Morning headlines – June 18th 2021

Coronavirus and vaccines

• Vaccination in Romania: In the last 24 hours, more than 28.000 people got vaccinated (more than 16.000 with both doses). Totally, more than 4.6 million people got the vaccine, with more than 4,2 getting both doses.
• Coronavirus in Romania: In the last 24 hours, there were recorded 87 new SARS CoV-2 cases, 5 deaths and in ICU there are now 186 people hospitalized.

Global political and military events

• Terrorism in Afghanistan. Al-Qaida and the Islamic State terrorist networks could regroup in Afghanistan in approximately 2 years, given the withdrawal of the Western troops, said the US State Secretary, Lloyd Austin, according to Aleph News.
• The US is replacing F-22 Raptor. The planning and construction of the 6^th generation aircrafts, Next Generation Air Dominance – NGAD, will get, next year, 1.5 billion dollars. The US Air Force chief, general Charles Q. Brown Jr., has stated that the new aircraft will replace the famous F-22 Raptor. According to Brown, the US aviation will rely on four types of aircrafts: F-35, F-15EX, F-16 and NGAD.
• The US Marine wants 355 ships. The US Naval Forces sent the Congress a new plan according to which they need around 355 warships, minimum 321 and maximum 372. These will get additional autonomous ships, between 77 and 140, said defensenews.
• Israel, the second attack in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Air Forces have attacked, last night, targets in the Gaza Strip, for the second time since the 11-days war, ended last month, says Mediafax.
• Presidential elections in Iran. The Iranian voters will choose their president, on Friday. Out of the four candidates, the first in the polls is the favorite of the religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a former chief contested by the justice, Ebrahim Raisi, says AP. Khamenei blocked the participation to the elections for various reformists, also said AP.

Romania’s defence and security

• The dismissal of Renate Weber, attacked by the Romanian Constitutional Court. PSD sent on Thursday a notification to the RCC on the unconstitutionality of Parliament’s decision to dismiss Renate Weber, the Ombudsman, says Aleph News.
• Former deputy director of the General Directorate for Defense Intelligence, sent to court. General-major (r) Iulian Cristian Gherghe, accused for stealing 180.000 euro from the GDDI’s funds, was sent to court, says Mediafax.
• The National Day of Military Builders. The chronicle of the armed forces records the date of June 18, 1920 as a landmark of the birth of the Domains and Infrastructures Directorate, according to the Ministry of National Defense. At that time, it was promulgated the High Royal Decree no. 2645, which ordered the establishment of the "12th Directorate, Matters Concerning Construction, Barracks, Furniture and Military Fields". Later, by High Decree No. 517, of January 3, 1863, the "Barracks Regulation" was to be approved, the first in the history of the Romanian armed forces through which the problems of all construction-domain activities were legislated.
• One million Romanians live in the Great Britain. The Great Britain’s ambassador, Andrew Noble, has stated, on Thursday, on the Queen’s Day reception, that around one million Romanians chose to live in the UK, given the Brexit, the weather and the food differences between the two nations, says Mediafax.