Morning headlines – November 15th 2021

Coronavirus and vaccines

• Vaccination in Romania: In the last 24 hours, more than 80.000 people got vaccinated. Totally, more than 7,46 million people got the vaccine, with more than 6,84 getting both doses and 1,17 of them getting the third dose.
• Coronavirus in Romania: In the last 24 hours, there were recorded 3.021 new SARS CoV-2 cases, 233 deaths, and in ICU there are now 1.731 people hospitalized.

Global political and military events

• Biden-Xi summit. The US president, Joe Biden, and the Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will virtually meet today to discuss about the tensions regarding Taiwan, commercial relations, human rights and cyber security. (CNN)
• Terrorist attack in Great Britain. One person lost his life and another one was hurt after a car explosion in front of a hospital in Liverpool. The attack is seen by the British authorities as a terrorist one. Three suspects, with ages between 21 and 29 years old, were arrested. (BBC)
• Surprise following Bulgaria’s elections. According to exit polls, the newly- founded anticorruption party `Continue the change` has around 23% of the votes, being close to the GERB conservative party of the former prime-minister Boiko Borisov, which has 25% of the votes but will not be able to create a government lacking an ally. (AFP)
• Crisis at the EU-Belarus border. The European diplomacy chief, Josep Borrell, has discussed with the Byelorussian minister of foreign affairs, Vladimir Makei, about the migrants’ situation at the Belarus-Poland border, before the reunion of foreign affairs ministers in the EU member states. The European official told his Byelorussian counterpart that the `current situation is unacceptable and must stop. People should not be used as weapons`. The EU could impose new sanctions on Belarus on Monday due to the migrants’ situation. (AFP)
• Tensions in Sudan. The security forces have killed, on Sunday, six people who were protesting against the October 25^th coup d’état, initiated by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and have arrested the Al Jazeera’s editor, Al Musalmi Al Kabbashi. (AFP)
• Russia will deliver India the S-400 systems before the end of this year. The first S-400 missile systems will get to India this year, according to Alexander Mikheiev’s statement, the general director of Rosoboronexport. India bought, in 2015, S-400 systems for all 5 regiments, paying the amount of 5.43 billion dollars. India becomes the third country which buys S-400 systems, after Turkey and China. (Tass)

Romania’s security and defence

• Prolonged political crisis: PSD and PNL will go to President Klaus Iohannis with several options of prime ministers, including the proposal of rotating rotational positions. The proposals will be the presidents of the two parties. (Aleph News)
• Bogdan Aurescu participates in the meeting of foreign ministers from EU countries. The head of the Romanian diplomacy, Bogdan Aurescu, participates, on Monday, t the meeting of the foreign ministers from the EU member states, which takes place in Brussels, where the situations in Belarus, Ethiopia, the Western Balkans and the developments in the Sahel region will be analyzed. (MFA)