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Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf says his country has “failed” in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Swedish people have suffered “enormously” as a result.In pre-recorded comments released Thursday, the king said many people have died in Sweden from the virus, and “that is horrible.” The 74-old king, whose son and daughter-in-law tested positive for the virus last month, was asked if he was fearful of getting COVID-19 himself. “Lately, it has felt more obvious,” he said. “It has crept closer and closer. That is not what you want.”The king made the comments as part of a year-end holiday broadcast scheduled to air Monday on Swedish television. The monarch plays a ceremonial role and holds no political power.Sweden initially took a different approach to the pandemic than its Nordic neighbors, Norway and Denmark, as well as other nations in Europe. The government never imposed lockdowns or mandated face masks, allowed restaurants and businesses to remain open, and relied mainly on voluntary social distancing and hygiene recommendations to slow the spread.But the nation saw a rising death toll, particularly among elderly residents of care facilities, and its per capita death rate far exceeded that of Norway and Demark. In a preliminary report released Tuesday, an independent commission appointed by the Swedish government said the government failed to sufficiently protect the elderly in care homes from the virus.In recent weeks, the government has imposed tighter COVID-19 restrictions, mandating remote learning for schools, limiting the size of public gatherings and banning the sale of alcohol after 10 p.m. in bars and restaurants.Sweden’s total COVID-19-related deaths stand at 7,667, much higher than its regional neighbors, but still lower than other European nations such as Britain, Spain, Italy and France, all of whom imposed lockdowns.
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U.N. humanitarian agencies are calling for a stop to the deadly sea journeys on smugglers’ boats that are endangering the lives of Venezuelan refugees and migrants fleeing persecution and hardship there.
 
The appeal follows the latest loss of life in the waters near the Venezuelan coastal town of Guiria several days ago. Up to 25 refugees and migrants, among them four children whose boat had capsized offshore, were found floating in the sea.
 
The shipwrecked vessel reportedly set sail for Trinidad and Tobago on December 6. In the wake of the tragedy, U.N. agencies are calling for urgent efforts to stop smugglers and human traffickers sending refugees and migrants on dangerous sea journeys.
 
The U.N. human rights office is calling on authorities in Venezuela, and Trinidad and Tobago to launch an investigation into the incident. Marta Hurtado, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, says the probes should be about accountability and sending a message.
 
“Both governments have to conduct investigations, thorough and transparent and share their outcomes and to cooperate between them, not only to start to understand what happened in this case and to prosecute whoever needs to be prosecuted. We want to hold people who are responsible for it [accountable], but to avoid this tragedy from happening again,” Hurtatdo said.  
 
The U.N. refugee agency and International Organization for Migration report more Venezuelans have been leaving their country in recent weeks as COVID-19 lockdown measures in the region have eased. However, they note land and maritime borders remain closed, forcing them to escape using informal, dangerous routes.
 
They say smugglers and human traffickers who exploit and abuse desperate people for profit are taking advantage of this situation. U.N. agencies say regular pathways must be available so refugees and migrants don’t have to risk their lives.   
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Student medics, retired doctors, pharmacists and soldiers are being drafted into a European COVID-19 vaccination campaign of unprecedented scale, beginning just after Christmas. As coronavirus cases continue to rise in a pandemic that has killed nearly half a million Europeans, the EU announced on Thursday that a bloc-wide inoculation campaign would begin on Dec. 27, four days after European authorities are expected to give approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Beyond hospitals and care homes, sports halls and convention centers emptied by lockdown measures will become venues for mass inoculations. In Italy, temporary solar-powered healthcare pavilions will spring up in town squares around the country, designed to look like five-petalled primrose flowers, a symbol of spring. Vaccines begin deployment as COVID-19 cases surgeAs more countries approve a coronavirus vaccine, the urgent need for inoculation continues to grow with COVID-19 cases and deaths spiking to record highs in several countries. Plus, British and European Union leaders vow to go the “extra mile” to reach a deal. Plus, what does the Electoral College vote mean for President Trump?Faced with a shortage of health professionals able to give the shot, many countries are on a recruitment drive. German states are calling on retired medics and company doctors to join the push, in some cases offering up to 140 euros ($170) an hour. “This will probably be the biggest mass vaccination campaign in history, certainly of our century and our generation,” Domenico Arcuri, Italy’s special commissioner for the COVID emergency, told reporters at a launch of national plans. A phased-in approach means frontline healthcare workers and elderly residents of care homes are being prioritized, with most national schemes not reaching the general public until the end of the first quarter of 2021 at the earliest. The goal of the 27-member European Union is nonetheless to reach coverage of 70% of its 450 million people. The European Commission, which struggled in the early months of the crisis to persuade national capitals to work together, is calling for the inoculation drive to be coordinated across borders. “This is a huge task. So let’s start rapidly with the vaccination together, as 27, on the same day,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this week. On Thursday she confirmed the start date for the whole bloc would be Dec. 27. In a sign of the impatience of some member states, Germany had already announced that date on Wednesday. Bottleneck concerns  Britain, which quit the EU this year, was the first country to deploy the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine outside of clinical trials, giving it emergency approval two weeks ago. It said nearly 140,000 people received their first shots in the first week of roll-out. It is introducing a new national protocol allowing midwives, physiotherapists, pharmacists and others to give the shot.  “This will help ensure we have the workforce needed to deliver a mass COVID-19 vaccination program, in addition to delivery of an upscaled influenza program, in the autumn,” a government consultation document said. National rules vary by country. In France the injection must take place in the presence of a doctor. In Germany it can be administered by someone else as long as the patient can consult a doctor first. There is a concern social distancing rules and paperwork could create bottlenecks at inoculation venues such as Berlin’s Velodrom sports hall or the Hamburg trade hall. Some countries face extra hurdles. Portugal is establishing separate cold storage units for its Atlantic archipelagos of Azores and Madeira; non-EU member Norway is buying doses from neighboring Sweden. Armies in countries including Switzerland and Italy are set to help secure vaccine supplies, while in Germany the Bundeswehr – already involved in contact-tracing – is on standby to help with injections if local regions need it. With surveys showing many Europeans remain wary of taking a vaccine developed in record time, authorities are accompanying the push with information campaigns. Stefano Boeri, the architect behind Italy’s primrose-themed pavilions, said the spring flower was picked to “convey a sign of serenity and regeneration.” “If the virus has locked us in hospitals and homes, the vaccine will finally bring us back into contact with social life and the nature that surrounds us.”
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday dismissed a media investigation that identified those responsible for poisoning opposition leader Alexei Navalny as state security assassins. Speaking during his annual news conference, Putin called the report a “trick” and said Navalny was not important enough to be the target of such an attack. Putin added an accusation that Navalny received support from U.S. intelligence agencies. Russian Opposition Leader Navalny Trailed for Years Before Poisoning, Report Says An elite Russian intelligence chemical weapons unit tracked opposition figure Alexei Navalny for the past three years, according to investigative website BellingcatNavalny fell ill during a flight in Russia in August and was later flown to Germany for treatment.  Labs in Germany, France and Sweden said he was poisoned with Novichok, the same class of Soviet-era agent that Britain said was used on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England, in 2018. Putin spoke about a range of topics during his appearance Thursday, including the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden. Putin said he hopes the change in president in January will help resolve some difficult issues in U.S.-Russian relations. In 2017, the U.S. intelligence community assessed Putin ordered an influence campaign targeting the 2016 U.S. presidential election with a goal of helping President Donald Trump’s chances of winning.  A later investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller detailed “sweeping and systemic” Russian government interference. Putin on Thursday reiterated Russia’s denial of the U.S. accusations. 
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The French government says President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.”The president tested positive for COVID-19 today,” a statement from the presidency said Thursday. It said Macron had been tested after the “onset of the first symptoms.”The government said Macron will self-isolate for seven days, in accordance with national regulations, and will continue to work and carry out his activities remotely.The French president adds to the list of heads of state and government around the world who have contracted COVID-19, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and U.S. President Donald Trump.The World Health Organization announced Wednesday it was sending a team of researchers to China in the first week of January to investigate the origins of the novel coronavirus that led to the global pandemic that has so far killed more than 1.6 million people out of a total of 74.2 million total cases.The 10-member team will examine medical data and test samples to determine how the virus that causes COVID-19 jumped from animals to humans, and where it originated. Most researchers believe the virus, which was first detected in late 2019 in the central city of Wuhan, originated in bats.People wearing protective masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus use a pedestrian crosswalk at the Ginza shopping street Dec. 17, 2020, in Tokyo.Trump has accused the Chinese government of covering up information about the pandemic.Meanwhile, the formal approval process for a second COVID-19 vaccine in the United States begins Thursday.The Food and Drug Administration’s vaccines advisory committee will review data on a vaccine developed jointly by Massachusetts-based drugmaker Moderna and the National Institutes of Health. FDA regulators earlier this week confirmed Moderna’s claims of the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness.If the advisory panel approves the Moderna vaccine, the FDA could grant emergency use authorization as early as Friday, meaning nearly 6 million doses could be distributed across the U.S. beginning next week. The Moderna-NIH vaccine will add to the 2.9 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shipped out this week that began the inoculation effort in the U.S., starting with frontline health care workers and nursing home residents.The White House announced Wednesday that Vice President Mike Pence will receive the vaccine on Friday. President-elect Joe Biden will be vaccinated sometime next week, according to the transition team. The 78-year-old Biden is at high risk of contracting the virus due to his age.The FDA said Wednesday that pharmacists could draw extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine if there is any extra solution leftover in the vials. The vials are supposed to hold enough of the vaccine for five doses, but pharmacists have found there was enough for an additional sixth or even seventh dose. A spokesperson said in a statement the FDA was working with Pfizer to determine “the best path forward.”At least one health care worker in the Northwest Pacific state of Alaska suffered an allergic reaction just minutes after being inoculated with the Pfizer vaccine on Tuesday, the first such case of an adverse reaction in the United States. The New York Times is reporting that a second health care worker at the same hospital in Alaska also suffered an allergic reaction within minutes of being inoculated. Two health care workers in Britain also suffered allergic reactions after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.Vaccines normally produce various side effects, such as fever, fatigue, headache or pain at the injection site, but officials say such effects are common and disappear within a day or two. The report on the Moderna-NIH vaccine submitted to the FDA revealed that four volunteers in the late-stage clinical trial developed Bell’s palsy, a condition that involves temporary paralysis or weakness in the facial muscles. Three of those participants had received the two-dose vaccine, while the other one was given a placebo.The Inter-American Development Bank pledged $1 billion Wednesday to help Central American and Caribbean nations fight the coronavirus pandemic.The IDB will devote the money to purchasing vaccines, strengthening national institutions distributing the shots, and building immunization capacity.The pledge is in addition to $1.2 billion the bank already mobilized in the region to pay for testing and treatment.Wednesday’s announcement comes as Latin America reports surges in COVID-19 cases and deaths. According to the Reuters news agency, roughly 33% of the world’s COVID-19 deaths were recorded in Latin America, though the region only accounts for 9% of the global population.
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The Court of Arbitration for Sport is set to rule Thursday whether to uphold a ban on Russian athletes competing in international events in connection with accusations of a state-sponsored doping program.The World Anti-Doping Agency issued its four-year ban last year, barring Russia from competing at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, the 2022 Winter Olympics in China, the 2022 World Cup football tournament and other events.Russia dismissed the ban, calling the action politically motivated.The Court of Arbitration for Sport is the highest court in sports, and it said Wednesday that its arbitrators met with the two sides for four days last month.At the center of the case is a WADA demand that Russia turn over data from a Moscow laboratory as part of conditions the agency set for the country to be reinstated. But WADA said Russia deleted and altered the data, prompting the agency to issue its ban.
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The Inter-American Development Bank pledged $1 billion Wednesday to help Central American and Caribbean nations fight the coronavirus pandemic.The IDB will devote the money to purchasing vaccines, strengthening national institutions distributing the shots and building immunization capacity.The pledge is in addition to $1.2 billion the bank already mobilized in the region to pay for testing and treatment.Wednesday’s announcement came as Latin America reported surges in COVID-19 cases and deaths. According to the Reuters news agency, roughly 33% of the world’s COVID-19 deaths were recorded in Latin America, though the region accounts for only 9% of the global population.Around the worldAbout a quarter of Mexico’s population has been exposed to the virus, officials said. Over 115,000 Mexicans have died of the virus, according to the Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center.A new set of tight restrictions took effect Wednesday in Germany to try to curb a rising number of coronavirus infections and deaths.The hard lockdown mandated the closing of all nonessential businesses and limiting private gatherings to no more than five people. The restrictions, which will remain in effect until January 10, were imposed by Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday after talks with Germany’s 16 regional governors.The Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s central disease control center, reported 952 coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, shattering the previous single-day record of 598 posted just last Friday.Germany’s seven-day incidence of new cases has also set a record, rising to nearly 180 per 100,000 people.Health Minister Jens Spahn called on the European Union’s regulatory agency late Tuesday to give final approval of the vaccine jointly developed by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech by Christmas. The vaccine is being administered to health care workers in Britain and the United States, after government regulators quickly approved its use after a thorough review process.Meanwhile, in the U.S., the White House announced Wednesday that Vice President Mike Pence would receive the vaccine on Friday.President-elect Joe Biden will be vaccinated next week, according to the transition team.Regulators with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Tuesday that its preliminary analysis of a second vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health confirmed its safety and effectiveness.The report revealed that four volunteers in the late-stage clinical trial developed Bell’s palsy, a condition that involves temporary paralysis or weakness in facial muscles. Three of those participants had received the two-dose vaccine, while the other one was given a placebo.The approval process of the Moderna vaccine is now in the hands of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, which meets Thursday. If the committee gives its approval, the FDA would the grant the vaccine an emergency use authorization.The FDA granted emergency approval Tuesday of an over-the-counter COVID-19 test developed by Ellume, an Australian-based health care technology company. The self-administered home kit returns test results within 15 to 20 minutes through a smartphone application. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus.As the United States, Britain and other nations escalate efforts to vaccinate citizens against the virus that has sickened more than 73.5 million people worldwide, causing more than 1.6 million deaths, a new study says at least one-fifth of the world’s population may not have access to a vaccine until 2022, as wealthier nations buy more than half of next year’s potential doses.The study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health came just days after U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned about the rise of “vaccine nationalism” among the world’s richest nations at the expense of much poorer countries.Separately, two of the world’s biggest annual New Year’s celebrations are either being curtailed or canceled because of the pandemic. New York City is banning visitors from the city’s historic Times Square to witness the iconic “ball drop” that counts down the final seconds of the year.In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, officials announced Tuesday that the city is calling off its annual New Year’s Eve beach party, which normally attracts hundreds of thousands of people with live music and a spectacular fireworks display.
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The Czech Republic Wednesday launched nationwide COVID-19 testing in hopes of slowing the spread of virus in the country, which, like much of Europe, has seen a surge of infections in recent weeks.The Czech Health Ministry is offering the free antigen tests at about 170 testing sites around the country. The antigen tests are cheaper and faster but somewhat less accurate than standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) laboratory tests with results taking about 15 minutes. If someone tests positive, the ministry will administer a PCR test.The Health Ministry hopes to conduct 60,000 tests per day. The ministry’s web site says people can get tested repeatedly, every five days. Thousands registered for the first day of tests Wednesday.The Czech Republic experienced Europe’s biggest per-capita spikes in cases in October and November, and nearly 10,000 deaths in the country of 10.7 million. Criticized for its slow response to the pandemic, the government recently implemented COVID-19 restrictions, closing bars, restaurants and hotels, and imposing an overnight curfew.The country reported 5,315 new cases a day on average in the past week using the standard PCR tests, while the number of hospitalized patients grew to 4,632 from 4,475 a week ago.  
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Air pollution has been listed as a contributing factor in the death of a nine-year-old British girl in 2013.After a two-week inquest, coroner Philip Barlow determined that Ella Kissi-Debrah of South London died of acute respiratory failure, severe asthma and exposure to air pollution.It is the first time that air pollution has been listed as a contributing cause of death in Britain, the BBC reported.Kissi-Debrah had been very sick for a long time and was more susceptible to air pollution.According to the BBC, Stephen Holgate, professor of immunopharmacology at the University of Southampton, told Southwark Coroner’s Court that Kissi-Debrah had an “exceptionally rare” heath problem that put her at “exquisite” risk.  Barlow said traffic emissions, particularly nitrogen dioxide from diesel engines, contributed to her death. According to Reuters, Britain has failed to meet EU target levels of nitrogen dioxide.Holgate also told the inquest that there had been a spike in nitrogen dioxide caused by diesel engines.Testifying at the inquest, Dr. Bill Parish, deputy director of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said there had been an “uptick” in diesel vehicles, which were considered a way to combat carbon dioxide emissions.“I understand that it was trying to decrease carbon dioxide emissions … but the effect was to increase nitrogen dioxide emissions,” he said, according to the Daily Mail. “That is what the data starts to tell us when the diesel fleet starts increasing.”In 2001, the Labor government advocated switching to diesel cars to combat climate change.“In 2001, then-Chancellor Gordon Brown introduced a new system of car tax aimed at protecting the environment. In actual reality, it fostered a popular move towards highly polluting diesel cars — a trend, which according to some experts, has been associated with thousands of premature deaths a year,” the BBC reported in 2017.According to the BBC, the number of diesel vehicles in Britain grew from 3 million in 2000 to 12 million in 2017.“There was a recognized failure to reduce the levels of nitrogen dioxide, which possibly contributed to (Kissi-Debrah’s) death, Barlow testified at the inquest, according to the BBC. “There was also a lack of information given to Ella’s mother that possibly contributed to her death.”Barlow said if Kissi-Debrah’s mother, Rosamund, had known about the levels of pollution, she might have been able to take steps to help her daughter.”Today was a landmark case, a 7-year fight has resulted in air pollution being recognized on Ella’s death certificate. Hopefully this will mean many more children’s lives being saved,” Rosamund wrote on Twitter.This was the second inquest into the child’s death. A 2014 case did not consider air pollution as a possible cause, Reuters reported.Activists were happy with the decision, calling it historic and cause for the British government to crack down on air pollution.”The coroner’s unambiguous finding is a legal first and will certainly send a signal to the U.K. government,” said Katie Nield, a lawyer at environmental law charity ClientEarth, which helped Kissi-Debrah’s legal team, Reuters reported.Britain has pledged to ban the sale of gas and diesel cars and vans by 2030. 
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The United States has designated Switzerland and Vietnam as currency manipulators for allegedly meddling in foreign exchange markets, sparking disputes with two trading partners.The countries were labeled as such Wednesday in a U.S. Treasury Department annual report aimed at stopping countries from manipulating their currencies to achieve unfair trade advantages.It is the first time the U.S. has branded another country as a currency manipulator since August 2019, when China was given the label while engaged in tense trade talks with the U.S.Washington dropped the designation in January after the two countries reached trade agreements, but Beijing’s yuan has remained on the Treasury Department’s list of currencies it is watching.China’s Yuan Drops to New Lows After Trump’s Tariff ThreatThe yuan’s drop will surely fuel tension with Washington and signal the possibility of a currency war with the USThe report said Switzerland and Vietnam were the only countries that met all three criteria for being labeled a currency manipulator, a move that leads to negotiations over the next year. If agreements are not reached, the U.S. can impose economic sanctions on the two countries.Other countries on the watchlist are India, Italy, Korea, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand.The report is the last one the Trump administration will produce, leaving it to President-elect Joe Biden’s treasury secretary to decide whether to maintain the designations.But a senior Treasury official said that Biden’s nominee, Janet Yellen, had not yet been informed of the designations and that the decisions rest with the Trump administration, according to The New York Times.The report, which covers market activity from July 2019 to June 2020, was released during a coronavirus pandemic that has weakened the global economy this year and triggered volatility in foreign exchange markets.
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Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and other leaders of the country’s democratic opposition were awarded the European Parliament’s 2020 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in a ceremony on December 16 in Brussels. Tsikhanouskaya received the prize from European Parliament President David Sassoli on behalf of the Coordination Council, a body set up by Belarus’s political opposition to facilitate a transfer of power in the country following a presidential election in August that the opposition says was rigged and the West has refused to accept. “An invisible wall of fear had been built around us,” Tsikhanouskaya told European lawmakers in her acceptance speech. “But this year, united, we believe that this wall of fear could be taken down, brick by brick. The dream of a better Belarus keeps us going. “Without a free Belarus, Europe is not truly free,” the opposition leader said. “Long live Europe, long live Belarus!” “Your fight is our fight,” Sassoli told the Belarusian opposition members during his introduction. Tsikhanouskaya has been in Brussels this week for talks with European Union leaders ahead of the ceremony to present the prestigious prize. European Parliament President David Sassoli and others applaud and congratulate Belarus’ opposition figures Veronika Tsepkalo (L) and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya during the Sakharov Prize ceremony, at the EU Parliament in Brussels, Dec. 16, 2020. 
Sassoli has said the representatives of the Belarusian opposition were being recognized for the courage, resilience, and determination that they have shown in defense of the freedom of thought and expression. The $59,180 annual human rights prize is named after the Soviet physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov and was established in 1988 to honor individuals and organizations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms. The award goes to several members of the Coordination Council, including Tsikhanouskaya, Maryya Kalesnikava, Veranika Tsapkala, Volha Kavalkova, and Syarhey Dyleuski; Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich; Tsikhanouskaya’s imprisoned husband, Syarhey Tsikhanouski; the founder of the Telegram channel NEXTA, Stsyapan Putsila; Ales Byalyatski from the human rights organization Vyasna; and political prisoner Mikalay Statkevich, who was a presidential candidate in the 2010 election. Protests against longtime ruler Alexander Lukashenko have been ongoing since the disputed presidential election on August 9. FILE – Belarusian opposition supporters attend a rally to reject the presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Nov. 22, 2020.Lukashenko, in office since 1994, was officially declared the winner with more than 80 percent of the vote — a vote which the opposition, and many Belarusians, said was rigged and which they believe Tsikhanouskaya actually won. Police have violently cracked down on the protests, with more than 27,000 detentions, according to the United Nations. There have also been credible reports of torture and ill-treatment, and several people have died.   
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The Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act have just been presented in Brussels. These proposed policies aim to revise all the principles that apply to digital services within the 27 member states — from the publication of illegal content on social networks to the sale of products online.Big Tech companies will not be allowed, for example, to stop users from uninstalling preinstalled software or apps, nor will they be able to use data from business users to compete against them.To do so, the European Union governing body would allow fines of up to 10% of annual global revenue. Another part of the European plan is to make sure e-commerce platforms take more responsibility for their goods and services.European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said these new regulations are the right tools to bring “order to chaos” on the internet and to rein in the online “gatekeepers” that dominate the market.“The two proposals, they serve one purpose: to make sure that we, as users, customers, businesses, have access to a wide choice of safe products and services online, just as well as we do in the physical world,” Vestager said. “Whether from our streets or from our screens, we should be able to do our shopping in a safe manner. Whether we turn pages or we just scroll down, we should be able to choose and trust the news that we read. Of course, what is illegal offline is equally illegal online.”After the announcement, some companies criticized the move. A spokesperson for Google said the company was concerned that the measures “seem to specifically target a handful of companies.”Thierry Breton, European commissioner for internal market, denied those allegations.“We respect companies, but we say the bigger they are, the more obligations they may have to fulfill,” Breton said. “What is important to us is that everybody is welcome in Europe, but our responsibility is to decide and give directions and rules to protect what is important to us. These are not two acts where we would say that these companies are too big, and we propose a dismantle. Not here, not on this side of the ocean.”The coming new regulations announced in Brussels echoed the concerns over the world about the influence of big technology companies. In the United States, regulators have increased scrutiny on Google and Facebook, and antitrust cases are looming.  
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The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration said the capsizing of a boat carrying people from Venezuela to Trinidad and Tobago should be “a reminder of the extreme risks of sea journey, and other irregular-cross-border movements” taken by refugees and immigrants.The boat was carrying at least 25 people, including children, when it sank off the eastern coast of Venezuela near the coastal town of Guiria over the weekend. Eleven bodies were recovered on Saturday followed by a few others on Sunday.Venezuela has yet to provide an official death toll, but some reports suggest about 20 bodies were recovered from the sea.“Our thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives,” said Eduardo Stein, Joint Special Representative of UNHCR and IOM for Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants in a statement.“We need to join forces to prevent this from happening again,” Stein said in the statement. The statement added, humanitarian organizations are on hand to support Venezuela to rescue those who may still be missing at sea.Many Venezuelans are escaping the economic hardships in the Latin American country that have been compounded by lockdown measures because of the coronavirus.Lockdown measures resulting in the closure of land and maritime borders is forcing refugees and immigrants to use unapproved routes to escape worsening economic conditions, the statement said.Last year, three boats were reported missing between Venezuela and the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Curacao, with the loss of at least 80 lives, according to the statement.Stein noted that “urgent efforts are needed to stop smugglers and traffickers from sending people on these perilous journeys.”
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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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Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador congratulated U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on his election victory, after U.S. state electors voted Monday to make Biden’s election official.  Speaking at his daily news conference in Mexico City on Tuesday, López Obrador told reporters he intentionally waited until after the Electoral College vote before writing Biden. The Mexican leader read the letter as it was displayed behind him, in which he called for good bilateral relations with the United States and the Biden administration “based on collaboration, friendship and respect for our sovereignty.” López Obrador said he was certain that with Biden as president it will be possible to continue to apply “basic principles of foreign policy established in our Constitution; especially that of non-intervention and self-determination of the peoples.” The comment appeared to be a warning about U.S. involvement in Mexico’s internal affairs. The Mexican government has reacted angrily to perceived slights and U.S. intervention in the country’s drug corruption problem. The letter praised Biden’s pro-immigration stance, which López Obrador said he hoped would allow the two nations to “continue with the plan to promote the development and well-being of the communities of southeast Mexico and the countries of Central America.” López Obrador said he hoped the two countries could work together “to build the definitive solution to migratory flows from and through Mexico to the United States.” The Mexican president noted that he and Biden met about nine years ago when Biden was vice president and expressed hope that the two would be able to speak in the future. Outgoing President Donald Trump met with López Obrador at the White House in July for talks on trade, the economy and immigration. The talks came days after a new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal went into effect. Trump previously had made derogatory remarks about Mexican immigrants and threatened trade tariffs. He called the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico “outstanding.” 
 
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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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A narrow 96-kilometer-wide corridor from the Pacific Coast in Chile across the Andes mountain range and into Argentina in South America was treated Monday to views of the final total solar eclipse of 2020. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, casting a shadow that momentarily extinguishes daylight on Earth. Magdalena Nahuelpan, a Mapuche Indigenous girl, looks at a total solar eclipse using special glasses in Carahue, La Araucania, Chile, Dec. 14, 2020.Despite COVID-19 restrictions on travel and movement, thousands of tourists and residents gathered in Chile’s south-central Araucania region, about 800 kilometers south of the capital, Santiago. While heavy rain and clouds obscured the sun itself, the region was nonetheless plunged into darkness for about two minutes and eight seconds.  The Chilean health ministry issued protective eyewear for safe viewing of the eclipse, along with face masks and sanitizer to keep people safe from COVID-19. The weather was better in Argentina, though the path of the eclipse there went through sparsely populated areas of the Patagonia Desert.  The next total solar eclipse will occur over Antarctica on December 4, 2021.  
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British Health Minister Matt Hancock said Monday that a new variant of COVID-19 has been identified in southern Britain, which could explain why infection levels in that area have increased faster than in other areas of the country. Speaking to Parliament, Hancock said the variant was identified in more than a thousand cases of the virus, mostly in the south of the country, but in a total of about 60 different areas. He said similar variants have been identified in other countries, and the British government has alerted the World Health Organization.   The health minister was quick to add there was nothing to suggest this new variant is more virulent or would be resistant to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that is being distributed in Britain. But he said it was even more reason for people to remain vigilant and follow COVID-19 guidelines to make sure the virus does not spread.  Hancock made the announcement as he introduced new COVID-19 restrictions imposed on London and the immediate surrounding area where new infections have been rising “exponentially.”  He said London was moving into the “Tier 3: Very High Alert level.” Under these restrictions, people can only see friends and family who live outside their household in outdoor public places and “in line with the rule of six,” meaning groups must be six people or fewer.  Hancock said restaurants and other hospitality businesses can be open for take-out and deliver only, and residents are advised to avoid unnecessary travel outside their immediate area.
 
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The Trump administration on Monday imposed sanctions on its NATO ally Turkey over its purchase of a Russian air defense system, setting the stage for further confrontation between the two nations as President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office. The move comes at a delicate time in relations between Washington and Ankara, which have been at odds for more than a year over Turkey’s acquisition from Russia of the S-400 missile defense system, along with Turkish actions in Syria, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and in the eastern Mediterranean.  The U.S. had previously kicked Turkey out of its F-35 stealth fighter development and training program over the purchase, but had taken no further steps despite persistent warnings from American officials who have long complained about the purchase of the S-400, which they say is incompatible with NATO equipment and a potential threat to allied security. “The United States made clear to Turkey at the highest levels and on numerous occasions that its purchase of the S-400 system would endanger the security of U.S. military technology and personnel and provide substantial funds to Russia’s defense sector, as well as Russian access to the Turkish armed forces and defense industry,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. “Turkey nevertheless decided to move ahead with the procurement and testing of the S-400, despite the availability of alternative, NATO-interoperable systems to meet its defense requirements,” he said in a statement. “I urge Turkey to resolve the S-400 problem immediately in coordination with the United States,” he said. “Turkey is a valued Ally and an important regional security partner for the United States, and we seek to continue our decades-long history of productive defense-sector cooperation by removing the obstacle of Turkey’s S-400 possession as soon as possible.” The sanctions target Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries, the country’s military procurement agency, its chief Ismail Demir and three other senior officials. The penalties block any assets the four officials may have in U.S. jurisdictions and bar their entry into the U.S. They also include a ban on most export licenses, loans and credits to the agency.  The administration had held off on imposing punitive sanctions outside of the fighter program for months, in part to give Turkish officials time to reconsider deploying it and, some suspect, due to President Donald Trump’s personal relationship with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. However, in past months Turkey has moved ahead with testing of the system drawing criticism from Congress and others who have demanded the sanctions be imposed under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA, which mandates penalties for transactions deemed harmful to U.S. interests. Coming just a month and-a-half before Biden assumes office, the sanctions pose a potential dilemma for the incoming administration, although the president-elect’s team has signaled it is opposed to Turkey’s use of the S-400 and the disunity within NATO it may cause.  Last month, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Turkey was prepared to discuss with the U.S. its “anxiety” over the interoperability of the S-400s and the F-35s. The U.S. reacted cooly to the suggestion and Pompeo shortly thereafter pointedly did not meet with any Turkish government officials on a visit to Istanbul.  Turkey tested the missile defense system in October for the first time, drawing a condemnation from the Pentagon. Ankara says it was forced to buy the Russian system because the U.S. refused to sell it American-made Patriot missiles. The Turkish government has also pointed to what it considers a double standard, as NATO member Greece uses Russian-made missiles. 
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