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Ukrainian riot police used tear gas Tuesday to clear anti-lockdown protesters from the Maidan, Kyiv’s central square and backdrop for the 2014 popular uprising that toppled former President Viktor Yanukovych. Several thousand protesters, including small-business owners, rallied against a planned nationwide coronavirus lockdown slated for January 8 — a day after the widely celebrated Orthodox Christmas holiday. Police moved in to break up the demonstration as people began pitching tents on the square. The latest anti-lockdown uprising since April but the first to turn violent, Tuesday’s protests come amid signs of a worsening pandemic and widespread claims that coronavirus case numbers are being suppressed by local and regional officials. Residents in towns and villages in Ukraine’s west and north tell VOA that hospitals are short of medical staff, who are either falling sick themselves or sometimes refusing to work without personal protective gear. Hospitals in some areas have reached capacity for intensive care patients. Authorities said 40 police officers were injured in the clashes, some of them suffering chemical burns to their eyes when protesters threw tear gas canisters back at them. Ukrainian law enforcement officers stand guard during a rally of entrepreneurs and representatives of small businesses amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Dec. 15, 2020.Protesters also suffered injuries, with some being hospitalized, according to the UNIAN news agency. Since April, small-business owners and entrepreneurs have led a string of anti-lockdown demonstrations opposing tough restrictions and weekslong quarantines that they say wreck livelihoods while failing to contain the spread. Ukrainian authorities have reported more than 909,000 COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, and about 15,000 fatalities. The highest incidence rates have been recorded in Kyiv and the Cherkasy region of central Ukraine, according to the health ministry. On December 9, the Ukrainian government announced it would impose a new strict national lockdown from January 8 to 24. On Monday, the government also announced pre-holiday restrictions starting on December 19 that will prohibit large gatherings in schools, restaurants and entertainment centers. The pre-holiday restrictions limit the number of people allowed to attend religious services, and restaurants will have to close from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Ukraine’s small businesses have received little or no pandemic compensation, although the government is now offering a one-time payment of Hr 8,000 ($288). Ukrainian law enforcement officers use tear gas as they block demonstrators during a rally of entrepreneurs and representatives of small businesses amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Kyiv, Ukraine, December 15, 2020.Last month, Ukraine Health Minister Maksym Stepanov warned that the country faces a “very severe” winter but said there would be no weekslong nationwide lockdown as regular weekend lockdowns were stabilizing case numbers. “I can say with confidence that if we adhere to these measures, we will be able to stop the growth, at least stabilize it where it is now,” Stepanov said in an interview with Reuters. But he conceded that, in his opinion, the winter “will be very severe in terms of morbidity and the number of seriously ill.” President Zelenskiy, who contracted the coronavirus last month, says he is overseeing preparations for the purchase of vaccines and the roll-out of a mass-inoculation program. “We must be ready with a plan of action for vaccination,” he recently said. “The state must decide who will be vaccinated first, how many patients hospitals will be able to vaccinate within a month, and most importantly — we must help medical institutions with vaccines.” The World Bank approved last week a new loan for Ukraine aimed at helping to support low-income families. The $300 million loan comes as the international financial institution has projected the poverty level in Ukraine could reach 23% by the end of the year. “The new funds will help finance Ukraine’s COVID-19 social protection emergency response by introducing fast cash transfers to individuals and households who have lost their jobs or income sources because of the pandemic,” the bank said in a statement.  
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Lawmakers in Britain have proposed legislation that would fine social media companies if they do not quickly take action to remove illegal content like child pornography or terrorist materials. U.S. based Facebook and Twitter and China-owned TikTok could be fined up to 10% of turnover, according to Reuters. CNBC reported that Ofcom, a British media watchdog, would have the power to enforce the laws if they are enacted. Under the proposal, which will be introduced next year, social media companies must establish clear terms and conditions about content, CNBC reported. FILE – Britain’s Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden arrives for a Cabinet meeting, at Downing Street in London, Britain, July 21, 2020.”We are entering a new age of accountability for tech to protect children and vulnerable users, to restore trust in this industry and to enshrine in law safeguards for free speech,” Britain’s Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said Tuesday. In addition to fines, some sites could be blocked from the British market if they fail to act. Dowden left open the possibility for criminal charges against companies that permit illegal content, according to Reuters. “These measures make this the toughest and most comprehensive online safety regime, and they will have a clear and immediate effect,” he told lawmakers.  But the proposals don’t stop at illegal content. According to Reuters, the proposed legislation would require companies to have clear policies against misinformation that could cause “harm,” such as information about COVID-19 vaccines. “We already have strict policies against harmful content on our platforms, but regulations are needed so that private companies aren’t making so many important decisions alone,” said Rebecca Stimson, Facebook’s head of Britain public policy. Other Big Tech companies echoed Facebook. Under the proposed laws, online journalism and user comments on news sites would be exempt to “safeguard freedom of expression,” Reuters reported. Britain’s move comes as the European Union was also set to unveil a slate of similar proposals on December 15.
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Germany’s health minister said Tuesday he expects a coronavirus vaccine to be approved for use in the country by December 23 and for inoculations to begin before the end of the year.In a briefing to reporters in Berlin, Health Minister Jens Spahn said he has learned that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) – which approves evaluates and approves vaccines and other drugs for in the European Union – will meet on the 23rd and finalize the approval process for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. He spoke alongside Lothar Wieler, chief of the Robert Koch Institute, which seeks to investigate and prevent infectious diseases.The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has already been cleared for use by Britain, Canada, the United States and several other countries.Spahn defended awaiting the EMA’s approval of the vaccine as opposed to opting for a review by Germany’s own regulators. He said the government has always supported Europe-wide rather than national approval of a vaccine, explaining they wanted a thorough, but swift review, as well as a drug they could trust.  He said they get that through the EMA.Wieler reported the COVID-19 situation in Germany is worse than it has been at any time during the pandemic. He said it would likely worsen during the Christmas holiday, with record high numbers of infections and deaths already pushing hospitals to their limits.He called on people in Germany to reduce their contacts as much as possible, including over the holiday period when restrictions are to be eased slightly. 
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Joe Biden on winning the November U.S. presidential election.The Kremlin said Tuesday that Putin wished Biden “every success” and expressed confidence that the United States and Russia can “help to solve the many problems and challenges facing the world.”Putin added he is “ready for interaction and contact” with Biden.Numerous world leaders have called Biden to offer their congratulations and discuss cooperation with the new U.S. administration that will take office in January.Putin had said he would wait until the U.S. election results were official, which happened Monday with the Electoral College confirming Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump.
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In late October, Farhan and his two sons finished packing up their olive harvest to transport it to the city center of Afrin in northwestern Syria. But before doing so, they pondered the possibilities waiting for them.“Would we be able to sell our olives at a good rate? Would the armed groups impose additional taxes on us?” wondered Farhan, who requested his real name not be revealed for safety reasons.    Farhan, 61, is a Kurdish farmer who owns an olive farm nearly 16 kilometers (10 miles) outside of Afrin, a region controlled by Turkey-backed Syrian militias since 2018. The area is known for its high-quality, abundant olive oil.    “We used to make a good living by cultivating olives,” he told VOA via a messaging app. “But in the past two years, it’s been a real challenge to do our businesses without interference from the armed groups.”  In January 2018, Turkey and its Syrian proxies invaded the Kurdish-majority region to dislodge Kurdish fighters affiliated with the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the main element within the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).  Afrin SyriaTurkey views the YPG and SDF as extensions of the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an outlawed Kurdish rebel group that is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara and Washington.   Western governments and international rights groups have accused Turkish-backed militias of war crimes, including looting and stealing civilian properties in Afrin.   Source of revenue   Experts say Afrin’s olive farms have become a main source of revenue for the various armed groups present in the region.  “There are about 18 million olive trees in the Afrin area,” said Khorshid Alika, a Syrian economist who closely follows developments in northern Syria.   “The militias have been imposing high taxes on local Kurdish farmers,” he told VOA. “Most recently, for example, the armed groups in control of Kakhera village (in Afrin) levied 2,000 olive oil barrels as taxes on the village residents.”  Alika said each barrel of olive oil currently is worth about $30 at the local market, a figure confirmed by Farhan, the farmer.FILE – Farmers pick olives during the harvest season in the western province of Idlib, Syria, November 19, 2015.Mohammed Billo, a journalist from Afrin who now lives in northeastern Syria, says militias that control different parts of Afrin have different ways to benefit from the olive oil production.“In my village, the militias this season seized all the olives belonging to families who have fled their homes and lands following the Turkish invasion,” he said.   “In addition to imposing taxes, the militias also charge farmers at checkpoints for transporting their olive crops,” Billo told VOA.   When Farhan and his sons finally decided to take their harvest to the city, they were stopped at three checkpoints on the road.  “They were manned by different groups, which most of the time they are at odds with each other,” he said, “So this comes at our expense.”      He ended up paying the three checkpoints to have access to the city.   “When we sold the crops, the money was so little that would maybe last for three months only,” Farhan added. “I don’t know how my family will survive for the rest of the year.”  FILE – A Free Syrian Army member inspects goods that were confiscated at a checkpoint during a siege on the Kurdish city of Afrin, in the Aleppo countryside, June 30, 2013.Exporting abroad   Afrin farmers are allowed to sell their oil crops only to either the militias or representatives of Turkey’s Agricultural Credit Cooperatives, according to economist Alika.  “Turkey and its proxies buy olives from local farmers at half the real price, collect them at an oil extraction plant near Afrin, and then export them to Turkey and ultimately the outside world,” he said.  Several news outlets have reported that olive oil produced in Afrin has been seen at stores in Europe and the United States. Turkey’s foreign ministry, agriculture and forestry ministry and Agricultural Credit Cooperatives didn’t respond to VOA’s requests for comment.   ‘Black propaganda’ against Turkey   In November 2019, however, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a parliament session that allegations about stealing Afrin’s olives are “black propaganda” against Turkey.   “The olives in Syria are being reexported via us, and the income from here is being distributed to the landowners. So, there is no theft or anything else. … This olive stealing and other [allegations] are part of this black propaganda,” he said.   A year before Cavusoglu’s comment, Turkey’s minister of agriculture and forestry, Bekir Pakdemirli, told the parliament that 600 tons of olives from Syria’s Afrin had entered the country as of November 2018.   “We do not want revenues to fall into PKK hands,” he said. “We want the revenues from Afrin to come to us. This region is under our hegemony.”   Ali Kenanoglu, a lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), says Afrin’s olive oil has been discussed at the Turkish parliament several times. “When we ask about this issue, they (the ruling AK Party) defend themselves by appealing to nationalist sentiments such as, ‘So what? Instead of falling into the PKK and YPG terrorists, it became for our country’s benefit,’” he said.   “Most of the revenues from these olives are largely transferred to the (Turkish-backed) Free Syrian Army (FSA) forces and used in their financing,” Kenanoglu told VOA. “This has turned into a resource to support the FSA rebels in Syria.”  
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Pressure is growing on the European Union to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine after regulators in Britain, the United States and Canada gave the green light in recent days. Coronavirus cases are soaring across the continent, with extended lockdowns announced in Germany and the Netherlands. Henry Ridgwell reports.
Camera: Henry Ridgwell 
 
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An elite Russian intelligence chemical weapons unit trailed opposition figure Alexei Navalny for the past three years, right up until his near-fatal poisoning in August, according to the investigative website Bellingcat. The squad from the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), according to Bellingcat, started shadowing Navalny in 2017, shortly after he announced he would stand against President Vladimir Putin in presidential elections.  Members of the unit specializing in toxins and nerve agents followed the activist on more than 30 trips, according to phone records, flight manifests and other documents unearthed by Bellingcat in a joint investigation with CNN, Russia’s The Insider news site and Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine. FILE – Cars drive past the headquarters of the Federal Security Service (FSB) in central Moscow, Russia, November 10, 2015.Navalny is recuperating in Berlin. Western governments say he was poisoned with the deadly Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok, the same substance British officials say was employed in an attack in England in 2018 in a bid to kill former Russian spy Sergei Skripal. The European Union has sanctioned FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov and senior Kremlin officials over the attack. FILE – Members of the emergency services in biohazard suits afix a tent over the bench where former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were found March 4 in critical condition, in Salisbury, southern England, on March 8, 2018.In September, ahead of the U.S. presidential election, President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden gave different reactions to the poisoning.  “It is interesting that everybody is always mentioning Russia,” Trump told reporters at a press briefing. “And I don’t mind you mentioning Russia, but I think probably China at this point is a nation that you should be talking about much more so than Russia.”  Biden, now president-elect, bluntly blamed Navalny’s poisoning on the Moscow government.  “Once again, the Kremlin has used a favorite weapon — an agent from the Novichok class of chemicals — in an effort to silence a political opponent,” he said. “It is the mark of a Russian regime that is so paranoid that it is unwilling to tolerate any criticism or dissent,” he added. Navalny fell ill on a flight from Tomsk to Moscow on August 20. The plane made an emergency landing in the Siberian city of Omsk, where Russian doctors said they found no trace of any toxic substance. After Navalny was transferred to a hospital in Germany following an international outcry, tests in Berlin showed the presence of the nerve agent.  Subsequent tests by French and Swedish laboratories confirmed the German result. In an interview with a German magazine in October, Navalny accused the Kremlin of being behind his poisoning.  “I don’t have any other versions of how the crime was committed,” he said. FILE – German army emergency personnel load into their ambulance the stretcher that was used to transport Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny on at Berlin’s Charite hospital, August 22, 2020.The Kremlin has denied any role in the poisoning. Putin on Friday accused European countries, which have demanded Moscow investigate the poisoning, of refusing to cooperate with Russian authorities or to send detailed information. But Putin also said Navalny’s near-fatal poisoning did not warrant the opening of any criminal investigation in Russia. Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested Navalny may have been poisoned on the plane taking him to Germany, or once he arrived in Berlin. Bellingcat said the FSB unit shadowing the Russian activist comprised six to 10 agents, including medical doctors and toxicologists in their late 30s and 40s, and was commanded by military scientist Stanislav Makshakov. He communicated with senior figures at the FSB before and after Navalny’s trips, cellphone logs suggest. Makshakov is thought to have previously worked at a chemicals institute in the closed town of Shikhany-1. The August incident may not have been the first attempt to poison Navalny. During a trip in July to Kaliningrad, Navalny’s wife, Yulia, fell ill with symptoms consistent with low-dosage poisoning, according to toxicologists. Bellingcat said flight manifests indicate that at least three members of the FSB unit were in the city at the same time as the Navalnys. FILE – Yulia Navalnaya, wife of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, speaks with the media outside a hospital, where Alexei receives medical treatment in Omsk, Russia, August 21, 2020.Bellingcat said for the August attack, three FSB officers followed Navalny to Tomsk. At least five more FSB employees supported the mission. Some went on to Omsk, when Navalny was taken to the hospital there in critical condition. Members of the chemical weapons unit communicated with each other throughout the trip, with peaks in phone activity shortly before the poisoning. Bellingcat uses open-source data for its investigations and named the poisoners involved in the nerve-agent attack on Skripal and his daughter in 2018. The British government subsequently identified the same men as being behind the assassination bid. Navalny on Monday uploaded a video comment to YouTube. He said the FSB’s attempt to kill him was an act of “state terrorism.” He said the FSB’s surveillance operation began when he announced he would stand against Putin.  “We now have the villain, the reason, murderers and the murder weapon,” he said. Navalny also described the moment he may have been poisoned. Navalny said he had a cocktail in a hotel restaurant the night before boarding his flight back to Moscow. It was “tasteless,” he said, and stopped drinking it after a couple of sips. 
 
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Britain and the European Union are still apart in Brexit trade talks but Prime Minister Boris Johnson does not want to walk away yet, Business Secretary Alok Sharma said on Monday.Britain and the EU agreed on Sunday to “go the extra mile” in coming days to try to reach an elusive trade agreement despite missing their latest deadline to avert a turbulent exit at the end of the month.”We will continue discussing, we are of course apart on certain matters but as the prime minister said, we don’t want to walk away from these talks,” Sharma told Sky.”People expect us, businesses expect us in the UK to go the extra mile and that’s precisely what we’re doing.”British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the president of the EU’s executive Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had given negotiators a Sunday deadline to find a way to resolve an impasse on arrangements that would guarantee Britain zero-tariff and zero-quota access to the EU’s single market.On Sunday they mandated negotiators to continue, although Johnson sounded a downbeat note on prospects for a breakthrough.”Any deal that we get with the EU has to respect the fact that we are a sovereign country, an independent country and that’s the basis on which we will do a deal if there is a deal to be done,” Sharma said.
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Italy’s Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, lit up the sky overnight Sunday into the predawn hours Monday with bursts of hot lava, some going as high as 100 meters into the air. Etna is on the Mediterranean island of Sicily. Scientists with Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, report there were two eruptive fissures on the southeastern crater of the mountain. Geologists report the mountain has been active on and off for the past two months. The Reuters news agency reported that ash from the eruption covered parts of nearby small Catanian villages between Pedara and Tremestieri Etneo. On Monday morning, cars, streets and balconies were covered in black ash as workers and locals worked to clear it up. Volcanic ash from Mount Etna, which erupted during the night, covers a village road near Catania, Italy, Dec. 14, 2020 in this still image taken from video.The 3,330-meter-high Mount Etna is the second-most active volcano in the world, after Hawaii’s Kilauea. It can burst into spectacular action several times a year, spewing lava and ash high over Sicily.
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