Morning headlines – August 4th 2021

Coronavirus and vaccines

• Vaccination in Romania: In the last 24 hours, more than 15.000 people got vaccinated. Totally, more than 5 million people got the vaccine, with more than 4,8 getting both doses.
• Coronavirus in Romania: In the last 24 hours, there were recorded 233 new SARS CoV-2 cases, 5 deaths, and in ICU there are now 60 people hospitalized.

Global political and military events

• Pentagon’s building was reopened. The security alert from the Pentagon was lifted at 9pm, Romania’s time. Both a policeman and an armed suspect lost their lives and many people were wounded in the armed incident close to Pentagon’s building. (Mediafax)
• Afghanistan: 4 deaths and 20 wounded in the Kabul attack. Afghanistan’s capital was attacked, on Tuesday evening, using two suicide cars, one of them exploding in front of the defence minister’s house. (AP)
• North Korea wants the international sanctions to be lifted. North Korea asked for sanctions’ lifting for some products before starting the negotiations with the US. The first talks among the parliamentarians of the two Koreas showed that the North part wants, first of all, the importation of fuels and necessary products. (AP)
• Egypt received the fourth submarine S-44 made in Germany. The Egyptian Naval Forces received, this week, the fourth S-44 submarine, made by Germany. The other three were received in 2016, 2017 and 2019. (Al Arabiya)

Romania’s security and defense

• Military divers are training in the Black Sea. The Naval Forces announced the start of the `Eurasian Partnership MCM Dive 21` drill, developed between 2 and 9^th august, in the Black Sea, with the participation of 250 Romanian troops and 100 foreign soldiers from Azerbaijan, Georgia, US and Ukraine.
• Romanian ship captain detained in Cyprus. A 60-year-old Romanian ship's captain was detained in the Cypriot port of Vassiliko, on the grounds that last year the ship he was commanding operated in the Cypriote port occupied by the Turkish side. The Free Trade Union of Navigators demands the intervention of the Government in this case. (Aleph News)
• August 4, 1919, the Romanian Armed Forces enters Budapest. The military operation marked the end of the communist regime established by Bela Kun, on March 21, 1919, in Hungary, and favored the achievement of Greater Romania.