Morning headlines - March 17th 2021

Morning headlines - March 17th 2021

Coronavirus and vaccines

• Vaccination in Romania: 3,2 million vaccine doses were received and almost 2.7 million doses were administrated to the 1.5 million people who got the vaccine so far (more than 738.000 with both doses). In the last 24 hours, more than 59.000 people got vaccinated (more than 15.000 with both doses).
• Coronavirus in Romania: In the last 24 hours, there were recorded 6.118 new SARS CoV-2 cases, 133 deaths and in ICU there are 1.226 people hospitalized. In ICU there are only a few places left, says Mediafax.
• The number of ICU beds is increasing. The number of ICU beds for the Covid patients will increase with 140 beds, and the number of intermediary therapy beds will also get 210 additional beds, said on Tuesday night the Ministry of Health.
• Israel has paid three times more for a vaccine dose comparing to EU. Israel has spent 785 million dollars for the Covid-19 vaccines, said on Tuesday an official of the Finances Ministry to a parliamentary committee, says Mediafax. The country has bought 15 million doses for almost 52 dollars each.

Political and military events

• Foreign hackers did not influence the US elections’ results says a new report of the US Director of National Intelligence, the first to assess the elections’ issue, which ended with Joe Biden’s victory.
• Russia is giving Twitter an ultimatum. Moscow will completely block the platform if it does not delete the “prohibited content”, says Mediafax. Twitter is one of the five social media platforms which were sued for the alleged failure in deleting the posts which were asking kids to join the protests against Kremlin, after the detainment of Putin’s opponent, Aleksey Navalny.
• An AIEA report on Iran’s nuclear activity. Iran has started to enrich the uranium at the underground facility from Natanz with a second type of advanced centrifuge, IR-4, said a report of the AIEA from Vienna, analyzed on Tuesday by Reuters. Lately, Iran has continued to break the restrictions from the international agreement on its nuclear activities in an allegedly attempt to pressure the US president Joe Biden, both parts expecting for the other one to make the first step in calming down the relation and saving the agreement, says Agerpress, quoting international media sources.
• North Korea has three types of nuclear missiles that could hit the US. The General Glen VanHerck, the chief of the North American Aerospace Command has warned the Phonyong resumed its tests for the long range of action missiles, to check the performances of its new intercontinental ballistic missile, says AP. According to the US official, North Korea has three types of intercontinental missiles that could strike US targets.
• Israel has attacked targets in Syria. More explosions were heard, last evening, close to Damascus, after a new Israeli airstrike coming from the Golan Heights, says the SANA Agency. There is no official information about the victims.
• US officials visiting Seoul. The Pentagon’s chief, Lloyg Austin, and the chief of the US diplomacy, Anthony Blinken, got on Wednesday in South Korea to discuss the threats coming from North Korea and China, says AP.

Romania’s defence and security

• The “Cantacuzino” Institute will integrate the Center for Medical-Military Scientific Research, says a projects that is about to be approved by the Government, on Tuesday.
• The State’s Reserves go from the Home Affairs Ministry to the Government. Romania’s president has signed on Wednesday a degree on passing the Law on approving the Emergency Ordonance of the Government no.91/2020 about passing the National Administration of State’s Reserves and Special Problems from the Home Affairs Ministry’s responsibility to the Government and the Government’s General Secretariat’s one and on the amendment of some laws.
• Discussions in Cotroceni about the EU’s money. Iohhanis has called the leader of the ruling coalition to Cotroceni to talk about the National Resilience and Reform Plan, which is ready and will be presented to the Government this week, for a first review, says Digi24.