Morning headlines – January 12th 2022

Coronavirus and vaccines

• Vaccination in Romania: In the last 24 hours, more than 25.000 people got vaccinated. Totally, more than 8 million people got the vaccine, with more than 7,89 getting both doses and 2,16 of them getting the third dose.
• Coronavirus in Romania: In the last 24 hours, there were recorded 8.861 new SARS CoV-2 cases, 43 deaths, and in ICU there are now 415 people hospitalized.

Global political and military events

• The NATO-Russia Council on Eastern Europe. After the failed negotiations between the US and Russia from Geneve, today it takes place the NATO-Russia Council, in Brussels. The NATO Secretary General already said the open doors policy will stay available and he stated that each country has the sovereign right to choose their foreign policy. (AP)
• Russia is developing military drills at Ukraine’s border. During the negotiations on the Russian military withdrawal from Ukraine’s borders, the Russian armed forces stated a live fire drill in the Voronej, Belgorod and Briansk regions, involving 3.000 troops, with armored vehicles and missile systems. (AFP)
• The US is asking Russia to withdraw its forces from Kazakhstan. The United States have asked Russia on Tuesday to quickly withdraw its forces sent to Kazakhstan, at the demand of president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Even if the Kazakh president has stated, on Tuesday, that the foreign forces will start the withdrawal in two days, the Russian defence minister, Sergey Shoigu, indicated that the withdrawal will begin after the whole situation will be `totally established`. (AFP)
• Taiwan helps Lithuania in the economic dispute with China. Taiwan announced, on Tuesday, that it will open a 1$ billion credit line to support Lithuania’s commerce, where the companies are affected by a conflict with China, which started after the Baltic country initiated diplomatic relations with Taipei. (AP)
• The Taliban wants to recover their aircrafts from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Taliban leaders are urging the two countries to return the planes with which the Afghan pilots fled and threatening them with retaliation if they oppose it. "Don't test our patience or force us to act," said Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid. (AP)
• North Korea tested the second hypersonic missile. The North Korean military tested the second hypersonic missile on Monday in the presence of leader Kim Jong-un. The rocket allegedly hit the 1,000-kilometer target, according to state media. (AP)

Romania's defense and security

• The government will approve the start of the electronic monitoring computer system. The Government is to approve, in Wednesday's meeting, by a decision, the substantiation note regarding the opportunity to make the expenses related to the investment project "Operationalization of the Electronic Monitoring Information System". (Agerpres)
• Timisoara's border police caught 75,000 migrants in 2021. Timis County Deputy Prefect Ovidiu Draganescu said on Tuesday that the migration phenomenon had grown in recent years in the western part of the country, reaching a peak in 2021, when almost 75,000 people who wanted to enter the country illegally were stopped by the border guards of the Border Police Inspectorate (ITPF) Timisoara, which has in its jurisdiction the counties of Timis, Caras-Severin and Mehedinti. (Agerpres)