Morning headlines – November 12th 2021

Coronavirus and vaccines

• Vaccination in Romania: In the last 24 hours, more than 82.000 people got vaccinated. Totally, more than 7,39 million people got the vaccine, with more than 6,68 getting both doses and 1,1 of them getting the third dose.
• Coronavirus in Romania: In the last 24 hours, there were recorded 5.416 new SARS CoV-2 cases, 318 deaths, and in ICU there are now 1.772 people hospitalized.
• Disaster in the Romanian hospitals: 11 fires in less than a year. In less than a year, 11 fires took place in the COVID-19-support hospitals, at the peak of the pandemic waves, when the medical units are full. (Aleph News)

Global political and military events

• The US warned Europe to be prepared for a Russian invasion of Ukraine. The US warned its European allies to get ready for a possible invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the deepening of the natural gases crisis. (Reuters)
• Russia will not invade Ukraine if not provoked. The deputy ambassador of Russia to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, has stated, on Thursday, that Russia will not invade Ukraine if not provoked. The warned that there are many threats coming from Poland and the US ships in the Black Sea. He also added that Russia has never invaded Ukraine. (AP)
• Crisis at the EU-Belarus border. The Baltic states are afraid the West’s tensions with Belarus can start a military conflict. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have warned, on Thursday, about the risks of a military conflict due to tensions between the EU and Belarus, and Ukraine has dislocated additional military troops at the border. (Reuters)
• Lukashenko asked Putin for help in monitoring the borders. The Belorussian president Aleksandar Lukashenko has admitted, on Thusday, that he asked for Vladimir Putin’s help in monitoring the border with the EU. Russia sent bombers and fighter jets in Belarus. (AP)
• Ukraine, military drill at the border with Belarus. Ukraine is organizing a drill at the border with Belarus, with almost 9.000 soldiers and guards to train the security forces in managing the migrants’ crisis. (CNN)
• The oldest Russian NGO risks being closed. The Russian court has informed the Supreme Court that it wants the NGO Memorial to be closed, the latter being an organization defending the human rights and one of the oldest in Russia. The NGO is accused of systematically breaking the law on `foreign agents`. Due to this law, many NGO have been closed. (AFP)
• The US embassy in Yemen was attacked. The Houthi rebels, supported by Iran, have attacked the US embassy in Yemen and took 25 local employees as hostages. The State Department has issued a press release to ask for the liberation of the hostages and the return of the equipment and documents they took. (Daily Mail)
• Biden, Xi will address the Asia Pacific Forum. US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected today to address leaders participating in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum amid regional and trade tensions between the two powers. (Reuters)
• Conference on Libya, in Paris. Emmanuel Macron is hosting a conference with other leaders on Friday to ensure compliance with the December election calendar. Among the participants are US Vice President Kamala Harris and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. (AFP)

Romania's defense and security

• Prolonged political crisis: The PNL Executive Bureau meets on Friday at a meeting at the Parliament Palace to discuss negotiations with the PSD and UDMR to form a new government. (Agerpres)
• Novermber 12 – The Day of the Reconnaissance Troops. By Order of the Day no. 83 of November 12/14, 1859 Ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza signed the document concerning the establishment of the 2nd Section within the Corps of the General Staff, as the first organized element of the Romanian Reconnaissance branch.
• November 12 - Defense Staff Day. The Romanian Army celebrates, on November 12, the Defense Staff Day. The Defence Staff is the Army's top command body. On November 12/24, 1859, the General Staff Corps of the United Principalities was established, by the High Order no. 83 of the ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza. (MoND)

• November 12 - The Day of Military Geodesy. The bases of the Topographic Service of the Romanian Army were laid by the ruler A. I. Cuza (1859-1866) by signing the High Order no. 83 of November 12, 1859, establishing the General Staff Corps, which had in its composition a specialized structure for topographic, geodetic and statistical works, as well as drawing up and working plans of this kind and applying these works to make the cadastral map of the United Principalities. (MoND)