisia can work together. But I am not sure Putin is ready for that. It’s going to be a hard bargain.”The widely reported personal chemistry between Erdogan and Putin has overcome previous policy differences. Experts say that chemistry likely will be called upon again in the latest escalating rivalries.”The two leaders, they get together very often. They seem to get along very well,” said Rende. “So it’s important to try to maintain a dialogue aimed at narrowing the differences and trying to find a common denominator in the interests of the people of the region and the interests of Syria as a whole.”Sorry, but your player cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopyThe dynamics of the Putin-Erdogan relationship are increasingly surrounded in a veil of secrecy.”There is good personal chemistry between Erdogan and Putin. But we don’t really know what they are discussing. It’s not a normal state-to-state relationship. It’s more a personal relationship at the highest level,” said Rende.”When they meet, it’s usually only with their closest aides present or just a translator,” he added. “I don’t think the establishment, at least on the Turkish side, is involved in what is discussed between the two leaders. But there is an imbalance in favor of Russia in relations. The relationship is not of equals. It’s not balanced; it cannot be long-lived, and both sides have to understand that.”Analysts point out, at least in the short term, there appear strong incentives for both Ankara and Moscow side to continue working together. However, escalating tensions over conflicting regional interests are likely to continue to challenge bilateral relations.Istanbul is in the grip of a winter storm that kept a visiting Russian cruiser at sea. For Erdogan and Putin, they will be hoping such weather is not a harbinger for their talks Wednesday.
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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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